The Cookie Press: Edition 12

Read on for National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend 2023, Cookie Spirit Award winners, Cookie Booth of the Week winners, Raspberry Rally feedback, managing troop cookie inventory, booth credit card sales reports, troop ship only link, Council Cupboard schedule, planned orders, booth requests, Forward to Families, Cookie Chat on March 7, Cookie Combo Personalized Patch, assisting troops with cookie finances, Cookie Program check-in with Volunteer Engagement Coordinators and more.

In this edition:

Up Next

• National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend 2023
• Cookie Spirit Award Winners
• Cookie Booth of the Week Winners

What’s Trending

• Share Your Feedback on Raspberry Rally
• Managing Troop Cookie Inventory in Smart Cookies
• Cookie Booth Credit Card Sales & Helpful Reports
• Troop Ship Only Link

Reminders

• Council Cupboard Schedule & Planned Orders
• Troop Cookie Booth Requests
• Forward to Families
• Cookie Chat on March 7
• Cookie Combo Personalized Patches

For Service Unit Cookie Managers

• Assisting Troops with Cookie Finances
• Cookie Program Check-In with Volunteer Engagement Coordinators

 

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend

Tomorrow, March 3, kicks off National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend 2023 where nearly all Girl Scout councils have their Cookie Program in progress! Girl Scout Cookies will be in the national media spotlight during this special weekend, March 3-5. Cookie customers are directed to the Girl Scout Cookie Finder, where they can use their zip code to search for local cookie seller(s). Customers can purchase Girl Scout Cookies from a cookie booth in their area or purchase cookies for “direct ship” to benefit a local troop.

The National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend patch is available for purchase through GirlScoutShop.com.

Cookie Spirit Award Winners

Our cookie volunteers have spirit, yes they do! Congratulations to our Week 1 Cookie Spirit Award winners Carley Lynch and Kylee Koutek. Both Carley and Kylee will receive a $25 Target gift card and a big high-five from Girl Scouts River Valleys! Nominate a cookie volunteer for consideration today. Submissions carry over each week.

Carley Lynch: “Last year Carley stepped up in a HUGE way as a troop volunteer and drove hours all over the place to pick up cookies the girls needed for orders. This was after she and her husband helped pick up thousands of boxes for the initial order.

This year she already rocked the season! She took over cookies this year. Picked up thousands of boxes for the initial order. Loaded them into four cars herself after receiving no help from the staff at the pick-up location. She, in one day, had all the cases sorted and ready for girls to pick up. She went above and beyond and delivered cookie supplies to families who were unable to make the cookie meeting. She managed 10 girls schedules over the cookie season, where half of our girls can only participate in booths every other weekend, to get all the girl’s scheduled in over 20 booths. She also has a booth kit, set up with change, a table, and tips for parents on how to set up a booth to draw customers in.

She always goes above and beyond for our troop, volunteering for events, making t-shirts, and Christmas gifts, and now has taken over cookies. We could not run the troop without her!”

Kylee Koutek: “We had no one available to come get our initial order and with 334 cases this meant either utilizing girl funds to rent a truck or placing between multiple vehicles. Kylee stepped up to help and even with sick kiddos she went out of her way to attend the initial order pickup and save troop funds. But she didn’t stop there. She then stayed after to sort through types, help take inventory, separate parent orders, and booth checkouts. Then after all was said and done, she volunteered to take 1 doors worth of booth inventory with her to help bring cookies to our Saturday opening weekend booth. This is so incredibly appreciated where sometime this is an all-day event and done solo with little support. Thank you to Kylee for making this year so much more smoothly and helping with our troops largest order yet.”

Cookie Booth of the Week Winners

Troops have been hard at work displaying their best cookie booths for all to see. Congratulations to our Week 1 Cookie Booth of the Week winners Troop 18515 and Troop 44577. Don’t forget to send us photos of your cookie booths using the  Cookie Booth of the Week Entry Form. Troops can only win once.

Daisy/Brownie/Junior Booth of the Week

Troop 18515

 

Week 1: Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Booth of the Week

Troop 44577

 

Share Your Feedback on Raspberry Rally

Our council acknowledges the experiences and feelings resulting from the Raspberry Rally online cookie. Girl Scouts, volunteers, families, and customers deserve better. We hear the frustration and disappointment, and we are sorry. In addition to the actions we have taken already (sending Girl Scouts customer info, reaching out to customers with sales link to repurchase), we are collecting your feedback to provide it to GSUSA and ABC Bakers. Please take a few minutes to respond to these questions.

Managing Troop Cookie Inventory in Smart Cookies

How do I use Smart Cookies to see what transfers I have completed? How many cookies does each Girl Scout have? How many cookies does Smart Cookies think I have left? There are many useful reports in Smart Cookies that will help in keeping tabs on troop inventory and much more!

