Hey y'all. I currently use one spreadsheet with different pages for each month to track all my shops. Once I've done the shop I move it into completed status in the section below, then put an X in the paid column when it's done. That being said, I need a better system and wanted some input from the experts.

How many spreadsheets do you use/what are they for? Do you separate mileage/shops/payments? Do you track by company, date or some other way? Do you use more than one system? How do you check that you've been paid and track it? Do you track payment dates?

Any of the above would be really helpful for me as I come up with a new system to track my work.

I use one workbook for the year. The worksheets are a summary sheet with MSCs, mileage, shop fees, and amount paid linked from the individual MSC worksheets. The sum total is the first row (so I have an "at a glance" summary of my activities).

The individual MSC worksheets have all the details of the shops that I do and when I get paid. I also have a hidden row that tells when the MSC pays and my USID and PW.

I have a pretty complex spreadsheet that has evolved over 5 years. There is a sheet for each month. At the top are the shops I've completed. I track date, msc, client, fee, reimbursement, purchase, projected payment date and payment type.

At the bottom of each month I have a section titled payments due. When I record a shop at the top of the spreadsheet I also put it in date order at the bottom of each month with date due, msc, amount, and payment type. I have an identical section named payments received. When I receive a payment I move it from one section to the other. This makes it super easy to know how much income I am getting in each month.

Each month also has a section for costs and mileage, broken down to the tax for lines I use. For instance a section for hotels, where I list all hotel costs for that month. And of course a section for mileage. There's also one for supplies, meal deductions, tolls, parking, etc. Some people wouldn't need those, some would need others that I don't use.

Then I have a summary page that totals all the monthly pages. It gives me an easy to see running total of both taxable income to date and actual income to date.

There are a few other pages as well. One for a list of MSCs with links to the login page. That kind of thing.

I keep up with shops I haven't done yet I other ways. For long routes I might make a calendar spreadsheet. For random local shops I might just throw them on a calendar. For short trips probably just a note in OneNote.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2018 11:00PM by bgriffin.

bgrif, what is a calendar spreadsheet?

It a calendar that's a spreadsheet? I dunno how to explain it much better lol.

I just take an empty spreadsheet and make a calendar on it. Well, honestly not empty because I have a template I use. Basically each sheet is a week. 7 columns, 1 for each day. Hours down the left side 8am thru 5 pm because I refuse to work outside those hours. At the bottom I have spots for total fees for the day, expenses, food, miles, hotel cost, and hotel name (mostly cause it's an easy place to keep up with hotel reservations). Then a total profit for the day. I total those for the whole week out to the right. If it's a multi week route I also have a summary page that gives totals those numbers for all weeks. It makes it super easy to see that, for instance on my last route, I went over my hotel budget by about $800.

bgriffin, what a system! It makes me glad I am not a full time shopper in need of all that. Your business acumen is top notch.
But I like quick and easy. I know I am part time so for full timers this may not work but I just use a running sheet with all my shops on the same sheet. Mine is on paper but I definitely recommend using spreadsheet software for those of you with more than my 2 2 sided notebook pages for a year!
The beauty of the spreadsheet is that you can sort it any way you like at anytime as long as you have clean columns. To me that means not mixing dates and dollars or letters and numbers in any one column. So you can start with a one sheet sheet and at any time by sorting it can be broken into a list by msc, by paid date, by amount of pay, by job type (Hotel, retail etc) if you set up a column for that. By job date if you want to later break it into a series of monthly sheets. You can sort one way today and then put it all back together and sort another way tomorrow. I use a very non tech way to see if I have not gotten pd yet! I can run my eye down the paid date or paid $ amt column and see where the blanks are. If those two columns are next to each other it makes it easy to spot. Or you can just sort by those columns and voila, the not yet paid jobs are all together. Then if you do not save it will just go back to your regular chronological by the assignment date sheet. And after sorting you can easily sub total any grouping you want.
Maybe too basic for some but fast, easy and practical. I like to record the date pay received too so I can check on any particular company to see what their pay date scheme is without having to remember it or consult another list.

bgriff, thanks for the detail! I appreciate it. Have you found a way to set up reminders within Excel to ping you outside of Excel?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2018 05:26PM by HonnyBrown.

sandy, I am a part time shopper also. My workbook came to its full potential when I shopped full time. I just use that one because it can hadle a lot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2018 12:59PM by HonnyBrown.

