Looking for Assistance with Scout's Personal Account

[OneHour]

I have just been tasked to create and manage the troop's personal account. I have no idea how to approach this ... yet. If someone has done this before, I would love to learn from you. What software do you use? What % of the fundraiser do your scout keep? How much goes into troop's general fund? What is the withdrawal process? I am looking to model after best practices out there. Many thanks in advance. Please PM me if you do not mind sharing your expertise or experience.

 

1Hour

[EagleInKY]

We use TroopLedger. It handles scout accounts just fine. If your looking for something as easy as Quicken, this isn't it. But it gets the job done.

 

On fundraisers that are directly linked back to a boy (such as popcorn sales), we would split the profit 50/50. We've changed our philosophy, and now we are experimenting with giving 100% of individual fund-raising back to the boy. Group activities will go 100% into the troop's general fund.

[anarchist]

We are not big on fund raising and do as little as possible, being "in the country" makes door to door tough! We have a couple of dinners/breakfasts that are 100% troop fund raisers and then shift to scout accounts. The boys opt in or out of these efforts and they get 100% of their individual sales effort if it is "door to door" type program. If it is, say, selling popcorn and drinks at the local festival they get a 'share' of the total profit based on the number of 'shifts' they work. (we allow double shifting only if there are more time slots than there are boys wanting to participate.

 

The accounting system is a toss up...we are in the process of actually spliting these accounts off of the Troop account and starting a second account at a different Bank...just for Scout accounts.

[Vicki]

OneHour, I volunteered and ended up the treasurer - no real surprise, since I'm an accountant (among other things). I hope to get our checkbook into Quicken at some point, but for now I just maintain an Excel "book" of three or four spreadsheets where the totals are linked back to the main spreadsheet (which is the reconciled bank account). Very simple cell formulas involved so it doesn't take a lot of "computerese". One spreadsheet is the scout accounts, one for whatever high adventure we have going and one for a budget. You can keep a lot of detail without getting fancy.

 

As far as fundraising, we don't sell popcorn. Our pizza sales (and any other direct fundraising), 50% of the funds raised after expenses are covered go to the scout account. Don't know if this would be worth a spun-off thread, but I'd be interested in hearing how other troops handle fundraising profit splits.

 

Vicki

[SemperParatus]

We use Quickbooks (advanced Quicken), although Quicken would work just as well. You say you are to handle scout accounts, does that mean you are to be the Treasurer? The Treasurer should be keeping the unit books (deposits/checks/bank recs/ etc.) and the Scout Account maintenance is basically the biggest component of the books. A Scout Account is a liability of the troop (money that the troop is holding for the scout's benefits and owes to the scout).

 

The fundraising allocation between individual and unit should be determined by the troop committee. Like EIKY, we allocate individual sales fundraisers 100% to scout accounts and group fundraisers to the troop's general funds.

 

Scouts and parents can make direct contributions to their accounts. Many times, adults that are to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses(e.g., unit admission charges put on a credit card, propane purchases, COH supplies) will hand in the receipt and just ask that it be credited to their son's account rather than have a check cut to them. Withdrawals are typically handled by simply debiting the account for dues that are owed and trip costs based on sign-up or attendance sheets. Rarely is a withdrawal handled as a payment directly to a scout. Our troop policy is that scouts that leave the troop forfeit their scout account balance unless they are transferring to another unit, in which case a check is cut payable to the other unit. Scouts thinking about quitting usually have small balances or make the attempt to use up their account balance through trip attendance (which gives us an opportunity to change their mind).

 

Negative accounts will occur. For example, a scout has $10 in his account and goes on a trip that costs $25, without paying in advance for some reason. Our treasurer basically prints out an individual account summary each month and distributes it in mail folders at meetings. Negative balances are noted for payment for the scout/parent. Payment is typically expected within 15 days.

 

Adults that go camping alot and pay fees can have their own account or you can just include their activity in their son's account.

 

In a large troop, scout account maintenance is a big job. I thank our treasurer every time I see him. Good luck to you.

 

 

[EagleInKY]

Related question to add to the responses. How do you handle it when a boy leaves the troop? Our policy has been that the money transfers into the general fund of the troop. We've never had anyone challenge that, but we've haven't had very many leave, and those that did probably didn't have much in their accounts.

