How to Top Up or Adjust a User's Points
Add or deduct allowance or earnings points for one or many users at once — for corrections, launches, events, or exceptions.
Who can use this feature
Available on the Starter plan and above.
Requires one of these admin permissions: Super Admin, Update Users, or Create Manual Point Top-ups.
Who this is for
Admins who need to give or remove points outside the normal recognition flow — for example after a company event, a launch milestone, or an individual correction.
What you'll achieve
A one-off point adjustment applied to one or more users. You choose whether the points go to Allowance (points the user can give away in recognitions) or Earnings (points the user can spend on rewards).
Before you begin
You have one of the required permissions — Super Admin, Edit users, or Ad hoc points
Your workspace is on the Starter plan or above
You know which users should receive the adjustment and whether it should affect Allowance or Earnings
Allowance vs Earnings — quick reminder.
Allowance vs Earnings — quick reminder. Allowance controls how many points someone can give to others through recognition. Earnings are points someone has received and can redeem for rewards. Most one-off bonuses go to Earnings; most "give more recognition capacity" top-ups go to Allowance.
Steps
Point adjustments use the Allocate Points bulk action on the Users page. Even if you're adjusting a single person, the flow is the same — select one row instead of many.
Open the Users page — go to Admin → Users & Permissions → Users.
Select users — tick the checkbox next to each person you want to adjust. To apply the same adjustment to everyone matching your current search or filters, click the "Select all N items" link in the selection bar that appears. This applies the adjustment to every matching user, not just the current page.
Open the bulk action — click Bulk Actions and choose Allocate Points.
Enter the adjustment — type the number of points and choose Allowance or Earnings. For a deduction, enter a negative number (for example
-50).Confirm — the action requires two confirmations. On the first click, a summary appears. Deductions show a separate warning styled as a destructive action. Confirm again to apply.
"Select all" applies to every matching user.
"Select all" applies to every matching user. If you have filters or a search active, the adjustment applies to everyone who matches — which may be more people than you see on the current page. Double-check your filters before confirming.
What to expect after
You'll see a toast confirming the result — for example "Successfully updated 12 user(s)", or a breakdown of successes, failures, and skipped users if some could not be processed.
Top-ups (positive points) trigger an email to each affected user with the subject "You've received a top up to your [recognition allowance / redeemable earnings]!" and a link to PraisePal.
Deductions (negative points) do not send any notification to the user.
Every adjustment is recorded in the Manual Point Activity log under Admin → Users & Permissions → Activity. Each entry shows the recipient, the admin who made the change, the type, the point amount, and the date.
Common mistakes
Pro tips
Company events or launches — select all active users and add Earnings points so everyone can redeem a reward. Pair this with an internal announcement so people know why their balance changed.
Manager-requested capacity — if a manager needs more recognition points for their team, top up Allowance for just those team members. Use the Teams filter on the Users page to narrow the selection.
Admin-mediated cash top-ups — if an individual wants to convert cash into points to give to peers, an admin can add the equivalent amount to that person's Allowance after receiving payment offline.