Tracking Methods
 

I've searched the New to MS and Loss in MS threads hoping to find some information on a good system to track MS. The best I could find was "keep your receipts in a shoe box or manila envelope". Is anybody using a more sophisticated system? I keep the receipts, used VR/GC, use Mint and see all deposits/CC transactions, but these do not give all the details to see which GC/VR went to pay off which CC or purchase an MO.

So far this has not been a problem, as my monthly spend is only $10K. But as I expand, I see that a more detailed tracking system would be necessary. Anybody cares to share their tracking methodology?

I made a spreadsheet for it.

I have a spreadsheet that has what/when/where/how I bought it and the same for liquidating.
Milenomics has a post (or maybe two) on his tracking system, might be worth checking out.

I recently picked up a Fujitsu fi-7160 scanner. I scan all receipts & GCs with it. It can scan a stack of 20-25 GCs in under 10 seconds. The software that comes with it OCRs the numbers off the front of the card and indexes them all in an excel file. This significantly cuts down on my physical storage requirements.

As far as tracking outlays/transactions, I've used Quicken for about a decade.

On a really basic level, excel spreadsheet with; method, money in, money out, and columns for points earned is pretty easy. I just appended it to my normal tracking spreadsheet I use to follow my accounts and purchases day to day. Copy it over every month and voila.

I recently received a phone call from a bank's Compliance/AML department. After that, I decided to really improve my record keeping. Here's what I do:

When I purchase VGCs, I put them in an envelope with receipt
Immediately proceed to liquidate by MO and/or BP. Put those receipts in same envelope.
If I deposit MO at a bank, I put the receipt in the same envelope.
Date and seal the envelope and file chronologically.

When I purchase VRs, put them in an envelope with receipt
As I load them, I write with a permanent marker on the front of VR the date I loaded it and to what BB account.
Once all VRs from a single purchase are burned, I wrap the purchase receipt around the bunch and tape it all up.
File it in chronological order.

This way, if ever a bank or other entity has issues with what I'm doing, I simply show the circle of purchase, burn, payoff.

Also, when I buy VRs or GCs, I tell the staff what I'm doing. I don't want to raise suspicions, so I simply say that I have a special promo where I earn extra points and am trying to save up enough for a free plane ticket. Most cashiers seem to like that explanation and can relate to that. I learned that acting shifty or otherwise secretive is a good way to raise suspicions. Who doesn't want to get a free airline ticket???? Seems to be working well for me right now.

Ole!

I've used Pocket Money on an iPad for a few years. Since the last OS update it crashes a lot but its still invaluable to me.

Every checking account, debit or prepaid card, credit card, or gift card gets its own account and I can enter debits, credits and transfers between accounts.

Its tedious and complex, but that's what MS means.

BTW, does anyone know of an app that can track multiple bank accounts (like 6-7)? I'd like to be able to do all my updates in one place. Right now I have a spreadsheet with all my bank accounts. I'd love to be able to do this with an app or online program.

Try mint.com, it is free and lets you keep track of bank accounts and CCs.

Once I buy a MO, do BP or load VR, I dump all physical records and rely on my digital online records. MVD was a problem because they block the login access to my account, no worries I have no more MVD, no more fear, no more headache.....

I was actually looking for something like a check register, but that handles multiple accounts. I think Mint just spits out the info in the accounts, right?

Any other ideas?

Eh, can't say dropping $1k on a scanner is exactly in the spirit of MS.

I suggest starting small and growing as your MS does, over time my spreadsheet has grown more and more complex, checking between various MS load/unload and flagging parts that don't match up for further review within a % of error, then automatically moving 'acceptable' data for safe keeping.

Beyond that, physical items (GC, VR, receipts, etc etc) all get wrapped together by transaction, then put together chronologically by month in a shoebox for safe keeping in case something occurs that requires the physical medium.

I don't feel like paying monthly for a storage unit, so I must digitize my records. There are only 24 hours in the day and I hold a full time job, so I can't be waiting around for a mediocre scanner. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish.

Most folks seem to keep detailed information and receipts .. for some reason I didn't see much value in keeping receipts once I deposit my GC's and the money is in my BB account.. I rely on by credit card statement and BB / bank account statement to tally in and out every week.

Are there any risks that I should be worried about by not having receipts ?

I currently use Quicken for all of my accounts.
Bluebird - Checking
Target AMEX - Credit Card

Lots of transfers between credit cards and these accounts so I can keep track of where the money is going.

I haven't been concerned about it either until now. I started small several months ago, but now its getting to the point where keeping some records would make sense. I still don't do much MO/CA but it is increasing. I deal with a small credit union and might find another bank too if I increase the money side. For now, I have some room before I need to do that.

