Mystery shopping thread xiii ** please don't mention client names on here **

jc2703

millerose wrote: »

Do I need to keep receipts for things I buy if I want to claim it? such as petrol, notebooks, calculator, watch etc?

How long do you keep records for? I know the MS companies day at least 6 months BUT for tax purposes should it be a yr? I dont want to be 3 years down the line and the tax man on my case when I cant prove anything as I've got rid of all my stuff..... whats the best way to do this?

keep it for 6 years for the tax man

millerose

thanks jc2703 :j

A couple of questions........

1. How do I keep a receipt for fuel used though? I use my car for personal purposes as well as the MS. Do I keep the reciepts when I fill the car up next to prove I bought the fuel then deduct my MS mileage+costs from that?

2. Is there anywhere on the internet that tells you what legal expenses you can claim? I was given a phone number by the IR but its been engaged for the past 2 hours :eek:

partyprincess

I'm pretty sure this has been asked before but I can't find the answer so I'm going to ask again and hope I'm not shouted at...

How long do React normally take to reimburse for purchases which you have sent back to them?

tia

jc2703

millerose wrote: »

thanks jc2703 :j

A couple of questions........

1. How do I keep a receipt for fuel used though? I use my car for personal purposes as well as the MS. Do I keep the reciepts when I fill the car up next to prove I bought the fuel then deduct my MS mileage+costs from that?

2. Is there anywhere on the internet that tells you what legal expenses you can claim? I was given a phone number by the IR but its been engaged for the past 2 hours :eek:

The most comprehensive way to do it is to keep a mileage log and split mileage between personal and business/MSing miles. If you get into the habit of filling this in daily (maybe keep it in your glove box) this record will be enough and your petrol receipts would just be a back up

Any expense that you incur to do your business is a legitimate expense - if you have to buy something to enable you to carry out your MSing then you can claim it

owlet

Beckfordbaby wrote: »

Is it me, or are the fees dropping so low it is hardly worth doing some jobs?
G-- are offering a sum less than 1/2 what other companies offer for an opticians, and it is not just a browse assignment. The full eye test and the implications involved with that. I will certainly not be accepting this, but no doubt some shoppers will.

I must admit I picked up one of these because I thought my prescription had changed. I have started getting headaches using the PC again. So it saved me loads of money. The questionnaire wasn't difficult and didn't take long to do. I do need new glasses for close work so off to search MSE for bargains!! The other plus was that the store also takes the photo of eye, which showed up something minor as well. I agree about the fee though, it just really suited me to do it

gallygirl

jc2703 wrote: »

Any expense that you incur to do your business is a legitimate expense - if you have to buy something to enable you to carry out your MSing then you can claim it

Be careful though - some purchases are taxable. If you are told to buy a specific product which you have to comment on (e.g. the coffee was hot & wet & not very nice ) or check advice given (e.g. in relation to anti-histamines) then it is not taxable. If however it is a generic 'spend over £10' then that is a taxable benefit.

Becles

Printers: have a look at Samsung mono lasers. They do cost more initially but they are cheap as chips to run. You can get a basic printer for around £70, but I paid around £100 for mine as it's got scanner built in. You can use it for colour scanning into the PC, or as a stand alone mono photocopier.

It will come with a toner cartridge included. When that starts to run out, you can get some more life out of it by removing it and giving it a good hard shake! When it does finally run out, you can order a bottle of toner for around £6 online and refill it a couple of times. The full toner cartridge on the toner save option will last for months and months, so it really does work out good value for money.

Mileage: I keep a daily log of all miles that I've done for MS work. I just jot down the places I visited and the total number of miles I did. It's built into my spreadsheet where I keep track of job payments and expenses. It automatically works out my mileage at 40p a mile and deducts it off my running gross profit figure to give a net profit. Yes I'm sad

Expenses: I do claim for things solely connected to MS work, such as notebooks, envelopes and other odds and ends. I lost my pen on an audit the other day and have claimed £1 for a pack of biro's but I'll keep them in my briefcase for future auditing/merchandising work.

Quiet week here too, but I'm mega busy with uni work, so I haven't gone out of my way to look for work.

Glamazon

becles - I must be sad too cos my spreadsheet does that!

lovetowinacar

Glamazon wrote: »

becles - I must be sad too cos my spreadsheet does that!

Hi - Sounds useful, where did you get this spreadsheet? Did it cost much? Many thanks.:)

Skiergirl

Hi
I've been lurking around here for a few weeks and have a question but am not sure if I'm allowed to ask it on here. Is there a list anywhere of standard questions to ask CS ?

Thank you
PS if I'm not allowed to ask this I'll delete the post