Hello everyone!  We are coming up to the busy deposit time for cookies.  Here are some suggestions from seasoned cookie volunteers. As always, please make sure you understand the official finance policies as listed in Volunteer Essentials, chapter 5.

Accepting Checks

Yes, we can accept checks. It is recommended that you only accept checks from those people you know. If a check is returned for NSF, it is the family who will need to go back to the customer and collect payment.  There is a form to help if the bank charges a fee, which the cookie team will help you with.

Checks should always be made out to “Girl Scouts”.  Not Girls Scouts of America (that’s not us) or GSA (nope, we are part of GSUSA).   Write the girl’s first name (and initial if you have more than one) on the Memo line.

ACH

The first ACH will be on February 13.  At that time 50% of what you owe from the initial order will be taken from your account. 

Booths

Troops provide their own “bank” at cookie booths.  You should have at least $60 in change available at each door according to our experiences.  Since cookies are $6, you will need to stock $1s or change. Remember, you CANNOT go into the business and ask them to make change for you.

How do you get the “bank”?  When you are making your troop deposits, you can make a withdrawal from the bank in the amount of the booth seed.  Then, when you are reconciling your booth, you set aside that bank amount when counting and either keep it for a future booth or deposit it back into your bank account with its own line item.

Digital Cookie

Digital Cookie (digitalcookie.girlscouts.org) is for GIRLS to have family and friends help them reach their cookie goals on-line.  They send e-mails or the link to their page to people they know (be safe and only contact people you know in real life and trust for orders).  Customers can place orders in three different ways:

• On-Line Paid/Girl Delivered – customer pays on-line and the girl delivers
• On-Line Paid/Shipped – customer pays on-line and order ships directly to them
• On-Line Paid/Donations – customer has donated cookies (Gift of Caring) only

eBudde

eBudde (ebudde.littlebrownie.com) is for TROOPS to manage their cookie orders.  Troops enter their order card totals by girl into the Initial Order tab.

Digital Cookie orders are sent to eBudde as follows:

• In-Person Delivery Orders are credited to the troop and girl as a payment.  On January 21st, they will be uploaded into the Initial Order tab under Imported at the bottom of the page.  Troops will need to allocate these orders when the Girl Order tab is available for editing in February.
• Shipped Orders are imported automatically to the Girl Order tab and credited to the girl and troop as a paid order.  Both the payment and # of boxes are credited automatically.
• Donation Orders are imported automatically to the Girl Order tab and credited to the girl and troop as a paid order.  Both the payment and # of boxes are credited automatically.