[Vicki]

In our troop, only money raised through fundraisers goes into the account and it only comes out for camping activity. Accounts are not allowed to "go negative". If an activity cannot be covered by the scout's account, he owes that much and his account balance is 0.

 

If a scout leaves, any money goes into the general account.

 

Vicki

[OneHour]

I am not the Treasurer of our troop, just an innocent ASM; however, our Treasurer indicated that she does not have time to mess with the scout personal accounts. I pushed for this because for the past 2 years, the same number of boys (about 8-10) do the fundraiser while the rest are being funded by their parents. I told the committee that we need to institute the personal accounts to reward these boys who actively supporting the troop. Well, you know what happen when you opened your mouth to suggest something ... you became the proud owner of the task. So from my point-of-view is that our Treasurer still bean count the real money that goes in and out of the Troop treasury. I maintain the revenue/withdrawal accounting for each boy. If they make a request, I have to ensure that there is a mechanism for the fund to be transferred to the activity or at least being deducted for the boy.

 

Thanks for the answer so far.

 

1Hour

[acco40]

Here are some of the rules that I believe are critical:

 

1) Make sure BEFORE any fundraising commences that how the $$ raised are to be distributed is communicated to all. What the percentages should be (50/50, 100% to Scout, 100% to troop, etc.) is not as critical.

 

2) I've found that the greater the percentage that goes into a Scout account, the greater effort some families give.

 

3) Always allow unit families the option of contributing $$$ directly.

 

As SM, I go round and round with the CC on #1. His approach is to see how much money is raised and only after that fact can a "wise" appropriation of funds be made. For example, the troop needs to buy tents; expected expenditure is to be $600. So, the first $600 raised goes to the troop, the rest goes into the Scout accounts of individual participants. For me, when it comes to money issues I like to have the rules stated up front to avoid arguments later. So, percentages, is $$ based on amount raised or time spent, etc. should all be determined a priori.

 

As for #2, what to do about families that never participate in fundraisers that are for the troop general operating budget? See rule #3! Some families are cash poor and time rich. Some are time poor and cash rich. In our troop, we have a mixture of both. Set an expectation - i.e. each Scout is expected to sell enough popcorn to raise $100 for the troop. For those that choose not to participate, always "allow" them to contribute cold hard cash - the expectation is really to contribute $100/Scout to the troop by whatever means.

 

And - don't forget, patrols can choose to have fundraisers on their own! Also, don't forget the proper paperwork (council approval) and no uniforms except for popcorn sales wrt fundraising.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[KoreaScouter]

(What software do you use?) Our committee keeps track of fundraisers using the fundraising module in TroopMaster. It doesn't do the treasurer's entire job, but does enable them to apportion fund raising proceeds to particular Scouts.

 

(What % of the fundraiser do your scout keep? How much goes into troop's general fund?) Depends on the fundraiser, and the committee decides that well beforehand. Sometimes it's 100%, sometimes less than that, sometimes the Troop gets it all (rarely).

 

(What is the withdrawal process?) Summer camp's a given, as are OA section conclaves. Any other withdrawals need a note to the committee; they handle them on a case by case basis. If somebody quits, the $$ goes into the Troop account. If they transfer, we send it to their new unit.

 

Hope this helps,

 

KS

 

[CA_Scouter]

Our troop by-laws state that 50% of fundraising goes into scout accounts, and the amount per scout is dependent on the amount of time the scout put in on the fundraiser. That way, the scout who spends 4 hours gets more in his scout account then the one who spent 2 ( or none ).

 

 

 

[Vicki]

Well, Acco, I started out disagreeing with you on #3 but if what you're talking about is a buyout, then I have no issue with it. We allow buyouts on our pizza sales (or a minimum contribution without selling anything, depending on how you look at it). Direct monetary contributions over and above a buyout, to my and our committee's minds, is a) too hard to keep track of, b) distorts the point of having the scout accounts and c) really no point to it since the parents would just pay for it anyway.

 

OneHour, this is going to be hard for you to do without your Treasurer's buyin. With the right spreadsheet set up, the scout account numbers really do just fall out at the end. I guess if you had two accounts set up, and your numbers figured out (profit to scout, etc.) then the treasurer would cut you a check and then you could allocate it to the scout accounts.

