Hints and FAQ's
Hints:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Send in any applications you have immediately. Doing so will save you work. Allow at least a week, preferably two, for our registrars to receive them and enter them into the system.
You can always obtain a current roster through Internet Advancement, a separate web-based application. If your unit hasn't obtained its (separate) access code for Internet Advancement, now would be an excellent time to do so. To access Internet Advancement or to find out how to get your unit's access code, click
here.
Internet Rechartering is available 60 days before charter expiration (a December 31st charter is available to work on November 1st). It remains available until 60 days after charter expiration. After you complete Internet Recharter by "submitting to Council" in Stage 5, you will only be able to access the system to print another copy of your recharter roster.
Keep track of your Access Code. It is provided to you on a brightly colored label affixed to the upper right hand corner of the paper roster provided in the recharter packet. If you misplace it, contact your district commissioner.
If you enter your password incorrectly three times, you will have to wait 30 minutes before trying again. If you lose your password you can recover it. If you change the recharter processor, contact your DE to arrange for a new password.
Help and Frequently Asked Questions are available in the upper right corner of all the Internet Rechartering screens.
Always enter unit numbers as 4 digits, using leading zeros, if needed.
You must meet the minimum adult required positions, or the program will not let you recharter. It shows the required positions for your unit. You may change adult positions in ScoutNET as required.
If an ERROR is shown, you must correct it before you can submit the charter. If a WARNING is shown, you should check to be sure your information is correct, but the charter will process all right.
Make sure that all Webelos Scouts are rechartered with their pack unless they are being "Promoted" to a new troop (same expiration date) or have already submitted a transfer application to their new troop (later expiration date).
Ensure every boy who deserves Boys Life gets it.
Internet Rechartering does not calculate fees for new persons you add to the charter in the final month. Those fees are $1.25 per person as of January 1, 2010, and are added on the
Unit Recharter Instructions form. The insurance fees are calculated on the
Accident Insurance Information form and added to the fees on the
Unit Recharter Instructions form.
Before you go final, print out a
Roster Review copy. Look at it carefully on paper. This copy will not have a place for signatures.
If you are the Recharter Processor for more than one unit, do not submit any of the charters until you have finished reviewing all the rosters. It is common, on review, to find that positions or primary registrations may need to be adjusted.
When you are convinced the recharter is correct, and not before, press Submit to Council. The information is now locked and you can make no further online changes. You must print out your updated roster to use as your signature copy. Get the signature of your institution head and your unit leader. Be sure to keep a copy!
Turn the Recharter Printout in with the following papers:
- A check (bring two to the Roundtable, don't fill in the amount until your paperwork is approved.)
- All new adult applications (council copy)
- All new youth applications (council copy)
- Accident Insurance Information form
Please bring the WORKSHEET (Unit Recharter Instructions form, item 7) filled out when you turn in your paperwork. It will help us check the work.
NOTE: Units should not make photocopies of the "Council copy" of adult applications because it contains the applicant's Social Security Number. It is a violation of BSA policy to copy this page.
A: This allows time for the Council Registration staff to enter the applications into ScoutNet and be available in Internet Rechartering.
A: No.
A: The Internet Rechartering web site uses SSL (secure socket layer) technology and the data to and from ScoutNet is secure. As of Fall 2009, SSNs can no longer be entered in Internet Rechartering which further improves security. No existing SSN or DL information in a person record is displayed on the site. There is no downloading of roster information to any PC (this is not the same as a person making screen prints or printing the roster). Please see the Privacy Policy on the site (link) and also check the Confidentiality Statement. The national site also employs various safeguards against hacking.
A: The unit should submit a new application immediately when the change is made so that the leader receives communications appropriate to his/her position and so that there is a record that the chartered organization has approved the change. However, at recharter time only, the position may be changed in ScoutNet without an application (we have all the personal information, and the IH signature on the roster approves the position change.
For example: when a change in a unit's top leadership positions occur, the unit should send in a new adult leader application(s) to record those changes immediately to SHAC. Don't wait until recharter time. In the case of an adult changing units (or staying in one unit and adding another job responsibility in another unit), an adult leader application is always required. As a reminder, any new adult leader must fill out a BSA application and it is to be turned into SHAC, regardless of the timing of the unit's charter renewal date.
Don't forget that there are three parts to a complete adult application: (1) the application itself with signatures of the applicant, the committee chair, and the chartered organization, (2) the criminal background check authorization signed by the applicant, and (3) a copy of the applicant's Youth Protection Training course completion certificate.
A: No, Tiger Cub Adult Partners are not registered adult leaders. However, they may be registered in any adult leader position in addition to being a Tiger Cub Adult Partner.
A: Yes.
A: A person is only required to pay once for BSA membership. The unit through which the person pays BSA membership is called the "primary" membership. All other, unpaid memberships are called "multiple" memberships.
A: Yes. An adult application will be required. If a unit has loaded the council information and has a youth member who is 18 (or 21 for Venturing) and cannot be renewed as a youth member, then that member may be "promoted" in the Promote screens. This will save re-entering much data. You must ensure the SSN is entered for the new adult because SSN is not required for youth members. Then the roster will display that person as an adult (SA, VA, or NA [Venturing associate advisor]).
An alternate solution is for the unit to submit the adult application for the new leader prior to charter renewal (the loading of the roster) so that the council can make the change. Then the roster will display that person as an adult without further effort on the unit's part.