All reports can be accessed by selecting Current from the Reports tab.

Troop On-Hand Inventory Report Girl Cookie Totals Summary Report Troop Balance Summary Report Girl Balance Summary Report

Manage Orders Screen

The Manage Orders screen in Smart Cookies is a great way to see all cookies that have been received by your troop (from your initial order, cupboard pick-ups, or other troops) and all cookies that you have given out (to Girl Scouts or other troops).

1. From the troop leader view select Manage Orders from the Orders tab.
2. Select “Apply Search Parameters,” and all transfers will appear. This page will also show direct ship orders.
   • Note: If you are working on inventory management, you can disregard those because they do not affect your troop’s inventory!

Use this screen to double-check what was transferred into your troop’s inventory after a cupboard visit, or to see what you have transferred to each Girl Scout. It’s a good idea to regularly compare it to your paper receipts, or any other external inventory tracking system you are using. You can even export the report to an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a great feeling when Smart Cookies matches your on-hand inventory, and this screen can help keep you on track!

If you see any discrepancies, check your receipts against your troop transfers to make sure there isn’t a data entry error. Check out the Reviewing Transfers section of our Smart Cookies Guide for Volunteers or check out this helpful video to help in the process. Connect with your Service Unit cookie manager to help troubleshoot any inventory issues or reach out to us for help. Catching inventory issues early can help prevent headaches later.

Cookie Booths: Credit Cards & Helpful Reports

Sales at cookie booths have been brisk and even sweeter with no credit card fees! Did you know that not only can troop users in Smart Cookies take credit card payments at cookie booths but so can families through their Girl Scouts’ Smart Cookies accounts? Check out the Smart Cookies Guide for Volunteers for troop instructions under the Booth Credit Card Payments section. Direct families to the Smart Cookies Guide for Families for instructions on accepting credit card payments at booths under the Selling Cookies In-Person section.

If you have a credit card that declines and the customer comes back later to report the transaction is showing on their statement, that transaction is more than likely a pending transaction and will be reversed by the bank or credit card company. Do not give the customer cash or Girl Scout Cookies for this transaction, because the troop will be out of the cookies and money since the charge will be reversed on the customer’s account and nothing will be credited to the troop. Direct the customer to reach out to their bank or credit card company if they have any concerns.

Helpful Reports:

• Booth Sales Credit Card Transactions Export: Features a full list of the credit card transactions recorded for each Cookie Booth sale
• Smart Booth Divider Sales Export: Features the sales by cookie variety input into the Smart Booth Divider for each location
• Booked Booth Sales Summary: Features all booth sales secured by the troop

Troop Ship Only Cookie Link

Each troop has a Troop Ship Only Link for direct-ship only sales. You’ll find this link in the My Troop tab and under Troop Information, then scroll to the Troop Ship Only Link to find it. This link can be used to invite customers to place direct-ship orders by social media, email, text, or even creating a QR code to place on a poster at a business that wants to support your troop but may not be able to host a cookie booth.

New: If you click on Print Handout, a QR code and a tiny url (that’s a shorter version of the web link) will be created that you could also use to share with customers.  

You can view any sales from this link that are credited to your troop in Smart Cookies by viewing them in the Orders tab under Troop Direct Ship Orders. If your troop receives sales through the Girl Scout Cookie Finder, they will also appear in this location. We’ll provide you with the details on how to distribute these sales in a future post.

 

Council Cupboard Schedule & Planned Orders

Cupboards are stocked and ready for a busy weekend of cookie booths, door-to-door sales, Lemonades Stands, and more during National Girl Scout Cookie weekend. Stop by one of our eight locations tomorrow from 12:00 pm-6:00 pm plus Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 am-12:30 pm.

Don’t forget that planned orders for Regional/Regional Express Cupboards and the Council Express Cupboard in Burnsville and Maplewood are due Monday by 8:00 am. When making planned orders, please remember to order what you intend to sell as these cookies cannot be returned to the baker. This is the final planned order for the Council Express Cupboard and Regional Express Cupboards, which close on March 10.

If you picked up cookies from a cupboard and notice an error between Smart Cookies and your physical inventory, please fill out the Cookie Cupboard Error Report Form.

Troop Cookie Booth Requests

We have had increasing numbers of troop secured booth requests coming in over the weekend. Please remind your troops that while we do our best to monitor all requests that come in daily, we are not checking actively on Saturdays or Sundays. If you are requesting a booth that is same-day or not during business hours, please be aware we may not see the request in time for your booth to start. During the week, please call us to alert of a same day addition. Any requests that come in over the weekend may not be approved until Monday.

