Skip The Dishes Courier: A Complete Guide

Becoming a Skip The Dishes courier is a great way to earn money with your car. Like most other app based courier companies, Skip The Dishes couriers are independent contractors, not employees.

This offers advantages like being able to create your own schedule and work as little or as often as you want. You have to use your own car though and pay for your own expenses like gas, repairs, etc.

just eat skip the dishes redirect
Credit: Just Eat

Skip The Dishes was founded in 2012 in western Canada and currently operates only in Canada. In 2016, Skip The Dishes was acquired by Just Eat, which used to be a popular delivery service in Canada before competitors like UberEATS and of course Skip The Dishes entered the market.

Just Eat still operates in more than 13 countries worldwide but no longer in Canada. Up until mid-2019, Skip The Dishes operated in a handful of US Cities, however they ended up selling off their operations to rival delivery service Grubhub.

Commercial Driver HQ
Commercial Driver HQ

Skip The Dishes Grocery Delivery

It was announced to Skip The Dishes courier on May 1, 2020 that grocery delivery will soon be available.

Skip The Dishes couriers only pick up the groceries vs Instacart where you do the shopping as well.

To learn more about becoming an Instacart driver, read our complete guide:

Instacart Driver Jobs in Canada: What You Need to Know to Get Started

What Cities Have Skip The Dishes?

This is a complete list of all the cities that Skip The Dishes operates in Canada.

Skip the Dishes Car Requirements

Before you get started as a Skip The Dishes courier, they need to make sure you have the minimum qualifications. The Skip The Dishes car requirements are:

  • You must have a reliable vehicle, although you can use a bicycle or scooter in some cities;
  • Be the age of majority in your province;
  • Have a valid driver’s license: Class: G2 and above in Ontario or Class 5 in the rest of Canada;
  • Have proof of a personal car insurance policy;
  • Provide proof of vehicle registration;
  • Own a smartphone with data, as you will have to download the courier app and use it on deliveries;
  • Be eligible to work in Canada, which means you need to provide at least one of these documents:
    • Permanent Residency Card
    • Canadian Birth Certificate
    • Canadian Passport
    • Work or Study Permit

Now that we have covered all the Skip The Dishes courier requirements, let’s move on to the sign-up process.

What is the Sign-up Process to Become a Skip The Dishes Courier?

Signing up as a Skip The Dishes courier is pretty easy and done entirely online. Unlike some delivery apps like Foodora and Door Dash, you are not required to complete an in-person orientation.

If you have met the Skip The Dishes requirements, then you can begin the process to getting on the road. You can become a Skip The Dishes courier by following these 5 easy steps:

  1. Upload Your Documents Online
  2. Watch the Videos and Complete Quiz Questions
  3. Order your Skip the Dishes Courier Bags and Background Check
  4. Get the Skip the Dishes Courier App
  5. Schedule a Shift or Go Online

Step 1: Upload Your Documents Online

Head over to the sign-up page on the Skip The Dishes website. You will start with your basic contact information and creating an online login. Then, enter the address you are going to start delivering from, which is typically your home.

This will prompt you to see your “zones”. You can pick one or more areas that you want to work in. Then, select the method you will use to deliver, i.e. car or bike.

Next, you will need your documents uploaded. These are the documents you need to meet the Skip The Dishes courier requirements:

  • Driver’s license
  • Car insurance
  • Vehicle registration
  • Work eligibility, which can be one of the following documents:
    • Permanent Residency Card
    • Canadian Birth Certificate
    • Canadian Passport
    • Work or Study Permit

Step 2: Watch the Videos and Complete Quiz Questions

After all the “paperwork” is complete, you are now prompted to watch some videos as you move throughout the rest of the online process. There will be 12 videos you will need to watch that are only about a minute or so long.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. Your Responsibilities
  3. Getting Paid
  4. Privacy and Confidentiality
  5. Background Checks
  6. Thermal Bags
  7. Support
  8. The Courier App
  9. Delivering Orders
  10. Order Types
  11. Getting on the Road
  12. Review

Part 1: Introduction

First, there will be a quick overview of the job of a Skip The Dishes courier.

Part 2: Your Responsibilities

As an independent contractor, you must be professional, confidential and provide your own “tools of the trade” including your own vehicle, insurance, smartphone, thermal bag, etc.

Part 3: Getting Paid

Pay is based on the estimated time and distance of the delivery job, plus customer tips.

https://youtu.be/OWnRTzED-h8

Part 4: Privacy and Confidentiality

You will have access to customer information like their name, address and phone number. You are not allowed to disclose this to anyone or publish it online.

Step 3: Background Checks & Courier Bags

As part of the sign up process, Skip The Dishes requires couriers to consent to a background check. You also need to get thermal bags, which you have to pay for yourself.

Part 5: Background Checks

Background checks are required to become a Skip The Dishes courier. They are supplied through the platform for a cost of $19.95 and typically take 3-5 days, however, it is possible the process could be up to 2 weeks.

