A spot bonus program lets managers reward great work the moment it happens, without waiting for a review cycle. Managers give a bonus in a few clicks, and employees get points they can spend on rewards. You decide who can give, how much they can spend, and whether anyone signs off first.
This guide walks you through a quarterly spot bonus program for managers from start to finish. Once you’ve run one, you can reuse the same setup for leadership awards, project wins, or team-specific budgets.
At a glance
Goal | Let managers reward strong work right away, without waiting for a cycle |
Who can join | Managers or department heads give; any employee can receive |
What you’ll set up | An extra amount of points managers can give from, rules for who sees each bonus and who approves it, and a heads-up so managers know it’s there |
Who runs it | Admin(s), with managers or department heads giving the bonuses |
How often | Budgets can refresh weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. We recommend the most frequent cadence that fits your budget, so managers keep recognizing all year instead of saving it up. |
How to measure | Bonuses given per manager, how widely they’re spread across each team, and whether the same people win repeatedly |
Example: Run a quarterly spot bonus program for managers
In this example, give managers an extra amount of points each quarter to reward standout work. Once it’s live, managers give bonuses on their own and the budget refreshes automatically.
Step 1: Set aside a pool of points for managers to give
Spot bonuses work best when managers can act fast and know exactly how much they have to spend. Bonusly makes it easy to set aside a company-funded pool of points that only the people you choose can give from, with a budget that refreshes on its own. Points come from the company, not from managers’ own giving balances. In Bonusly, this is called an awards.
Here’s how to set it up:
Go to Admin > Recognition > Awards and click Create new.
Describe the bonus: name it (for example, Quarterly Spot Bonus), and in Description and instructions, explain what earns it, like “Recognize teammates who unblock a launch or fix a customer-facing issue.”
Choose who can give it: in Eligibility settings, click the Email dropdown to pick givers by department, location, country, team, or another property. Add several filters to include more groups, or select And to target people who match all of them.
Set the budget: under Maximum budget per period, enter the total points for the program and choose per quarter. Leave it empty if you don’t want a cap.
Set the amount: enter the Points per award. Choose Give the same amount every time for a fixed bonus, or Amount can vary per recipient to let managers decide. You can also add up to seven suggested amounts that show as one-click options.
Step 2: Decide who sees each bonus and who signs off
Some bonuses deserve a public shout-out; others are better kept low-key. Bonusly lets you choose who sees each bonus, how much of the message managers can edit, and whether a department head or Finance approves it before points go out. You can add up to four approval steps, and approvers don’t need to be admins.
Here’s how to set it up:
In Recognition posts, upload an image, add a title, and choose how much control managers have over the message: Write custom message, Edit provided message, or Use provided message only.
Choose who sees it: Public for the whole company, Team for the recipient, their manager, and teammates who share that manager, or Private for just the recipient, their manager, and admins.
Click Preview to see what employees will see.
Under Approval process, keep automatic approval so bonuses go out right away, or choose Specific people must provide approvals and add approvers for each step, like a department head and then Finance.
Save the award.
The approver will get an Action Items email for each request and can approve from there or the Action Items page. See Reviewing Pending Recognition Programs.
Step 3: Let managers know they have a budget
A budget nobody knows about goes unused. Bonusly lets you post a message at the top of everyone’s homepage, aim it at a specific group, and send it by email or to Slack. In Bonusly, this is called an Announcements.
Here’s how to set it up:
From the givebox on your homepage, click Announce.
Tell managers what the bonus is for, how much each one is worth, and how to give it: click Award below the give box on their homepage and choose Quarterly Spot Bonus.
Add a team handle in Who should see the announcement post so only managers see it. To reach them by email too, check Email from Bonusly, or choose to send it to Slack.
Click Post.
Point managers to How to give an Award on the homepage. When they give a bonus, their remaining budget shows at the top right of the form.
Step 4: Check in each quarter and keep it going
The budget refreshes on its own each quarter, so the program keeps running. A quick check-in helps you spot managers who aren’t using it and make sure bonuses aren’t going to the same few people.
Here’s how:
Go to Admin > Recognition > Awards and check Budget used for Quarterly Spot Bonus.
Click the ellipsis icon at the end of the row, then Recognition Activity, to see every bonus given, by whom, and to whom.
Nudge managers who haven’t given any bonuses, and adjust the budget or amounts for next quarter if needed.
More ways to run it
The same setup works for other spot bonus programs. Change who can give, the budget, and how often it refreshes.
Idea | What changes from the example | Learn how |
Leader’s choice award | Limit givers to senior leaders, give them a separate budget, and set visibility to Private | |
Team spot bonus with its own budget | Create one award per department or location, each with its own givers and budget sized to that team | |
Region-specific amounts for global teams | Create one award per country, with points per award set to fit each region | |
Project or launch award | Limit givers to one department, like Engineering, and name it after the project, like Q4 Engineering Spot Award | |
Gift instead of points | Attach an item from your rewards catalog, or set a budget and let the giver choose a gift | |
End-of-year bonus | Set the budget to Does not refresh so it’s a one-time pool | |
Referral bonus | Let employees claim a bonus themselves when a referral is hired, with proof like the new hire’s name | |
Training completion bonus | Let employees claim a bonus when they finish a course, with a certificate as proof |
Measure it
A healthy spot bonus program shows most managers giving bonuses each period, spread across their teams, not concentrated on the same few people.
What to check | Where to find it | When |
How much of the budget managers used | Admin > Recognition > Awards, Budget used column | End of each quarter |
Who gave bonuses and who received them | Recognition activity, filtered to the award | End of each quarter |
Whether recognition is spread across teams | Quarterly |
If usage is low, remind managers with a new announcement, add suggested amounts to make giving faster, or switch to a monthly budget.
Note: You’ll need to be a global admin or have awards admin permissions, and spot bonuses can be run on the Organization plan.
FAQ
Can each manager have their own budget?
Each manager can’t have a personal budget within one award, because the budget is shared by everyone who can give it. To give a team its own budget, create a separate award for that team with its own givers and budget.
Do spot bonus points come out of a manager’s own giving balance?
No, spot bonus points don’t come out of a manager’s own giving balance. They come from the company, so managers can keep recognizing peers as usual.
Can I keep spot bonuses private?
Yes, you can keep spot bonuses private. In Recognition posts, choose Private so only the recipient, their manager, and admins see it.
Can Finance approve bonuses before they’re paid out?
Yes, Finance can approve bonuses before they’re paid out. Under Approval process, choose Specific people must provide approvals and add up to four approval steps, like a department head followed by Finance.
When does my company pay for spot bonuses?
Your company pays when employees redeem points for rewards, not when bonuses are given.