Hi
I now need to charge HST (13%) and I am living in Ontario Canada. Where do we register our tax number so that the tax gets added to the automatic submitted invoice.
Thx
Legally speaking ANY income you make with Mystery shopping has to be declared to Revenu Canada. This also includes paid benefits for example you do a shop where you have to buy 10$ of gas and the shopper fee is 5$: the total amount that has to be declared is 15$
Another example, the shop is a burger one and you have lunch plus a 5$ fee: This one I would only declare 5$ since the lunch is not a pure direct benefit.
Trust me as soon as you declare your self as an independent contractor and you start to take deductions they will ask for everything and trust me they do, I have been in 2018 through a full blown audit and it went well. and
Be also aware that MSP companies using or paying by Paypal do have an obligation to declare who gets how much to Revenu Canada and this is used more and more as a verification tool. It is like ebay sending the names and total business of all Canadian sellers to Rev Can.
When you are paid in USD, you need to apply a conversion rate at payment date.
Secret shopping is black and white, you either meet the requirements or not. I have never seen in 20 years a reduced payment result.
Tips: Tell the story and be as objective as possible, stick to facts and stay away from opinions. Never take notes in public, use your cell phone or go the the washroom if you ever need to write something. The script they provide is a guide of all the criterias required, be genuine and do not act like a scripted robot.
Sometimes shops do require a long report and many questions but only pays 5$, when accepting a shop make sure to assess if it is really worth it. The least appealing ones are sometimes phone shops.
Never post secret shop pictures on Google review or any review site. You can not be a secret shopper AND a food critic.
It is normal to miss a picture or forget something and when you figure it out you need to go back and get it, never use a Google picture or anything from the internet.
The schedulers are your friends, treat them well, you work with them and not against them.
We are all in this to succeed and the first 3/6 months will be hell but don't give up. You will quickly pick up some tricks and shops will be done faster and faster.