5. Financial Considerations

All Club Rides require a budget with details appropriate to the cost of the Ride. Hub & Spoke Rides with a $25 registration fee will require less detail than Tours in other countries. See note in 7b for large Chapter rides budgets and accounting. Ride expenses identified in the budget are to be paid, in total, by the participants, excluding the Tour Leader / Hub & Spoke Leader. Any unusual items in the budget, i.e. a RL’s pre-tour reconnaissance, side excursions by boat or bus, or special concessions to a volunteer driver, must be disclosed in the proposal.  Further considerations include:
5a. Ride Funds: Accumulated Ride fees will, each month, be transferred to the Club’s bank account, and a Ride accounting system developed. The RL can request from the CCCTS Treasurer, some portion of Ride funds to cover pre-Ride costs. Ride Leaders are encouraged to make use of a personal credit card to pay for Ride expenses rather than carrying large amounts of cash with them.    

5b. Spending and record keeping: The RL must safeguard and catalogue all Ride expense receipts for subsequent auditing by the Ride Auditor.

5c. Accounting procedures/foreign currency: See Appendix G for recommended Ride accounting practices. The final Ride accounting will be conducted as soon as possible after its completion. When dealing with foreign expenditures, the recommended procedure to demonstrate foreign currency exchange costs is to submit an appropriate credit card or bank statement showing the charged rate. 

5d1. Expenses for Ride Leaders of Tours: In recognition of the responsibility and efforts for planning, coordinating, leading and accounting during a tour, some personal expenses may be allowed as follows:  (June 10, 2019 CCCTS Board approved) 

i) For tours planned and lead by club volunteers, without the aid of a commercial tour company, the Tour Leader and Co-leader will each receive a free tour, and they will be exempt from paying the tour costs collected before the tour.

ii) Where there is no Co-Leader, the Tour Leader may either have their spouse or partner collect the second free tour, or the Leader may collect the equivalent amount as an expense at the end of the tour equal to 5% of the final net tour cost up to a maximum of one net single tour fee.

iii) Minor tour expenses directly chargeable to the tour such as long-distance telephone calls, printing and copying, supplies, etc. are reimbursed separately to the leader along with other receipts for tour expenses. Modest expenses are also allowed for reconnaissance of the tour route, as per the board-approved proposal.

iv) For tours organized by a Tour Coordinator, which is a club volunteer acting with the assistance of a Commercial Tour Company, the Tour Coordinator will receive a free Tour and is exempt from pre-tour costs . If there is a Tour Co-coordinator, the single free tour exemption is shared. (June 2019 Board meeting approved.)

5d2. Expenses for Ride Leaders of Hub and Spokes: 

Hub and Spoke expenses are as outlined in the Board-approved proposal.   Volunteers acting in leadership roles for Hub and Spoke events are exempt from the event registration fee, and may claim accommodation expenses up to a maximum of $500 for each of two Ride Leaders.  (June 10, 2019 and Nov. 27, 2023 CCCTS Board approved)

5e. Tour participant replacement Expenses for Ride Leaders: In the event that a fully paid up member of a tour cancels, and the official tour waitlist does not include a willing replacement at full fee, then the member cancelling is responsible for their share of the fixed tour costs. The vacant position can only be “sold” or “bargained away” by the member cancelling at a cost agreeable to both the seller and the buyer. This transaction, however, cannot be completed until the RL determines that the buyer meets the standards of the tour, e.g. riding skills, fitness, etc.  

Please note that all expense arrangements, including costs of ride reconnaissance and ride organization, must be presented to, and approved by, the Board of Directors, usually at the time of the ride’s proposal presentation to the Board. All claimed expenses will be supported by receipts or similar evidence and submitted for verification to the Club’s Auditor. A RL’s personal expenses will be reimbursed only after completion of the event’s audit and must be paid for from the Ride’s budget.