20th CPTS rolls on with new "virtual finance" Published July 15, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Alexandria Mosness 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- The Air Force introduced a new virtual finance page to give back needed time to Airmen and civilians. The new site provides a host of secure financial services that Airmen can access with the click of the mouse. "This redesigned page greatly enhances finance do-it-yourself capabilities, making the Web and online assistance your initial resource to obtain financial help," said Dr. Jamie Morin, the assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller. The new site replaced the "Money-Finance Central" page on the Air Force Portal, and its gives the customers the same online capabilities commercial financial institutions offer their customers. Not only is it giving back time to the Airmen, but also to comptroller squadrons. "The virtual finance website makes things easier for the finance office, as well as the member and dependent," said Betsy Eveland, 20th Comptroller Squadron financial management analyst. "When members can get their own answers it minimizes the time away from work to make a call or a special trip to have a technician answer their questions." Simple questions Airmen might not know the answer to can now be solved by opening up the web page. "For example, if you want to know what the Basic Allowance for Housing rate is for your new duty station you can choose 'I want to look up rates' and click on BAH rates," Eveland said. "It will take you directly to a site where you can type in the zip code of your new assignment location, along with your pay grade. It quickly calculates the BAH rate with and without dependents. You can also use it to see how much your BAH will increase when you get promoted. BAH is just one of the many questions that can be answered. It's a great site to get well informed about entitlements and procedures." But do not be alarmed, for issues that cannot be solved through the virtual finance page, customers can use a tool to look up their local financial services office phone number and email addresses. While click and call are the first steps in tackling finance issues, Airmen can still walk to their local financial services office and receive quality customer service, Dr. Morin added. With Airmen traveling the world due to deployments and TDYs, the site can give an answer even thousands of miles away. "Since the Shaw finance office services over 7,000 active duty members from Georgia to North Carolina to Pakistan and beyond, the virtual finance website enables members to get answers to many simple questions without needing to call or stop by the customer counter," Eveland said. "This allows the finance office to make the many updates to pay records and work with customers that need assistance with complicated situations." But, still some might wonder why this is important? "It is extremely important that active duty members know what entitlements they are authorized to receive as well as what should be deducted," Eveland said. "It is absolutely impossible to review every assigned member's paycheck and ensure it is accurate. We rely heavily on members to review the LES every month, know what pay is due and to let us know if it is inaccurate. The virtual finance website along with MyPay assists members in doing just that." The new virtual finance page is located under the portal's "Life and Career" tab and should not be confused with MyPay.