Money Not Enough

I'm so frustrated with my co's reimbursement policy.


I've been "appointed" (more like "arrowed") to come up with a user guide book within 2 days. In addition, I had to design a step-by-step leaflet for the user.


So yours truly, had to crack my brains, worked late in order to deliver the tasks. Last Thursday, I completed the guide book & started printing 60 copies x 25 pgs x 2 sided of the user guide internally last Thursday. I had to then send these printed pages out to the supplier for binding. Separately, I had to purchase 60pcs of plastic clear files to be binded together with the books to store additional leaflets. I then went sourcing for a printer who was able to produce the leaflet (A5 size, hard paper) in less than 1 day.


Thankfully, I managed to complete the task and delivered all 60 copies of user guide last Friday.
On behalf of my company, I paid cash of S$355 in all.


My boss was so pleased. One of the Manager shook my hand & said "Bravo". I was cursing him in my heart.


My target this week - to reproduce 90 copies of the same booklets.

So I set myself to printing this morning (90 x 25 pgs x 2 sided).

Ran to bookstores to purchase stock for 90pcs of files. Ordered additional leaflet again.

I spent an addition of S$450 today.


I wrote to the FM asking if she could kindly to reimburse me asap as I paid S$800 in cash for the supplies and that these are small shops in Bras Basah and they do not grant credit terms.


I then receive a rebuting email from her. She commented that I shld go thru co's appointed supplier... blah blah and go thru proper procedure to wait for reimbursement. The FM was very unhappy. In fact, she has been unhappy over the fact that my dept requests for chqs in advance to pay our suppliers (COD terms). What can we do? We need to place orders with suppliers on ad-hoc basis. Small businesses like the ones I approach last week cannot possibly allow us credit terms. It's impossible to plan our purchases in advance if our management keeps throwing us urgent work, urgent orders, urgent shit.


Last week, we had to order satellite phones for one of our affiliates. It was really urgent request as we have some colleagues "trapped" in a country. We've lost contact with them due to political reasons and we had to pay customs tax in order to receive the phones. I requested for a chq. 2 days later, my boss asked me about the chq. When I rang my colleague up, she said "the FM told me not to give your dept any chqs". I was so pissed off.


Straight away, I said "Please hang on. I will transfer this call to my Boss and you can tell him that he cannot have the chq to pay the customs!" She got frightened and let me have a chq the next working day.


I am very unhappy with her division too - keep misplacing suppliers' invoices, not reading & replying to emails, replying to fellow colleagues unprofessionally & even speaking to me in that awful aunty tones. Worst, calling me every other day, whining over the phone for up to 15mins... and at the end of the month, they cannot deliver the payments as promised.


Frankly, I hope I will not turn out to be like them.