Configure credit periods, categories, and goals

Understand the outcome

Periods define time; categories define goals. A member can belong to more than one category.

Credits turns participation into visible progress. Departments define activity types, member categories with goals, and the periods those goals reset on. Members track progress, request credit, and, when enabled, see a leaderboard and redeem prizes. Officers approve requests and award adjustments, and Time Clock rules can award shift credit automatically. Other automatic awards can be built with Workflows.

Before you begin

Make the decision before changing the screen. Record the current configuration when the department already uses this feature, and use a test record or test account when the change can affect active members.

• Choose the cadence: monthly, quarterly, yearly, or custom.
• List member categories and their goals.
• Decide how exempt members are handled.

Where to work and what access you need

Start from the portal destination named in the procedure. Administrators normally need permission to view Credits plus the specific create, edit, manage, approve, report, or all-record action used by the task. Visibility alone does not grant management access.

• My Credits/modules/credits/my-credits
• Prizes/modules/credits/prizes
• Leaderboard/modules/credits/leaderboard
• Management/modules/credits/management
• Analytics/modules/credits/analytics
• Reports/modules/credits/reports
• Settings/modules/credits/settings

Required foundation

• Core must be enabled and correctly configured before this workflow can operate reliably.

If your department uses custom roles, test the procedure with that role—not only with a full administrator account. This confirms the people responsible for daily operations can complete the workflow without receiving unrelated access.

Complete the task

1. Step 1Set the period cadence

   Choose the cadence and start date; periods are created automatically.

2. Step 2Create categories

   Add categories such as Active, Probationary, EMS, or Training, each with a goal.

3. Step 3Assign members

   Add members to one or more categories.

4. Step 4Check boundaries

   Create sample entries near a period’s start and end.

5. Step 5Review visibility

   Confirm members can see their goals and progress under My Credits.

Operational safeguards

Apply these module-level controls while completing the procedure. They prevent a technically saved configuration from becoming an operational or access problem later.

• Control point
  Decide what behavior Credits should encourage before assigning values.
• Control point
  Create categories before assigning member goals.
• Control point
  Choose request and approval rules, including when a decision note is required.
• Control point
  Test one Time Clock rule on a single completed shift before enabling it broadly.
• Control point
  Confirm leaderboard visibility before turning it on.
• Control point
  Use Workflows for any other automatic award; Training and certifications do not award credit on their own.

Verify the result

Do not consider the setup complete merely because the save action succeeded. Confirm the behavior from the user-facing or operational view, then retain evidence of the test when department policy requires it.

• Every tracked member has the right categories.
• Current period dates match policy.
• Each goal shows separately for members with several categories.

If any verification fails, return to the source configuration and correct it there. Do not edit a report or downstream record to conceal an incorrect setup.

Troubleshooting

A member has no goal

Add them to a category.

An entry landed in the wrong period

Check the period dates, timezone, and the entry date.

Exempt members show on the leaderboard

Turn on the hide-exempt leaderboard option.

Related Credits capabilities

This task sits inside a larger module workflow. These related capabilities may affect the result or provide the next administrative step:

• Monthly, quarterly, yearly, or custom periods created automatically
• Activity types with default values, hour limits, required notes or approval, and custom request fields
• Multiple categories per member, each with its own goal
• Member requests with configurable approval and note rules
• Officer awards, edits, and voids with history
• Time Clock rules filtered by category, role, station, job, and hours, with caps and duplicate prevention
• Optional leaderboard that can hide exempt members, include pending credit, or be limited to admins
• Optional prize catalog with spend or milestone redemptions, stock, per-member limits, and a fulfillment queue
• Analytics and branded PDF/CSV reports

Use the module hub to open the dedicated procedure associated with any capability listed here.

Connected modules and downstream effects

A change here can alter what members see, what data appears in reports, or how another module completes its workflow. Review the connected areas below before making a department-wide change.

• Time ClockPortal and kiosk clock-in with password, PIN, or face, plus corrections and reports.
• Station BoardStation TV boards with live widgets, rotating slides, and protected launch links.
• TrainingEvents, attendance, hours and CE, certificates, self-logged training, and compliance.

After deployment, test one complete workflow from the originating module through every connected destination your department uses. Document the final configuration so another administrator can audit or reproduce it later.

Continue in Credits

Return to the Credits module guide for connected workflows, dependencies, portal destinations, and additional procedures.