Mobile App - Inventory

Version 1.5.6 of the TroopWebHost Mobile App allows you to check out and return library materials and troop equipment.

If you are authorized for this feature, you will see one or both of these new items when you open the Home page of the mobile app.

You will see the Library icon if any of your user roles are authorized for the new "Mobile App - Menu - Library Inventory" security task.

You will see the Equipment icon if any of your user roles are authorized for the new "Mobile App - Menu - Equipment Inventory" security task.

We already updated your troop's security settings to authorize these new tasks for any roles that were already authorized for the corresponding web-based inventory functions.

Both functions work in exactly the same way.  They allow you to quickly check out inventory items to a member of your scouting unit, and return items that were previously checked out.

Please click on this YouTube video for a complete demonstration.

New Inventory Fields

You'll see some new fields the next time you add or update library materials or troop equipment.  These fields allow you to collect more information about each item.

Two of these fields have new supporting tables:

• Configure the choices for Category by going to Site Configuration → Inventory Categories.
• Configure the choices for Location by going to Site Configuration → Inventory Locations.

You must set up separate sets of categories and locations for library materials and equipment.

All of these new fields are optional and are not required to use the inventory features in the mobile app.

All of the new fields will appear in the Inventory Report - All Items, which is available in PDF or Excel format.

Inventory Upload

You may now upload new and updated inventory items from a CSV file.

Begin by going to Inventory → Maintain Inventory.   Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts will find this at Inventory → Add & Update Inventory

You will see two new buttons at the top of the page.

Export Inventory to Upload Format will generate a CSV file that is in the correct format for the upload function.  This will give you the correct headings and can also be useful if you wish to do a batch update of existing inventory records.

Upload Inventory will take you to the following page:

This page provides complete instructions for creating the upload file.  Here are some key points:

• Only the first three columns are required.  The rest are optional and may be omitted.
• The columns may appear in any order.
• The file must be in CSV format.  If you create it with Excel, be sure to select the CSV format when you save it to your local drive.
• If you want to update existing records, they must match exactly on inventory type ("Equipment" vs. "Library") and Item ID, and you must check the Update Existing Records box.

PayPal Rates

We recently discovered that many troops that accept payments via PayPal are not configured for the correct PayPal transaction rates.  This will cause the estimated PayPal fee to be incorrect.  If your site supports both PayPal and Square, this problem cannot be prevented in some cases, since we use the Square rate when estimating the fee for On-Line Payments and ScoutSales.org payments.

To find out if you have this problem, please go to Money → Manage On-Line Payments → On-Line Payment History, as shown below.  Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts will find this page at Money → On-Line Payment History.

If your site also supports Square, ignore those rows where the Reference Key column contains the word "Square" as well as any rows that reflect the Square estimated fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents.

Compare the Estimated Fee to the Processing Fee.  If they are consistently different by more than a penny, then you may have a problem with your PayPal configuration.

The most common problem is that you configured your TroopWebHost site to use the non-profit rate, but you haven't received approval from PayPal for that rate.  This will cause the actual fee (as shown in the Processing Fee column) to be calculated at 3.49% plus 49 cents, resulting in a much higher amount than the Estimated Fee.

To correct this problem, first go to Money → Manage On-Line Payments → PayPal Configuration, as shown below.  Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts will find this at Site Configuration → PayPal Configuration.

For PayPal Account Type/Rate, select "Standard" and click the Save button.  This will cause the PayPal rate to be computed correctly for the time being, until you are able to get PayPal to approve your non-profit status.

Then call PayPal customer service at 1 (888) 221-1161.  You will need to have your PayPal account information handy before you make the call.  When the automated system asks you what you want, say "non-profit rate".  They should then connect you with a human being to speak with.

We recently discovered another cause of PayPal rate discrepancies.  When PayPal changed their non-profit rates in August, some of their non-profit accounts were left at the old rate of 2.2% plus 30 cents, instead of moving to the new rate of 1.99% plus 49 cents.  According to PayPal, this may be an indication that there are problems with your account that need to be resolved.  If you see this discrepancy, please call PayPal customer service at 1 (888) 221-1161 and ask for "non-profit rate".  When you get a person on the line, ask them if there are any problems with your PayPal account that would cause you to be stuck on the old non-profit rate.

Send Us Your Questions and Suggestions

Send us a ticket from the My Support Tickets page on your site's Help menu.   This is absolutely the best way to communicate with us!

Or simply contact us at CustomerSupport@TroopWebHost.com.  If you do, please include your troop number and city in your message so we can identify your site.