cookie faqs
GENERAL
Q. How much are Girl Scout Cookies?
Each box of Girl Scout Cookies is $5/$6 for gluten free, and part of the proceeds help girls to impact their community and participate in other troop activities.
Q. What cookie varieties does Girl Scouts of Hawai`i offer?
Girl Scouts of Hawai`i offers eight varieties of cookies: Do-Si-Do, Samoas, Savannah Smiles, Tagalongs,Thin Mints and Trefoils and we are excited to announce the new flavors this year are Rah-Rah-Raisin and gluten free Toffee-tastic. Girl Scouts get their cookies from two bakers, butGirl Scouts of Hawai`i get their cookies from Little Brownie Bakers. We are so excited to introduce the new flavors of Rah-Rah Raisin and Toffee-tastic, along with keeping the classic favorites!
Q. Why Girl Scout Cookies?
A. Through Girl Scouting, girls become leaders in their daily lives and prepare for their bright futures. The Girl Scout Cookie Program provides an important ingredient for leadership by helping girls develop five key skills: Goal Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills and Business Ethics.
Many successful business women today say they got their start selling Girl Scout Cookies. Girls practice useful life skills like planning, decision-making and customer service. During cookie activities, girls are members of a team, working towards a common goal, with each girl striving to do her best.
Every local troop/group is encouraged to set realistic goals, such as planning field trips and community service projects, to accomplish during the year. The money earned from cookie activities helps the troop/group achieve its goals, so when your local Girl Scouts come calling with this year’s best-selling cookies, remember you’re saying “hello” to tomorrow’s business leaders.
Q. Where can I find forms?
A. Girl Scouts of Hawai`i keeps all forms in one central spot so leaders, parents, volunteers and other members are updated about all things Girl Scouts! Look under “Cookie resources” for the latest forms. If you’re looking for additional resources, including links to eBudde, Little Brownie Bakers, and other information for making every cookie season a success, please visit the Cookie homepage and Cookie Bites Blog.
Q. What is “Gift of Caring”?
A. Each year, thousands of Girl Scouts across the state raise cookie donations for Hawai`i’s armed forces deployed overseas as part of Operation: Girl Scout Cookies, sometimes seen abbreviated as GOC. Through sales and generous donations, thousands of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies are sent to all branches of the military to show our aloha for the men and women in uniform.
This year, GSH would like to extend this expression of aloha to locally based charities as well as our Hawai`i-based military troops. What used to be known as Operation: Girl Scout Cookies is now known as the “Gift of Caring” program, or GOC. GOC cookies are great for customers who want to support Girl Scouts’ local charities and/or the military, but don’t eat cookies. GOC cookies can be tracked in eBudde under the “Girl Orders” tab, column “goc”.
Q. When is Cookie Training?
A. For the 2016 Cookie Season, Cookie Entrepreneurial Training, for Troop Cookie Managers, Service Unit Cookie Managers and Troop Leaders, new and returning, will be held in October. Basic Cookie Training will be held in early November.
Q. I’m a returning Cookie Manager. Do I have to sign the agreement form again?
A. Yes, the Cookie Manager Agreement Form must be signed every Girl Scout Cookie Season. ALL new and returning Cookie Managers must sign and submit the Cookie Manager Agreement Form by November 30, 2015. Troops will not be allowed to order Girl Scout Cookies without a signed agreement. (2016 cookie forms are now available online.)
BOOTH SALES
A. The Cookie Manager can give the girls credit for cookies sold in the “Girl Orders” tab. There are a couple of ways to do this depending on how closely you choose to track the cookies.
If you want to track total cookies by flavor, eBudde can help with this, with columns for all 8 cookie flavors. You can enter the boxes each girl sold by flavor, and eBudde will calculate how much of the cookie flavors you should have left. This is a little more work, but it’s a great feature of eBudde, so feel free to take advantage!
If you only want to track boxes sold, you can enter the total number of boxes the individual girl sold under one cookie flavor, for instance, Thin Mints. In this example, eBudde would keep track of all boxes, all flavors under the Thin Mints column. This method is still helpful in keeping track of inventory, but NOT BY FLAVOR. The total number of cookies sold would show up under Thin Mints, in this example. If using this method, you cannot enter total cookies under the first column, which is GOC. Please keep that in mind.
