Capped Actuals - What are your experiences?
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Capped Actuals - What are your experiences?
Having already heard horror stories around the FW world about Capped actuals, what peculiarities have been noted, and does anyone else think that an extra 4 hours admin burden in the cruise is condusive to a serious flight safety hazard? On top of this, what is the expected admin burden, financially expected (in terms of bluntie overtime)? Surely this money could be better spent!!!! 
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Actuals Schmactuals
Capped actuals have one big downside from anyone's perspective - and that is the amount of time it takes to keep a track of things on a daily basis. The looks of disdain from the waiters/waitresses when we ask for separate bills is enough to make you realise you are now a second-class citizen. I'm about half-way through a month long det to the States and fortunately, our resident computer geek (he's an 'early adapter' apparently) has knocked up an Excel spread sheet to keep track of the spending. That's helping no-end and I'd recommend doing something similar for anyone about to be detached. I would guess there is at least one full day's JPA admin for everyone when we get back just to put the claim in - and that would be if we could log in and everything went smoothly! This needs to be considered when personnel return from a Det, they need the time to resolve the admin burden before they can properly become productive in their normal roles. In short, it's the biggest faff I have ever had to deal with over the many years I've been in the Service.
Another thing that really bugs about capped actuals, is that the daily amount cannot be flexed throughout any period of, say, a week. It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap. I suppose we shouldn't complain about that, because like it or not, that is what it is supposed to do. However, I would be prepared bet my next month's JPA issued Flying Pay (hmmm, safe bet then) that the Treasury will see an underspend across the board when they audit such Dets and thereby reduce the capped level. Now that sucks.
Tipping is proving to be a bit of nightmare - it is the norm in the US to tip between 15 -18 % of the total biil, that is how the waiting staff make their money. We are only allowed to tip 10% and that comes out of the capped actual. Rather than upset anyone, we're just coughing up out of our own pockets. Thing is, 10% might be okay in a fish & chip shop in Marbella, but it isn't the same globally! I believe these amounts should be set after consultation with respective Embassy staffs and capped amounts adjusted accordingly.
For what it's worth, the scribes at my home base in Lincs are the dog's whatsits and I truly dread to think where we would be without them to 'ease the JPA & Allowances transition'. If I'm audited, when I get back - and I think I will be because of the 'policy violations' of buying hire car petrol on my own credit card (no GPC as of yet) - I'm hoping the Excel Spread Sheet will make that process as easy as possible for me and the allowances team.
Regards
SIT Head
Another thing that really bugs about capped actuals, is that the daily amount cannot be flexed throughout any period of, say, a week. It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap. I suppose we shouldn't complain about that, because like it or not, that is what it is supposed to do. However, I would be prepared bet my next month's JPA issued Flying Pay (hmmm, safe bet then) that the Treasury will see an underspend across the board when they audit such Dets and thereby reduce the capped level. Now that sucks.
Tipping is proving to be a bit of nightmare - it is the norm in the US to tip between 15 -18 % of the total biil, that is how the waiting staff make their money. We are only allowed to tip 10% and that comes out of the capped actual. Rather than upset anyone, we're just coughing up out of our own pockets. Thing is, 10% might be okay in a fish & chip shop in Marbella, but it isn't the same globally! I believe these amounts should be set after consultation with respective Embassy staffs and capped amounts adjusted accordingly.
For what it's worth, the scribes at my home base in Lincs are the dog's whatsits and I truly dread to think where we would be without them to 'ease the JPA & Allowances transition'. If I'm audited, when I get back - and I think I will be because of the 'policy violations' of buying hire car petrol on my own credit card (no GPC as of yet) - I'm hoping the Excel Spread Sheet will make that process as easy as possible for me and the allowances team.
Regards
SIT Head
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I'd agree, the meals are a nightmare, the admin burden is much greater than before, and the tipping situation leaves us all out of pocket, especially when you've had enough of the bill faff when it comes to paying, and you go for the 'oh, it's just easier to round it up to the nearest £10 and split it'.
The system is clearly designed for the single MOD person who has to nip down to a meeting in London, stay over night in a hotel, and come back. Definitely not for a crew of 15 going down route for a week with 3 different currencies, working at all hours of the night.
Whilst I appreciate a lot of the snags are because we are new to the system (Bloggs has to be told for the third time how to fill in his daily rate sheet and that yes, you can have a paper, yes you can carry your 3 minutes call over till tomorrow, and where are your bl@@dy receipts?), I physically cannot fill in all the paperwork, collect all the monies owed and balance the books in a 4 hour sector whilst still fulfilling my cockpit responsibilities safely if at all.
