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Manual for CookieCalc v 2.0.4

Important bug fix - be sure you have v 2.0.4

This document will guide you through using and customizing CookieCalc to use with your Troop or Service Unit.

Set Up
Customizing
Features
Version History, Known Issues and Credits

For more questions, visit the FAQ
Setting Up CookieCalc

You may want to read the Customizing CookieCalc section before you run set up.

First thing you need to do is make sure Macros are enabled.  If you are not getting an option to enable the macros when you open the program, go to Tools->Macros->Security and choose the "Medium" setting.  Close the program and re-open it.  It should now ask you if you wish to enable Macros.  Macros MUST be enabled to use the automatic set up.  You can set up the sheet yourself without macros, but it's complicated and I don't have the time or resources to walk  you through it.

Mode - Before you set up, you'll need to know about the Modes of CookieCalc.  You can choose either Troop or Service Unit.  In Troop mode you will be dealing with girls.  Each girl will have a tab and can track cookies by girl.  In Service Unit mode, you are dealing with Troops.  Each Troop will have their own tab, and the summary page will show you how your Service Unit is doing - it will not track girls within each troop.  There are slight differences between the two modes when calculating.  You'll see reference to Troop/Girl throughout this manual.  Most functions work for both, but there are slight differences.

Gathering Info - You will need to gather a little info before you start setting up CookieCalc.  

Troop/Girl names
Cookie Names
Selling Price
Troop Profit
Council Portion
Number of Girls Registered
Number of Girls Selling

The default configuration is for ABC Baker - if you are from a different council, you may wish to customize the program for your council before running set up.

Set Up - Click on the Set Up button.

Choose your "mode" - Troop Cookie Manager sets the sheets up to deal with individual girls.  Service Unit Mode sets up the sheets to work with individual troops.

Enter Names -Enter names/numbers one per line - just hit enter after each name/number.   It is helpful to enter them in Alpha or numerical order - though you can go back and re-order them if you wish - but it will save you some time if you just enter them in order.  If you are running in Troop mode, enter either the girls first name, last name, or first and last name - whatever you prefer - but each line must be unique.  If you are running in Service Unit Mode, enter the troop number.  You can always add a new girl or troop using the Add New button on the Instructions page.

Click Set Up Workbook - Sit back and watch the show... it will go through and add each page for you - don't do anything until it is all finished.  It may take it a few minutes depending on your computer speed and how many you are entering.   If you use Excel 2007 and you get an error that says something along the lines of "The sheet you are using already contains the name "Lumpkins" do you wish to continue" or something like that, just say yes or continue or ok...  This error doesn't seem to effect the actual function of the worksheet - and it only happens in Exel 2007 which is not widely available yet. (This error is fixed in version 2.0.1)

Your Workbook is now ready to use.  You may want to spend some time entering a little extra data.  If you are not in the Circle T Council, you'll want to change the pricing defaults.

Go to the Set Up Tab - You can change any info in the Yellow boxes and they will carry through all the sheets.  You will want to be sure and enter the correct selling price, troop profit, and council share to reflect the current sale.

Go to each Girl/Troop page and enter the Roster data.

Using CookieCalc
 
Cookie Calc is really easy to use.  

Transaction Form - Everything can be done on the Transaction form.  Just press CTRL-E from any tab to bring up the transaction form.


Date: Enter the date of the transaction

Transaction Type:

 Troop/Girl:  Use the pull down box to select the Troop/Girl this transaction refers to.
Comment :  For your own use - you may want to record that Susie got cookies for the WalMart booth for example.  Comment is not recorded for M3 transactions.

Product: This is where you enter the amount of cookies.  Always enter everything, including your inital and cupboard pick ups in packages.  Even though you may pick up in full cases, it's best to think in terms of packages (12 to a case) for the sale.
Troop to Troop: These are "phantom" cookies.  Cookies that are paid for but donated and are not part of your actual inventory - this transaction type will mostly be used for Girls - they may pay for more cookies than they sold - this is where you would enter those cookies.  Not all councils participate in this type of program - just ignore it if yours does not.




Click on OK to enter the transaction - the program will enter the transaction on the correct tab.  The box will not close to allow you to enter multiple transactions quickly.  Click Close when your finished entering all transactions.

Customizing CookieCalc

You can customize your copy of CookieCalc.

