Getting a Unit Started in Scoutbook

Scoutbook Overview for Unit Leaders

Here is a video overview of Scoutbook for Unit Leaders

Getting a Unit Started in Scoutbook

Here is a video on getting a unit started in Scoutbook

If your unit has never used Scoutbook before, one of your Key 3 members, Key 3 Delegate, or Unit Advancement Chair, (these user roles are set in my.Scouting) should login and setup permissions for the unit.  The unit advancement chair is defined in my.scouting.org by one of the unit Key 3 members using the Position Manager Tool.  Instructions for that tool are here.

The term “Key 3” is a Boy Scouts of America term, not a Scoutbook term. Key 3 refers to the team of the unit leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor or Ship Skipper), the unit Committee Chairman, and the Chartered Organization Representative.

How to Login for Unit Volunteers

If you have a my.Scouting account, you can login to Scoutbook.com with your my.Scouting credentials. If the my.Scouting account is connected to a BSA Member ID, it will be matched with the appropriate Scoutbook unit and access is automatically provided to that unit.

If you don’t have a my.Scouting account, you need to create one that is connected to your BSA Member ID.

Go to my.Scouting.org to create an account. The my.Scouting account creation process discovers the BSA membership for you based on profile attribute matchup and allows you to create an account that links to your membership. Once the my.Scouting account is created, use this to login to Scoutbook.com .

Login issues are usually resolved by resetting your password. On the Scoutbook login prompt select Forgot Password or My.Scouting User Name? 

After you login, click on Administration and My Dashboard, you will see the units you are a member of based upon your BSA Member ID as registered in my.Scouting.

If you click on the unit and then click on the Unit Roster you will see all the adults and Scouts currently registered in your unit.

If you need to assign the admin role to someone else who will be setting up your unit, skip to the Setting up Adult Roles in Your Unit in Scoutbook section.

Creating Dens / Patrols and Assigning Scouts

Scoutbook automatically brings in Scouts to your Scoutbook Roster who are registered in your unit by your council. You will want to create Dens or Patrols in Scoutbook and assign Scouts to them. To do that from your Dashboard click on your pack or troop name. Then click on Add Den or Add Patrol and give it a name (e.g., Webelos 1, Wolf 2, Scorpion.) The word Den or Patrol will automatically be appended to the end of the name by the system. If you click on the name after creating the den or patrol you can edit the patrol and change the name if you wish. From there you can also add Scouts who are already on your Scoutbook roster by clicking on the Reassign Scout button and selecting the Scout or Scouts to add to the den or patrol.

For more information on setting up Scouts, see Managing Memberships – Adding-Removing and Moving Scouts Between Units-Dens-Patrols.

NOTE:  For Webelos Scouts who are working towards Arrow of Light not the Webelos rank, make sure to edit their profile and indicate Working Towards: Arrow of Light.

Setting up Adult Roles in Your Unit in Scoutbook

Scoutbook will automatically add adult leaders as they are registered to your unit.  We strongly suggest you wait for that to occur.

Note: to setup someone as the unit advancement chair or treasurer:  The unit leader, or committee chair, or chartered organization representative, logs into my.scouting.org, goes to the menu and selects Organization Security Manager and adds the position to one of the registered leaders in the unit.  It takes about 24 hours for the person to have the position established in Scoutbook.  Note, the positions in Organization Security Manager expire at recharter time, so a key 3 member has to go back in each year to renew this functional position in Organization Security Manager.

You will next want to make sure the adult roles are setup properly for your unit. To assign an adult a role, go back to your Scoutbook unit roster. You can get there by going to the Dashboard and clicking on your unit then clicking on your unit Roster. (You can also get there by clicking on your unit name at the top of the page and then clicking on your unit Roster.) If you click on an adult you can assign them a leadership position by clicking on their name then clicking on Add Position/Role button in the lower right.

