The fees charged to members should cover all known and planned operational costs for the year. Fundraising should not be relied upon to meet operational costs.

An Excel template has been prepared to assist Groups in calculating the amount that should be charged to members to meet those costs and are available at the bottom of this article. 

The template has three tabs;

1. Group Numbers
   On this tab enter the number of members, in the categories provided, expected at 31 March and again at 30 September. This will then calculate the renewal payment invoice amount which issues in April and October.
   NB: The actual numbers in SMS on those dates will be used to calculate your renewal invoices
   
   
2. Operational Expenses
   This tab lists the normal operating expenses of a Scout Group. It does not seek to list every individual expense line that a Group may have in its accounts so some consolidation may be necessary in the available fields for the purposes of calculating the group fee.
   
   The Guidance Notes advice the input required and in some lines how the amount which appears has been calculated.
   
   A separate line has been included for Groups who have debt that needs to be managed.
   
   
3. Group Fee Calculation
   This tab displays the minimum the Group will need to charge members to meet its operational costs.
   
   Options are provided for those Groups who include the renewal fee in their group fee and an option for those who charge that amount separately.
   
   Both options also display a fee per term for those Groups who charge on a term basis.