Before you finish the sign-up process, you have to pay for this with a credit card. You will pay for it together with your thermal bag if you buy one of theirs. Due to security reasons, we have not included this video.

Part 6: Thermal Bags

You are required to have a thermal bag to work for Skip The Dishes. You can buy a branded bag directly from Skip the Dishes. The cost for the branded thermal Skip The Dishes bags is $59.95, which must be paid before the sign-up process is complete using a credit card online.

The other option is you can supply your own thermal bag but it has to meet their requirements. The requirements for the Skip The Dishes courier bags are:

  • They must be unbranded, so you can’t use any bags with competitor logos on them like DoorDash or UberEats;
  • They must close completely with velcro strips or an “industrial” zipper;
  • You must have 1 pizza bag and 1 large catering bag;
    • The pizza bag has to be able to fit four, 18″ inch pizzas.;
    • The catering bag must be 23″ L x 14″ W x 17″ H (which could fit two, 6″ catering pans);
  • The liners must be leak-proof, removable and made of heavy duty thermally-reflective high temperature material;
  • The bags must be in good condition, i.e. no tears or rips.

You can get them from Amazon or from a reputable manufacturer directly. They are a bit more expensive online if you get good ones, however the advantage is you can use the same bag to delivery with all the other delivery services too.

Depending on what the other companies charge, buying unbranded bags might be cheaper. This eliminates the need to buy and carry several different branded bags while you are working.

You must prove to Skip The Dishes that you actually have your own bags when you sign up. They want you to upload pictures of the bags, together with a piece of photo identification. They do this so you don’t just go online, find a bag that qualifies and download the image for it. They need to see you actually have it in your possession.

Part 7: Support

If you have an issue while on a delivery, you can start a chat with a support agent in the courier app. If you have questions outside current deliveries, you can reach out to them via phone or e-mail. This contact information will be accessible in the app.

Step 4: Download the App

As with nearly all food delivery now, Skip The Dishes operates using a smartphone, connecting restaurants with couriers. You will need a relatively new smartphone for this job but don’t need advanced technical skills to use the application.

Part 8: The Courier App

The app is used for accepting and navigating deliveries, tracking earnings, communicating with support and scheduling when you want to work. You are not communicating directly with the restaurant, customer or even Skip The Dishes most of the time unless there is an issue.

After watching this video, you will be asked to answer a single multiple choice question. There are a couple of these questions throughout the onboarding process.

Part 9: Delivering Orders

You will get a notification that you are matched to an order. Accept the order and drive to the restaurant. Bring in your thermal bag and smartphone. Give the staff your order number, place the food in the bag and head to the customers house.

Pay attention to any special instructions the restaurants or customer may have. This could something like what door to go to, where to park, etc.

Then, they have another multiple-choice question for you.

skip-the-dishes-question

Part 10: Order Types

There are two types of orders: pre-paid online orders or cash orders. If it is a cash order, you must pay the restaurant first with your own money and collect the cash from the customer at the door.

You are required to keep a $60 cash float on you to make change for customers if they decide to go with a cash order. Make sure you have various types of small bills and change.

Select your answer to the next multiple choice question. If you get it wrong, you can still move along throughout the process, it will just give you a notification with the correct answer.

skip-the-dishes-question-cash

Part 11: Getting on the Road

Skip The Dishes tries to predict how many couriers they will need for certain times based on how many orders they expect. You can set your availability in the courier app and they will schedule you for shifts.

You must have your availability entered before midnight every Wednesday for the following week. Schedules will be released the next day.

You can also just log on and try to pick up open runs. This happens when they are short couriers or have high demand.

There is no guarantee that there will be open runs available for you to jump online and take.

Part 12: Review

A quick wrap up of everything you went over before completing the onboarding process:

  • You are responsible for own tools and documents
  • Paid based on time and distance
  • Courier app directs where to drive
  • Set and change your schedule in the app
  • Thermal bags are required for orders
  • Contact support through the app

Step 5: Schedule a Shift or Go Online

Now that you are finished the sign up process, you just have to wait for your application to be review and processed.

After you receive confirmation you have been approved, you can try going online if there are shifts available or wait until the calendar opens up and schedule your shift availability.

Contracts

Before you start as a Skip The Dishes courier you should read over all the rules and legal documents. These are the Skip The Dishes courier contracts you have to agree to:

The Courier Agreement mainly sets out the terms of your relationship with Skip The Dishes as an independent contractor, not an employee. Along with a lot of other legal jargon that you have to agree to, it says you have to maintain your own insurance, vehicle, license, etc.

The Social Code is pretty straight forward. It basically just tells you not to break the law while working for Skip.

Finally, the Referral Program Terms and Conditions sets out the rules for you to qualify for shift incentives and sign up bonuses. The agreement is a bit vague and basically says they can change the referral program whenever they want.

Skip The Dishes Courier Pay

Skip The Dishes pay is based on the estimated time and distance it takes for the delivery, based on Google Maps. Skip The Dishes pay is difficult to understand because the company does not disclose any rates or formulas.

