Keep That Paperwork

It is very important that you keep your mystery shopping paperwork for several months after you have finished a shop. You need to keep the questionnaire and the receipt! Just yesterday, I had two inquiries on two different shops I had completed. One had been done over this past weekend. I found the paperwork and answered the follow up questions they sent me. The other one had been done back in early July, and again, I found the paperwork and answered the questions. This doesn't happen to often, but when it does, you want to have that paperwork. I do way too many shops, to keep all of that information in my head!

Keep Your Paperwork

Most the of mystery shopping that I do requires some kind of purchase. I always staple the receipt to the input paperwork and keep it stacked up near my desk. This way, I can look back and find what I need IF there is an issue. For example, I got an email today that there was a question about a shop I completed this past weekend. The email stated that the time on the receipt did not match the times I said I was there. I found the paperwork and the receipt. Sure enough, the time was off by an hour. I replied that the time I had inputted was correct and the receipt was wrong! I keep all of my paperwork for at least a month. If there is an issue, it arises within a few days of inputting the information.


The main thing, is make sure you have a system and KEEP THOSE RECEIPTS. I also have a copy of the receipts on file in my computer on the hard drive. I have a folder for each company in MY DOCUMENTS and then within that company folder, I have a folder for each month. I back these up to my external hard drive and keep them for about six months, then delete them.