How to manage user permissions and team structures in Bonusly admin settings

If you run recognition or rewards with your team, you know that giving the right people the right access is half the battle. This guide is for anyone who’s managing Bonusly admin settings and wants to set up permissions and teams without creating future headaches—no sugarcoating, no time-wasting.

Whether you’re new to Bonusly or cleaning up a messy setup, I’ll walk you through what actually matters, what’s just noise, and the straightest path to a system you won’t regret.

Why Permissions and Teams Actually Matter

Here’s the deal: if you botch permissions or team setups, you’ll end up with people seeing things they shouldn’t, getting too much power, or—worse—nobody able to fix anything when it breaks. On the other hand, overthinking this stuff makes onboarding and daily use a pain. The goal is just enough structure to keep things safe, clear, and easy to manage.

1. Understanding Bonusly User Roles (What Each Level Can and Can’t Do)

Before you start clicking around, get clear on what “permissions” mean in Bonusly. There are a few built-in roles:

  • User: Regular folks who give and receive recognition.
  • Admin: Full access—can manage users, settings, billing, and see all reports.
  • Account Owner: Usually the person who set up the account. Has all admin rights, plus a few owner-specific actions (like closing the account).
  • Custom Roles: If you’re on a higher-tier Bonusly plan, you might see custom roles with more granular permissions—but most teams just use the basics.

What to actually care about:
Don’t assign admin rights just because someone asks. Only give admin to people who need it regularly (think: HR, People Ops, maybe a trusted IT person). Everyone else should be a regular user.

Pro tip:
There’s no “view-only admin” in Bonusly. If you want someone to see reports but not touch settings, you’ll have to export reports for them.

2. The Simple Way to Assign (and Remove) User Permissions

Setting permissions in Bonusly is straightforward, but double-check who you’re giving power to. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Go to the Admin Settings

  • Log in and click your profile icon.
  • Select Admin or Admin Settings from the dropdown.

Step 2: Find Your People

  • Head to the Users or Manage Users section.
  • Use the search bar or filters to find the right person (don’t scroll endlessly, use search).

Step 3: Change Their Role

  • Click the user’s name to open their profile.
  • Look for a field labeled Role or Permissions.
  • Select the right role (User, Admin, Owner).

To remove admin access:
Just switch them back to “User.” That’s it—no drama, no ceremony.

Bulk edits:
If you need to change a bunch of roles, Bonusly lets you do this via CSV import. But honestly, unless you’re dealing with dozens of changes, it’s usually faster to click through manually. The import process is fine, but it’s not magical—it’s just another spreadsheet to wrangle.

3. Setting Up Teams: How to Organize (Without Overcomplicating)

Teams in Bonusly are for grouping people—by department, location, project, or whatever makes sense for your org. Here’s the trick: only create teams that are useful for reporting or recognition. Skip “future-proofing” setups that just add clutter.

Step 1: Navigate to Teams

  • In Admin Settings, look for Teams or Manage Teams.

Step 2: Add or Edit Teams

  • Click Create Team (or Add Team).
  • Give it a clear, simple name (“Marketing,” not “Global Marketing Team Q2 2024”).
  • Optionally, add a description if there’s any chance of confusion.

Step 3: Assign Users to Teams

  • You can add users individually or in bulk.
    • For small orgs, just click and select.
    • For big orgs, use the CSV import. Prepare your spreadsheet first—columns for emails and teams, nothing fancy.
  • Save your changes.

Reorganizing teams later?
Totally doable. You can move people around, rename teams, or delete old ones without breaking the whole system. Just make sure you communicate big changes so nobody gets lost.

Pro tip:
Don’t use teams as a substitute for permissions. Teams are for grouping, not for restricting access. Everyone still sees the main company feed unless you set up custom access controls (which most folks don’t need).

4. Common Pitfalls (And How to Dodge Them)

  • Too many admins:
    Only give admin to people who actively manage Bonusly. More admins = more chances for mistakes.

  • Overcomplicated team structures:
    “Just in case” teams usually end up ignored. Start simple and add more only if reporting or workflows demand it.

  • Not reviewing permissions regularly:
    People leave, change roles, or move departments. Set a quarterly reminder to review admin rights and team membership.

  • Ignoring onboarding/offboarding:
    If you don’t have a process for adding/removing users, things get messy fast. Tie Bonusly user management to whatever HR tool you use, if possible.

5. What Actually Works (and What to Ignore)

  • Works:
  • Fewer admins, clear team names, regular reviews.
  • Using teams for useful reporting.

  • Keeping the structure lean until you need more complexity.

  • Doesn’t work:

  • Granting admin “just in case.”
  • Creating a team for every possible group or micro-department.

  • Ignoring cleanup—old teams and unused admin accounts are risk magnets.

  • Ignore:

  • Fancy features you don’t need. Most companies never touch custom roles or advanced access settings. Don’t let FOMO drive your setup.

6. Advanced: Integrations and Automation (If You Need It)

If your company uses Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or an HRIS, Bonusly can often sync users automatically. This is great for big orgs, but set it up carefully:

  • Test with a small group first.
  • Make sure your source-of-truth system (HRIS, etc.) is up-to-date, or you’ll just sync bad data.
  • Automated sync won’t solve permission review—it just handles the grunt work of adding/removing users.

Unless you’re managing hundreds of people, manual updates are manageable. Don’t over-engineer.

7. Cleaning Up a Messy Setup

If you inherited a Bonusly account with weird team names, too many admins, or zombie users, here’s how to fix it:

  1. Audit admins — Who really needs admin? Remove everyone else.
  2. Review teams — Are they useful? Rename or delete as needed.
  3. Check user list — Remove anyone who shouldn’t be there.
  4. Communicate changes — Let your team know what’s different (and why).

This doesn’t need to be a giant project. One afternoon, a spreadsheet, and a bit of focus can get things back on track.

Keep It Simple—And Review Often

Setting up user permissions and team structures in Bonusly isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to slip into overkill. Start with the basics: a few admins, clear teams, regular reviews. Don’t chase features you don’t need. Most importantly, plan to revisit your setup every so often—because no org chart or team list stays the same for long.

You’ll save yourself future headaches, and your team will thank you (probably by giving you more Bonusly points).