Bonusly offers several admin permission types so you can give the right people access to the right tools without over-exposing sensitive settings. This article covers what each permission grants, how to assign or remove permissions, and how to choose the right structure for your team.
Best for: Admins, Permissions required: Global admin (to assign permissions to others)
Permission types at a glance
Permission | What it grants access to | Typical owner |
Global | All admin pages and settings includes everything below | Bonusly program owner, IT lead, HR/People Ops |
Finance | Billing, payment methods, invoices, and plan management | Finance team, accounting |
Rewards | Rewards catalog management, company exclusives, and reward settings | HR/People Ops, rewards coordinator |
Tech | Integrations setup (HRIS, SSO, Slack, Teams), API settings, and technical configuration | IT admin, systems engineer |
Awards | Awards programs, spot bonuses, and award management | HR/People Ops, managers |
Announcements | Company announcements creation and management | Internal comms, HR |
Reports | Access to reporting dashboards, usage data, and analytics exports | HR analytics, People Ops, leadership |
How permissions work in practice
No limit on admins. You can have as many admins as you need across any combination of permission types.
Permissions are additive. A user can hold multiple permission types at once (for example, Finance + Reports).
Permissions can be temporary. Grant access for a specific task (like setting up an integration) and revoke it when done.
Permissions apply immediately. Changes take effect as soon as you click Save.
Global Admins:
Global admins with global status can access all admin options within Bonusly and assign admin permissions to other users.
Recognition -> Peer-to-peer: Manage monthly points allowance. Post customization settings are available on the Organization plan (and certain legacy Connect plans).
Global admin tabs/actions:
Admin Dashboard: Review overall company participation and frequency, program adoption, and cost breakdown of your total spend with Bonusly.
Company
Company > Account settings: Update and change your display, rewards catalog, and security settings.
Company > Integrations: Connect / edit / remove integrations including, HRIS, collaboration & chat tools, single sign-on, Bonusly display options like kiosk mode and digital signage, and custom development options.
Company > Plans & billing: Review subscription and rewards account details, manage your plan.
Company > Billing History: Review recent invoices and payments, view and track your rewards spend and balance.
Company > Rewards catalog: Create and manage company exclusives; Review and manage all catalog options.
Company > Programs settings: Update and change your points name, company value hashtags, hashtag requirements, and banned hashtags.
Company > Announcements: Manage Active announcements and review previous announcements.
Users
Users > User accounts: View and edit active in your Bonusly account
Users > User management integration: Manage HRIS integrations
Users > Manage user imports: Staging area that allows you to view your user list and change user status for all users past, present, and future.
Recognition
Recognition > Peer-to-peer: Manage monthly points allowance and post customization.
Recognition > Awards: Add and manage awards.
Recognition > Nominations: Add and manage nominations.
Recognition > Celebrations: Add and manage celebrations.
Recognition > Incentives: Add and manage incentives.
Recognition > Pending approvals: Manage award and incentives that require approval.
Recognition > Reported posts: Review and manage reported recognition.
Growth
Growth > 1:1's overview: View company engagement, adoption, and meeting cadence for 1:1s.
Reports
Reports > Recognition activity: View all recognition activity for the company.
Reports > Participation summary: Overview of how much and how often a user is giving recognition and how much of the monthly allowance is being used.
Reports > Incentives summary: View a summary of all claimed incentives.
Reports > Total points earned: View users earnings reports, establish total potential reward spend.
Report > Total points given: View recognition given out across your entire organization within a selected timeframe.
Reports > Redemptions activity: Review and manage pending, approved, refunded, and declined rewards.
Reports > Rewards costs summary: View & download all redemption totals
Finance:
Finance admins with Finance permissions can access the billing page, reward spend, and points earned. *Finance admins are unable to change the subscription information or cancel the account.
Finance admin tabs/actions:
Admin Dashboard: Review overall company participation and frequency, program adoption, and cost breakdown of your total spend with Bonusly.
Company > Plans & billing: Review subscription and rewards account details.
Company > Billing History: Review recent invoices and payments, view and track your rewards spend and balance.
Reports > Points Activity: View points usage, points breakdown per program, and reward balances across users and groups.
Legacy > Reports >Total points earned: View users earnings reports, establish total potential reward spend.
