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Troop Finances 

How do girls become financially empowered women? Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE), that’s how! Your Girl Scout troop should plan and finance its own activities, and you’ll coach your girls as they earn and manage troop funds.  

With your guidance, girls will learn key money skills that will help them throughout their lives.  

Troop Finance Report & Resources

Each year, all Girl Scout troops and groups must submit their annual troop finance report (TFR) by June 30. Please note for the membership year 2022, the time period for the report is May 1, 2021 – May 31, 2022.  

Disbanding Troops

When a Girl Scout troop disbands, you need to fill out the annual troop finance report along with the troop disband form. Contact your Volunteer Support Manager with questions.  

  • Disbanded Troop Form and Information | Online 

Troop Banking and other suggested resources 

Haven't received a welcome email from Cheddar Up? Email friendlysupport@cheddarup.com to get started!

Troop Finances & Online Payments

Easily Collect Online Payments for Your Troop or Service Unit!

Girl Scouts of Northern California wants to make your life just a little bit easier! We've partnered with Cheddar Up—the leading group payments platform—to give your troop or service unit an easy tool to collect payments  (and forms and information) for troop and service unit expenses online with ease at no cost to the collector! With Cheddar Up you can collect online payments for dues, uniforms, supplies, activities, product programs, or events making paper, cash, or checks a thing of the past!

Cheddar Up Resources

Troop Leaders:

  • Cheddar Up FAQs | PDF
  • How to use Cheddar Up Collections for Product Program | PDF 
  • How to Set Up Your Card Reader | Guide 
  • How to Use Your Card Reader | Video
  • How to Accept Point-of-Sale Payments | Guide
  • Allow Parents to Accept Point-of-Sale Payments using a POS Code | Learn More

Troop Parents

  • Bluetooth Card Reader Guide | Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cheddar Up?

Cheddar Up is a digital payment and tracking tool that will help your troop or service unit easily collect money online for Girl Scout activities or events. Your troop or service unit bank account will be linked with your Cheddar Up account so you can quickly accept online payments for your activities, including:

  • Troop dues
  • Uniforms
  • Supplies
  • Badges
  • Product Program Point-of-Sale Collections from Customers
  • Product Program Collections from Families
  • Outings and events
  • Camp and Camporees
  • Event registration
Why Should I Use Cheddar Up?

Cheddar Up simplifies collecting for organizers. Its payment and tracking toolset helps volunteers streamline the task of collecting funds and forms from numerous people. Cheddar Up tracks payments, provides reports and stores forms electronically - all easily accessible on your laptop or from the Cheddar Up app. 

Here are just a few of the features that your troop or service unit can enjoy when you create your free account with Cheddar Up: 

  • Online Payments: Accept payments by credit card or echecks. You’ll be able to track online as well as offline (cash or check) payments. Payers will not need to open an account or download the app to make a payment.
  • Point-of-Sale Transactions: Girls can easily use Cheddar Up to accept in-person payments using pre-populated collections for the Fall and/or Cookie Program in combination with the Cheddar Up mobile app.
  • Online Forms: Add form fields to your collection to eliminate paper and move all information-collecting online. 
  • Automatic Tracking: Cheddar Up automatically tracks all payments and information received online. In one click, easily export to Excel. Download the Cheddar Up app for on-the-go access.
  • Complete Oversight: Securely transfer funds directly to your troop or service unit's bank account with an online record of all transfers.
  • Easy Hand Off: Every volunteer's dream... replicate collection pages year after year—with saved history for always-there online records.
How Does Cheddar Up Work?
Here is how Cheddar Up can make collecting Girl Scout-related payments a breeze!
 
  1. Create your FREE Cheddar Up account. Just follow the instructions you will receive in Your Welcome Email from Cheddar Up. 
  2. Create your online collections. The easy to use builder allows you to create collections from scratch or use the built-in GSNorCal item library to get started.
  3. Share with your troop or service unit members. Simply copy the collection link and share with your troop/service unit—via email, text, or any communication channel. 
  4. Troop parents or service unit members can pay instantly online. Without having to download an app or create an account, members can easily make online payments for their troop and service unit activities and events.
  5. Receive your collections. Sit back and watch your collections come in! When people pay you, Cheddar Up keeps your funds safe and secure until you're ready to transfer the money into your troop/service unit bank account.  You can easily manage, and track all the payments via Cheddar Up's reporting feature!
  6. Transfer funds. Securely transfer funds directly to your troop or service unit's bank account with an online record of all transfers. 
How Can I Use Cheddar Up For My Troop or Service Unit?

Troops and Service Units may use Cheddar Up as long as the troop or service unit bank account is tied to their Cheddar Up account and funds are collected and managed responsibly. Here are some ways you could use Cheddar Up!

  • Collect Payments for Product Programs:  Girls and families  can use Cheddar Up's mobile app to sell to customers using pre-populated Fall/Cookie items for easy sale and fund collection. Troop Leaders can easily collect product program revenue from parents online without meeting up in person or trips to the bank!
  • Collect Activity or Event Fees: Have an event coming up and need to collect payments plus parent contact information or a permission form? This new tool allows you to add custom form fields to your collections so you can collect any amount of information associated with payments.
  • Set Up Recurring Payments: Want to collect monthly dues from Girl Scout families? Cheddar Up’s recurring payment option allows families to commit to monthly dues once and have the rest of the payments happen automatically behind the scenes. 
  • Purchase Uniforms and Supplies: Are you a new troop or a troop bridging to the next level and need to purchase all new uniforms and program books? No problem, create a collection, enter images and costs and share with your troop families. Parents can pay online, indicate the sizes and you can make the purchase online or in-person at our retail shop!
Can I Use Cheddar Up For Product Programs?

