As well as the obvious need to promptly record supermarket bills and shared meals in the sesh book, and to tick off bier as it is drunk, the entries in the sesh book should be transcribed into the bank of expo every couple of days. Keeping up with this data entry saves an immense amount of time later on. +
The 2016 expo bierbook and seshbook were scanned and can be downloaded (13MB and 5 MB) from here: expofiles/writeups/2016/ diff --git a/handbook/finance.html b/handbook/finance.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4d283eb48 --- /dev/null +++ b/handbook/finance.html @@ -0,0 +1,162 @@ + + +
+ +The two parts deal with the theory and practice of Expo accounting respectively.
+ +These documents were written to explain how we ran the Expo accounts in the years 1997-1999. I hope they will help smooth the hand-over to future treasurers; they may be particularly useful if there are no ex-treasurers in Cambridge.
+ +Archived copies of past expo accounting policy can be found here. Read the most recent one: +
Expo will undoubtedly change as the years go by; please try to keep these documents up to date, the files in order and ensure a smooth hand-over to your successor. Good luck!
+ + +Expo is ongoing. Each year's Expo inherits equipment and a little money from its predecessor; similarly, we should leave next year's Expo a reasonable stock of equipment and 'float' money.
+ + +The money to run Expo comes from two sources: principally from each year's participants, and secondarily through grants from bodies such as the Ghar Parau Foundation. In addition, numerous companies have provided sponsorship, mainly in the form of food.
+ +Most Expo costs are paid in the UK and 'in the field' by members of Expo. All these expenses during expo are recorded in the Expo Bier Book and Sesh Book - usually in euros. +After the expedition, the Expo treasurer processes this data to work out who owes and who is owed money. Everyone settles up before the next Expo (hopefully!).
+ +Expo incurs cost in the following areas:
+ +[Note that in 2020 we are considering introducing an emissions policy to encourage low-carbon behaviour such as car-sharing and trains rather than nearly-empty cars and planes.] + +
In addition, we coordinate various services for members:
+ +CUCC and Expo have separate bank accounts, often administered by separate people; both are run to break even over the year. Expo works in partnership with CUCC to prevent unnecessary duplication of resources; CUCC equipment is used on Expo and vice-versa. Apart from these mutual efficiency gains, Expo and CUCC do not subsidise each other.
+ +This is an online system which does accounting. It is not a bank: it just keeps records of how expenses are allocated and who has paid what. See the Bank of Expo webpage for a longer description and all the documentation. + +
The bill each person receives depends on:
+ +How each of these areas has been dealt with traditionally is described below. Future treasurers may wish to change this, but should be prepared for 'heated debate'...
+ + +Reasonable Expo expenses recorded in the bier book will be refunded. The Expo treasurer determines what is reasonable, but generally Expo only pays for what it gets, and only buys what it needs.
+ + +The daily costs of Expo (food, campsite fees, gaz, fuel for stoves, dishcloths, etc) are added up and a per-person-per-night cost evaluated. Each member is then charged according to the number of days he/she spent on Expo. The number of nights on expo, and whether they were at basecamp or not, are recorded in the Expo Bier Book
+ + +In the past the cost of equipment purchase and maintenance were divided equally among everyone who went caving, usually irrespective of how long they were on Expo; this was to encourage people to make good use of the gear and make it easier for people (often students) to spend the full 5 weeks on Expo. [The caver fiddle factor (normally either 0 or 1) is used in applying this charge]. In recent years this policy has been modified to more precisely represent the costs, and encouragement of poor students done through a separate bursery mechanism.
+ + +The popular/cheap Austrian Bier Gösser is bought communally. Each member's bier consumption is recorded in the Bier Book and the appropriate amount charged to them. A similar scheme operates for lemonade and radler.
+ + + +The Expo Sesh Book is used for sessions and group purchases, such as when one person pays for a meal or several Hallstatt pedalo tickets.
+ +Personal stuff bought with Expo food shopping can also be managed through the Expo Sesh Book. Shared meals, including those eaten at the Gasthof at basecamp, have their costs shared through the Sesh Book. +
If someone runs out of cash on Expo, another member can lend him or her some money that is documented in the Sesh Book. + +
Expo doesn't pay for personal food/drink, only that consumed at basecamp or up the mountain.