Just be careful of the cards that let you load VR and then tell you your account is locked unless you fax in all your receipts and copies of cards to prove the money is yours (see Univision thread).

CamScanner on my phone. Cards with receipts and filled out MO's. Track transaction via tags through mint.com but BB duplicates ALOT!!

Some ppl track. Some ppl don't. It is time consuming but if you make it part of your routine and have the patience then it's not an inconvenience at all.

I read on another forum where some people found 10K in GCs they didn't know they had/lost.

Personally I can't afford an oversight like that.

Quickbooks.

It takes some time to enter all the transactions, but it's awesome for up to the minute profit and loss, exactly how much you spent on any fees etc, and all your [supposed] balances, how much each company owes you for cashback.

If you don't know how to use quickbooks it's probably not worth it to start just for MS.

I have been stepping up my game in this department lately, as my spend has grown in size and complexity (and, thankfully, profit).

I bought a NeatDesk scanner used on eBay for ~$240.00. It's not perfect but it gets the job done just fine for what I need it for. The software is basic, but it works. The wife has gotten sick of my mountains of spent gift cards sitting in piles around the house. Now, I feed them through the scanner and pitch them. I scan every card that comes through the house once it is finished. I also scan every receipt from my MS activities. Right now, I do the scanning once every two weeks on average. So I just sort the receipts by store, not clustered together in a money circle. I assume that an audit would be a headache no matter how well organized the receipts are, so I'll just deal with that if it were to ever come up.

In terms of keeping track of my transactions in a register, I wanted something relatively easy to enter, so I looked for an app for my ipad. For now, I've settled on an app called "Accounts2". It allows you to set up accounts and do D/C transactions with multiple accounts. I've been using it for about two weeks now. I probably reconcile the accounts every three days or so.

The problem I have is that I am very thorough in developing my strategies. So, before I begin, I know exactly how much profit I intend to derive. Keeping track of every detail seems silly when I can just do (My initial spend) * (My calculated margin) = My profit. Then, all I really need to track is my spend per month for a particular type of activity.

I am anal about my finances in general so I use quicken. Even though it is a bloated piece of crap it is still the best way to keep good records and track how much you are actually making from these activities. I have separate accounts for each re-loadable card so when I buy a reload the CC transaction shows as a transfer to that card's account and an expense category for the associated fees. From this I can run a quick report to see how much I am really making. It helps that I am earning cash and not miles but if you were earning miles you would just create an entry where the cost of a ticket used was entered as cash back received.

I also use the mobile app to snap a picture of each receipt so the receipt is attached in quicken to the transaction should a problem arise.

On the physical side I have two expanding files where I store each type of churn source and receipt. Each month I discard the cards from the month before so this weekend I will empty the December folder and start filling it with February. That way I have the physical receipt and card for a minimum of 30 days which is more than enough time to find out if there is a problem.

Evernote.com is a great service that lets you search files and content of scanned documents. Could help.

Yeah, most of the answers don't discuss how an oversight like that would be detected.

I have a spreadsheet that records events (=records in a database). A GC purchase would be two events: the 500 and the ~4.95. I code the 500 with the last 4 digits of the GC and I code the fee with "-1". A BB "debit" load would code the last 4 digits of the GC. With that system, it's trivial to use a pivot table to detect a code with only one record (which would mean a GC was bought but not drained).

I'm new to the game, but this is what im' using

[IMG]http://s1.postimg.cc/5hna5xfcb/MS_Plan.jpg[/IMG]

Just out of spite, I started using QB for my MSing :D

It actually works very well. I know I can accomplish the same with a good Excel spreadsheet, but this makes it easier to combine a few of my endeavors, such as my nasty Staples habit. Quick glance and I know what rebates are outstanding, how much, detailed recording, etc. Pretty slick. Thanks! ^

YNAB is great for tracking MS, and it's currently on sale via MacUpdate (yes, the software key works on windows)

I get nothing from this link:
https://deals.macupdate.com/deal/153...-need-a-budget

There's also a free 30 day trial.

I recently ran into accounting problem when I combined my regular spending with MS activities across several cards... had a hard time tallying the accounts ( since i conveniently forgot about some large purchases) ... looks like its about time to get more organized.

Nice spreadsheet. I might take that template and do something similar.

I use Quicken. The key for me was creating an account for gift cards. All GC purchases for MS are recorded as transfers to this account. Then I deduct the fee amount. BB loads or MO deposits are transfers out.

To check if everything is accounted for, just add unused GC value + MO on hand and it has to equal balance in account.