Payments and Direct Debit for Parents

Setting up Direct Debit is a two-step conversation. First, you sign a Direct Debit agreement with your Scout group — that gives them permission to collect payments from your bank account that you've agreed to. Then, for each subscription or one-off payment, you separately tap Approve — so only the payments you've explicitly agreed to are ever taken. This article walks through both steps, and what you'll see in between while your bank is checking things over.

My Finances#

Click My Finances in the parent sidebar to manage your payments. The page has tabs for Overview, Recurring Payments, Payment History, Statement and Gift Aid.

At the top of the page is a status banner. It always tells you exactly what's happening with your Direct Debit, and what (if anything) you need to do next.

Setting up Direct Debit#

When your group sets up your first subscription or payment request, you'll see a Set Up Direct Debit button.

1. Click Set Up Direct Debit on your dashboard or in My Finances.
2. You're taken to a secure Direct Debit form (hosted by GoCardless, the payment provider Scoutworks uses).
3. Enter your bank account details and confirm.
4. You're brought back to Scoutworks.

At this point your bank takes over. It checks the details and confirms the Direct Debit agreement is valid — this can take 2 to 6 working days. Nothing is collected during this period.

While your Direct Debit is being set up#

While your bank is verifying things, the banner on My Finances shows a blue "Setting up Direct Debit" message with a three-step timeline:

During verification, any subscriptions waiting for you show a grey Setting up… chip instead of an Approve button. This is deliberate — there's nothing to approve yet, because your group can't collect any money until your bank has confirmed the Direct Debit agreement. Once it's active, those chips turn back into Approve buttons. One-off payments aren't affected: their "Pay Now" button stays active throughout, because one-offs are paid instantly from your bank app and don't rely on the Direct Debit.

When your Direct Debit is ready#

The moment your bank confirms, you'll receive an email from Scoutworks with the subject "Your Direct Debit for {your group} is active". The email lists every subscription that's waiting for your approval, with the child's name, what it's for, and the amount. There's a button that takes you straight back to My Finances.

Back in My Finances, the banner turns green ("Direct Debit active") and each pending subscription now shows an Approve button. Tap Approve on any subscription you want your group to collect, review the amount and schedule on the confirmation screen, and tick the box to confirm before finishing. That second step is important — it means you're agreeing to the exact amount and schedule, not a vague "something will happen in the future".

Recurring payments#

The Recurring Payments tab shows all your active subscriptions — regular payments like termly subs or monthly contributions. You can:

• View payment amounts and frequencies.
• See your payment history for each subscription.
• Cancel a subscription if your child is leaving the group.

If you set up your Direct Debit after a subscription had already started, the first collection includes any payments you missed in between. Scoutworks shows you the catch-up amount clearly before you approve — see Catching up on missed subscription payments for how that works.

If your child joins a group part-way through a term, your first payment is simply the next one on the group's schedule — you're not charged for payments that fell before they joined. If the group wants a fee for the current term, they'll send you a separate one-off payment request, which you approve in the same way.

Payment history#

The Payment History tab shows all past and upcoming payments, so you have a complete record of what you've paid.

For a running total of what you still owe, and a year-by-year record you can download, see Your Balance and Payment Statement.

One Direct Debit covers all your children#

If you have more than one child in the same group, you only set up Direct Debit once. The same agreement covers every one of your children in that group — you're never asked to set up a separate Direct Debit for each child.

You still approve each child's payments separately, so you stay in control of exactly what's collected and when. A parent with two children, for example, sets up Direct Debit once and then taps Approve on each child's subscription in turn. Every payment is then collected against that same agreement, from the same bank account.

Multiple groups#

If you have children in more than one Scout group, you'll have a separate Direct Debit agreement with each group. Each group's payments go to that group's bank account, so each group needs its own agreement with you.

On My Finances, the status banner shows the state of each group separately. If one group's Direct Debit is still being set up while another is already active, you'll see both clearly — with a pill for each group — instead of one combined status that hides the detail.

Gift Aid declarations#

When you make a one-off payment and haven't yet provided a Gift Aid declaration, Scoutworks will ask you to complete one. The declaration is simple:

• Full Name (as shown on your tax records)
• Home Address (Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/Town, County, Postcode)
• HMRC declaration checkbox — confirms you are a UK taxpayer

Gift Aid costs you nothing but raises an extra 25% for the group on every eligible payment.

If something goes wrong#

Sometimes a Direct Debit doesn't go through first time. The banner will tell you what's needed:

Once the Direct Debit is active, it's protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee — you can claim an immediate refund from your bank if a payment is ever taken in error.

If you see an error message you don't understand, or the banner stays in one state longer than expected, message your group's leaders — they can see the same status on their side and help sort it out.

What's next#

• Getting Started as a Parent — overview of the parent portal.
• Gift Aid — more about Gift Aid and how it helps your group.
• Catching up on missed subscription payments — what happens if your Direct Debit is set up after a subscription started.