Your QuickStart Guide to S u b s 0 S u b s What is the annual subscription? As a membership organisation we collect an annual subscription. This is paid by every member each year to help with the running costs of local and UK-wide guiding. An annual subscription has been collected and sent to Girlguiding Headquarters since 98. Units collect a separate weekly or termly subs, which is paid into the unit s account to cover running costs. Who pays the Girlguiding subscription? Our members all girls, young women, Leaders and supporters of Girlguiding pay the subscription each February. Some units collect the girls annual subscription as part of their weekly or termly unit subs, while others request a separate payment each year. Each level pays an invoice for all their members, and all members with a volunteer role receive a new annual membership card. What is a levy and who decides it? A levy is the amount a level charges each member within their area. Girlguiding sets its annual subscription levy in the summer and communicates this to all members at least six months before collection. Countries, Regions, Counties, Divisions and Districts then set their subscription rates and members are informed by December. A breakdown of the amounts is given on the Unit Subscriptions Due report, available from Go! (our membership database). This means that you pay one amount through one invoice, and we distribute the correct levy back to each level. 0 What do subs pay for? Badges and initiatives Insurance and disclosure checks Local administrative costs and local support Production and testing of new publications Communications, including guiding magazine and e-newsletters Development and updating of an exciting and challenging programme for all ages Improvements to Go! membership systems and the Girlguiding website based on your feedback Project opportunities for girls and young women Girlguiding Country/Region County Division District YOU Development and promotion of Girlguiding s brand, PR Training and materials to develop skills of adult members Provision of support, with an information team to answer questions Legal advice, health and safety, buildings, finance Local grants and the subsidising of local events International opportunities
What is the Girlguiding subscription levy for 0? The annual subscription amount for 0 has been set by the Girlguiding Executive Committee at 0.80 per member. Our shops and our fundraising strategy, as well as investments, produce income to support activities and keep the Girlguiding subscription levy as low as possible. How is my unit s subscription invoice calculated? The subscription invoices are based on the information recorded on Go! so it s important that Leaders update the information on Go! before February. The invoice is based on the number of members in the unit on the published invoice date, not on an annual average or on the number in the unit on a different date (eg September). The system adds up all the local levies to produce an amount per member, which it then calculates into a unit s invoice total. A Leader can see this from 30 November 03 on page of the Unit Subscriptions Due report within Go!. The total amount per person is also shown. Who will and won t be included on the invoice? Every member whose main role is in your unit on Go! will be included on the invoice. The Unit Subscriptions Due report on Go! shows a full list of all the individuals in your level in the following categories. ) Members Who Are To Be Paid For At This Level These individuals will be included on your invoice. ) Members Who Are To Be Paid For Elsewhere These individuals will be included only on the other unit s invoice, not yours. 3) Recognised Volunteers Who Do Not Need To Be Paid For These individuals do not pay the Girlguiding subscription. For information about Recognised Volunteers, please visit the Subscriptions 0 site. Leaders can check the unit s trial invoice between 9 January and noon on 9 February 0 to ensure this Go! information translates correctly to the subscription invoice. Remember that the subscription invoice updates at 0am each morning only. How can I ensure that my unit s subscription will be correct? Volunteers in the Unit User Group can run the Unit Subscriptions Due report in the Report Management area on Go! at any time during the year, and check the subscription invoice during the trial invoice period (9 January to 9 February 0) to see if it is correct. Commissioners can also see this information for units in their area. The trial invoice period closes at noon on 9 February 0. We strongly advise that local levels check their trial invoices more than once straight after the launch of the trial invoices and a few days before the deadline, even if they have made their necessary amendments. Find out more about the subscriptions process Information about subscriptions is found at www.girlguiding.org.uk/subs. Help with Go! is available in the Download Help Files area of Go!. The Go! welcome page provides monthly updates. Remember, your Commissioner is your best contact for information and guidance. If you don t know your password to enter Go! and the Members area, use the Need your password link on the login page. When do we need to pay the subscription? On February (noon) the official invoice is produced. The amount shown is due for immediate payment.