 

I agree completely about having the numbers laid out before you do the fundraising. Good grief, no company in their right mind would launch a product without a pricing/cost plan!

 

Vicki

 

 

[Eamonn]

These accounts are a very sore subject with me right now.

The treasurer of a pack in the district left things go and didn't keep on top of taking moneys out of the Scouts account. I'm not sure what she did or how she did it, but in November parents got a statement saying that they were in the red for some amount and then after they paid this they got another statement in January saying that they still owed more money. I met with the Cubmaster and he said a lot of the Scouts that were no longer in the pack had left owing money. When I asked where the money that was missing had come from, it turns out it came from the accounts that belonged to Scouts who have money in the pack. The whole thing is a real mess.

They had run a system where all the money went into each Scouts account and each Scout paid for what he got. Tim got two belt loops his account was charged for two belts, Fred got one so he only paid for one. Big items were charged at the cost divided by the number of Scouts that were in the pack. The pack is now faced with raising money to replace the money that has gone along with the Cub Scouts, many have left because the parents didn't want to pay up.

Back when I was in Cub Scouting our pack held a planning meeting which in turn led to the pack budget. This led to what I termed the "Magic Number". At that time it was a little over $100.00. The deal was that somehow, someway you reached this amount. You could participate in the 3 pack fund raising events or write a check or do some fund raising and then pay the rest. The Pack Committee didn't care how you got there as long as you did. (If there were Cub Scouts that for some reason were having a hard time or families that had more than one boy in the pack, other arrangements were made.) After you reached the Magic Number, any money you raised would be put toward camp or some other Scouting expense.

I have been thinking about this and I now think that you would need two accounts.

If all the money in the Unit Account belongs to the Chartering Organization, the Pack Account should hold only the money that is Pack Funds. There should be another account for holding the money in Scouts personal accounts.

What is sad is that the pack that messed up is going to have to ask the Scouts to do a pack fund raiser and the boys will raise money to have it put back in their accounts, where it should be anyway.

A big problem was that the pack was being run by three super hero's who didn't hold monthly committee meetings, they were too busy doing everything and didn't have time or see the need for a monthly meeting.

Money,and money handling is way up near the top of my list of why adults in Packs have ill feelings and problems. There should be an accurate and up to date accounting of all unit funds each month. Her Who Must Be Obeyed served as a pack treasurer for many years, everything was done in the open, there were no secrets. She tried to only write checks once a month at the Committee meeting. The Cubmaster would have met with the Den Leaders and collected any unpaid bills the week before and he would present these and requests for "Up front money" that might be needed.No system is foolproof there were times (School Sign up night and Cub Camping Kick off) when She would very grudgingly hand over a blank check to the fearless Cubmaster (me.) The checks needed two signatures. Three Committee members were listed. I as Cubmaster was not listed and did have to go cap in hand.

Looking at the mess they have now - Give me the Magic Number any day of the week.

Eamonn.

[Vicki]

Eamonn, you obviously know what went wrong here (or SWMBO can tell you:

[Eamonn]

We reached the "Magic Number" by looking at all the pack activities. At times there was some heated discussion about these. Things like should the B&G be a covered dish or catered event? Would we give away hot dogs and drink at the Pine Wood Derby or sell them in the hope of boosting the Pack Fund.

In the pack advancements are easy to budget. We did have a hard time budgeting Belt Loops, at times I think the Den Leaders spent more time on them than the advancement program. We ended up budgeting for six of the darn things per Cub per year.

With Boy Scouts you could look back over past years and divide the total awarded by the number of Scouts and get some idea. Please don't tell anyone but we also added 10% to the "Magic Number" Just to be on the safe side.

I posted the sad tale in order so that everyone could see what can happen when things are let go. Things in Scouting go so much better when we work hard at Communicating and don't allow a few people do all the work.

What was funny was when I met with the Cubmaster the Pack Committee Chair was present. After asking a few questions it became very clear that she had no idea what her role or job was, when I started to explain it, her husband a Webelos Scout Den Leader jumped in and said that she was told that she didn't have to do anything and she didn't have time to do the job. I asked who had given her that information? It had come from the old Cubmaster.

Sad, sad. Mad mad.

Eamonn.