+ + + + +Grants may come from the GPF, other funding bodies or through students from their college. Expo sometimes uses some of this money to purchase specific high capital items; in 1999 this was a six-berth tent and two mobile phones, in 2018 it was for half a Cavelink radio system. The remaining money may be managed as a bursery or divided amongst the unwaged members on Expo, using the grantshare fiddle factor. Grantshare ranges from 0 for no entitlement to 1 for full entitlement.
+ ++Photographers retain copyright of their material, but give Expo the 'right to reproduce' their photographs for Expo and CUCC journals, slideshows, etc. This assignment of right to reproduce is assumed when a member arrives at expo. + +
Now read about How to be the expo treasurer. + +
The daily costs of Expo (food, campsite fees, gaz, fuel for stoves, dishcloths, etc) are added up and a per-person-per-night cost evaluated. Each member is then charged according to the number of days he/she spent on Expo.
- - -The cost of equipment purchase and maintenance are normally divided equally among everyone who went caving, irrespective of how long they were on Expo; this is to encourage people to make good use of the gear and make it easier for people (often students) to spend the full 5 weeks on Expo. The caver fiddle factor (normally either 0 or 1) is used in applying this charge.
- - -The popular/cheap Austrian Bier Gösser is bought communally. Each member's bier consumption is recorded in the Bier Book and the appropriate amount charged to them. A similar scheme operates for lemonade.
- - - -If someone runs out of cash on Expo, another member can lend him or her some money that can then be repaid through the Bills. The amount is added to the debtor's bill and taken off the creditor's bill. This can also be used for group purchases, such as when one person pays for several Hallstatt pedalo tickets.
- -Personal stuff bought with Expo food shopping can be managed in one of two ways:
-Either way, Expo doesn't pay for personal food/drink.
- -Swaps will only be considered if entered in both the debtor's and creditor's page in the Bier Book, or the treasurer can be reasonably sure that the debtor was aware of the transaction.
- - -Grants may come from the GPF, other funding bodies or through students from their college. Expo sometimes uses some of this money to purchase specific high capital items; in 1999 this was a six-berth tent and two mobile phones. The remaining money is divided amongst the unwaged members on Expo, using the grantshare fiddle factor. Grantshare ranges from 0 for no entitlement to 1 for full entitlement.
- - -This section details some things I found as Expo treasurer, which I hope will help you avoid some of my errors/worries....
+This section details some things Earl found as Expo treasurer in 1999, since updated, which we hope will help you avoid some errors and worries.
So what does this Expo treasurer do? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is as follows:
Jobs marked * are particularly large and could well be delegated if you have enough people.)
-Your task, appreciated by a few, will require time, effort and perseverance...
+Try to get someone else to do these even though they involves expo funds: +
In the beginning were the grant applications. At least, there were if last year's committee remembered their responsibilities, so first check that they have been submitted! Also track down the ex-treasurer (if he didn't get you first!) and get the bank details and get yourself as a signatory to the account.
-You may find at first that the Expo committee is just you and the Expo Leader. Help him/her find and pressgang victims persuade volunteers for the other committee posts:
There are copies of lettes requesting grants on the expo online systems letters archive. + +
You may find at first that the Expo committee is just you and the Expo Leader. Help him/her find and pressgang victims persuade volunteers for the other committee roles:
Absolutely refuse (politely) to do any of these yourself. You have enough to do.
Even before you've got a full committee, start promoting Expo as the top experience it is. Start taking deposits. Ask for £100 before Expo, as installments of £40 and £60. Of course, people can pay it all at once if they want!
+Even before you've got a full committee, start promoting Expo as the top experience it is. Start taking deposits. Ask for £200 before Expo, as installments of £80 and £120. Of course, people can pay it all at once if they want!
The deposits are to give Expo some cash to buy gear. Try and get most people to pay up; people paying for a lot of gear in Cambridge (e.g. for top camp meals and the chief fettler) may request not to pay their deposit. Certainly get at least the first deposit of anyone potentially 'unreliable' (i.e. you haven't seen caving or hasn't been on Expo before) before you spend any money on him/her. Hassle everybody else too :-)
-A good way to get the deposits is with the Expo form. This is completed by each person wanting to go on the Expo. Have a look at past year's forms (stored on the PWF). The forms get you, as treasurer, (hopefully) all the information you'll need to start organising Expo. People are often pretty lousy at completing or even starting their forms, but you'll need an idea of when people want to go on Expo and a list of contact addresses etc. Distribute the forms at:
+A good way to get the deposits is with the Expo form. This is completed by each person wanting to go on the Expo. Have a look at past year's forms. The forms get you, as treasurer, (hopefully) all the information you'll need to start organising Expo. People are often pretty lousy at completing or even starting their forms, but you'll need an idea of when people want to go on Expo and a list of contact addresses etc. Distribute the forms:
There is an on-line version of the form on the PWF, and possibly even a Perl script for processing the responses. Find a suitable compsci or engineer to fix it; it's not difficult. The web form can be completed on-line or printed out and sent to you.