Little Brownie Bakers
If you are from a council that uses Little Brownie Baker you will want to change the Cookie Names and/or colors of the columns.
Changing the names is easy - just go to Set Up Tab and enter the names - there are also abbreviations for each cookie - you can change that to whatever makes sense to you.  You can do this even after you have run the Set Up program - anything in the yellow boxes can be changed and will carry over to every sheet.  To change the color of the columns, you should be familiar with Excel.  Do this before you run Set Up.  First, go to the Summary Tab, and select the column you want to change and change the color of the column.  Do this to either the Girl or Troop tab, depending on which mode you plan to use.  Then do it on the M3 and Order tabs.  Save the spreadsheet and then run Set Up.  If you are not familiar with Excel, or the colors bother you, and easier way is to go to each tab with colored columns, and do CTRL-A to select all the cells, then  right click on any cell, select Format Cells, Fill tab, and then select No Color.  This will remove all the color from the whole sheet.  You'll need to do it for each Tab that has the colored columns.  Also, on the Set Up tab be sure to enter your council's prices.



Roster
The Roster is a handy way to keep all the information about Troops/Girls in one place.  But you may want to keep track of different information than I do.  On the Set Up tab, just enter the text you wish to display. For example - I have Training - you could put the date someone had training, or you could change the text to say "Delivery Time" and put in the time the Troop or Girl will pick up their cookies.  The bottom two boxes in the Roster box calculates different things depending on the mode - I suggest leaving those boxes alone.  The Roster tab will carry over the information you put on each sheet so you can print out a nice Roster of all your Troops/Girls.





Features of CookieCalc

Here are a few features that deserve their own space, but aren't really involved in how it works.

Troop/Girl Info Box

Each Troop/Girl has a customizable info box.  Included in the info box are two calculations you may be interested in.  In Troop mode, it calculates the Goals of each girl.  Goal setting is a very important part of the Girl Scout Cookie Program and the Troop Cookie Manager should ask each girl what her goal is.  Enter this number in the Goal Box.  As the cookies are paid for, the "Until Goal" box will change to reflect how many more packages she needs to sell to reach her goal.   In Service Unit mode, those boxes are used to keep track of the number of Girls Selling vs. Registered.  No calculating is happening in those boxes, but it's used in the Troop Summary box to show Average per Girl.


Cupboard Order

If figuring out your cupboard order has you pulling out your hair, this feature is for you!
 As you enter transactions, CookieCalc is going to keep track of what is in your "Cupboard inventory" - ie, cookies your Troop/Service unit has that are not assigned to any girl/Troop.   On the "Order" tab, your inventory is automatically entered.  There is also room for Cupboard extras -cookies that your Troop/Service Unit  wants to keep in your inventory.  And a line for each Girl/Troop.  Just enter your extras, and what each girl needs, and at the bottom is a list you can copy and paste into an email - or just print the list out and take it with you to the cupboard.  If you must re-order cookies in full cases, just enter the extra cookies needed to fill the case in the Cupboard Extras row.




Girl Page

Each Girl will have her own page.  Here are a few of the features of that page.
Summary - quick snapshot of how the girl is doing.  In the example above, Amy has been given 640 boxes and has about 69 packages of  cookies in her inventory.  She's also paid $2000 and still has a balance of $240.  The profit  she has generated is $352.

Percent box - Some troops may want to require a certain percentage of the cookies be paid for by a certain date - this handy box will help you figure out how much is owed.

Girl Info Box - You can use it anyway you want.  Amy has a goal of 1000 boxes, and based on what she has paid, she still needs to sell 429 boxes to get to her goal.

Cookie Summary - This shows all transactions.  Use the Comment section to include notes.


Version History, Known issues and Credits

2.0.4 - Fixed bug in Service Unit mode that incorrectly calculated per girl averages.

2.0.3 - Made pages print in black and white by default.
2.0.2 - Fixed bug where it actually was copying the Troop page instead of the Girl Page

2.0.1 - Fixed Name error bug for Excel 2007, made minor cosmetic changes on Set Up page to make instructions clearer.  Removed What to Deposit box because it didn't work.

2.0 - Major new release for 2007 sale.

1.0 - Original version for 2006 sale.

CookieCalc does not seem to work with Microsoft Windows for Mac.

Sometimes, for no apparant reason when you run the set up it gives you a weird error.  To fix, just close the sheet without saving and do it again - it should work.  I guess it's just cranky.

Special Thank you to Michael Krell for writing the macro and spending countless hours via email learning about the cookie sale and how it works.  

Special Thanks to TCF Community for answering all my silly "SOAK:Excel......" questions.  95% of what I know about Excel came from the great responses I got.