Question 1

How does zero-fee payment processing work?

Accepted Answer

Scoutworks takes no platform fee on payments. GoCardless charges its own small fee for processing each payment, and that's all. Card payment platforms often add 1–2% of their own on top.

Question 2

What is the difference between Direct Debit and instant bank payments?

Accepted Answer

Direct Debit is for recurring payments: parents approve a mandate once and payments collect on schedule. Instant bank payments are for one-off costs: parents approve a single bank-to-bank transfer, with no mandate needed.

Question 3

How are GoCardless payouts reconciled?

Accepted Answer

When GoCardless sends a payout to your bank, Scoutworks creates a ledger entry for every payment in it, linked to the right members and events. GoCardless fees appear as a separate entry, so you can see exactly what you paid.

Question 4

Is the accounting suitable for our AGM reports?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The cash accounting ledger produces Financial Overview and Receipts & Payments reports as PDF or CSV, alongside budget, restricted fund and transaction reports. Trustees also get a Board Pack PDF.

Question 5

Can I track restricted funds separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Create restricted funds to keep ring-fenced money apart from your general funds, as the Charity Commission expects. Each fund shows how much is used, and the Restricted Fund report shows each one clearly.

Question 6

How does Gift Aid work?

Accepted Answer

Scoutworks tracks a declaration for each family and asks parents for one when they pay for something eligible. You can also send declaration requests in bulk. When you claim, download the HMRC schedule built from HMRC's own template, plus an R68 summary and a GASDS report for small cash donations.

Question 7

Can I create budgets for specific events?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Set a budget for a single event, a term of events, a section, several sections or your whole group. Each line is a spending limit or an income target, and the budget shows your net position. Leaders see the event budget inside the event itself.

Question 8

Can I import bank statements?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The importer supports Barclays, NatWest, NatWest Bankline, Lloyds, HSBC, Starling, Monzo, Unity Trust, SumUp and any other CSV. A cashbook import from Online Scout Manager is in beta. Scoutworks detects the format and catches duplicates, so it's safe to re-upload. Imported lines land in the Bank Inbox.

Question 9

What is the Bank Inbox?

Accepted Answer

The place where imported bank lines wait to be reconciled. Filter by Needs action, All, New, Suggested, Parked or Ignored. Open a line to Match it to an existing entry, Create a new one, record a Transfer or a Refund, or Park it with a note. Suggested matches carry a confidence score. Nothing is reconciled until you say so.

Question 10

Can I attach receipts to transactions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Drag a photo, a PDF or a saved email (.eml or .msg) onto any transaction, up to 10 MB. A paperclip shows which transactions have a receipt, and a 'Missing' tag flags expenses without one. Every upload records who attached it and when. At year-end, download every receipt as one ZIP.

Question 11

Can I close the accounting year on my AGM date?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Choose any close date that suits your group, such as your AGM. Before you close, Scoutworks lists uncategorised transactions and unresolved claims so nothing is missed.

Question 12

How does the claims and payments workflow work?

Accepted Answer

Leaders submit one claim with many lines, mixing reimbursements, mileage and supplier invoices. Each line has its own category, budget and attachments, and is approved on its own. The claim goes to your treasurer or a nominated approver. Supplier lines show when they're due or overdue.

Question 13

Can leaders claim mileage?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Add a mileage line with the start and end postcodes, the miles, whether it's a return trip and how many passengers. The default rate is HMRC's 55p a mile plus 5p per passenger, and treasurers can set their own. Each line keeps the rate it was priced at.

Question 14

Can I issue refunds through Scoutworks?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For payments collected through GoCardless, issue a refund from Scoutworks and it goes back through your GoCardless account. If you refund a family by bank transfer, match the refund to their payments in the Bank Inbox.

Question 15

Can parents pay for events in instalments?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When you set up an event payment, split the fee into 2 to 12 instalments on the dates you choose. Scoutworks handles the schedule, and if a parent changes their answer to no, the unpaid requests are cancelled.

Question 16

Can I pause a parent's Direct Debit if they're going through a tough time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with care. Pause a subscription for 1, 2, 3, 6 or 12 payments, or until you resume it. You can give a reason: Financial support, Temporary absence, Medical leave or Other. If you choose 'Financial support', Scoutworks doesn't email the parent about it. Every pause is recorded in the activity log.

Question 17

What happens if a parent's Direct Debit mandate activates late?

Accepted Answer

Catch-Up collects the payments they missed once the mandate is active. The parent sees the exact total when they approve the mandate, so there are no surprises.

Question 18

Can I skip an upcoming subscription payment?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Skip 1 to 12 upcoming payments on any subscription without cancelling it. It's useful for term breaks or one-off concessions. The subscription resumes by itself afterwards, and the parent is told.

Question 19

Can parents see what they've paid?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Parents see a current balance, showing what's pending and anything that failed, and a statement of every payment by year with yearly totals. They can download it as a CSV.

Question 20

How do automatic event payments work?

Accepted Answer

Add a cost to an event and switch on the automatic payment rule. When a parent says yes, Scoutworks creates the payment for that member. If they change their answer to no, the unpaid request is cancelled. Edit the rule and future payments follow. You can opt out individual members, such as leaders' children or hardship cases.

Question 21

How do fundraising campaigns work?

Accepted Answer

Create a campaign with a guided wizard, set a target, and share the public page link or QR code. Donors give by instant bank transfer, with no card details needed, and can add Gift Aid. Donations post to your ledger when the payout is reconciled. You can edit the campaign after launch without breaking the link.

Finance & Payments

Full Accounting Ledger

Bank Inbox — Reconciliation Without the Drudgery

Receipts & Invoices on Every Transaction

Flexible Budget Management

Zero-Fee Online Payments

Collection Health & Failed-Payment Alerts

Gift Aid, Claimed Properly

Fundraising Campaigns

Payments parents don't have to think about

Pause, Skip & Catch-Up — Fair to Every Family

Payment Corrections

Automatic Event Payments on RSVP

Claims & Payments

Frequently asked questions

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