+There was an on-line version of the form in 2014, and possibly even a script for processing the responses. Find a suitable nerd to fix it; it's not difficult. The web form can be completed on-line or printed out and sent to you.
-Advertise Expo and the web address of the form on the CUCC and EXCS mailing lists, soc-cucc@lists.cam.ac.uk and excs@survex.com respectively. You could send the form by email. If you do this, create a plain text version and send it in the body of your message. Do not send it as an attachment and certainly not as an MS Word file, or you'll get rants about compatibility with non-windows computers...
-New requirements set by the GPF/NCA mean that all Expo members will need to be members of a club/organisation which is in turn a member of the NCA in order for Expo to get any grant money. I'm not sure whether EXCS is a member of the NCA (I doubt it), but CUCC is. So make sure people have paid their membership fees too.
+In the past requirements set by the GPF/NCA meant that all Expo members needed to be members of a club/organisation which is in turn a member of the NCA in order for Expo to get any grant money. ICheck whether this is still true.
Expo has a number of gear requirements distinct from CUCC in the UK; these include spits & cones, a serviceable trailer, surveying instruments and some carbide. In recent years we have borrowed Wookey's trailer. We own our own surveying instruments, but they may need expensive maintenance and are very expensive to replace. Spits, cones, carbide and other caving gear are often bought with a large communal order from Bernies.
+Expo has a number of gear requirements distinct from CUCC in the UK; these include rings, hangers, drills, bolts, surveying instruments and long ropes. We own our own surveying instruments, but they may need expensive maintenance and are very expensive to replace. Consumables and other caving gear are often bought with a large communal order from Yorkshire.
Try and place Expo gear orders jointly with CUCC main orders to maximise the discount we can get. Invite club members to buy their personal gear at the same time. Work with the CUCC main committee to eliminate unnecessary duplication of resources; there is a web page describing CUCC equipment purchasing.
-There are certain to be a number of equipment fettling jobs to be done in the UK before departure, such as updating the First Aid kits and ensuring all hangers have a maillon, bolt and circlip. Hopefully the Tackle Master will co-ordinate this...
- -How much of this happens depends on how keen and how many Expo members you have. In 1999 we placed an order with Field & Trek, where we got the group sales rate of 'up to' 25% off their normal prices. Bernies will normally give 10% off medium to large orders, or 20% on large orders if you give him a few days notice. Recently (1998/9), it has seemed that Bernies offers better value than Inglesport; Dragon do excellent tackle sack repairs for £10 per sack. Caving Supplies are about the only people who make caving ladders, but the club has made its own: see the Tackle Store web pages.
+How much of this happens depends on how keen and how many Expo members you have. In 1999 we placed an order with Field & Trek, where we got the group sales rate of 'up to' 25% off their normal prices. Bernies will normally give 10% off medium to large orders, or 20% on large orders if you give him a few days notice. Recently (1998/9), it has seemed that Bernies offers better value than Inglesport; Dragon do excellent tackle sack repairs for £10 per sack.
This involves paying money in, writing cheques and looking after the statements. Statements are currently sent to the Expo Treasurer's address, which is changed for each treasurer. You could get them sent to Dr James Hickson, the CUCC Senior Treasurer at Pembroke. This would mean less changing of addresses, but add delay/uncertainty to your receiving the statements.
-The deposits cover most of the insurance costs. Equipment orders are normally paid for by Expo or CUCC main, with the other then repaying their share. The float money (about £850 at the end of 1999) can be used as necessary, but should be replenished at the end of each year. The float was increased from £100 at the end of 1997 when the GPF grant was recieved late. The extra money is very useful for smoothing the cash flow: in 1999 the CUCC Main and Meets accounts were emptied and the Expo Account float used, as over £3000 was spent from the accounts before Expo on tackle, tents, tshirts and insurance. Do not let the account go overdrawn.
- -The Expo account is with National Westminster, number 22997253, sort code 60-04-23 (King's Parade branch). Internet banking may be available for this account, but we haven't got it yet. Remember to give the bank the signature authority forms to authorise your successor before you leave Cambridge.