Q. How do I enter booth sales by girl?
A. Cookie Managers should give girls credit for any cookies sold, including cookies sold at booth sales, in the Girl Order tab. Click on the line below the girl’s name/initial order and all the fields will open up. Enter the number of boxes the girl sold at the booth sale under one flavor, for instance, Thin Mint. Council does not need to know what flavors a girl sold, only the total number of boxes for her incentive earning. You may also utilize the Booth Sale Recorder App. The app may be downloaded for free in the iPhone App Store or through Google Play.
Q. What do I do if I run out of cookies at my booth site?
A. Troops that run out of cookies before or during their booth site can always pick up more cookies from the Cookie Buffer. The location of the Cookie Buffer for 2016 will be announced at a later date. The Cookie Buffer will be open on select days and times to be announced via our Cookie Bites Blog.
Troops should never abandon a booth site. The booth sites are published to the general public, so customers will be expecting the girls to be there. It is poor customer service if we don’t show up when we say we will.
Q. Do I need to call or email before I come to the Cookie Buffer?
A. As the Cookie Buffer inventory is continually changing, troops on O`ahu should just come to the buffer. Neighbor Islands should contact their Service Center Representative to make arrangements.
Q. Can I exchange my cookies for another flavor?
A. No. Cookie flavors cannot be exchanged.
Q. What do I do with damaged boxes?
A. Damaged boxes of Girl Scout Cookies can be returned to the Cookie Buffer, in exchange for a good box of the same flavor. You will not be able to exchange the damaged box for a different flavor.
Q. Can I return cookies to the Cookie Buffer?
A. No. Cookies cannot be returned to the Cookie Buffer once they have been signed out to a troop. Once a troop takes the cookies, they are financially responsible for them.
Q. Do Cookie Managers enter buffer transactions into eBudde?
A. No, Council will enter all buffer transactions into eBudde. If you don’t see your buffer transaction(s) in eBudde don’t worry — Council is working on entering all of them.
FINANCES
All of the proceeds—every penny—from a local council’s cookie activities remains in the area where the cookies are sold. This revenue is used to benefit girls, some of it directly by remaining in the Girl Scout troop/group treasury and some of it indirectly by subsidizing the cost of providing the Girl Scout program in the local area.
“Cookie revenue” helps local councils:
- Recruit and train volunteer leaders for each troop/group
- Provide the financial assistance needed to make Girl Scouting available for all girls
- Improve and maintain camp and other activity sites
- Keep event/camp fees for all members to a minimum
- Sponsor special events and projects
Each local council sets the price per box, based on its needs and its knowledge of its local market. The price per box, therefore, may vary from one location to another and from one year to the next. Today’s prices reflect both the current cost of purchasing cookies from a licensed baker and the realities of providing Girl Scout activities in an ever-changing economic environment.
Q. What do I do with the cookie money that I’ve collected?
A. First, it is imperative that you deposit any money collected as soon as possible. It is suggested that you make a deposit each Monday, after a booth sale weekend.
Girl Scouts of Hawai`i has “cookie accounts” at both Bank of Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank. Pre-printed deposits slips are available at the Girl Scout office or feel free to give the Product Department a call at 675-5529 to get the account number over the phone. DO NOT try to deposit your cookie money at one of these banks without the correct account number. Girl Scouts of Hawai`i has several accounts at these banks, so having the correct account number is ESSENTIAL.
Be sure to write your Name, Troop number and Service Unit Name on your deposit slip. If you don’t provide this information, it’s nearly impossible to tell what troop should get credit for this deposit and your troop will not receive credit for this deposit.
“Gift of Caring” donations should be deposited SEPARATELY from money collected for sales of cookies. Be sure to write “GOC” on your deposit slip if the money is for “Gift of Caring”. If you don’t, Council will not know to set aside this money to purchase cookies for Hawaii based military. Hold on to your receipts. You may be asked by Council to provide the deposit receipts for proof of deposit. After you deposit the cookie money, be sure to log this deposit in eBudde.