Forward to Families

Here’s the latest update to copy, paste, and forward to families in your troop:

• Have you heard about the LemonAid Program? It’s the chance for Girl Scouts to give back instead of choosing an item at a cookie reward level. With the LemonAid Program, Girl Scouts can choose to make a donation that will benefit the animals at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Participating Girl Scouts will earn a special patch when they choose the donation option at the 130 package sales level. See the rewards information on Cookie Central for all the details on the rewards Girl Scouts earn through their cookie sales.
• If your Girl Scout receives an order for delivery but does not have all the varieties to fulfill the order, the order can be adjusted in Smart Cookies prior to approval. First, you should connect with the customer to inform them of the need to adjust the order and see if they are okay with swapping a variety. Next, you will enter the adjustment in Smart Cookies. The total packaged order must remain the same, after the adjustment. (For example, if out of Lemonades, remove one package Lemonades and add a package of a variety they have in stock).
  • Go to My Orders, then Manage My Orders.
  • Locate the customer order and click on the pencil to open the edit screen for the order.
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Next.
  • The cookie order screen will appear. Enter the updated cookie order. The total package order must remain the same. Then click Save.
  • The customer will receive an email to alert them that the order has been edited.
• For Girl Scouts with direct-ship sales, cookies are delivered to the customer from the bakery within 10-14 days. For tracking information and updates, the customer can refer to their tracking information email which is sent when the cookies ship from Fed Ex. The order confirmation from Smart Cookies will feature an order number. If there are any issues with the order, customers can be directed to contact ABC Direct Ship at acbsmartcookiesdirect@hearthsidefoods.com.

Cookie Chat on March 7: Cookie Finances

Join the River Valleys Product Program Team for another Cookie Chat in Zoom on March 7 starting at 6:30 pm. Our Troop Finance Specialist, Becky Rettler, will chat about cookie finances. Register for the session.

Once you register, you’ll receive the Zoom link and the option to download a reminder to add to your calendar. If you have any specific questions or topics you would like covered, please send an email to Becky.Rettler@girlscoutsrv.org.

Cookie Combo Personalized Patches

Girl Scouts that participated in the 2022 Snacks & Magazine Program and sent 15 emails to friends and family through M2OS during the season are eligible to earn the Cookie Combo Personalized patch. All Girl Scouts that did complete this first step of sending 15 emails have received an email from M2 Media as a reminder that they must also sell 350 packages of cookies in order to earn the patch. If a Girl Scout wishes to update her avatar, she can make changes in M2OS until April 1. Patches will be sent directly to the Girl Scout and typically arrive in the summer.

 

 

Assisting Troops with Cookie Finances

Cookie money can be confusing. Troops may reach out to you with questions on cookie finances. Help them to understand their Troop Balance Summary by reviewing the key information:

• Avg. Packages Sold Per Girl Selling: This is the troop’s PGA
• Proceed plan: Will show either Main Plan, Early Bird Main Plan (for Early Bird Campaign Troops), Opt-Out Plan (for Senior/Ambassador Troops that selected to opt-out), or Early Bird Opt-Out Plan (for Senior/Ambassador Troops that selected opt-out and were Early Bird Campaign Troops)
• Received: This will show all cookies transferred in and out of the troop: Initial order cookies, Cookie Share, Smart Cookies Direct-Ship orders, Cookie Cupboard transactions, and troop-to-troop transfers
• Sales Amounts: Displays the current Troop Proceeds and Council Proceeds for the packages allocated to the troop
• Finances: Displays all ACH, Finance/Inventory Issue Form, Smart Cookies Direct Ship, and Girl Delivery Credit Card Deposits credited to the troop
• Balance: Displays the current balance due to River Valleys or overpayment owed to troop

Remind troops that they should make weekly deposits of their cookie money into the troop bank account. The first ACH withdrawal will be made from the troop bank account on March 17. The first ACH is calculated by multiplying $1 by the total packages received by the troop as of March 10 minus any credit card payments made through Smart Cookies. To ensure that the troop is ready for this ACH, they should deposit their money into the troop bank account by March 14. Direct troops to the ACH FAQs found on Cookie Central to help answer their questions.

Cookie Program Check-Ins with Volunteer Engagement Coordinators

As a Service Unit cookie manager, you play a key role in supporting your Service Units, troop cookie managers, and Girl Scouts through the Cookie Program. The Girl Scouts River Valleys Volunteer Engagement Team would love to connect with you to hear how the Cookie Program is going, assist in answering your questions, and ensure that you feel supported.

Now through the end of the Cookie Program, the Volunteer Engagement team will also be doing drawings for Service Unit cookie managers to receive a token of appreciation for all the hard work and support you provide! If you haven’t already, be sure to reach out to the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator for your Service Unit to get connected and be on the lookout for communication from them. Thank you for all that you do.