+Equipment orders are normally paid for by Expo or CUCC main, with the other then repaying their share. The float money (about £850 at the end of 1999) can be used as necessary, but should be replenished at the end of each year. The extra money is very useful for smoothing the cash flow. Do not let the account go overdrawn.
+The Expo account is with National Westminster, number 22997253, sort code 60-04-23 (King's Parade branch). Remember to give the bank the signature authority forms to authorise your successor before you leave Cambridge.
+ +The Expo Bier Book and Sesh Book is a record of every expedition expenditure and many administrative details of Expo. Refined over many years, the format now consists of the following sections:
+ +The expenses and sesh swaps are also copied online into the bank of expo and the bier book and sesh book are annotated when when an expense has been transcribed. -
The Expo Bier Book is a record of every expedition expenditure and many administrative details of Expo. Refined over many years, the format now consists of the following sections:
Anything else financial can also be included, particularly notes to the treasurer. The Bier Book, Log Book and Survey Book together make the original source documentation for each Expo.
+Anything else financial can also be included, particularly notes to the treasurer. The Bier Book, Sesh Book, Logbook, Callout Books and Survey Wallets file together make the original source documentation for each Expo.
-The largest single bill in Austria will be the campsite bill, at about ös 55 per person per night plus electricity. Obviously the bill depends on how big Expo is; in 1999 it was over £800. How this is paid depends on how many people you have around at the end of Expo. If there are enough then the simplest method is for them just to pay Hilde and claim the cost back through the Bier Book. However, if there are not going to be enough people with sufficient cash around at the end, you should start the Expo Kitty. This is a jar, in which everyone is encouraged to leave cash towards the campsite bill. This is entered in the Bier Book as a swap to Kitty. If the kitty has too little cash, someone around at the end of Expo should use a credit card to make up the balance.
- -It's not a good idea to collect vastly more cash than we need, as it could get lost or the Austrian banks could change their bank notes before the next Expo. You could try closing the kitty when it has enough cash, though people like to get rid of their few spare schillings and may moan if others could but they can't. If there is too much in the kitty, we could either ask to pre-pay some of next year's bill, or take it back to Expo the following year.
- -If it will be needed, make sure the kitty is started early on so everyone can contribute something. If you let people freely add/withdraw cash, make periodic checks that the contents are as indicated in the Bier Book: it's quite easy for people to forget to record an entry. If you're not there at the end of Expo yourself, you'll need to put someone responsible in charge of paying the bill and bringing any remaining cash back to Cambridge.
+The largest single bill in Austria will be the campsite bill. Obviously the bill depends on how big Expo is; in 2018 it was over €2,000. How this is paid depends on how many people you have around at the end of Expo. If there are enough then the simplest method is for them just to pay Hilde and claim the cost back through the Bank of Expo. However, if there are not going to be enough people with sufficient cash around at the end, you should start collecting advance payements from attendees anticipating their eventual bills.
The Bier Book should be a complete picture of all Expo financial transactions. You can save yourself a lot of typing (possibly) if you put a blank version of the Expo spreadsheet on the Expo PC in the Potato Hut. Then people can type thier own data into the spreadsheet while on Expo, which also provides some protection against the loss of the bier book. However, you may find it difficult to track down mistakes and duplications later, particularly in Swaps transactions.
+The Bier Book and Sesh Book, as copied into the Bank of Expo, should be a complete picture of all Expo financial transactions. -
You'll receive some Bier Book entries by email, post and word of mouth after Expo, as people's credit card bills come in. Set a deadline (say, 40 days after the end of Expo) and add all entries to the Bier Book. Include all the other relevant transactions on the other CUCC accounts.
+You'll receive some Bier Book & Sesh Book entries by email, post and word of mouth after Expo, as people's credit card bills come in. Set a deadline (say, 40 days after the end of Expo) and add all entries to the Bank of Expo. Include all the other relevant transactions on the other Expo accounts.
-Once all the various expenses have been entered in the bier book (it's probably September/October by now), you're ready to tackle the spreadsheet. You don't have to use the spreadsheet, but it's best to unless you're a database wizard. Appendix B describes using the spreadsheet. Basically you remove the sheets for last years members, copy new blank pages for this year's members and then add this year's data. It's fairly straightforward, but lengthy and requires concentration.