And after a 16 hr crew duty day, my guys will not hang on for 2 hours on the ground to square it away either.
There MUST be a better way......oh I know one, the old system! 
The system is clearly designed for the single MOD person who has to nip down to a meeting in London, stay over night in a hotel, and come back. Definitely not for a crew of 15 going down route for a week with 3 different currencies, working at all hours of the night.
Whilst I appreciate a lot of the snags are because we are new to the system (Bloggs has to be told for the third time how to fill in his daily rate sheet and that yes, you can have a paper, yes you can carry your 3 minutes call over till tomorrow, and where are your bl@@dy receipts?), I physically cannot fill in all the paperwork, collect all the monies owed and balance the books in a 4 hour sector whilst still fulfilling my cockpit responsibilities safely if at all.
And after a 16 hr crew duty day, my guys will not hang on for 2 hours on the ground to square it away either.
There MUST be a better way......oh I know one, the old system!
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I wouldn't condone it myself. But I've heard rumours of various establishments 'around the bazaars' that are willing to provide 'hand written' receipts upon request...
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Hmmmm,great idea if you fancy being CM'd.I wholeheartedly recommend and I speak from personal experience,that you under no circumstances go down that route.I would rather be out of pocket than repeat that experience!
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We have been told that if it cost less than a fiver you can self certificate an do not need reciepts. So a bit more paperwork but just claiming for single purchases throughout the day of nothing more than 5 quid in value..............no brainer really guys.
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
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RUBBISH!!
Totally with 6 footer on this one. An absolute nightmare trying to keep abreast of things when away for more than a nightstop. Yes it means that you can all go out for a lovely meal, which can if I'm not mistaken include half a bottle of wine/2 beers-obviously as long as you are outwith the GASO approved limits (200' from aircraft isn't it??), but have heard of a large crew who opted for separate bills and it took 1.5 hours to sort out due to- a language & "I didn't have the chips" etc.- faff at the end of it. It is fine for a small 2-4 person set up which is probably the way that our civilian masters researched it as, but multiply to a crew of 15-18 then it becomes an embarrassing pain in the backside. And if its across in the "land of the free" then your 10% allowance for tipping is insufficient as the standard, unless I'm mistaken , is 15%.
Also, I've been on a crew who had to sort it all out on landing on the way back from a multi-stop trip because the sectors were too short to get the monies all in to the co-pilot. Our civilian counterparts must be laughing their socks off at us.
Bunch of A**E
Also, I've been on a crew who had to sort it all out on landing on the way back from a multi-stop trip because the sectors were too short to get the monies all in to the co-pilot. Our civilian counterparts must be laughing their socks off at us.
Bunch of A**E
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I guess that in some respects the "I didn't have chips" episodes shouldn't happen, as you have X dollars to spend, and if you don't spend X, then you lose it. As long as the bill doesn't come to more than X that is . . . .!!
System is unworkable for down route crews. Fleets that still have Co's working it are suffering cos of it.
It sucks.
System is unworkable for down route crews. Fleets that still have Co's working it are suffering cos of it.
It sucks.
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I think i'm right in saying that if you ask your waitress to put 15% of the total charge on the bill as a service charge, it cannot be deducted from your actual rate... The MoD picks up the tab for service, you get your full meal entitlement and the waitress gets her tip. The 10% fiasco only comes into play if service is not included on the bill and you have to cough-up "manually".
Also, we have had had a local agreement that only one person in the group need pay the bill (with a GPC card for instance). Everyone else effectively eats "free" within their allowance, and the bill payer only has to submit the names of the other non-paying diners with the bill. The free-eaters will be audited to ensure they have not claimed for the same meal.
Lots more work for us, but I feel its even more work for the few HR/Adminers that are left to audit the system.
Also, we have had had a local agreement that only one person in the group need pay the bill (with a GPC card for instance). Everyone else effectively eats "free" within their allowance, and the bill payer only has to submit the names of the other non-paying diners with the bill. The free-eaters will be audited to ensure they have not claimed for the same meal.
Lots more work for us, but I feel its even more work for the few HR/Adminers that are left to audit the system.