1. You can import Excel data to Outlook calendar.
2. You can write a formula in excel that will send a specific set of data as a text message to outlook contacts - I do this at work. There may be a way to delay the time the message is sent so it would serve as a reminder.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

bgriff, thanks for the detail! I appreciate it. Have you foynd a way to set up reminders within Excel to ping you outside of Excel?

I don't use Outlook for shopping, only Google. On the other hand, I use Office for shopping reports. I am not trying to use one or the other.

I need Office on my phone. I downloaded the Launcher and it tried to Alpha Dog my Samsung.

@kimmiemae wrote:

1. You can import Excel data to Outlook calendar.
2. You can write a formula in excel that will send a specific set of data as a text message to outlook contacts - I do this at work. There may be a way to delay the time the message is sent so it would serve as a reminder.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

bgriff, thanks for the detail! I appreciate it. Have you foynd a way to set up reminders within Excel to ping you outside of Excel?

You should start a blog, highlighting what you do. It would probably gain some traction, and you could make some extra cash off adsense, advertising.

As long as you don't out yourself you can keep mystery shopping as well.

My 2 cents:

I use the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid!). I shop full time, and since I'd rather be shopping, making that cheese, than filing out forms and spreadsheets, this is all I use:

I use Google Calendar (though most any calendar would do) and make a simple entry for each shop on a given day. In the title space I put the name of the shop AND the amount the shop pays. I don't include the reimbursement or anything else here, just the fee. I add the address in the space provided and then in the details section I add a link to the shopper page and another to the guidelines. I rarely need to use those links, but a couple of times having them was a godsend. I add one more entry on each day with nothing but the total amount of money made that day. That way, I can add up my earnings for the week in a flash, without looking at each shop.

I also keep a running spreadsheet that I add each shop I perform to. I have the following columns: Date I did the shop, Company shop was for, date shop was paid, method of payment, total amount paid, amount that was the fee, and amount that was for reimbursement. I enter all of the information as soon as its entered on my calendar except for the date paid. Plus, I use a formula to subtract the fee from the total and it fills in the reimbursement column for me. As each shop gets paid, I enter the date paid. This way, all I have to do is look at the paid date column and if the space is empty, I can then determine if i need to contact the company or not.

Other then this, I don't feel I need anything else and it keeps things fairly simple. It took me a whole lot longer to type this up than it does to enter a day's worth oh shops into both forms!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2018 11:52AM by shawnthewoman.

Once you have your spreadsheet set up, entering the data is simple. It's the development stage that takes a few whatever. Mine grew as my shopping grew. Every January, I save it under the current year and erase last years data (but not the links or sums).

I do not erase everything on my spreadsheet when I copy it over for the next year. I generally leave the name and location and mileage of the shop (eg blank date,3 for miles,Blaze, CC for Culver City in the first four columns but take out the dates and the payment info. If I do not use them all I just delete the left over rows at the end of the year or insert more rows if needed. Many shops I do over and over so I just look for an open spot on my spreadsheet with that shop info in it already under my sub heading for the MSC. I do have to adjust the mileage if I do not drive my usual route to that shop.
Actually I write it all down on paper as I go along...which takes only a few moments and then dedicate a few hours per year to update my electronic spreadsheet. I usually do this on weekends in the mtns where there is no internet connection, TV, much of a nightlife or other distractions other than beautiful trees outside the window.
I have a separate column for what I call reimbursed from flat rate where I distinguish between a straight reimbursement pay and one which is a partial reimbursement for a flat pay job.