Does anyone use a spreadsheet to track activity and payment details?

Thinking that an Excel spreadsheet might help me track details for upcoming, "in process", and completed shops.
A place to consolidate dates, times, MSC, fee, reimbursement, bonus, when submitted, when paid, special notes. etcetera.
I'm willing to collaborate with a couple of other people on creation of a prototype.

[ Even have this crazy idea of creating a Google Form with drop-downs, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc. The data from a Google Form is saved as a spreadsheet (Google Sheets, not MS Excel). But maybe this is Iteration #2 after testing the waters with Excel. ]

Is anyone interested? : )

Bilingual (Spanish<>English)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2019 02:56AM by JSM2019.

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Not interested.

My spreadsheet was created from a forum template and morphed into what met my needs. It took about two full years to develop.

The workbook is composed of a summary worksheet and worksheets from all of the MSCs I am signed up with. The individual MSC worksheets have the details and totals for the work that I do. The totals (mileage pay, paid) are linked to the summary worksheets, so that all entries are updated real time.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

@HonnyBrown
I didn't mean to offend. I respect the amount of effort, thought and time invested in creating a solid tracking tool.

As I was driving back today, what you described above about the workbook with many worksheets was circulating through my brain. : )
Your tracking tool sounds like a true gem and the real time updating to the summary sheet is brilliant.

I'm happy to persevere on my own.

Bilingual (Spanish<>English)

@JASFLALMT
Thank you for sharing. Looks like a great way to start.

Bilingual (Spanish<>English)

LOL. You guys are all over my head.

Sure, I use a spreadsheet. It's called a "calendar" -- an actual, physical, PAPER calendar.

ROTFLMFAO.

JSM, no offense taken!

@JSM2019 wrote:

@HonnyBrown
I didn't mean to offend. I respect the amount of effort, thought and time invested in creating a solid tracking tool.

As I was driving back today, what you described above about the workbook with many worksheets was circulating through my brain. : )
Your tracking tool sounds like a true gem and the real time updating to the summary sheet is brilliant.

I'm happy to persevere on my own.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I use a google spreadsheet. I'm somewhere between Honny and Cease. I track all the jobs I do in a quarter on a single spreadsheet. Date, shop, MSC, fee, reimbursement, mileage.

I'm pretty lazy so this seems like a huge task to me but I do it anyway. I don't think I can do more than this. I am not cut out for bookkeeping.

duplicate

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2019 02:26PM by CoffeeQueen.

I'm still on paper, perhaps a generational thing... Of course, I'm no where near the shop warriors that you folks are. For the dozen or so shops I do a month, I mark my shops on my 12 month paper calendar, staple the receipt to the paper shop confirmation, staple it together and keep it in the top desk drawer until it's paid.

I use an old school accounting ledger. Accounting was my favorite classes in high school, though I didn't quite like it as a major in college, and I think my favorite part was the paper. It's just easy for me and I've thought about using the spreadsheet offered here, but this works for me for now.

Shopping the South Jersey Shore

I created a spreadsheet years ago that I still use. I use a new blank version every year, with tabs for each month. It automatically calculates gas mileage, dollars per hour, profit & loss for each assignment, total expenses, and profit & loss for the month, plus if and when each job was paid. You just enter basic info for each shop and the algorithms do the rest. You're welcome to my blank copy if you want.

I used Excel, I searched mileage log and expenses and a template popped up. I then used that as my template and then edited it to make it your own.

I use an Excel spreadsheet that I created in 2008 and have made minor tweaks over the years. I use VLOOKUP to automate a few functions. SUBTOTAL(9,x,x) allows me to automatically get column totals even when I Filter (great for seeing revenue for selected MSCs). Filter (from the Data menu) makes a lot of tasks easier for me. I have thought about implementing SQL to automate getting zip codes from the USPS, but I decided that the gain was not worth the pain. Someday I will master Pivot Tables (I've been saying that for 18 years).

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

I've been saying it for 9.

@myst4au wrote:

Someday I will master Pivot Tables (I've been saying that for 18 years).

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I have a documeht in Evernote for every two months. I list the date, company, fee, reimbursement, and location. I figured everything out by hand for each MSC using a spiral notebook, same for the mileage.

I started with the spreadsheet shared here on the forum and have been tweaking it to suit my needs. It's a work in progress, since I just found it 3 months ago. I like the idea of a form. It seems like a rabbit hole I could fall far into. If you make it happen, I'd at least like to see what you come up with!

I started a spreadsheet with all my scheduled shops on the first page. About a week after the start of each month (when everything is through review), I copy the previous month into its own tab and clean up my main sheet. This lets me keep adding new information and I never have to keep track of two sheets.

Sometimes I even include scheduled items that aren't shops. Those I delete after I finish. It keeps me from double booking and also reminds me of dates when I might schedule work wherever I might be traveling.

I have started color coding each day in my coming week (kinda randomly) and then switching it back to white after I finish the report.

It'll be interesting to learn what you develop. A good idea is worth stealing.

@ceasesmith wrote:

LOL. You guys are all over my head.

Sure, I use a spreadsheet. It's called a "calendar" -- an actual, physical, PAPER calendar.

ROTFLMFAO.

I'm sort of the same! I have a book/desk calendar where I write down all the shops, along with all other daily commitments.

I also have developed my own "shop notes" page that I use for each shop. It has the shop, addr., MSC, login info., pay/bonus/fee, when to expect pay, how to get paid (PPal, DD, check, gift card...) and special notes. I use that sheet to write out my instructions. I find it easier to write what I need to remember rather than just printing out the guidelines...I remember it better. I also use that sheet to track mileage/stacked shops and to write my notes for the shop.

When the shop is complete, I write a big "C" on the sheet. When it's paid, I write a "P" I then file it in a monthly accordian file for a year, along with any receipts/bus cards (I've just taken last year's JULY out of there in prep for next month)

I keep my sheets, before filing in accordian file, in a binder. I have a tab in there for the payment, laid out sort of like a checkbook register, but with a column for "total profit" (for taxes).

I created an Access database a couple of years ago. It keeps track of everything. I can push a button and see my open shops, what shops haven't been paid yet, companies I've signed up with, etc.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.

Everyone does something different, even if they use the same platform.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

As long as the end result is: No missed assignments; no missed payment; adequate records for tax purposes -- it's ALL GOOD!!!

A true example of the old adage "There's more than one way to skin a cat"!

I'm interested in the Google Sheet and can help making it. Can you send me the link to it? Thanks!

@ctes24
Definitely let's collab on the G Sheet. It's going to take me at least 10 days to get something decent put together.
I'll send you the link when ready. I look forward to your input.

Bilingual (Spanish<>English)

Yes send what you have I would love to try it out

I started out using MS Works and when they killed that I said to heck with it and now no longer pay for any software. Google I do not trust because they will start something and then a few years later it gets killed. Same with MS from when they killed the email program. Open Office Calc or Libre Office Calc. the databases confuse the heck out of me.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I've been saying it for 9.

@myst4au wrote:

Someday I will master Pivot Tables (I've been saying that for 18 years).

OMG I love pivot tables.*

*I might be a nerd

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Right there with ya! I use them all of the time at my non-MS job.

@bgriffin wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I've been saying it for 9.

@myst4au wrote:

Someday I will master Pivot Tables (I've been saying that for 18 years).

OMG I love pivot tables.*

*I might be a nerd

Kim

how much would you be willing to sell a copy of your access database talked about here?

Would you be willing to sell a copy of your spreadsheet that you use; if so how much would you like?

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