I may be a little naïve about the payments from MSC, Are there seriously some companies out there that are not paying us shoppers.
My life is busy and I don't keep track of all of the shops that I complete, And when payments come in.
I see a lot of discussions on the forums about not getting paid for shops that they have completed is this really true.
And I'm not talking about the shops that have not been excepted, because of not following directions, I'm talking about the shops that have been approved.

My personal opinion is that there are a lot of companies that take longer to pay than most shoppers, including me, would like. But most of them tell us up front what their payment schedule is and most of the companies actually meet that commitment or come within a couple of days. There are some bad companies who do not pay. Posts on this forum alerted me to Franchise Compliance and Freeman Group when they were slow-payers and no-payers, and both eventually went out of business, leaving thousands of dollars owed to shoppers unpaid. I think most companies pay the correct amount when they say they are going to pay.

One thing you have to keep in mind when you read on forums is that most of us are posting anonymously. We are strangers. Some discussions you read may be true, some may have some truth but not be completely true, and some may be outrageous lies.

That said, you should keep in mind that you are running a small business. It's important that you keep track of all the shops you complete and you should keep track of the payments when they come in.

It really is important to keep track of your shops and payments as well as what portion of the payment is earnings and what portion is reimbursement because while the former is taxable, the later is not. That being said . . .

There are indeed some companies that are slow payers per their stated pay cycle and there are some that seem to manage to miss their pay cycle--or at least your shop did. Within the past 12 months I have had to inquire about a $70 fee shop that fell completely through the cracks. Had I not inquired it would have stayed lost 'in the cracks' I feel sure. One company systematically shows a 'paid' date on their website with a correct amount, a check date and even a check number. Comparing notes with others, that original check never arrives. Their policy is that you cannot inquire about a payment for 30 days after it was 'made'. On day 31 you inquire and about a week later a 'reissued' check magically arrives. I don't work with them anymore and don't know of many shoppers who do. Then there are companies that you need to submit an invoice separate from your shop report. If you forget, you won't get paid. Then there are checks that genuinely get lost and need to be reissued.

More and more companies have abandoned the need for invoices and more and more pay by Paypal or direct deposit. This means that a lot of the payment problems have been solved. But unless you like working for free, keep track of your shops and payments.

I use a large desk calendar (yes, a real PAPER one). When a payment's due pretty far out (did a shop in May that's due to be paid next week), I make a note on the due date how much is due, how it's supposed to be paid
(paypal, DD, check), and check it off when it arrives.

It's up to you to keep track of what's due you. In fact, it's imperative to do so.

I keep my shop and payment details in a complex Excel workbook. Each MSC has its own worksheet, and and the pay schedule for them is listed. I can see at a glance what's due and when. If payment is late, I chase it.

Definitely keep track. I use a chart system with the companies down the side and the months across the top, then each month, as I do a shop, I put in the amount and have a running tab at the bottom for that months shops. I also have other pages in the same file that have a main title for the companies I worked for that month and under each title I write the job I did, the date I did it and what the payment was. I highlight them in green as they get completed, turn them to yellow when approved and then do a strike threw when paid. Then I go back to my main chart with the months and highlight those in yellow so I know at a glance who I am missing money from and how long it has been.

@roflwofl wrote:

Posts on this forum alerted me to Franchise Compliance and Freeman Group when they were slow-payers and no-payers, and both eventually went out of business, leaving thousands of dollars owed to shoppers unpaid.

Ditto. I never even bothered to register with those companies.

@roflwofl wrote:

That said, you should keep in mind that you are running a small business. It's important that you keep track of all the shops you complete and you should keep track of the payments when they come in.

Another ditto.

@Adore, We are running a business. It does not matter how busy your life is. The majority of us have very busy and sometimes stressful lives.

@ceasesmith wrote:

I use a large desk calendar (yes, a real PAPER one). When a payment's due pretty far out (did a shop in May that's due to be paid next week), I make a note on the due date how much is due, how it's supposed to be paid
(paypal, DD, check), and check it off when it arrives.

It's up to you to keep track of what's due you. In fact, it's imperative to do so.

OMGosh! I do this too! Except I used to pay $15 for those large desk calendars and one day I found one for $5.99 at Staples and it has everything on it, including the holidays.

@Adore, yes, companies pay at different rates. I think someone did a spreadsheet here awhile back. I don't keep track for most companies. You'll get to know who pays on time, every time. For them, I just wait for the money to show up (some of those companies are Mintel, Kinesis, A Closer Look, Ann Michaels, and Confero.) For others, I set a tickler on my computer to remind me to check (HS Brands, Intellishop, and Sentry are some of those.) Guess which companies I'd rather work for.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

I don't keep track for most companies. You'll get to know who pays on time, every time.

If you don't keep track of payments, mileage, reimbursements, expenses, how do you prepare your taxes? Ouija board? Magic 8 ball?

Let me rephrase. I don't keep track of the date a company owes me money. I don't do this full time, and the older I get, the fewer companies I work for. I know that Mintel is going to pay me when they've agreed to; I know that Confero will send me a 1099 at the end of the year showing the total and I can go back into Sassie and see what was actual payment and what was reimbursement; I know that ACL is reimbursement so I can simply pull out my mileage log to see what I can further deduct. I don't have to track the payment for those (and other) companies. For the ones that I have to chase payment, I will spend the extra time to track. Therefore, they need to compensate me more.

Ath by far. Usually takes 2 months. However they pay very well and their reports are fairly simple.

Try and build your 'business' to have some overhead, if possible. That way, it won't be so much of an issue to adjust for those companies that take 'forever' to pay up.

It takes some thought and planning to get things setup and to understand the concept of having overhead purely for your 1099 work, if you haven't done it before. But my opinion? That experience is worth learning.

I keep an Excel workbook which I use for keeping my schedule straight, noting key information about shops - including the MSP and anticipated pay date - which I list as the last possible date for payment in accordance with the MSP's policies.. When I receive payment, I make a note. If I have still not received payment a day after the MSP's date, I verify my records - including payments received, MSP policies and shop approval dates. If the MSP has made an error, I wait a couple more days and give them a call. I am currently chasing two $60 payments for a certain MSP....