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How to

Using DenBuddy, step by step

Six short how-tos that follow the loop a den leader actually works in: connect Scoutbook Plus, see where your den stands, plan a meeting, run it with parent check-in, record advancement and export the CSV, then share or reuse a plan.

Stuck on something that is not here? Write to hello@denbuddy.com and a person will answer.

Step 1 of 6

Connect Scoutbook Plus and import your den

Get the roster and advancement history in, so every other screen knows your den.

  1. Install the DenBuddy Sync extension in Chrome and pin it to the toolbar.
  2. Sign in to DenBuddy in a browser tab. Settings shows the extension as connected once it adopts your session.
  3. Open Scoutbook Plus in a second tab and sign in the way you normally do.
  4. Browse to your den so the extension sees your den's data in your own session.
  5. Back in DenBuddy, choose the den and start the import.
  6. Check Settings for the import run: it lists how many Scouts and completions came across, and anything that failed.

Step 2 of 6

See where your den stands

Read the gap analysis before you plan anything, because it decides what a good meeting covers.

  1. Open Advancement to see every adventure for your den's rank with a progress ring and a count of who still needs it.
  2. Open Gap analysis for the full grid: every Scout against every requirement.
  3. If the Bobcat banner is showing, plan Bobcat first. Nothing else counts toward rank until it is done.
  4. Switch the grouping between by adventure and by Scout depending on whether you are planning a meeting or checking on one child.
  5. Note the Scouts listed as ready for rank so you can order badges before the ceremony.

Step 3 of 6

Plan a meeting

Turn the gaps into an agenda with times, materials and a coverage meter.

  1. Choose New meeting and enter the date, start time, length, location, and whether you are indoors or out.
  2. In the planner, work from the left rail: drag an adventure or a single requirement onto the trail.
  3. Add the blocks that make a meeting a meeting: gathering, opening, a game, snack, closing.
  4. Open a block with More to set materials and quantities, grouping, adult help and safety watch-outs.
  5. Fill in the logistics panel: expected Scouts, adults helping, minutes available, budget and a rain plan.
  6. Watch the coverage meter. If it says one requirement for two Scouts, the meeting is busy rather than full.
  7. Ask Akela for a draft if the blank page is the hard part, or fork a plan from the community library.

Step 4 of 6

Run the meeting and take attendance

Publish, put the QR on the door, and work down the agenda from your phone.

  1. Publish the meeting. That creates the attendance session, the check-in link and the QR code.
  2. Print the QR for the door or paste the link into your den's group message.
  3. Parents open the link and mark their Scout present. No account and no app is needed.
  4. Anyone who checks in more than fifteen minutes after the start is recorded as late automatically.
  5. Use the run view during the meeting to follow the agenda and see live check-in counts.
  6. Mark anyone the app missed yourself, and rotate the token later if the link got shared too widely.

Step 5 of 6

Record advancement and export to Scoutbook

Credit what actually happened, then hand the results to Scoutbook as a CSV.

  1. Open the meeting's record sheet. Every attendee is pre-checked against every planned requirement.
  2. Uncheck what did not happen. This is the whole job, and it takes a couple of minutes.
  3. Look at the absent list and the make-up hints so those Scouts land in the next plan.
  4. Run the preview to see exactly which completions would be created, updated or skipped.
  5. Record. Completions are saved, and a finished adventure updates the Scout's rank progress.
  6. Press Send to Scoutbook: DenBuddy shows you every row first, files the approved ones and keeps the receipt. Prefer to do it yourself? Download the CSV and upload it — that path is not going anywhere.
  7. Fix anything listed as unexportable, which is usually a missing BSA member ID, and export again.

Step 6 of 6

Share and reuse plans

Borrow a meeting that worked, and publish yours with the den scrubbed out.

  1. Browse the community library and filter by rank, tag, setting and length.
  2. Read the whole plan, including the comments, which is where the timing advice lives.
  3. Fork it. The blocks drop into a meeting of yours, editable, with credit back to the original.
  4. To share one of yours, start a share from the meeting you liked.
  5. Review the scrub report. Scout names, your den and the dates are removed before anything is published.
  6. Add ranks, tags and the setting it fits, then publish.

More detail on each part

All features

Gap analysis, the planner, check-in, Akela and the community library.

Contact support

One address, hello@denbuddy.com, and a human on the other end.

DenBuddy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Scouting America. Cub Scouts, Scoutbook and adventure names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Start at step one

Create an account, install the extension, and import your den. One den is free forever, and nothing in Scoutbook changes.

Get started free About the extension

Free for one den. No credit card. Works with Scoutbook Plus.