Getting paid
 

Just curious, how long does it take these days for you to get paid for doing public HS games?

Every state has its rules for spending public money, sometimes a school board has to actually vote on paying the bills so you have to wait for that. But I get the idea that some less-well-heeled districts sit on paying bills for 60 days or more to get a bit more interest on bank deposits or avoid having to pay tax anticipation notes.

I'm seeing districts creep up from what used to be two weeks to two months.

My checks all go in the summer vacation account, so at today's interest rates it doesn't matter as long as I get paid before Saratoga opens, but is it my imagination or are our receivables aging more than they used to?

Let us raise a glass of cheer to rec leagues that pay with the Irish handshake, and to spouses who actually believe that "tonight was a volunteer game for the kids, the association likes us to give back to the community."

I just googled "Irish handshake" and urban dictionary did not appear to agree with what I believe you were trying to convey...

Not sure when my Assignor gets his money from the schools, but I get mine at the end of the season.

Ouch. IN my day, the Irish handshake, as offered by my grandfather, was a shake of the hand with some of the folding green tucked inside. My grandfather would shake my hand, advise me to "go get a cigar" and when i withdrew my palm would be gladdened with the presence of a fin. Hence the term "Irish handshake" as a means of tendering a few bucks without the world taking notice. He also would have killed me if I had actually bought a cigar.

These urban dictionary definitions are not the work of a soul with a drop of Erie in them.

Usually get paid as you walk in the door or after we get to the dressing room. One school around here mails all their checks so sometimes it may take a week or two to get that one.

I typically am paid before I get a chance to change out of my street clothes. The latest I get paid for basketball is after I changed into my uniform. In soccer, there is one school district nearby that has club soccer (rather than varsity soccer) because of its club status, checks are not available before the game and are mailed afterwards instead.

Here, it depends on the school district. Some could take weeks, even months to pay, and with some you'll have your check in a week. Some schools, particularly private schools, have a check ready for you when you walk in.

Every school district is different but 3-5 weeks. BTW I hit up Saratoga every August. My Reffing money doesn't cover that bill unless it's a good week..

Almost every school here has you fill out a pay slip and they mail you a check, usually after their school board meets and approves payments. A few pay when you arrive at the school, and a few will mail the check within a week or two. I just got paid for games on December 3rd last Friday, and I'm still waiting on one from December 9th, which is going on about six weeks.

Some of you don't get paid until the end of the season?

Or Éire, either. ;)

Depends on the school... a handful of them will have a check ready for you when you arrive. The majority of them make you fill out a W9 and/or a 'pay voucher', and then they'll mail the check in about 2 weeks or so, depending on when the game occurs relative to their pay cycle.

A couple of schools; however, are seemingly always late with their payments. At one particular school, I worked a 9th grade football game for them around October 1st and didn't get the paycheck until the middle of December.

It really depends on the school and the school district and school board's policy. I have been paid just this week with cash and in other places it will take a week and others it will take about a month. No really consistency in what is done and what they require to be paid. Some fill out vouchers some take information off the Arbiter.

One thing I have found is schools in the Chicago are go through more paper work and delay payment, but schools outside the Chicago area and way outside of the suburbs pay on game day.

Peace

Depends on the league here. We have 2 leagues that pay weekly, 1 that holds on to our money & sucks every bit of interest out of it that they can get. Most lower class leagues pay on the spot, with one particular school that pays cash! Anoher school in that league pays through RefPay.

Used to get paid on the spot. Now it is about 50/50. Seeing alot more W9's and vouchers. A week to two weeks and we get a check. Now, instead of stuffing checks into my fun money fund, i am stuffing vouchers! At least the wife can't cash those!

Virtually every way imaginable.

Cash, check on the spot, check mailed by school, check mailed by assigner, ref pay....

Depends on the school/league.

Same here.

I'm curious to know how many get paid electronically (via RefPay or whatever)? That seems like a much better way to go.

The only thing I use RefPay for is one college baseball conference. They pay once a month. The rest of them either pay on the spot or mail a check within a week or so.

In high school basketball, the biggest local district (Five high schools) and the high school that's part of a university are the two quickest to pay. I think they just run it through payroll and don't have to wait on a school board every month.

RefPay is alright, I work a JUCO & a couple HS that pay in that fashion. But its generally once a month, so if you work a game early in the month you dont see a payment until the EOM. Then it takes 3 days to touch the money after transfering it from RefPay to your bank account.

Check or cash, on the spot is best!

Our school pays in cash and our people love it!

And there a lot of drops in Lake Erie. As a grandson of a Dubliner right off the boat, it would be fookin' Eire laddy;)

We're paid approximately monthly on a Wednesday including games through the preceding Saturday.

I much prefer that to getting a check at each game that I have to keep up with. I'd collect them for 3-4 weeks then take them to the bank once a month anyway so having it come in one check in the mail just makes it easier.