Couiers are paid per trip, not per hour. Before accepting a request for delivery the app identifies what the “Transit Pay” is, a flat rate that goes entirely to the driver. If the customer is paying by credit card in the app, it will also disclose the tip they selected, if any.

How Much Do Skip The Dishes Courierss Make?

Skip The Dishes couriers make approximately $16.86 per hour. If you were to work 40 hours per week that would be $674.40.

That would mean Skip The Dishes couriers earn an approximate annual salary of $35,068.80.

This data was pulled from a small sample size of drivers and is by no means an exact figure. You must account for a couple things when trying to figure out how much you will earn as a Skip The Dishes courier:

  • The city and area you are delivering in;
  • Day and times of shifts;
  • Your vehicle expenses.

Skip The Dishes or Uber Eats?

Learn more by reading our head to head driver comparison.

Of course, how much you make is also dependent on how good you are. Some things that make a Skip The Dishes courier earn more money are:

  • Passing on deliveries from restaurants that have the longest wait times;
  • Knowing what areas to avoid due to congestion and construction;
  • Finding prime parking spaces;
  • Knowing which orders to accept or decline based on the transit pay;
  • Providing good customer service.

The last skill, providing good customer service, might be the most important. As a big part of your income will be customer tips, communicating effectively with them, fulfilling any special requests and being friendly will go a long way.

Skip The Dishes Taxes

Working as a Skip The Dishes courier means that you have to do some tax planning. In your typical job, your employer takes off the taxes you owe directly from your pay cheque. However, Skip The Dishes is not your employer. This means you need to save throughout the year to pay your own taxes.

Skip The Dishes Tax Return

In order to help you prepare your Skip The Dishes tax return, they provide you with a Summary of Earnings which sets out how much money Skip The Dishes has paid you that year in delivery fees. You should get this by e-mail no later than March 1. You only get a statement if you make over $1,000 a year.

For some reason, they don’t include the tips the customer give you through the app on your Summary of Earnings. In order to get this information you have to go to your Earnings Statements in the courier portal. These are known as your “stated tips”.

The summaries do not include any cash tips that customers give you at the door. Also, if you made less than $1,000 that year with Skip The Dishes, this is where you need to go to add up all your delivery fees.

To help you prepare your Skip The Dishes tax return, add together:

  • Your delivery fees (Summary of Earnings)
  • Stated tips (Earnings Statements)
  • Cash tips

This will give you your total earnings for the year, also known as your gross earnings. Now, you need to find your net earnings to complete your Skip The Dishes tax return.

Expenses

If you have just started driving, make sure you start tracking your kilometres and expenses. You will need this for tax time. You can deduct your expenses at the end of the year which will lower the amount of tax you have to pay. Some examples of things you can claim are:

  • Gas
  • Vehicle maintenance and repairs
  • Cell phone bill
  • Insulated bags

Check out our rideshare tax articles for more tax help!

Income Tax
Deductions and Expenses
GST / HST

Skip The Dishes Insurance

You need to have your own car insurance as a Skip The Dishes courier, which must be provided at the beginning of the sign up process online. All you have to do is snap a picture of the slip you have in the car with your smart phone.

Do I need special insurance for Skip The Dishes?

Yes, you do need special insurance for Skip The Dishes. You need either a commercial insurance policy or an endorsement to drive for Skip The Dishes. This is because you are using your car for business purposes.

Skip The Dishes insurance requirements state:

“You have a valid policy of liability insurance for the Vehicle (including minimum third-party liability policy limits of $1,000,000), and any other insurance that is required by applicable laws in the Territory.”

Although the Skip The Dishes insurance requirements do not state you need a commercial policy or endorsement, it is your own insurance company that requires it.

Your personal policy will not cover you if you are in accident while driving for Skip The Dishes without a commercial policy or endorsement. If you don’t disclose to your insurer that you are driving for Skip The Dishes they may also cancel your policy too.

Although you can sign up with Skip The Dishes without additional insurance, we recommend you speak to your company or broker first and get all the facts and risks.

Skip The Dishes FAQ

We compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions by Skip The Dishes couriers, as well people looking to sign up as a Skip The Dishes courier who need some more information.

Do I have to collect GST / HST as a Skip The Dishes courier?

You do not have to register or collect sales tax (GST / HST) as a Skip The Dishes courier. However, you may wish to register for a GST / HST number anyways, as you can claim input tax credits. This lowers the amount of taxes you have to pay at the end of the year.

How do I get paid?

When you sign up to become a Skip The Dishes courier you will be prompted to enter your banking information. You will get your delivery fees and tips made through the app direct deposited to your bank account every week.

Can I do Skip The Dishes with a G2?

Yes, you can do Skip The Dishes with a G2 (Ontario) or a Class 5 license for the rest of the Canada.

Is Skip The Dishes income taxable?

Yes, Skip The Dishes income is taxable. You fall into the category of a self-employed courier. This means that you need to pay your own taxes but also means that you can deduct your expenses, like car repairs and gas. This lowers your Skip The Dishes taxable income which means you will owe less income tax when it comes time to file.


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