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True about the "chips" saga FFP, but say for example Capt A spends his lunchtime in his pit while co pilot B goes out for a bijoux strollette and upons a nice little bistro which sells a myriad of tempting delicacies all over the self certification bracket. He later joins Capt A who fancies the Chateaubriand for 2 for 1. Co pilot B has only X dollars (minus the bistro cake-out) to spend whereas Capt A has his full allowance. Unless they're willing to share the bill ie total divided by no of crew etc, in which case co pilot B better have enough to cover the split or if not he'll be out of pocket - provided JPA have remembered to pay his flying pay this month also.....................
You're right though, it sucks!!
You're right though, it sucks!!
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Top quality bleating folks................you don't deserve to use an Ascot callsign you bunch of old women
"It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap"
So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief
"the "I didn't have chips" episodes shouldn't happen"
It's happened for years, I have lost count of the occasions when some chisseler has had a steak the size of Bournmouth with a bottle some epensive plonk while the rest of us have played the game
The extra paperwork is a pain but after a couple of months/route we will all be used to it's vagries andthe extra work for the imprest holder seems to be a bit of a red herring. I give you money, you, if you are not clever enough to spend it all, may give me some back. Even I can do sums of that magnitude. I give you paerwork for YOU to fill out, for YOU to do your sums on, and for YOU to clip YOUR reciepts to. If YOUR sums are wrong etc it's YOU at audit time who needs to explain, NOT ME.
It's a piece of cake guys
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
"It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap"
So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief
"the "I didn't have chips" episodes shouldn't happen"
It's happened for years, I have lost count of the occasions when some chisseler has had a steak the size of Bournmouth with a bottle some epensive plonk while the rest of us have played the game
The extra paperwork is a pain but after a couple of months/route we will all be used to it's vagries andthe extra work for the imprest holder seems to be a bit of a red herring. I give you money, you, if you are not clever enough to spend it all, may give me some back. Even I can do sums of that magnitude. I give you paerwork for YOU to fill out, for YOU to do your sums on, and for YOU to clip YOUR reciepts to. If YOUR sums are wrong etc it's YOU at audit time who needs to explain, NOT ME.
It's a piece of cake guys
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
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Originally Posted by Always_broken_in_wilts
Top quality bleating folks................you don't deserve to use an Ascot callsign you bunch of old women
"It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap"
So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief
"the "I didn't have chips" episodes shouldn't happen"
It's happened for years, I have lost count of the occasions when some chisseler has had a steak the size of Bournmouth with a bottle some epensive plonk while the rest of us have played the game
The extra paperwork is a pain but after a couple of months/route we will all be used to it's vagries andthe extra work for the imprest holder seems to be a bit of a red herring. I give you money, you, if you are not clever enough to spend it all, may give me some back. Even I can do sums of that magnitude. I give you paerwork for YOU to fill out, for YOU to do your sums on, and for YOU to clip YOUR reciepts to. If YOUR sums are wrong etc it's YOU at audit time who needs to explain, NOT ME.
It's a piece of cake guys
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
"It's a daily allowance, so that's yer lot! So, if you're working/flying hours are outside the norm, then we've been finding that those days show an underspend on the cap"
So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief
"the "I didn't have chips" episodes shouldn't happen"
It's happened for years, I have lost count of the occasions when some chisseler has had a steak the size of Bournmouth with a bottle some epensive plonk while the rest of us have played the game
The extra paperwork is a pain but after a couple of months/route we will all be used to it's vagries andthe extra work for the imprest holder seems to be a bit of a red herring. I give you money, you, if you are not clever enough to spend it all, may give me some back. Even I can do sums of that magnitude. I give you paerwork for YOU to fill out, for YOU to do your sums on, and for YOU to clip YOUR reciepts to. If YOUR sums are wrong etc it's YOU at audit time who needs to explain, NOT ME.
It's a piece of cake guys
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
Must be very difficult for you southside chaps to fill in your capped actuals sheets whilst beating up the LA hold YET AGAIN!!!!
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"Southside Chaps"
I'll have you know there are no unpleasant aromas or caravan discussions on the six bladed beast I have the pleasure of flying on
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
I'll have you know there are no unpleasant aromas or caravan discussions on the six bladed beast I have the pleasure of flying on
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
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Always Broken In Wilts
There's always one - and you appear, once more, to be it. I've typed this slowly 'cos you probably can't read very fast.