Allons Enfants De La Patrie ...
 

I once got a check on Bastille Day for a game that I worked in December. I had completely forgotten about it. I used it toward the purchase of a new lawnmower.

Cash and Carry
 

Cash and Carry..Check at the table..Remember cash makes no enemies:rolleyes:

The assignor pays us on the 15th and last day of each month.

The schools that use refpay for us pay within a week.

The problem with RefPay is they are not federally insured like a bank. So if your assignor(s) send money to them, it is not protected, should they go belly up or bankrupt.

We are paid by each school district (or by the schools for private schools).

Some districts, including the big H, are notoriously slow at cutting checks others have a quick turnaround but the average for me seems to be 30-45 days. The nice part is that since we're paid by the district, we could have several assignments on one check.

Then there is the issue of schools losing our paperwork (or a PO'd coach holding it until the very last day). It took me over a year and several phone calls to get paid for three assignments from one district.

For six man football games I work, some schools pay in cash or check on site. Those are nice but I feel a little funny when we get handed plain envelopes full of money.

You Did What With Our Social Security Numbers ???
 

Been there. Done that. I hate it when that happens.

Which, of course, goes to the reason why we shouldn't start any game without having first received payment for the match. Coaches should not have a lever to plant the question of "Will I get paid if I make this call" into the minds of the officials.

In the auditing world, an independent audit cannot be done by a CPA firm that you are not current with because it compromises their independence. It's no different in sports.

The youth soccer league here in NW Ohio has a firm rule: any match where the referee crew is not paid in full in cash before the match is to be declared no contest and shall not be played.

As a general rule this is the easiest that our association follows... we bill the schools at the end of the month and then we usually have our checks from them in two weeks then the checks get mailed to the officials in/around the 20th.
Example... Dec Games you get paid Jan 20th
Jan Games you get paid Feb 20th.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, Not ...
 

Hey? When do the tax questions start? I bought a new black belt this year.

Forget the taxes, go buy yourself some Sansabelts!

For GHSA games, we have to wait until the season ends. We bill each school, they pay us, and we distribute checks at an end of year banquet. 1099, yes, which stinks, but I prefer one lump payment because I don't just blow the money week by week. One nice big check to use for summer vacation.... I use rec league games for "mad money"....but I rarely even do these anymore. Too many hotheads and headaches.

Why does a 1099 stink? You owe the taxes on your income even if you don't get a 1099. Or are you saying you cheat on your taxes whenever you don't get a 1099?

Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy ...
 

W-9's are so common here in my little corner of Connecticut that many of us carry precompleted W-9's with us in our bags. When a site director hands us a W-9 to fill out, we simply whip out one our own completed forms, sign it, date it, and hand it back to him.

The days of being handed an envelope with currency, and some loose change, are long gone.

Watch Out Or I'll Belt You ...
 

Shut up.

You know that's exactly what he's saying. I wonder what percentage of officials don't bother claiming this income on their taxes.

I don't get a 1099 from more than a handful of places (where I'm poaid centrally and make over $600 a year), but I keep track very carefully of all my officiating income and faithfully fill out my Schedule C every year. By the time I factor in allowable deductions, I barely make anything. But if I ever get audited, I have everything documented.

So, I'm one of the only ones who gets paid at the end of the season or tournament?

I've gotten paid in cash exactly ONE time.

Wow. Interesting to me!

Yes. I get a check from each school, 2-30 days after the context.

Private school: Usually paid at the assignment. Public school: name is turned in and payment is usually within a week or so. In the meantime, here's a Snickers Bar...

Love those Snickers AND their commercials. (particularly the one from way back...great googly moogly!)

Seriously? :eek:

Proud To Be A Patriotic American ...
 

Yes. Seriously.

Camron Rust, and I, I'm proud to say, are not tax cheats. I claim every single penny that I make officiating. I also claim every single deduction, and every single mile that I travel. Why should the government get a percentage of the black belt that I purchased for my officiating?

Camron, and I, are among the estimated 80% of Americans who do not cheat on their taxes. If you want to be a part of the other 20% then go right ahead and cheat. I didn't have the privilege of serving in the military, but I make sure to make informed choices when I vote, and I vote in every single election, I display my flag on every national holiday, and I never purposely cheat on my taxes. That's the least that I can do to be a good citizen in this wonderful country of ours. I'm proud to be an American, warts and all.

There's a paperless option.

Scan a completed W-9 into a PDF file. When you work a new school, simply email that attachment to the athletic director. His/her email is always there on Arbiter.

"Mr. Myagi, what belt do you have?"
"JCPenney's, five dollars. You like? . . .

Nope..... Our association collects all the fees from the schools including mileage and we get a check in April. I like it this way, it keeps all the schools from having my information. Oh and it makes it easier to save the money for trips etc..