How to immediately communicate with a new-to-your-unit scout

Scoutbook Using Scoutbook
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There is some discussion on the wisdom of creating a TEMP account, to be deleted later. See discussion here.

Consider adding a scout to your Scoutbook roster immediately when they join. It will be days before they populate from your MY.Scouting roster, and maybe weeks. This is time lost for communicating what is going on with your unit.

If you have internet access when you receive the application from the parent, do as much as you can immediately. If possible, have the parent log in right then and update their contact info. If not, do it for them while they are there.

Note - If the scout has an older sibling who is a scout, the parent may already have an account. If so, replace the below instructions to create a new parent account with attach existing parent account.

For a NEW SCOUT with PAPER APPLICATION =

  1. Immediately create a Scoutbook account for the scout.
  2. Be sure to match the scout’s name and birthday to the paper application
  3. Attach parent by creating an adult account using their email address and attach them as Parent to the scout. They will log into Scoutbook with their email and password.
  4. Scoutbook email will now work.
  5. Turn in paper application. The council will process the application; this may take awhile. If the name and birthday match, then the scout account will sync and the BSA ID# will populate on the account.
  6. If the scout ends up with two accounts because the match with council did not happen, contact Scoutbook Support to merge the accounts.

For a NEW SCOUT using the ONLINE APPLICATION =

If your unit and council are quick to process online applications [one day], then collect the parent contact info and attach them after the scout account appears on your roster. Ignore the instructions below.

  1. Immediately create a Scoutbook account for the scout.
  2. Attach parent by creating an adult account using their email address and attach them as Parent to the scout. They will log into Scoutbook with their email and password, then enable Single Sign On with their My.Scouting credentials.
  3. Scoutbook email will now work.
  4. The application will process; it may take a few days. If the name and birthday match, then the scout account will sync and the BSA ID# will populate to the account.
  5. If the scout ends up with two accounts because the match did not happen, contact Scoutbook Support to merge the accounts.

For a transfer scout using a paper application [online doesn’t do transfers yet] =

TRANSFER, PREVIOUS UNIT USED SCOUTBOOK:

  1. Have parent end scout membership in previous unit. Before leaving membership page do next step.
  2. Have parent add membership in new unit.
  3. Unit admin must approve membership in the unit.
  4. Scoutbook email will now work.
  5. Turn in transfer paperwork to council. Council will process the paperwork. This may take awhile.
  6. If transfer is in-council, the account syncs because the BSA ID# matches.
  7. If transfer is out-of-council, a duplicate account for the scout will appear on the unit roster with a new BSA ID#.
  8. Contact Scoutbook Support to transfer the new BSA ID# to the old account and delete the new account.

IN-COUNCIL TRANSFER, PREVIOUS UNIT DID NOT USE SCOUTBOOK

If a delay of a few days is acceptable, then contact Scoutbook Support to connect the parents to the scout account. The parent can then end the membership in the previous unit and start a membership in the current unit. An Admin can approve it and Scoutbook email now works. When the council processes the paper transfer, no second account because the BSA ID# matches.

  1. Immediately create a new Scoutbook account for the scout.
  2. Attach parent by creating an adult account using their email address and attach them as Parent to the scout. They will log into Scoutbook with their email and password.
  3. Scoutbook email will now work.
  4. Turn in paper transfer application. Council will process the application; this may take awhile.
  5. A duplicate account for the scout will show up on the Scoutbook roster. Contact Scoutbook Support to merge the two accounts.

OUT-OF-COUNCIL TRANSFER, PREVIOUS UNIT DID NOT USE SCOUTBOOK

If a delay of a few days is okay, then do not create a TEMP account. Rather, start with #5 below.

  1. Immediately create a Scoutbook account for the scout. Include the word TEMP in the name; as part of first name, it will not affect alphabetic sort by last name.
  2. Attach parent by creating an adult account using their email address and attach them as Parent to the scout. They will log into Scoutbook with their email and password.
  3. Scoutbook email will now work.
  4. Steps 5 and 10 may be done concurrently.
  5. Contact Scoutbook Support to attach the parent/s to the scout’s previous account in the old council. This may take a few days.
  6. Have parent end scout membership in previous unit. Before leaving membership page do next step.
  7. Have parent add membership in new unit.
  8. Unit admin must approve membership in the unit.
  9. When the previous old scout account is active on your roster, you may delete the TEMP account. It will delete as it should never be sync’d. If any items were entered into the TEMP account, copy them into the previous old account.
  10. Turn in transfer paperwork to council. Council will process the paperwork; this may take awhile.
  11. A new account for the scout will appear on the unit Scoutbook roster with a new BSA ID#.
  12. Contact Scoutbook Support to transfer the new BSA ID# to the old account and delete the new account.
  13. This process will migrate all Scoutbook records for the scout from the old council to the new council.

Okay Y’all, what did I miss?

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  1. Email support.scoutbook@scouting.org with all this info and request they fix the mess this makes. :wink:

Here’s something simpler: Have your unit’s New Member Coordinator manually forward anything important to the new parents as part of reaching out to them to make sure they feel welcome and included. Don’t have a New Member Coordinator? Recruit one!

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I agree that a New Member Coordinator is a good idea. However, if it takes three months to get the scout onto the Scoutbook roster, tracking advancement and activities becomes a biger problem than just info about activities.

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Doug - three months seems excessive. I think I may have waited a few weeks during recharter time. It is a chore in PA which backs up the NJ units.

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I’ve never had it take 3 months for a scout to show up on the roster in my.scouting or Scoutbook. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks during recharter, when everyone everywhere is processing applications…

I’d say, if you don’t see your new scout on the roster withing a week, call your commissioner to see what’s going on…

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If the parent is signing a new Scout up electronically, then it should be pretty close to same day or next day (assuming that the parent is also paying online).

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I agree that three months is excessive, but that is what it took for several scout this last spring. And online is almost same day, depending on folks that have to approve the application.

However, the time to process things is not what this post is about. What is the best way to set up immediate Scoutbook communication with the scout and their parent/s?

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@DougWright- I think the best way to do it is to wait until the scout shows up in Scoutbook to avoid making a mess of things by trying to short cut the process. That’s what was recommended in the other thread where someone suggested a TEMP account.

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