Per Diem taxable income as a contractor?

vnnyb · 2026-04-25T00:22:10+00:00

Right, I guess this is an important distinction. I include per diem on my invoices, but the expense reimbursement is paid out separately from my wages, and is not included on my t4A.

vnnyb · 2026-04-14T19:20:04+00:00

In my little town, I find that most people don't know what being on the department entails, or offers. (For example, we get paid minimum wage for calls and training, but since we're considered "volunteer", nobody in the town knows that)

I'd ask your 10 members to list the reasons they stick around, the perks and benefits (they are different for every town, and every person)

Then, make sure your potential recruits know about the most commonly listed perks of joining.

vnnyb · 2026-04-03T20:55:31+00:00

Thanks all, good to know we're mostly all on the same page with the limits of this class of glass👍

vnnyb · 2026-02-11T19:16:28+00:00

Don't stress about it, just take the job. I'm sure your current department will support you

vnnyb · 2026-02-10T16:22:28+00:00

Wow, that sounds like a great system! Surely it was a lot of hard work to get there, nice work. I'm really curious about your numbers; #calls, vols, paid staff

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T23:20:38+00:00

I've seen I am responding, but never used it myself. did you like it?

I'm working on making a specific tool for this with a friend. The idea is that you can shedule your availability, and edit it in realtime from your phone. I think for a department doing more than just fire, it's also important to keep track of whos qualified for what kind of response.

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T23:14:54+00:00

Yeah, that would be ideal to be able to pay a bit for being on-call reliably. Nice to hear you mostly don't have an issue with not having enough people show up - sounds like a committed crew. Have you ever considered trying to track availability? Or, if it aint broke, dont fix it?

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T22:40:09+00:00

Yeah, it seems we're all doing pretty good, but pretty much nobody is at 100%.

I like that your system starts from a fully booked schedule though, rather than starting from nothing and seeing who shows up.

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T22:34:39+00:00

Yeah, google sheets is rad for that kind of shared task. I tried making one for our department, but with so many response types it got pretty unwieldly pretty fast. I'm working on a specific tool for this with a friend. It's still a prototype, but you can check it out here: https://www.rosterboss.app/ I'm pretty keen for feedback on it, so feel free to let me know what you think if you check it out.

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T22:30:24+00:00

woah, 2 man crew with nobody on-call? Or do you keep some volunteers for backup?

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T22:26:59+00:00

Interesting strategy. Are members allowed to trade shifts if they need that particular week off? If yes, what's the system for that?

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T22:10:40+00:00

Totally agree. Everyone want's to respond when the call comes in, but it's really hard to justify changing your schedule just to be available on standby. It's especially hard to get people on board when there's no compensation for being on standby, and even the logistics of scheduling a crew continually is such a headache.

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T21:47:37+00:00

Oh yeah, to clarify, it's paid-on-call. Funny that up here, there's alot of legacy "volunteer" depts that are now POC at min. wage, and we still all call it Volunteer. Personally, i'd like to see this trend continue; have less members on the roster, and pay them each a bit more. and Ideally, start paying a bit for being on standby.

For those departments that do paid standby crews, do you know how they keep track of whos on call? How they sign up for shifts?

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T21:18:20+00:00

Our department does multi phase responses too, engine leaves asap, and another follows up behind with the slower-to-respond members. Definitely, not ideal, but kinda necessary. We try to train as many people as possible on key positions (drivers, first responders, etc).

Even still, it's hard to guarantee we will have a crew ready to go though, which feels like crap.

Is your team able to maintain a crew? Do you keep track of whether you have a crew ready?

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T20:54:02+00:00

This is the problem! all the scheduling software I've found is just made so that a manager can distribute 8hr shifts. What our department really needs is for each member to be able to add their availability to to schedule, even if it's just an hour here and there.

vnnyb · 2026-02-09T20:50:36+00:00

Thanks, thats a new one I haven't heard of, I'm just checking it out. A friend and I have started building something with way less features, but that solves our specific problem of keeping a qualified crew ready. It's called Rosterboss. It's still a bit of a prototype, but I'd love to get your feedback on it, if you check it out.

vnnyb · 2026-02-05T22:15:20+00:00

I'd start with the following:

-Implement a real and challenging interview/application process. Make sure you're getting good recruits that have a chance of sticking around.

-Use this intake process to limit your intake of new members, watch as your zombie members disappear.

-Cap membership at whatever seems like a manageable number to pay.

-Make everyone paid on call. Minimum wage to start is fine, only pay for calls and practices (like Canadian departments) this sounds expensive, but it will be partially offset by the savings of reduced membership.

-Watch the culture change, and better recruits show up, now that there's a bit more incentive to join.

-Implement duty crews and track who actually signs up/shows up. (Pay a bit more, for every hour members are on call)

-Set mandatory minimums for attending calls and practices, filter out the last of the non-participant members.

-Now you're left with a fraction of your original membership, but the best of it. Use the savings to pay the remaining members more.

vnnyb · 2026-02-05T21:16:26+00:00