What is a Group Billing Code (GBC)?
Group Billing Codes are provided in exchange for direct payments made to the Group. By offering the code to the parent, the Group becomes financially responsible for youth's registration where code was used. Group must pay registration fee amount received to Scouts Canada within 30 days of registration date.
Families that would like to use cash or make payment installations can provide payment to the Group directly in exchange for a GBC.
If a Group sponsor would like to subsidize membership fees for an entire Group they would pay the Group directly and a GBC is provided for every member of the Group.
What if youth is being sponsored by a 3rd party subsidy provider?
If a youth member is being sponsored by a 3rd party subsidy provider such as JumpStart, Canadian Tire, local charity, etc., the parent must first provide proof of 3rd party subsidy application submission to the Group. Then, the Group can generate a Group Billing Code and provide it to the parent to complete youth's registration. Subsidy provider would then have to submit payment to the Scout Group. After that the Group would proceed with payment to Scouts Canada.
**Scouts Canada does not accept registration payments directly from 3rd party subsidy providers, so the payment must flow through the Scout Group youth has registered with.
What happens if a 3rd party subsidy is declined?
If a 3rd party subsidy is declined, but a GBC registration has already taken place, Parent/Group has the following options:
- an alternative payment arrangement can be made such as an installment plan;
- a refund or a cancellation of registration (if no payment has been made to Scouts Canada yet) may be requested if no other suitable payment option can be found, assuming GBC registration is within the refund eligibility window.
How do Groups request a Group Billing code?
Scouters with an active Group Commissioner, Group Registrar, Group Administrator or Treasurer role(s) may now request a Group Billing Code via the main Group Profile. The Scouter will need to log into their MyScouts account first, then navigate to the main Group Profile from My Roles tab.
Once on the main Group Profile, scroll down to Org Options on the left and click on Request Group Billing Code:
Next page will outline information on code usage, its expiry date as well as link to this article. Please note that the number of uses per code is set to 5 by default and code expiry date is always 60 days from the date of request. These values are preset and are not editable.
Example: If a Group requires GBC for 7 youth, two separate codes must be requested.
Click on Request Code button to proceed. The Code will be automatically sent to the email attached to requester's MyScouts account within couple hours. The email will include the code itself as well instructions for its use and payment submission.
You may also watch a video on how to request Group Billing Code:
How long is a Group Billing Code valid for?
A GBC is valid for 60 days from the date it was requested/issued on.
How can Scouters see which youth have been registered using the code?
If a GBC has been approved and assigned to your Group then it will be displayed in the ‘GBC’ tab of the Group profile in MyScouts. Codes used by parents will appear in the GBC tab, in the MyScouts registration and batch reports.
Are Groups obligated to provide Group Billing Codes to all who request it?
Group Billing Codes must be only offered to families who have a confirmed payment arrangement with the Group. Group Billing Codes are meant to accommodate alternative methods of payment (cash or a 3rd party subsidy such as Jumpstart) rather than as a loan from the Group as essentially a GBC is a loan the Group is taking from their local Council. Groups have a right to decline issuance of a GBC if they have all reasons to believe that payment plan will not be fulfilled by requester.
If a family is low-income and cannot pay the fee, Scouts Canada has subsidies in place to assist. The No One Left Behind Subsidy may assist with the coverage of registration fees.
What if parent can no longer commit to the payment arrangement?
In this case the following options may be considered:
- an alternative payment arrangement can be made such as an installment plan with longer repayment terms;
- Group can offer to contribute to the outstanding balance if it has capacity to do so;
- a refund or a cancellation of registration (if no payment has been made to Scouts Canada yet) may be requested if no other suitable payment option can be found, assuming GBC registration is within the refund eligibility window.
On the rare occasion where a GBC registration has taken place but youth has not showed up to meetings and parent has not replied to Group's emails, the Group is able to submit a refund request on parent's behalf. Group should be prepared to provide details on attendance records and/or proof of unanswered communication attempts.
Can one GBC be used to register for more than one Scouting Year?
No. Codes are assigned to a specific Membership Year.
How can Groups locate GBC total owing?
Information such as names of youth who were registered via a Group Billing Code as well as fees owing can be located on the main Group Profile under Batches tab. Please note that Batches are separated by date, so if a Group has multiple youth registering via GBC, they will be placed into the Batch corresponding to the date of their registration in the system.
To view specific Batch details, simply click on one of the Batch Codes. Batch report will show Invoice Total which represents a sum of registration fees and group fees (if applicable); however, the only amount Group needs to pay to Scouts Canada is Total to Submit to Council, which includes registration fee(s) only. Groups charging a group fee must collect the fee directly from parents in case of a GBC registration and keep it with the Group. Please do not submit group fees to Scouts Canada. Only value showing in the Total to Submit to Council box is to be paid to Scouts Canada.
How can Groups submit payment for GBC registrations?
Preferred method of payment is an e-transfer to gbcpayments@scouts.ca which is fast and convenient.
If remitting payment for a Group Billing Code via e-transfer, Group is to indicate Group name in the comment section of the EFT, and is to immediately email gbcpayments@scouts.ca indicating that an EFT transfer has been made, include Group name, and the GBC Batch number the payment is for.
Alternatively, GBC payment may be submitted in a form of a Group Cheque which is to be mailed to the address below. Either the cheque itself or a note attached to it must indicate Group name and the GBC Batch number the payment is for.
Mailing address:
Scouts Canada
Attention: Membership Receivables
1345 Baseline Road
Ottawa, ON K2C 0A7
*Note: If a Group has overpaid their balance, it needs to deduct the difference from their next GBC registration payment as no refunds will be issued.
Support Centre
Still need help? Please feel free to contact the Scouts Canada Support Centre:
