A grocery run sounds like a small part of the job until someone has your father’s card, his PIN and no written limit. Set the money rules while you are comparing arrangements, not while a caregiver is standing in a checkout line.
First, mark which hiring lane you are considering. The person who answers for an agency may be different from the person who answers in a direct hire. Use Agency or Direct to keep those responsibilities separate. Then ask each candidate the same questions below and write the answers in the same place.
1. Name the errands before discussing payment
Do not ask, “Can the caregiver help with errands?” Name the transactions that may actually happen.
Ask: “Which of these may the caregiver do: buy groceries, pick up household supplies, pay at a restaurant, collect a prepaid order or return an item?”
Write:
Allowed errands: ______________________________
Not allowed: __________________________________
Listen for an answer that separates transportation, shopping, payment and return handling. “We help with errands” does not tell you whether the caregiver may hold money or complete a purchase.
Stop if the answer changes depending on which staff member you ask. Do not commit until one person gives you the rule in writing.
2. Ask what the caregiver may carry
Ask each question separately:
“May the caregiver carry cash belonging to the client?”
“May the caregiver carry a credit or debit card?”
“May the caregiver know or enter a PIN?”
“May the caregiver use a check?”
“May the caregiver use a store account or an ordering app?”
Write:
Cash: yes / no / unclear
Card: yes / no / unclear
PIN: yes / no / unclear
Check: yes / no / unclear
Account or app: yes / no / unclear
Do not treat a yes to one item as permission for the others. If the proposed method conflicts with the agency’s rule or the direct hire’s stated boundary, choose another method before service begins.
3. Put one person in charge of approving purchases
Name the family member who can approve an expense when the requested item is unavailable, costs more than expected or is not on the list.
Ask: “If the purchase changes, does the caregiver call before paying, leave without the item or choose a substitute?”
Write:
Approver: _____________________________________
Best contact method: ___________________________
If the approver cannot be reached: ______________
Listen for a repeatable instruction. “Use your judgment” leaves the caregiver to guess where the family’s boundary sits.
4. Set the purchase limit and substitution rule
The useful limit is the one the caregiver can apply without interpreting it. Write the maximum amount permitted for one trip and whether that amount includes substitutions, tips, delivery charges or other additions.
Ask: “What must happen before the caregiver goes over the written limit?”
Write:
Maximum per trip: ______________________________
Substitutions allowed: yes / no
Approval required from: ________________________
Approval must be recorded by: text / email / other
Stop if the candidate will not follow a written limit or cannot explain how approval will be documented.
5. Decide how the list, payment method and receipt move
Walk through one complete errand. Start with the shopping list. End with the receipt, change, card and purchased items back in the house.
Ask: “Where does the caregiver get the list?”
Ask: “Who hands over the payment method?”
Ask: “Where are the card and receipt returned?”
Ask: “Who checks the receipt against the items?”
Write:
List location: __________________________________
Payment handed over by: ________________________
Card or change returned to: _____________________
Receipt stored at: ______________________________
Receipt checked by: _____________________________
Listen for named people and named locations. “The family handles it” is not a working handoff.
6. Ask how a disputed transaction is handled
Use a plain example: “The receipt shows an item nobody recognizes. Who receives the question, and what records will be available?”
For an agency, ask who reviews the matter and how to submit the receipt or account record. For a direct hire, decide which family member will compare the list, approval message and receipt with the caregiver.
Write:
First contact: __________________________________
Record to keep: _________________________________
Where to send it: _______________________________
Expected next action: ___________________________
Do not accept “That has never happened” as the procedure. You are asking what the procedure is.
7. Keep account access out of vague language
If an errand would require a password, saved card, banking login or broad access to a phone, stop and redesign the task. Ask whether the order can be prepaid, whether a family member can place it or whether the caregiver can collect it without entering an account.
Write:
Account the caregiver would need: _______________
Why access is needed: ___________________________
Lower-access method available: __________________
Stop if the proposed arrangement depends on sharing credentials but nobody can state what access the caregiver will have or how that access will end.
8. Match the written rule to the actual person arriving
Before committing, ask: “How will the caregiver assigned to the house receive these money and errand rules?”
Then ask: “If a different caregiver covers the visit, where will that person see the same instructions?”
Write:
Rule stored in: __________________________________
Person responsible for updating it: ______________
How the assigned caregiver confirms it: __________
A family note that never reaches the caregiver is not a usable control. The answer should identify both the record and the person responsible for passing it along.
9. Read the paperwork for conflicts
Compare the answers you wrote with the service agreement, care plan, worker instructions or direct-hire agreement you are being asked to use. Look specifically for language about errands, client funds, cards, purchases, transportation, receipts and prohibited tasks.
Mark any conflict. Ask for clarification in writing before signing. This is a document comparison, not a request for verbal reassurance.
Conflict found: __________________________________
Person asked to resolve it: _______________________
Written answer received: yes / no
The site’s writing method explains why these sheets rely on checkable questions, and the Sources page identifies the public pages used to frame the hiring checks.
10. Make the commitment test
Before choosing the arrangement, confirm that you can answer all five questions:
What may the caregiver buy?
What payment method may the caregiver handle?
Who approves a change?
Where do the card, change and receipt go?
Who handles a disputed transaction?
If any answer is still “we will work that out,” write “open” beside it and resolve it before committing. For the wider hiring sequence, place this check beside the steps on Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.