While most recognition is positive, occasionally bonuses are shared that aren't right for your team. This guide covers how to identify, review, and resolve suspicious or inappropriate activity using manual reports and the automated Bonus Quality Bot.
You must have Global Admin permissions to access these features.
How posts get flagged
There are two ways a post ends up in front of you for review:
A user reports it. Anyone on your team can flag a post they think is inappropriate or suspicious.
The Bonus Quality Bot catches it. The bot watches for patterns that look like abuse (for example, the same user sending the same post to the same person over and over) and acts on them automatically.
When either happens, you'll see a red action dot next to Reported in your admin tools, and you'll get an email letting you know.
To review what's been flagged, head to Admin Tools > Recognition > Reported.
Handling User Reports (manual)
When someone on your team reports a post, it shows up on the Reported page for any Global Admin to review.
Reading the Reported posts table
Each row is one reported post. The columns are:
Reported by. The person who flagged the post.
Reported on. The date the post was flagged.
Giver. The person who sent the recognition.
Receivers. The person or people who received it.
Reported for. The reason the reporter chose when flagging.
Resolution. A button to take action and resolve the report.
Clicking on the reported posts will take you to the next steps for review and resolution.
Resolving a user report
You have three options when you click Resolution:
Archive (delete) and deactivate. Removes the post from the feed and disables the giver's account.
Archive (delete) only. Removes the post but keeps the giver's account active.
Take no action. Dismisses the report and leaves the post live.
Archiving (deleting) a post is permanent. It can't be undone, so make sure that's the action you want before you confirm.
What happens to points when you delete a post
When you delete a reported post:
Giver's points. If you delete the post in the same month it was given, the points go back to the giver's monthly allowance. If the month has already rolled over, the allowance has reset and there's nothing to return.
Receiver's points. The points are removed from the receiver's rewards balance.
This keeps your team's points totals honest after a removal.
The Bonus Quality Bot (automated)
The Bonus Quality Bot watches the recognition feed for patterns that look suspicious, like the same user sending nearly identical posts to the same person on a loop. When the bot is confident something's off, it doesn't wait for you to weigh in. It takes action right away.
What the bot does on its own
When the bot crosses its threshold, it:
Deactivates the giver. The sender's account is automatically disabled.
Archives their suspicious posts. Those posts are hidden from the feed.
Sends notifications. Both admin and the sender are notified by email.
Generates a Deactivation Report. That report shows up on the Reported page for you to review.
The bot acts fast on purpose, so a suspicious pattern doesn't keep growing while it waits for an admin to log in.
Resolving a Deactivation Report
Because the bot has already disabled the account, your job is to confirm whether that was the right call. Open the report from the Reported page to see exactly which posts and patterns the bot picked up on. You have three options:
Full restore. Reactivate the giver's account and put the archived post back in the feed. Use this when the bot got it wrong.
Partial restore. Reactivate the account but leave the post archived. Use this when the person should keep using Bonusly, but that specific post shouldn't go back up.
Maintain deactivation. Keep the account disabled and the post archived. Use this when the bot was right.
Viewing past reports
By default, the Reported page only shows reports you haven't resolved yet. Once a report is handled, it drops off the list, and the page goes empty when there's nothing left to review.
To see what's already been resolved (and how), check the Include resolved box at the top of the page. It's a good way to look back at how a similar report was handled before, or to share patterns with your team.
FAQs
What's the difference between a user report and a Quality Bot report? A user report is something a person on your team flagged manually. A Quality Bot report is generated automatically when the bot spots a suspicious pattern. The biggest practical difference: when a user reports a post, the post stays live until you act on it. When the bot reports a post, the giver is already deactivated by the time you see it.
Can I undo deleting a recognition post? No. Archiving (deleting) a post is permanent. If you're not sure, choose "Take no action" and review again later.
Do points get returned when I delete a post? Yes. If you delete the post in the same month it was given, the points go back to the giver's monthly allowance.
Can the Quality Bot deactivate someone unfairly? The bot uses conservative thresholds. That's why every Deactivation Report still lands in your queue for review. If the bot got it wrong, choose Full restore to bring the account and the post back.
Questions? Send us a note to [email protected]; we'd be happy to help!
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