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What are Cards?
Think of the office birthday card everyone passes around and signs. Cards in Bonusly bring that experience online so your whole team can celebrate someone together, no matter where they work.
A card is a shared space where a group of people write messages and add GIFs, emoji, photos, videos, and recognition posts, all for one recipient. The card stays private until it's delivered, so it's always a surprise.
Cards are separate from recognition points. Creating or signing a card doesn't cost any points and doesn't affect anyone's giving allowance. You can add recognition the recipient has already received to the card, but the card itself is just a heartfelt, collaborative message.
Whether you can start a card depends on your company's Cards settings. Some companies let everyone create cards. Others limit card creation to global admins and awards admins.
Start a card for a peer
If your company lets you create cards, starting one makes you the organizer. You'll pick the recipient, design the card, and choose how it's delivered. Once the card is created, you invite people to sign it.
Click Cards below the give box on your homepage (then Create card if you already have cards in progress), or choose Create new> Card in the navigation. On mobile, use the Create menu. If you don't see a way to create a card, your admins may have limited card creation to admins only.
In Who is this card for?, search for a person at your company. To send a card to someone who isn't in Bonusly, type their email address, select Send to this email address, and add their name.
Choose an Occasion: Celebrate, Farewell, Get well soon, Condolences, or Create your own. Each occasion fills in a headline, message, image, and color that you can keep or change. If you change them, Reset to default puts the occasion's defaults back.
In the Card preview, add a headline and an optional message from the group. This is the main note that sits at the heart of the card. Use Add an image to upload a photo, search for a GIF, or use an emoji.
Click Color to choose the card's background: Dawn, Sky, Honey, Meadow, Lavender, Stone, or Custom. With Custom, you can pick any color from the color picker, type a hex code, or use the eyedropper (in browsers that support it) to match a color on your screen. If a custom color is too dark for the text to read, Bonusly lightens it.
Click Set delivery date, choose how the card is delivered (see Scheduling delivery), and click Create card.
Inviting Participators
After you create the card, the Your card is ready! The window gives you two ways to invite people to sign:
Share a link: copy the card's link and share it wherever you like. Anyone at your company with the link can view and sign the card.
Notify people: search for the people or groups you want to notify. Bonusly suggests groups based on the recipient, like their team, their direct reports, their department, and their close connections from the last 90 days. Smaller companies also see an Everyone suggestion.
Notifying people doesn't limit who can sign. Anyone at your company with the link can sign, except the recipient.
Notified signers receive an email, a Slack notification (if your company uses the Bonusly Slack integration), an in-app notification, and a banner on their Bonusly homepage asking them to add their contribution.
To invite more people later, open the card and choose Invite signers from the card's menu. Only the people you add are notified.
The recipient is never notified about the card until it's delivered, even if you notify everyone or a group they belong to. If the recipient gets the card's link, they still can't view the card until it's delivered. Their surprise is safe.
Scheduling delivery
When you create the card, choose how it should be delivered:
Yes, schedule delivery pick a date and time, and the card is delivered automatically. You don't need to come back and hit send. The delivery time is based on the recipient's timezone, so it'll arrive at the right moment for them.
No, I'll send it myself deliver the card from the card's menu whenever you're ready.
You can also select Send to recipient's secondary email and add another email address, in case they lose access to their work email. The card is sent to that address as well as their work email.
To change the delivery date later, open the card and choose Schedule delivery or Update delivery from the card's menu.
Sign a card you've been invited to.
When someone invites you to sign a card, you'll get a notification. Click through to open the card and add your contribution. You can also open it from the You have a card waiting for your signature banner on your homepage, which counts down to the delivery date if one is set.
Use the toolbar at the bottom of the card to add:
A written message -- click Sign to write something personal for the recipient. You can attach a GIF, image, video, emoji, or a video or audio recording to your message.
A GIF -- search and pick one that fits. GIFs that are already on the card are marked so you can pick something different.
An emoji -- pick one, then click the card to place it.
A photo or video -- upload one from your device, or drag and drop an image or video file right onto the card.
A recognition post -- attach recognition the recipient has already received, so it appears right on the card alongside everyone else's contributions. If your company has it turned on, you can also choose Give new recognition to write new recognition from the card. It's saved as a draft and sent when the card is delivered, using points from your giving allowance.
New items follow your cursor so you can click to place them. You can move items by dragging them to the spot you like, or hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while dragging to duplicate one. Use the zoom controls to get a closer look, and the view toggle to switch between the canvas and a masonry layout. Once you've added something, you've signed the card.
Deliver the card
When you're the organizer (the person who created the card), you decide when to deliver. Open the card's menu and choose:
Deliver now -- sends the card to the recipient immediately.
Schedule delivery -- set a future date and time, and the card goes out automatically.
Once delivered, the recipient gets an email, a Slack message (if connected), and an in-app notification with a link to open their card. If the card was sent to an email address instead of a Bonusly user, the recipient gets an email with a link to view it.
After delivery, click Share card to copy a public link so you can share the card more widely, for example in a team channel or a meeting. Anyone with the link can view the card. You'll also see when the recipient opens their card.
Once a card is delivered, it can't be undelivered, and no one can add or edit signatures. Make sure everyone who wants to sign has had a chance before you hit deliver.
View a card you've received
When someone delivers a card to you, you'll get an email and an in-app notification with a link to open your card. You'll also see a Someone made you a card banner on your Bonusly homepage. Click Take a look to see all the messages, GIFs, emoji, photos, videos, and recognition posts your team put together for you. If your company uses the Bonusly Slack integration, you'll get a Slack notification too.
You can also open cards you've received, cards you created, and cards waiting for your signature from the Cards section of your profile page.
FAQ
Do Cards cost any points? No. Cards are free to create and sign. They don't use any points from your giving allowance or your redeemable balance. If existing recognition is added to a card, those points were already given separately, the card just displays it alongside everyone else's contributions. The only exception is new recognition you give from a card, which uses points from your giving allowance like any other recognition.
Can I edit my contribution after signing? Yes. You can update or remove your items on the card as long as it hasn't been delivered yet. Hover over your message and click the pencil to edit or delete it.
Can I change the card after creating it? Yes, until it's delivered. As the organizer, choose Edit from the card's menu to change the headline, message, image, color, and delivery settings. The recipient and occasion can't be changed.
Can I send a card to someone who isn't in Bonusly? Yes. When choosing the recipient, type their email address and add their name. They'll get an email with a link to view the card when it's delivered. Recognition posts can't be added to these cards.
Can the recipient see the card before it's delivered? No. The card is completely hidden from the recipient until the organizer (or an admin) delivers it.
Who can deliver the card? The organizer can deliver the card. Global admins and awards admins can also deliver any card in the company.
What if I don't see Cards in my navigation? Your admins may have turned Cards off for your company. Some companies also limit card creation to admins only. If you don't see Cards where you expect it, check with your company's Bonusly admin.
Can I delete a card I created? Yes. As the organizer, you can choose Delete card from the card's menu before it's delivered. Global admins and awards admins can delete any card. Deleting a card doesn't affect any recognitions that were added to it, those remain in the recognition feed.
Questions? Send us a note to [email protected], we'd be happy to help.