Automatic Categorising and Payout Matching

Scoutworks writes some entries into your books for you, with a category already set. It also suggests the match when a payout reaches your bank. This article tells you exactly what is automatic and what you still do yourself.

The short answer#

What Scoutworks categorises for you#

When GoCardless pays out, Scoutworks reads every item in the payout. It writes one Ledger entry for each item:

Each entry also gets:

• the member who paid, and the section or event the payment was for,
• the Gift Aid details from the payment, when Gift Aid applies,
• the bank account you set as primary.

If either category does not exist yet, Scoutworks creates it on the first payout.

These entries go straight into the Ledger. They do not go to the Bank Inbox, because Scoutworks already knows what they are.

Changing the category of an automatic entry#

The category is a starting point. You can change it.

• One entry: go to Finance → Accounting → Ledger. Click the row to open Edit transaction, then choose a new Category.
• Many entries: on the Ledger, tick the rows. In the action bar, click Categorise or Edit details.

What you categorise yourself#

Lines from your bank statement land in the Bank Inbox with no category, unless the file has its own Category column (see below). Scoutworks does not guess one from the description, the payee or past choices. You choose the category when you Create a Ledger entry from the line. See Reviewing a line.

Scoutworks helps in three places:

• Your first import. When your Ledger is still empty, the import wizard ends with Categorise your transactions. Pick a category for each line, or use Bulk assign category and Apply for many lines at once.
• Files with a Category column. An export from another system, such as OSM, can carry its own categories. The Match categories step suggests a Scoutworks category for each one when the names clearly agree, for example "Subs" and "Subscriptions". You check every suggestion. Create all unmatched creates the rest.
• Scanned receipts on expense claims. Scoutworks suggests the category your group used last time for the same shop. See Scanning Receipts on Expense Claims.

Payout matching#

GoCardless pays a few days of collections into your bank as one deposit, with its fees taken off. Your statement shows one line, for example GOCARDLESS £482.60.

Scoutworks has already written each collection and fee into the Ledger. When you open the deposit in the Bank Inbox, the Match tab shows a GoCardless payout — confirm split card. It lists the collections, the fees and the Expected net deposit. Click Confirm {n}-entry split to tie the deposit to every entry in the payout.

Scoutworks offers the split only when:

• the deposit equals the collections minus the fees (a rounding difference of 0.1% is allowed), and
• the bank date is within 3 days of the date GoCardless paid the payout.

For the reasons a payout might not be suggested, see GoCardless payouts.

Other matching#

• Expense claims. When you settle a claim line, Scoutworks adds the expense to the Ledger with the claim line's category, section and event. When the payment leaves your bank, Scoutworks suggests the claim line. You click Add to ledger.
• Everything else. Scoutworks scores the entries you recorded by hand against the bank line and shows the best one. You confirm it. See How sure is Scoutworks?.

Bringing in older GoCardless payouts#

Payouts from before you connected GoCardless to Scoutworks are not in your books. To add them, go to Tools → Import historic payouts. Only treasurers and admins see this tool, and only after GoCardless is connected.

1. Intro shows the accounting period you are importing into.
2. Select: tick the payouts to import.
3. Duplicates: if you already typed a payout in by hand, choose Replace my manual entry, Skip this payout or Import anyway.
4. Attribution: optionally choose an event, a section and an income category for each payout. A choice under Apply to all payouts sets it for every payout. Anything you leave blank goes to Direct Debit Income.
5. Review, then click Import {n} payouts.

Each payout is recorded like a new one: income for each collection and an expense for each fee.

What's next#

• Bank Reconciliation and Restricted Funds — the full detail on imports and matching.
• Accounting and Bookkeeping — how the Bank Inbox and the Ledger fit together.
• Setting Up Payments with GoCardless — connect GoCardless so payouts reach your books.