Field Agent: An App that Pays You One Mission at a Time

There are apps to help us to do our banking; apps that help us sort out our receipts, and apps that help us to manage our day-to-day finances. But isn't it time someone created an app that would help us earn real money? Oh, yeah, someone has made an app for that.

It's called Field Agent, and it's timing couldn't be better. Maybe you're one of many people who are still recovering from a Black Friday or Cyber Monday hangover. Or, maybe you're looking for a chance to redeem yourself after a major shopping spree.Welcome to life as a Field Agent
The Calgary-based company launched in Canada a year ago and is now rapidly expanding throughout Eastern Canada. The company, which was founded by Rick West, Kelly Miller and Henry Ho, provides agents with an opportunity to make an average of $50 a month to $3,000 a year – passively. They do this by completing important time sensitive assignments in their local area or while they are going about their daily errands. I like to think of it as part Mission Impossible and part the crazy jobs you can find on Craigslist. Either way, it can be 100% addictive -- in a good way, of course.

Related: Do You Have Enough Cash in Your Emergency Fund?

The future of market research
Jeff Doucette, general manager of Field Agent Canada said in an interview that Field Agent was created to give companies visibility across the country in a quick and efficient manner. Businesses can set up their own jobs via the website and determine the parameters for each task. "A lot of clients want to talk to agents through the app, sometimes in-home or in-store to understand how they use a product or shop through a store," explained Doucette. "People are getting real cash, not points or other types of gimmicks."

To become a Field Agent you'll need to download the app onto either an iPhone or an iPad, and complete an account profile. Payments are made through PayPal and can be cashed out at anytime. For my first assignment I was instructed to go to a Loblaws store and perform a detergent pod audit. I had exactly two hours to complete this task or I would self-destruct. (Just kidding.) If an assignment isn't completed within the allotted timeframe you simply lose that assignment.

All agents start out with a score of 85 points. The more assignments you complete the higher your score. Having a good score is important because there are certain clients who want tasks to be performed by experienced agents. To date, there are approximately 13,000 agents across Canada, and they are actively seeking more.

Jobs can appear at anytime, however, the lion's share of activity occurs over the weekend, which, coincidentally, is when most agents end up doing their shopping anyway. Agents are encouraged to jump on a job as soon as one becomes available, as they are often time-sensitive. "It's a first come, first served situation with agents," Doucette said.

Lucrative fun for the whole family
In some cases, becoming a Field Agent is a family affair. Take, for instance, Annie, a single mother living in the Windsor area. Last October she, her brother and her father signed up to become Field Agents and they haven't looked back."Field Agent is primarily a game for us," said Annie. "It's like a scavenger hunt -- we just have so much fun doing it."

She and her son complete their "secret missions" together on weekends. Annie also turns the small jobs into learning opportunities. Carefully following instructions is the key to being successful with Field Agent. If a task hasn't been completed correctly it will be rejected and the agent won't be paid. "I have had jobs refused," she admitted. "But it was always for a legitimate reason: something I forgot, or an instruction I misinterpreted."

A growing rainy day fund
With Field Agent there are no limitations to the amount of assignments that an agent can take on or to the amount of money that an agent can make. It's unlikely that becoming an agent will turn you into a millionaire but it definitely can offer you money for your Starbucks fix or purchase an item that you have been coveting for months, or pay a dreaded credit card bill that you've been secretly hoping wouldn't arrive in the new year.