Maximising income - Mystery Shopping? Surveys? (Part Two)

princess_leia_3

Timmne - just had a look at Quickbooks site and the starter edition looks good and very user friendly, just not sure about the £40 cost - or can I claim this as an expense

At the moment I am using a hand drawn kind of chart which details all mileage/cost and profit etc

Thanks

leila1

Hi to everyone here, I have just finished reading the 93 pages!!! and have learned a lot. Thank you to all of those volunteering information. I have being MSing for a couple of months now and I think my next carrer move is to a taxi driver, since I have learned how to get to all major shopping centres!
I loved that post about the "baloon show":D .
The answer to the 300 pounds question is yes.

Timmne

leila1 wrote: »

I loved that post anout the "baloon show":D .

:rotfl: That was about a million posts ago! Love the fact that you obviously have read the pages!

Love the MSE idea of people paying you to go to your next MS job too - what a brill idea! Next you'll be taking parcels with you too! :beer:

Timmne

princess_leia wrote: »

Timmne - just had a look at Quickbooks site and the starter edition looks good and very user friendly, just not sure about the £40 cost - or can I claim this as an expense

At the moment I am using a hand drawn kind of chart which details all mileage/cost and profit etc

Thanks

Quickbooks Simplestart is the beginner's version you saw - brilliant little program and makes a good job of keeping records. When I said "wait a minute" earlier I was researching a free accounting system - unfortunately it's still not downloaded to my PC successfully as I had to turn my PC off earlier before it had finished and it has only just started again.... Shall tell you about it later if I download it and if it's any good.

To those who use spreadsheets and manual records (:eek: ) I'd highly recommend automating your accounts as it's very interesting seeing different reports and splitting out your cash profits to your reported profits (the difference being mileage etc that you claim but don't necessarily withdraw from the business). I'll post updates here soon and hopefully I can get those people to move!

plattinum

Found this on monster today, hope it hasn't been posted already, don't read this thread much, can't keep up with you guys

http://jobsearch.monster.co.uk/getjob.asp?JobID=65660486&AVSDM=2007%2D11%2D23+16%3A03%3A00&Logo=1&cy=uk&sq=not%20%2527work%20at%20home%2527&sort=rv&vw=d&category=Category...&searchtype=1&q=self%20employed

leila1

Timmne wrote: »

:rotfl: That was about a million posts ago! Love the fact that you obviously have read the pages!

Love the MSE idea of people paying you to go to your next MS job too - what a brill idea! Next you'll be taking parcels with you too! :beer:

Ha Ha Ha, You bet! I could already picture my company with a motto: "The quickest way to the chicken shop"

catwoman150

Timmne wrote: »

The paperwork I'd keep is:

• My invoice to the MS company (the system I use creates an invoice for the £25) - even though you don't send this to them, you don't need to prove your income any further than an invoice. (Edit: you could keep the job offer instead of this if you'd prefer)
• The receipt for the food
• A note (I write this on the invoice) of how many miles I did and what I'm claiming for it.

Out of interest, how many of the MSers on here use an accounting system? I used to use a simple spreadsheet but as the jobs have become more frequent I now use QuickBooks to keep a note of the income and expenses - it also tells me things like profit month on month at the click of a button.... I would recommend this to anyone one here and am happy to provide support for anyone who needs it!

Could you give us some info on these QUICKBOOKS. I use a very simple spreadsheet that I have details on every job and the pay and info like that.

ilean

Hi
Looking for shoppers under 50 with excel for bar visits in:

BARNSLEY
BRADFORD
GRIMSBY
NEWQUAY
OXFORD
PORTSMOUTH
SWINDON

thanks

[EMAIL="eflaherty1@yahoo.co.uk"]eflaherty1@yahoo.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Timmne

Hi all,

Have done a bit of research and have finally downloaded a (free) program called Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2008 and it looks great.

I'm a Professional Advisor for QuickBooks and train a lot of my clients in it and would recommend the Simplestart program thoroughly, although it's £40 (inc VAT) to download which some may think is too expensive, especially for the income that MSing brings.... It's definitely worth it though, trust me!! (PS I have no financial reason for promoting this software, just in case anyone thought it!)

The Microsoft system seems to do the job well though; and due to its similarity to QuickBooks I think I'd have a good go at support if people wanted to give it a go for MSing.

I'm due to do a bit of investigation in this as we're looking at diversifying slightly at work to include this software so hopefully will become better at using it....

sleepless_saver

Timmne wrote: »

Hi all,

Have done a bit of research and have finally downloaded a (free) program called Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2008 and it looks great.
..

I am downloading this now, many thanks for the tip.

But a warning to everyone with a slow connection or a crowded hard drive - it is 287 Mb :eek:.