Q. Do Cookie Managers enter deposits made into eBudde?
A. YES! All of the cookie money deposits must be entered by YOU into eBudde under the DEPOSITS tab.
Q. How do I log my cookie deposits in eBudde?
A. Each troop is responsible for entering their own deposits into the “Deposits” tab in eBudde. Go to “Deposits” tab. Click “Add Deposit.” A green line will appear at the bottom.
1. Bank: Choose the bank in which you made your deposit.
2. Date: Enter the date you made your deposit.
3. Ref. Number: This is used for your reference. You can put anything you like here, or leave it blank. Council only uses this field if the deposit is for “Operation: Girl Scout Cookies” in which case, Council will enter “GOC” here.
Verified: Council will check this box once your deposit is successfully processed. It could take a week or so, but feel free to contact the Product Department at 675-5529 if you have questions or concerns.
4. Amount: The total amount listed on each deposit slip. DO NOT combine deposits or separate deposit amounts. If the amount listed on the deposit slip does not match a deposit listed in your “Deposits” tab, it will not be verified. For example: Troop 9876 made 3 separate deposits on 3-12-2013. They should enter each deposit amount separately in eBudde. DO NOT add all the days deposits together. For example: Troop 8765 made a deposit of $100 in checks and $100 in cash. They should enter the total amount of $200 in eBudde. DO NOT separate the total amount deposited for any reason. After all the fields are correct, press the + button.
5. Hit “Save” to save your work.
Q. Do I have to write a receipt for every cookie sale?
A. All Girl Scouts selling cookies should make it a practice to offer receipts to the purchasing public. Receipt books are issued during Cookie Training. Additional books are available at the Girl Scout office, or contact the Product Department at 675-5529.
Q. What happens if a customer check bounces?
A. Bounced checks accepted for payment for cookies will be held against the account of the troop that accepted the check. This means that troop proceeds will not be paid until a replacement check is sent to Council, along with a $25 bank fee. Council makes every attempt, along with the help of the troop, to collect the outstanding funds from the owner of the bounced check. Once payment is collected, including any fees, Council will credit the troop for the proceeds.
REWARDS
A. When earning rewards for your girls, it is important to understand how eBudde calculates. eBudde takes the numbers entered into the “Girl Orders” tab to calculate the reward level each girl has earned. In other words, if you have not entered all the cookies each girl sold correctly in the “Girl Orders” tab, you will NOT be able to order the correct reward prizes.
After you have entered all of the boxes sold under the “Girl Orders” tab, you are ready to earn rewards under the “Incentives” tab.
1. Click on the FILL OUT button under Final Incentives. A list of all the girls in the troop with the rewards they qualify for, along with the list of reward packages and optional patches that you can order should appear on your screen. Please note: optional patches have a price tag. If you ordered these patches, we will deduct the total amount you owe for the patches from the troop proceeds before transferring it to your troop account. You need to order each girl’s reward separately.
2. Click on the girl’s name and the list of rewards she has earned should appear. (Note, if what appears is incorrect, please contact the Product Department at 675-5529).
3. Click on the SUBMIT ORDER button. Repeat the prior step for each girl until you have ordered for each girl. When you are done, you will be taken back to the first page that has the listing of all the girls and rewards.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on SUBMIT ORDER. This action will complete your transaction. Please note you are now locked out and cannot make changes to your order. If you need to make changes, you must contact your SUCM.
5. Please click on GIRL REPORT to double check that your order is correct. You should print a copy of this report for your records.
Q. What is the cad/sr/amb. option?
A. Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Girl Scout troop/groups can choose to receive money, $.05 per box, in lieu of the individual reward prizes. The girls will also receive a thank you certificate and relevant patches. The ENTIRE troop must consist of all Cadettes, Seniors and/or Ambassadors in order to exercise this option; mixed groups are not eligible.
If your troop would like to chose this option, please contact the Product Department at 675-5529. This lets Council know that you will not be ordering rewards prizes, and that we should calculate the additional proceeds. Optional patches are available to troops that choose the Cadette/Senior/Ambassador option. These patches sometimes have a cost associated with them. They include, but are not limited to: Booth patches and bar patches (100+, 200+, 300+, etc.). The girls will receive a thank you certificate and participation patch.
Read More Cookie FAQs from GSUSA!
