FunSurveys field guide · Version 1.0

One provider. Seven days. A clear record.

Use this guide after an assignment is agreed. Capture what you can actually observe, including the things that do not work.

Download the testing kit (.zip)See the seven-day plan ↓

Not assigned yet? Apply first. Do not start until the fee and written brief are agreed. Updated 27 October 2026.

Agree these details before testing

Your brief needs one provider and country, the dates and timezone, whether you are using a new or existing account, devices, a realistic daily time limit and a fixed scope. It must also state the contributor fee and currency, payment timing, allowed expenses, what counts as completion and how to deliver evidence.

Use a truthful, eligible account

Read the provider’s country, age, device and account rules. Do not create a second account, use a false profile or imitate a different country. Record a waitlist or refusal rather than trying to bypass it.

Know when to stop

If a task requires an unagreed purchase, sensitive information you do not wish to supply, or sharing confidential research material, stop and tell the editor. Record the reason. Do not pay to unlock assignments.

Agree what happens if signup fails, the account is waitlisted, no surveys appear or the provider requests verification. The fee is for the agreed work and usable records, never for producing a positive verdict. Any extra days, additional platforms or payout follow-up need separate agreement.

A repeatable routine

Your seven-day plan

Before day 1

Agree the assignment

Confirm the country, provider, seven-day window, time budget, fee, payment timing and evidence route in writing. Do not begin unpaid trial work.

Day 1

Record signup and account context

Check the official local signup route and terms. Note new or existing account, language, device, verification requests and whether access succeeds. Never create a duplicate account.

Days 2–6

Keep a consistent daily log

Use the agreed check-in window. Log offered and started surveys, outcomes, approved rewards and all time spent. A zero-availability day is still a finding; a missed check is left blank and explained.

Day 7

Close the diary and check cash-out

Record the displayed methods, minimum, currency and fees. Request a withdrawal only if naturally eligible and included in the brief. Otherwise record “threshold not reached” or “not attempted”.

After day 7

Track the actual payment outcome

A requested or pending withdrawal is not a received payment. Record later receipt or rejection with its date; agree any follow-up work separately.

Blank is not zero.

Enter 0 only when you made the check and observed none. Leave an unobserved field blank, and explain a missed day. Do not fill gaps from memory as if they were contemporaneous observations.

What belongs in the record?

Signup and account context

Provider and official URL, country of residence, local date/timezone, device, app or browser version, interface language, account age, signup result, and verification requested or declined.

Daily availability and outcomes

When you checked, how long you stayed, what the dashboard offered and what you actually started. Count completed, screened-out, technical-failure, other-exit and still-pending outcomes separately.

Rewards and time

Record the currency and approved rewards separately from pending rewards. Include setup, screening, survey and administration time. Keep the fee FunSurveys pays you out of provider reward totals.

Keep the counts comparable

“Offered” means distinct survey opportunities visible during the check, not a promise that you could qualify. “Started” means you entered a survey or its screening. Give each started survey one current outcome. Explain a pending result that later changes rather than counting the same survey twice.

If an editor reports a screen-out rate, the denominator must be stated, and incomplete outcomes must remain visible. A technical failure is not automatically a screen-out. Any hourly figure must use approved provider rewards and all recorded time, state the currency and sample, and keep received cash separate. Do not extrapolate a short diary into monthly earnings.

Use a fresh diary for each provider. Availability can change by time, profile and account history; one account’s results do not represent everyone in the country.

Genuine and traceable

Capture evidence without exposing people.

Useful captures

  • Public country or language settings and the signup result, where capture is allowed.
  • A permitted dashboard view showing availability at the logged time.
  • The provider’s payout options, minimums, currency and displayed fees.
  • A redacted request or receipt screen, linked to the withdrawal record.

Leave these out

  • Passwords, session links, security codes, account or transaction identifiers.
  • Full names, email addresses, photos, identity documents or bank details.
  • Private survey questions, respondent answers or confidential study content.
  • AI-created dashboards, altered amounts, borrowed receipts or invented activity.

Check the provider’s capture and confidentiality rules first. If a screenshot is prohibited, record that limitation and use an allowed public source instead. Do not break a provider’s rules to satisfy our evidence request.

A simple capture workflow

  1. Record the capture time and timezone, provider, country and related session in the evidence register.
  2. Give the file a neutral identifier such as E01-dashboard-redacted.png. Do not put your name, email or account ID in the filename.
  3. Make a separate redacted copy. Crop or cover identifiers completely, inspect at full size, flatten the export and remove personal file metadata. Do not change the relevant amounts or outcomes.
  4. Send only the agreed redacted evidence through the route in your brief. An application email is not an evidence-upload channel. Do not send raw identity or financial documents.
  5. Agree public credit and publication permission for each item. Video, voice, social reuse and unredacted access require separate agreement.

The editor may request clarification, but should not request your password or a login to your participant account. Public files must never expose a private account route or an unredacted original.

A request is not a received payment.

Not attempted

No withdrawal was requested. Record why, including a threshold not reached.

Requested / pending

A request was accepted or remains in progress. There is no confirmed receipt yet.

Received

An approved, redacted receipt supports the amount, currency and date actually received.

Rejected / cancelled

Record the stated reason and any support response without assuming the issue affects every account.

Record request and receipt dates separately, plus the minimum, method, currency, fees and net received amount. Never deposit money, buy a product or spend extra hours just to force a cash-out. If the seven days end first, report the pending or untested outcome and agree any follow-up separately.

Your testing templates

Download the whole kit or choose individual files. CSV files open in common spreadsheet apps. They contain blank templates, not sample findings. Keep them on your own device until an agreed submission route is available.

Download all templates (.zip)

Before anything goes public

What the editor checks

  1. The provider, country, tester’s agreed public credit, account context, devices, observation window and session count are recorded.
  2. Diary dates and outcomes agree with the evidence register. Gaps, failures, missed checks and unresolved payments remain visible.
  3. Provider-advertised figures, observed account balances, approved rewards and received payments are kept separate.
  4. Every public image has a permission record, a useful caption, a capture date and a successful redaction check.
  5. The published finding explains its sample size and limits, identifies the editor and uses the real test dates. It must not turn one tester’s week into a “typical earnings” claim.

A future country report can credit an actual, approved test by country, contributor and date. Until that record exists, the report stays labelled as desk research. See our editorial standards and how contact information is handled.

Google’s review guidance supports original experience and evidence. The purpose of this protocol is an accurate, useful account for readers.

Ready to help?

Start with an application, then agree a brief before doing any testing.

Apply to be a tester →