Yes! You Can!

Cheddar Up is the preferred option for troops to collect Fall and Cookie Revenue from parents. It's also a recommended POS option for accepting in-person credit card payments from customers. Learn more about how to Use Cheddar Up Collections for Product Programs!

To make the platform even easier for volunteers, two new collections have been added to your Cheddar Up account. Those collections include:

1.    Customer Campaign: Sell to Customers – This collection can be used in conjunctionwith Cheddar Up’s mobile app for in-person point-of-sale transactions. Depending on the season, it will have pre-built items – including product names, prices and images – reduced transaction fees and the ability to assign sales to individual Girl Scouts.

2.    Parent Campaign: Sell to Customers – This collection is set up to provide a seamless way to collect product revenue from parents online and not have to schedule extra trips to the bank! This reduces bank cash processing and multiple transaction fees by usingthis recommended option.

Thanks to our partnership, Cheddar Up is reducing point-of-sale transaction fees for our council. When troops use Cheddar Up’s Bluetooth card reader and mobile app, point-of-sale processing fees are only 2.6% + 0.10 cents. If troops use Cheddar Up’s manual entry or scan card options, fees are only 2.6% + $0.30. 

How Much Does It Cost to Use?

Cost For Troops And Service Units Who Are Collecting Payments:
FREE! Collecting on Cheddar Up is always free. There are no setup/hidden fees or out-of-pocket expenses. GSNorCal troops and service units will have free access to all the features of Cheddar Up’s Pro and Team plans. Collected funds are stored in Cheddar Up until the account owner withdraws the funds online to their troop or service unit bank account.

Cost For Payers (parents, troop leaders, or other payers) Who Are Paying for Troop or Service Unit Expenses:

  • Credit or Debit Card Payments:
    Payers provide their credit/debit card number securely online. Payers pay a convenience fee of $0.59 per transaction for credit/debit card payments plus 3.5% for credit card processing.
  • eCheck Payments:
    Payers provide their checking account routing number and bank account number securely online. Payers pay a $0.59 per transaction convenience fee (Less than the price of a stamp)!
  • Point-Of-Sale (POS) for Product Programs
    Thanks to our partnership, Cheddar Up is reducing point-of-sale transaction fees for our council. When troops use Cheddar Up’s bbpos card reader and mobile app, point-of-sale processing fees are only 2.6% + .10 cents. If troops use Cheddar Up’s manual entry or scan card options, fees are only 2.6% + $0.30. Learn more about Using Cheddar Up for Product Programs.
  • Offline Cash or Check Payments:
    FREE! For a no cost option, you can accept and track cash/check payments paid to you offline (in person). You would then deposit the cash/check in your troop or service unit bank account and then log the payment as received in Cheddar Up! Make sure to toggle this option "on" in your Cheddar Up account settings so you can log and track these types of payments.

NOTE: GSNorCal receives no financial or other compensation or benefits for offering Cheddar Up. GSNorCal is working with Cheddar Up to offer this service to make collecting payments easier for both leaders and parents. By developing this relationship, we have been able to offer premium functions on the Cheddar Up platform free of cost to troops and service units and also to build custom templates and collection assets that will make Cheddar Up even easier for our leaders to use. Activation of your account and use of Cheddar Up is entirely optional for troops and leaders.

How Do I Sign Up For Cheddar Up and Start Using It?

All new Troop Leaders and Service Unit Leader Support Managers (as well as other existing troops and service units who don’t yet have an active Cheddar Up account) will receive a Welcome email from Cheddar Up seasonally (the “from” email address will be “friendlysupport@cheddarup.com”). The email will have GSNorCal branding and will have the subject line of “Complete account setup: Welcome to your new online platform for troop payments”. These emails are typically sent in August/September and then again in January/February. If for some reason you do not receive a Welcome email, please contact Cheddar Up Support at friendlysupport@cheddarup.com and request the email to be resent. Once you receive your email, you will follow the on-screen instructions to create your free Cheddar Up account so you can start collecting!

Notes:

  • In order to receive the free benefits (free access to Pro and Team Plans) of the Cheddar Up platform, you must sign up via this Welcome Email process.
  • Each troop or service unit may only create ONE Cheddar Up account. If you have more than one leader, please coordinate with your other leaders to determine who will create and manage the Cheddar Up account to prevent duplicate/multiple accounts. 
  • Refer to the Cheddar Up FAQs for more information
How Do I Find Out More?

Learn more about Cheddar Up by watching the video linked at the top of this page, and sign up for one of the upcoming webinars hosted by Cheddar Up. Also check out our Cheddar Up FAQs for detailed answers to frequently asked questions and to learn more about using Cheddar Up for Product Programs.

If you don’t see the information you are looking for, have additional questions, or need help:

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