Legacy > Reports > Rewards costs summary: View & download all redemption totals
Rewards:
Rewards admins can create and approve company exclusives.
Rewards admin tabs/actions:
Company > Rewards catalog: Create and manage company exclusives; Review and manage all catalog options.
Reports > Redemptions activity: Review and manage pending, approved, refunded, and declined rewards.
Tech:
Tech admins can install and uninstall integrations, create and revoke API keys.
Tech admin tabs/actions:
Company > Integrations: Connect / edit / remove integrations including, HRIS, collaboration & chat tools, single sign-on, Bonusly display options like kiosk mode and digital signage, and custom development options.
Awards:
Awards admins can add, manage, and review awards programs in Bonusly.
Awards admin tabs/actions:
Recognition > Awards: Add and manage awards.
Recognition > Nominations: Add and manage nominations.
Recognition > Celebrations: Add and manage celebrations.
Recognition > Incentives: Add and manage incentives.
Recognition > Pending approvals: Manage award and incentives that require approval.
Reports > Recognition activity : View and manage all company recognition activity.
Reports > Incentives summary :View a summary of all claimed incentives.
Announcements:
Announcement admins can create and manage announcements.
Announcement admin tabs/actions:
Company > Announcements: Manage Active announcements and review previous announcements.
Reports:
Reports admins have read-only access to the following reports:
1:1s Summary
Company initiatives
Participation
Points activity
Collaboration map
Pulse results
Recognition activity
Recognition scores
Incentives summary
Redemptions activity
Rewards cost summary
Reports admins will also have access to the reports Subscriptions page and will be able to subscribe to any report that has a subscription.
And they will be able to access the Admin Dashboard but not have access to links to pages that are not listed above and will not have access to the cost breakdown section.
Assigning admin permissions
Where to find it: Admin tools > Users > User Accounts
Navigate to the User Accounts page.
Find the user you want to make an admin. Use Filter users to search by name or email if needed.
Click Edit on the right side of the user's row. The user detail modal opens.
Click the Permissions tab at the top of the modal.
Check the permission boxes you want to assign:
Global — access to all admin pages (checking this enables all other permissions automatically)
Finance — billing, payments, and plan management
Rewards — rewards catalog and company exclusives
Tech — integrations, SSO, and API settings
Awards — awards programs and spot bonuses
Announcements — company announcements
Reports — reporting dashboards and analytics
Click Save. A checkmark means the permission is enabled.
How to confirm it worked
Back on the User Accounts page, check the Admin Permissions column for that user. An icon indicates which permissions are active.
The user now sees the corresponding admin tools in their navigation the next time they log in.
Removing admin permissions
Where to find it: Admin tools > Users > User Accounts
Navigate to the User Accounts page.
Click Edit on the user's row. The user detail modal opens.
Click the Permissions tab.
Uncheck the permission boxes you want to remove.
Click Save.
How to confirm it worked
The Admin Permissions column on the User Accounts page no longer shows the removed permission icons for that user.
The user loses access to the corresponding admin pages immediately.
Choosing the right permission structure
Consider these factors when deciding who gets which permissions:
Account size: A good starting point is two Global admins per account, plus one additional admin per 50 users. This ensures coverage without bottlenecks.
Feature usage:
Using company exclusives (physical rewards)? You need at least one admin with Rewards or Global permission managing fulfillment.
Running HRIS or chat integrations? The person setting them up needs Tech or Global — and must also be an admin in the connected platform.
Want managers to pull their own reports? Reports permission keeps them out of billing and setup pages.
Multiple locations: If your company has offices in different regions, consider assigning Rewards admins at each location to handle local fulfillment.
Frequently asked questions
How many admins can I have on one account? As many as you need. There is no limit. Use permission types to scope each admin's access to only what they need.
Can I grant temporary admin access? Yes. Admin access can be added and removed at any time. This is useful when someone needs to set up an integration or run a specific report.
What if I need someone to set up an integration? The person setting up a company-wide integration (like HRIS, Slack, or Teams) must be an admin in both Bonusly and the connected platform. Grant them Tech or Global permission in Bonusly for the setup, and revoke it afterward if ongoing access isn't needed.
Questions? Send us a note to [email protected]; we'd be happy to help!
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Questions? Send us a note to [email protected]; we'd be happy to help!
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