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Payments

April 11, 2012 03:36AM
I personally think that it takes at least a grand to start the flow of money back to you. I normally pay AM Ex about $1,000 each month and have a lot of out of pocket money for fast food. It comes back slow to start, but does cpme in. Sometimes emails are needed to remind folks to send a check. After a while, things settle down some.

Am I on target here?
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More About Payment
April 11, 2012 03:54AM
$2,000
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April 11, 2012 05:11AM
I do not get it. Do you mean that you have to wait for a grand in shops until you get any pay back. That certainly has not been my experience. Please explain when you have time.
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April 11, 2012 12:49PM
Hmmm. In my early days I rarely took a job which involved putting out cash and waiting to be reimbursed unless the cash out was really minimal or the company paid very quickly. To this day my average reimbursable expenses during the month is between $50 and $80. If you are going to focus on FF and other shops where reimbursement is the lion's share of the fee, then you might be right. It is possible to get started in the biz without a ton of cash if you avoid those types of jobs in the beginning.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
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April 11, 2012 01:23PM
I think that is a little high for me. Some companies pay quick and some slower. I am sure at different points in time, I had about $500.00 + outstanding. However, I am not taking gas into consideration, so it might be more.


richraynor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I personally think that it takes at least a grand
> to start the flow of money back to you. I normally
> pay AM Ex about $1,000 each month and have a lot
> of out of pocket money for fast food. It comes
> back slow to start, but does cpme in. Sometimes
> emails are needed to remind folks to send a check.
> After a while, things settle down some.
>
> Am I on target here?
Reply
April 11, 2012 04:56PM
I float about $300-$500 a month before payments/reimbursements start coming in. The first month I did MSing I was having a real hard time, I didn't realize there were other companies out there that didn't require money out to get money coming in.

I am comfortable now. I have enough coming in to make up for the money laid out on reimbursements. I thank Flash for her information on this when I needed it the most.
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April 11, 2012 09:09PM
I never have $1000 in reimbursements pending unless I have done a series of high end hotel shops for a company that takes 75-90 days to reimburse. However, I don't do any fast food, gas, or convenience store shops, and I suspect that folks who do 15-30 of those per day have entirely different cash flow schedules.

I have one relatively low interest rate credit card that is used exclusively for shopping expenses, so even if I did carry a balance the interest would be tax deductible. However, the interest rate on my HELOC is soooooo low that I can use it for cash management, with the ABSOLUTE proviso that any advances taken for that purpose get repiad immediately when the reimbursement comes through, or earlier if other funds become available. I do like that 2.9% interest rate.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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April 12, 2012 12:32AM
Wales - Is this correct?

I didn't know I could claim the interest paid! Where do I find this in the tax guidelines (if you know)? DH and I use our Discover exclusively for MS'ing, so we get the 5% cash back, but we don't always get our reimbursements before the payment is due. I've had to carry over the balance a couple of times now and do get charged interest.

Thanks!



walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I have one relatively low interest rate credit
> card that is used exclusively for shopping
> expenses, so even if I did carry a balance the
> interest would be tax deductible.

~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~

Proud To Be A Soldier's Mom
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April 12, 2012 12:41AM
rainy,
Interest that is soley due to your business is a line item on your schedule C.

Flash, wanna chime in here with details and/or a different view?

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
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