A: You may continue to enter the information you do have. You may close out and it will save the information you have entered. Make notes of what you need, then go get it. When you have more information, you can go back to the appropriate pages and enter the new information. You may stop and start as often as you need.
Q: What happens if there is a change after I have printed out the recharter form?
A: Once you click the "Submit to Council" button in Stage 5, you cannot make any further changes online. If you need to make a correction or addition after this point, make the change manually on the updated recharter roster that you printed from Internet Rechartering. Use black or blue ballpoint pen to draw a single line through information to be changed and, very neatly, write in the change. Be careful not to obliterate the information that you are changing because registration personnel must be able to read what is being changed so that they can make the change. Be sure to attach complete applications for any new members that you add. Write the names of added new members in the appropriate "new member" (adult or youth) list printed out by Internet Rechartering.
A: Internet Rechartering will allow you to print a hardcopy form that you can fill out manually. However, we recommend using the Council's online Centennial Quality Award forms. See www.samhoustonbsa.org/HOME/FORMS/CENTENNIALQUALITYACHIE3/ to report your success at having met the goals for the 2009 CQA and see
www.samhoustonbsa.org/HOME/FORMS/CENTENNIALQUALITYACHIE4/ to make commitments for the 2010 CQA.
A: No, you cannot pay any fees on-line (i.e. insurance, re-charter fees, Boy's Life, etc.) via a credit card. You can deposit the funds for recharter to your unit account at the Council office and then check the box in Internet Rechartering to have fees taken out of the unit account.
A: The effective date of the recharter is the day after the old charter expires. Because charters expire on the last day of a month, the new charter will be effective on the first day of the following month. The date that the recharter is "received" for on-time recharter purposes is the date when the signed paperwork and checks are received at the SHAC counter.
A: For a new youth/adult, an application must be obtained. Write it on the charter in the new youth or new adult sections. Include fees for both this year ($1.25) and next year ($15.00 + Boys' Life). Note that, if you have turned in the signed charter, you submit the applications and fees to the council service center as you normally do.
A: No. We know of no plans at this time.
A: No, the Internet Rechartering process is just for the annual renewal. Submission of the new youth and adult applications to the council service center will keep the charter information current. New printouts may be requested when needed.
A: No. Internet Rechartering is only for charter renewal. New charters cannot be established through internet rechartering. Internet rechartering is for traditional units only - packs, troops, teams, crews and ships. You need the individual applications anyhow, so the council does all that work for you.
A: UMS means Unit Management System and is a software package used to manage the unit roster, member advancements, etc. Three UMS packages have worked with BSA to be able to accept data from ScoutNet and to be able to upload UMS data into ScoutNet for recharter. These are: TroopMaster (tm) and PackMaster (tm) from TroopMaster Software, Inc., and ScoutSoft (tm) from SBF Publication Company. Two other UMS packages from different providers that were certified to work with ScoutNet are no longer available.
A: Yes, have the registered committee chair or unit leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Varsity Coach, Venturing Advisor, or Skipper) send an email to margarita.bernal@shac.org requesting their Scoutnet data in order to upload into a UMS system. However, this should only be done by units that are not currently using a UMS system. If a troop or pack has already been using a UMS software package to manage their unit's advancement/membership, downloading current ScoutNet data will create duplicate records in the UMS for all members already in the UMS or will have other undesirable side effects. If a unit intends to begin using a UMS, the unit should purchase a brand new UMS software package to start with a ScoutNet download - it helps when going back into the Internet Rechartering program.
A: There are two reasons: accuracy of BSA registration data and extra effort for the unit and Council/District volunteers and professionals supporting recharter.
Most units using UMS software begin using it without obtaining a download of ScoutNet data to initialize their new system. Also, many units use nicknames for Scouts and Scouters in the name fields rather than the full legal name and have had other errors accumulate in their UMS data. When UMS data is uploaded into Internet Rechartering, the UMS data will completely replace the information contained in ScoutNet. Any nicknames and other errors will be put into BSA's registration data. We feel that there is less chance of an error being inadvertently put into Internet Rechartering if someone is looking at each member and making any corrections.
The first time a unit attempts to upload UMS data is usually quite difficult and, if the unit has waited until the last minute to start trying to upload, quite stressful on the unit and supporting Council/District personnel. Internet Rechartering attempts to match each member record from the UMS data with a member record in the unit's Scoutnet data. I.R. makes the match effortlessly when the name and birthdate match exactly. Otherwise, I.R. goes through the entire set of unmatched records asking you to point out the corresponding ScoutNet record. This can be a very time-consuming process for a large unit (we have seen 75 members fail to match in a first time "uploader").
In summary, UMS is a useful tool for managing a unit. However, it is a useful tool for recharter if, and only if, the unit has an absolute commitment to maintaining its UMS data to a very high degree of accuracy.
A: These programs assume all current members will re-register. You must remember to un-check any who will not re-register. If you make a mistake and send the data through for a member that you didn't want to recharter, you can delete the member in Internet Recharter after the upload process is completed.
Packmaster (tm)/Troopmaster (tm) - If you decide to use either of these software programs, you must run the Recharter report (found using the pathway REPORTS:SCOUT/UNIT GENERAL:COUNCIL RECHARTER:ANNUAL RECHARTER) in order to create the file necessary in Internet Rechartering. The programs may refer to it as the "diskette" because that was the way BSA intended to transfer the data when it redesigned ScoutNet in the late 1990's. Just create the file on your hard drive and remember where it is. Then go to that location when Internet Rechartering ask you to locate your UMS data.
ScoutSoft (tm) - no information