+Once all the various expenses have been entered in the Bank of Expo (it's probably September/October by now), you're ready to tackle the spreadsheet. Here is the 2014 Expo spreadsheet - but this predates Bank of Expo, so hassle a mroe recent treasuer to get the latest copy. You don't have to use the spreadsheet, but it's best to unless you're a database wizard. Basically you remove the sheets for last years members, copy new blank pages for this year's members and then add this year's data. It's fairly straightforward, but lengthy and requires concentration.
All expenditures in the Bier Book will fall into one of the categories:
@@ -338,15 +232,14 @@In 1999, the tshirts, insurance, Expo Dinner and various gear orders were handled as swaps on specific days outside Expo. The swap sum-to-zero check usefully determines that Expo is not out of pocket (or shows how much by, so you can recover this by a charge in the Misc category). It would be possible to create new categories for insurance etc, but this would require thoughtful modification to the spreadsheet structure. Don't break it! (Someone really ought to develop an Expo database...)
What is paid for is determined by the principles described in part 1 of this document. Once all the data has been entered, check that each person has been allocated appropriate traveller, caver and grantshare values.
-The bills have traditionally been paid by the debtors writing cheques to the creditors. Some debtors pay the Expo Account, which then pays any outstanding amount due to the creditors. This means you match each debtor to a creditor and tell both of them that the debtor will pay the creditor. This means the creditor can hassle the debtor if necessary without you having to bother. You can also match husbands & wives or people who live in the same part of the country together. You can make sure that reliable people pay the Expo account and that less reliable people pay their friends. Usually only the Expo account has to write more than one cheque.
-When sending out the Expo bills, give the addresses of the creditors. Send individual emails personally to each member, rather that announcing it on communal emails. This reduces the amount of ranting about 'Why's my bill more than his?'. However, if anyone asks, have the relevant data ready.
-Andy Waddington (austria @ pennine.demon.co.uk) would be interested in some accounting trivia, such as the number of Gössers drunk, the times underground, etc.
+When sending out the Expo bills, include the addresses of the creditors. Send individual emails personally to each member, rather that announcing it on communal emails. This reduces the amount of ranting about 'Why's my bill more than his?'. However, if anyone asks, have the relevant data ready.
+ +Record accounting trivia, such as the number of Gössers drunk, the times underground, etc.
Archive all the accounts on the Expo online systems in expofiles/accounts and keep scanned copies of the Bier Book and Sesh Book in expofiles/writeups/ You'll need several Expo Committee meetings. Firstly to plan what should be done, and later to check that all the jobs are being done. If someone just isn't pulling their weight or has too much else to do, the committee meetings should be used to provide encouragement (!) and/or redistribute the workload. I suppose one of the jobs of the Expo Leader is to check that everything is going to plan, be he/she won't always think of everything on their own. See the checklists in the appendices. You'll need several Expo Committee meetings. Firstly to plan what should be done, and later to check that all the jobs are being done. If someone just isn't pulling their weight or has too much else to do, the committee meetings should be used to provide encouragement (!) and/or redistribute the workload. I suppose one of the jobs of the Expo Leader is to check that everything is going to plan, be he/she won't always think of everything on their own. See the checklists in the expo planning guide Remember that all the Expo committee are volunteers (more or less of their own volition :-), but they may have different priorities and/or different reasons for participating than yourself. This can make committee work interesting or taxing, depending on your viewpoint, but try to keep Expo as an adventure rather than a chore; it's worth it in the end. This document was written to describe how the CUCC Expo is financed. It is primarily a guide for first-time Expo Treasurers, though part 1 may also be of use to any Expo Treasurer. Part 1 described the principle of the Expo finances: the sources of income and expenditure and the principles behind the Expo billing system. Part 2 described the role of the treasurer and details on the practical side of being Expo Treasurer. Part 1 described the principle of the Expo finances: the sources of income and expenditure and the principles behind the Expo billing system.
+ Part 2 described the role of the treasurer and details on the practical side of being Expo Treasurer. Being Expo Treasurer will involve quite a lot of work. Remember the need to be open and fair. Good Luck! Top. BCRA Insurance is charged at cost to anyone who obtains it through the club, as are Expo T-shirts and meals at the Expo Dinner. All these are charged using Swaps (see below) to the relevant account.Committees...
@@ -385,22 +280,22 @@
Conclusions
+Summary
-
+
Archaic - for historic purposes only
BCRA Expedition Insurance
@@ -436,8 +331,7 @@ Email: jc@johnmcooper.freeserve.co.uk