How do I correct an invoice? You can only make changes to the unit invoice before 9 February 0. A trial invoice will be available from the Subscription 0 site at noon on 9 January 0. Check this invoice is correct. If it s not, you need to update your unit s information on Go!. Remember that every individual in your unit should be accounted for. The trial invoice is updated daily at 0am so you can check the changes have been registered. Remember do not pay this invoice! The trial invoices will be removed at noon on 9 February 0. Any changes made after this won t be on your official invoice. The official invoices will be available from noon on Friday February 0. This is the invoice you should pay in full as soon as possible. Can only one person update the unit s information? No. Any active Leader, Assistant Leader, Leader in Training or Unit Key User can update a unit s records both in Join Us and Go!. This means any member of the Unit User Group can help. How do I update the records for the volunteers in my Unit Team? Your local Commissioner is responsible for updating your Leadership Team. You need to contact her with the details of any volunteers who have joined or left your unit, and the role they hold in your unit. If someone starts coming more or less frequently, you need to ask your Commissioner to update their role to match. She can find information about how to do this in the Commissioner Go! QuickStart Guide or in the Download Help Files area in Go!. A volunteer in my unit wants to receive the membership benefits what should I do? Every volunteer can become a member and receive the membership benefits. Contact your Commissioner and she will ensure a volunteer s membership status is set to Member Active. How do I access the Subscription 0 site?. Log in to Go! via www.girlguiding.org.uk.. Go to the Subscription 0 area (if you hold more than one role you will need to select the level you wish to view). 3. Select Invoice from the left-hand menu.. Your invoice will appear on the screen. 5. Select Download invoice to open a pdf version. You can save or print this pdf invoice. How do I add a young member who is new to guiding to my unit? New members are added to your unit through Join Us. From the role management area of Go!, select the Join Us link and update the enquiries so that they can be transferred to your unit on Go!.. Click on your unit s name.. Search for the relevant girl using the dashboard. 3. Update her record to show that she has joined your unit.. Update her details in Go! once you have her completed Starting... leaflet. She will be allocated a membership number overnight and will appear on your trial invoice the next morning. For more information, please see the Enquiry Help Files and Quickstart Guide: Join Us which can be found at www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinushelp. 3
How do I add a young member who has moved to my unit?. Click on your unit s name in the Role Management area of Go!.. Click on the relevant role ( Rainbow, Brownie, Guide or Senior Section member ). 3. Enter her membership number (given to you by her Unit Leader), leaving the other fields blank.. Click and, if the correct record is shown, click. 5. Enter the date she started in your unit (the Valid From date) and click. 6. Click and a new role will be created. Her membership (and your trial invoice) will be updated overnight. 7. Update her personal information based on her new Starting... leaflet. Note: If she is still active in her previous unit make this role inactive. How do I show that a young member has left my unit?. Click on your unit s name in the Role Management area of Go!.. Click on View Active Young Members to see all the girls in your unit. 3. Click next to the girl s name.. Go to Role Details and click next to her role in your unit. 5. Change the Role Status to Inactive and enter a Valid To date (the date when she left your unit). 6. Click to save this and move her to the Inactive Young Members list. Note: If she has moved to another unit, please provide the new Unit Team with her membership number so they can update her record for their unit. What is a main role and who can change it? An individual s main role is the one they pay their subscription for (so no one is charged twice). This should be at their lowest level. For example if you are a District Secretary and a Leader, your main role will be Unit Leader. Any individual who can add a role can also make it the main role.. Click on the unit s name in the Role Management area of Go!.. Click next to the individual s name in the unit s list to see their record. 3. Go to Role Details.. Click next to the role which should be their main role. 5. Tick the Main Role box. 6. Click to save this. The will move to the correct role. They will then appear on your trial invoice the next day. Note: Local levels can share the cost of an individual s subscription, but this will need to be arranged locally.
What do I need to do to pay the invoice? Open and print the official invoice (available from noon on Friday February 0). Make sure there is enough cleared funds in the unit s bank account to pay the invoice. Write the level number and name on the back of a cheque and post the cheque and invoice payment slip to the address on the invoice. You can reduce costs by sending several payments in one envelope, but remember to include a separate invoice payment slip and cheque for each level. What happens after I ve made the payment? The status of your invoice will appear as Unpaid until your cheque has been received. You should check the Subscriptions 0 site regularly after sending your cheque. When we receive your cheque the status of your invoice on the Subscriptions 0 site will change to Payment in progress. The level main contact will also be notified by email. You will need to monitor the status of your invoice until it says Paid in full. The payment process has not been completed until you see this message. This will take roughly two weeks due to bank processing and report limitations. The level main contact will also be notified by email. If the status of your invoice changes to Error with payment, your level main contact will receive an automated email with information about the error and how to correct it. If you need further clarification, please email subscriptions@girlguiding.org.uk and copy in your Commissioner. How do I get a receipt? Once the invoice status says Paid in full, print it and include this in your accounts. Do this as soon as it is shows Paid in full, as these receipts will be available only until noon on July 0. I am not part of a unit or team but I want the membership benefits what do I do? To receive these benefits, including guiding magazine, you need to be recorded as an active member on Go!. If you do not actively participate locally this can be as a support member. Contact your local Commissioner or County/Region office who will ensure that you are registered correctly and keep receiving your magazine. How can Commissioners help? Commissioners should use the Reports area of the Subscriptions 0 site to monitor trial invoice updates, payment progress and print invoices for those who may not have access to a printer. Instructions for how to do this can be found at www.girlguiding.org.uk/subs. Don t forget you ll also need to print your District/Division invoice. Commissioners should be the first point of contact for support using Go! and with the subscription process. Budgeting for the future Finding it hard to collect subscription payments and pay the invoice on time? Why not collect smaller amounts throughout the year or ask for a lump sum in December, not January? This allows you more time. Remember, the bank will charge you if there are insufficient funds in the account when you pay your invoice. You must allow five working days for money you pay into your bank account to be cleared and available to be withdrawn. 5