Catching Up on Missed Subscription Payments

Sometimes a payment gets missed — either because a parent takes a little while to set up their Direct Debit, or because banking rules push the first collection a few days past an intended billing date. In both cases, Scoutworks spots the gap, shows the parent what's owed, and collects it as a one-off catch-up payment alongside the regular subscription — so nothing falls through the cracks and there are no surprises.

When catch-up happens#

A catch-up only ever covers payments a parent has missed on a subscription that had already started for them — never payments from before a member joined a plan. There are two situations where Scoutworks creates one.

When Direct Debit is set up late. A subscription has its own scheduled start date — the first collection date you set when you create the plan. If a parent approves the subscription, or their Direct Debit becomes active, after that scheduled start has passed, Scoutworks creates a catch-up for the collections they missed in between. The regular subscription then continues as normal from the next collection date.

When banking timing shifts the first payment forward. Direct Debit rules require several working days between setting up a payment and the first collection. If a parent approves a subscription close to a collection date, the bank may not be able to process the first payment in time — and it gets pushed to the next valid date. If a collection date falls in that gap, Scoutworks spots the missed payment and creates a catch-up to cover it.

In both cases, there's nothing for you to set up. Scoutworks works out what's owed, applies a sensible cap, and shows both you and the parent exactly what will be collected.

Joining part-way through is not a catch-up#

When you add a member to a plan that's already running, they start at the next collection date and aren't charged for any collection before they joined — so there's no catch-up for them. Catch-up is only for collections missed after a subscription's own start date. If you want a fee for the current term from a member who joined part-way through, send a one-off payment request instead. See Collecting Subscriptions from Parents for how part-way-through joiners work.

What you'll see as a leader#

Open any subscription from the member's finance record to see the catch-up status.

Spotting overdue Direct Debits#

Subscriptions whose start date has passed without a Direct Debit being set up show a Mandate overdue tag on the Subscriptions page. Filter by that tag to see who still needs a nudge.

Resending the setup link#

If a parent hasn't finished setting up their Direct Debit, use Resend mandate link on their subscription card to email them a fresh link. Scoutworks also sends them a gentle reminder when the start date passes, and again a week later — so in most cases you won't need to chase at all.

Trying again after a failed catch-up#

If the bank doesn't take the catch-up payment — most often because the parent's account doesn't have the funds — the subscription card shows a Collect again button. That creates a fresh catch-up payment for the same amount. The regular monthly payments continue on their own, separately.

What parents see#

When a parent opens the subscription to approve it, the catch-up amount is shown right in the approval screen, with plain-English wording:

If the banking timing scenario applies — where the first payment was pushed forward past a billing date — the wording explains that too:

In either case, parents need to tick I understand the catch-up amount will be collected before they can tap Approve. That way they're agreeing to the exact amount, not a vague "something extra".

Once approved, the catch-up appears in the parent's payment history alongside their regular payments, clearly labelled Catch-up: with the dates it covers.

How the amount is worked out#

Scoutworks adds up the payments that should have been collected in the gap — whether that's the time between the subscription's start date and when the Direct Debit became active, or the period between an intended collection date and when banking rules allowed the first collection.

To keep things sensible, there's a cap — by default, a catch-up covers at most three collections. If a subscription has been waiting longer than that, the catch-up collects the most recent collections only. Earlier ones are left off, not quietly added on. Your subscription card flags when this has happened, so you can decide whether to follow up another way.

How catch-ups show up in your accounts#

Catch-up payments are recorded as separate transactions, not tacked onto the first regular collection. In payment history and finance reports they appear on their own line, labelled Catch-up: with the dates they cover — so your accounts stay tidy, and anyone reviewing them later can see at a glance what each charge was for.

What's next#

• Collecting Subscriptions from Parents — setting up the recurring payments that catch-up applies to.
• Setting Up Payments with GoCardless — connect GoCardless so parents can set up Direct Debits.
• Payments and Direct Debit for Parents — the parent-facing side of the same flow.