Thanks for the info chaps, pleased to say that the sensible booze rule has reached here also, albeit after two dets on capped actuals and they wont let us claim retrospectively, even though I havnt put the paper work in yet.
Seems a bit crazy that the actual is for that day only, we were held up due to unforseen circumstances after landing one night and by the time we got back to the hotel everything had closed. even in it were open say after midnight, that would be using the next days actual and therefore would have to payback the previous little used one.
I dont mind accounting for what I spend but they should at least let you carry over actuals from one day to another, as long as it is accounted for then whats the problem. Another point raised was that when eating in a group and getting a group bill divided up whatever way you want to, we had to photocopy receipts so that everyone could have one for their records. After a short while the hotel, started charging for the photocopying, as it was about a dozen copies most meal times. It wasn't a problem for us due to having an imprest, but if using an advance then this should come under incidentals. Crapped actuals may me okay for small groups but is a real pain for large crews. Guys are not doing their primary jobs when returning from det, they are taking hours to sort out all the paperwork and take back any unused cash, including all the coins possible.
Am really looking forward to going to the states for a month on capped actuals, where the tip is generally greater than 10% and non-negotiable.