Introduction

Points are a way for you to reward people, usually children and youth, for reasons you choose, and let them trade points for prizes. Points are given by hand; nothing is done automatically.

Each main account and each ministry has its own Points switch, reasons, prizes, points and expiry day. Nothing is shared or added up across them.

Members see Points in the member portal only when they or their family have points.

Terminology

Term (as shown in the app)	Meaning
Points	The feature name, the menu item and the profile tab.
Reason	Why points are given or taken, with default points (for example Memory Verse +5, Talking During Class −2).
Give / Take Away	The sign switches on every point field. Take Away records a negative amount, shown in red.
Prize	Something people get with their points, with Points Needed (for example Pizza Party Ticket, 50).
Give Prize	The one action for handing out a prize (to one person or many).
Earned	Total from reasons (gives minus take-aways).
Spent on Prizes	Total points used on prizes, with a prize count.
Remaining	Earned minus Spent on Prizes for the current points year. A prize needs Remaining ≥ Points Needed.
Points Year	Points count only from the last expiry day. Older entries stop counting and are hidden.
Points Expire Every	The day and month (no year) when the Points Year restarts. Empty = points never expire.

Permissions and rules

The Points feature uses the existing People permissions; there is no new permission or role to set up.

Access	Allowed user actions
People › View	See the Points menu, the People tab (with Export) and every profile’s Points tab. No Prizes or Reasons tabs, no ticking, no Give or ⋮ actions.
People › Edit	Everything above, plus give, edit and delete points, give and undo prizes, and manage reasons and prizes.
Group leader	The same rules, but only for people in the groups they lead. Reasons and prizes are shared across the ministry.
Member (portal)	Only the member Points page within the Member Portal.

Rules:

Here are the rules this feature always follows:

Turning Points off hides everything (menu, tabs, bulk actions, member page). Nothing is deleted when turning the feature off; and turning it on again restores the data as it was before deactivation.
Expiry runs automatically. When a ministry reaches its expiry day, older points stop counting and the next expiry moves a year ahead.
Changing or clearing the expiry day never brings expired points back.
Merging two people moves the points of the merged person to the person kept.

Where to Find Points

Here are all the areas of ChMeetings where you can find and interact with the Points feature:

Settings › Account Settings › Available Features › Points (and Ministry Settings for ministries): turn it on and set the expiry day.
Main menu › Points, right below Calendar: With tabs for People, Prizes and Reasons.
Person profile › Points tab: With cards, history, Give Points, Give Prize.
People list › More Actions › Points › Give Points, and Bulk Actions on the Points › People tab.
Member portal › Points, right below Calendar, for members whose family has points.

Enable Points

As an Owner or Admin, you can turn Points on in Settings › Account Settings > Available Features card.

Here are the steps to take to enable the Points feature:

Go to Settings › Account Settings and scroll to Available Features. The Points switch sits below Accounting.
Turn on Points then configure the points expiration field displayed underneath. Points Expire Every is where you can pick the day the points year restarts. Note that 29 February can’t be picked. Leave empty if points never expire.
Click Save Settings when done.

Saving the page signs every user in the account into a fresh session, so the menu change shows on their next page load.

Under Settings > Ministry Settings you will find the Points switch and expiry day for each Ministry. Points start as turned off for a ministry.

Once Points is turned on, the Points (star icon) menu item displays in the main menu right below Calendar, for anyone with permission to view People.

Good to know

Turning Points on or off in a ministry never changes the main account, and the reverse. Points settings are separate and specific to each account and ministry, too.
The Save Settings button stays disabled until the page has loaded its Points settings, so an early click can’t switch Points off by mistake.
In the member portal, a member with points in both the main account and a ministry sees each one separately; the points are never added together.