If the adult is not on your roster, you can click on the Add Leader button below the list of adults on your unit roster.  Please always search for the adult leader on this screen first since they may very well be in the system already (you can search by name or email or member ID.)   You can only add BSA registered adults.

You can assign Den Leaders to their dens this way as well.  Den leaders , Patrol ASMs and other positions do not have any inherent permissions without also being assigned the unit, den, or patrol admin role.  See our guide here

Packs please note: When adding a Tiger Den Leader, Webelos Leader, Assistant Webelos Leader you must use the Tiger Den Leader or Assistant Tiger Den Leader (or Webelos Den Leader or Assistant Webelos Den Leader) role as it is different than the regular Den Leader role.  (note that Tiger Dens have Adult Partners not Assistant Den Leaders)

Adult leaders and committee members who are so defined in Scoutbook will be able to approve advancements if you give them Edit Advancement permission. You can establish permissions with Set Permissions when you add the adult;  Later you can adjust permissions with Connection Manager in the Roster page.  see the separate guide here.

Double check to make sure each adult leader has a green check mark next to their name on the roster and next to their position when you click on their name. If they do not, click on their name and their position and click the position approved box and update.

Setting up Parents / Guardians

Parents will now automatically added to their Scout’s record when the Scout is registered and is brought into your unit by the system.  If you entered the Scout manually, you may associate one or more parents / guardians to a Scout. To do so, go to your unit Roster in Scoutbook, click on the Scout and click Add Parent.

If the parent is automatically added and connected to the Scout by Scoutbook, you will still need to invite the parent so they are notified by the system to login.  They should go to http://scoutbook.com and use their my.scouting.org userid and password or the userid and password they used for the application system to login if they have one, otherwise the system will send them a userid and password.

IMPORTANT:  ALWAYS search for the parent first, many parents are already in the Scoutbook database. You can search by name or email address.

You will want to give parents full control (Scoutbook will automatically give them irrevocable full control in the near future.) Parents who are only defined as a parent in Scoutbook can only complete advancements (not approve them) even if you give them full control (recommended.) If you wish them to approve advancements you will need to give them some other unit position in Scoutbook.

NOTE:  When a unit adds a parent and the parent accepts the invitation and changes his/her password, they are automatically provisioned on My.Scouting.org and can use the user name and password to take training there. They don’t have to open a new account if they need to take any training.

An extensive parent help guide is linked here.

Here is a quick video for Scouts and Parents on how to mark requirements as complete

Setting Up Additional Parent / Guardian

To add an additional parent or guardians to a Scout, do the following:

• Click on the Scout
• Click on the Scout’s connections
• Click on the parent if they are already in the unit or click +ADD
• Search for the parent or if they do not have a my.scouting or Scoutbook presence yet, type in their information
• Select Parent / Guardian Role
  Enter personal note to them
  Click Invite

For more information see our guide: Setting Up Parent Accounts

Only member care can remove a parent, send an email to: scoutbook.scouting.org with your council’s name, unit type and number, the Scout’s name and the parent’s name.

Setting up Scouts

For instructions on how a Scout can be setup to view their records see the guide:   Scoutbook Account Setup for Parents – Inviting Scouts to Join

Reports

For information on how to get the report for the Scout Shop, see:  https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/report-to-bring-to-scout-shop/

Scoutbook has a lot of other report options. See: https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/scoutbook-reporting/

Tracking ScoutsBSA Advancement in Scoutbook

Includes getting a report for the Scout Shop, see:  https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/scouts-bsa-advancement-using-scoutbook-video/

Tracking Cub Scout Advancement in Scoutbook

Includes getting a report for the Scout Shop, see: https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/recording-cub-scout-advancement-using-scoutbook/

Also see how to use the new Den Leader tool: https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/what-is-log-in-as-den-leader-for-sb/

Transitioning (Migrating) From Another 3rd Party Tool

Transitioning (Migrating) From Another 3rd party application, please see this link.