'So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief'
Okay, let me see if I can help educate you. Have a look on Google Earth - it's a free download so you won't need to fritter away your hard earned - and have a look at the USA. It's big isn't it? Next, try to find Texas, that's the big bit at the bottom of the States and in the middle - known as the Lonestar State. That's pretty big too. Now, have a look around Texas - or some of the other States, travel is supposed to broaden the mind and you'll find some densely populated places - (look for houses and roads and stuff, that's the give-away) and some very sparsely populated areas (look for no houses and roads and stuff - another give-away). Fact is, durrrr, that not everywhere in the USA has a 24hr lifestyle. Granted, some places and cities are 24-7, but not where we currently are. Everywhere shuts at 2200 - (that's 10pm to you) which means, getting back to the thread, the capped actuals remove the flexibility of carrying over one's allowances which will, in my humble opinion, lead to a subsequent overall reduction of the capped rates in due course.
As for an ASCOT callsign - never used one - I'm afraid our work is way too secret for something like that. I'd like to tell you about it, but - well, you wouldn't have the clearances.
There's always one - and you appear, once more, to be it. I've typed this slowly 'cos you probably can't read very fast.
'So lets get this right you are in the home of 24hr EVERYTHING and you can't manage to spend your meagre capped actual........good grief'
Okay, let me see if I can help educate you. Have a look on Google Earth - it's a free download so you won't need to fritter away your hard earned - and have a look at the USA. It's big isn't it? Next, try to find Texas, that's the big bit at the bottom of the States and in the middle - known as the Lonestar State. That's pretty big too. Now, have a look around Texas - or some of the other States, travel is supposed to broaden the mind and you'll find some densely populated places - (look for houses and roads and stuff, that's the give-away) and some very sparsely populated areas (look for no houses and roads and stuff - another give-away). Fact is, durrrr, that not everywhere in the USA has a 24hr lifestyle. Granted, some places and cities are 24-7, but not where we currently are. Everywhere shuts at 2200 - (that's 10pm to you) which means, getting back to the thread, the capped actuals remove the flexibility of carrying over one's allowances which will, in my humble opinion, lead to a subsequent overall reduction of the capped rates in due course.
As for an ASCOT callsign - never used one - I'm afraid our work is way too secret for something like that. I'd like to tell you about it, but - well, you wouldn't have the clearances.
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One of the joys of not doing so well at school appears to be having the ability to find an open source of libation when ever needed............apart from the sand pit of course
Just a thought though, I am typing slowly cos I am obviously thick, just how when everywhere shuts at 10pm where you are would the old system have been any more benifit to you in obtaining food and drink
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
Just a thought though, I am typing slowly cos I am obviously thick, just how when everywhere shuts at 10pm where you are would the old system have been any more benifit to you in obtaining food and drink
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
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Originally Posted by Always_broken_in_wilts
E
Just a thought though, I am typing slowly cos I am obviously thick, just how when everywhere shuts at 10pm where you are would the old system have been any more benifit to you in obtaining food and drink
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
Just a thought though, I am typing slowly cos I am obviously thick, just how when everywhere shuts at 10pm where you are would the old system have been any more benifit to you in obtaining food and drink
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
"which means, getting back to the thread, the capped actuals remove the flexibility of carrying over one's allowances which will, in my humble opinion, lead to a subsequent overall reduction of the capped rates in due course"
Regards SH
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There are two very distinct points here SH and you are really missing one of them, so let ME reitterate
"which means, getting back to the thread, the capped actuals remove the flexibility of carrying over one's allowances which will, in my humble opinion, lead to a subsequent overall reduction of the capped rates in due course" BOLLEAUX
If those in reciept of capped actuals are too stupid or unimaginative to plan a daily expenditure to fully utilise the capped actual allowance then I get your point fully but as I, typing slowly again as I am obviously thick, do not fall into that bracket I disregard your view.
You may be able to hit the bullseye with a 1000lb'r dude but try thinking outside the bubble man, it's what Ascot crews have been doing for years Hope to see you down route some time to buy you a beer and discuss.
all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced
"which means, getting back to the thread, the capped actuals remove the flexibility of carrying over one's allowances which will, in my humble opinion, lead to a subsequent overall reduction of the capped rates in due course" BOLLEAUX
If those in reciept of capped actuals are too stupid or unimaginative to plan a daily expenditure to fully utilise the capped actual allowance then I get your point fully but as I, typing slowly again as I am obviously thick, do not fall into that bracket I disregard your view.
You may be able to hit the bullseye with a 1000lb'r dude but try thinking outside the bubble man, it's what Ascot crews have been doing for years
Hope to see you down route some time to buy you a beer and discuss.all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced