đ Note: The screenshots and settings shown in this article may not match what you see in your own platform, as Rosterfy is highly customisable. If you need guidance specific to your setup, please contact our support team.
Every time an item is assigned to a User, the system applies an Allocation Type label: Rewards, Entitlements, or Redemption. While this setting does not alter how an item is physically handed out or collected, it fundamentally changes where the item appears in the User Portal and how it is grouped in administrative reporting.
Selecting the correct allocation type ensures that celebratory milestone achievements get the visibility they deserve on the volunteer dashboard, while routine operational gear like uniform pieces and meal vouchers, remains neatly organised in the background.
IN THIS ARTICLE:
Allocation vs. Distribution
Allocation (Who gets what): An allocation is a record stating a User is entitled to an item. An item cannot be handed out until this record exists. The allocation types include:
âRewards: Rewards are celebratory items awarded for personal milestones, achievements, or discretionary thank-you gifts.
Entitlements: Entitlements represent essential operational equipment required for a User's role such as uniforms, meal vouchers, or parking passes.
Redemptions: Redemptions consist of catalog items purchased directly by User's spending their earned Reward Points in the User Portal.
Distribution (How the item is received): Distribution marks an item as collected by logging the exact time, location, and staff member responsible for the handover. This step can be completed through the Shift check-in screen, the Vendor Portal, a manual User profile update, a bundle status progression, or a certificate PDF download.
đĄTip: Virtual items skip the distribution entirely, as digital badges are automatically completed upon allocation.
Choosing the Right Allocation Method
See the following guide examples below to choose the right allocation setup for your organisational needs:
Goal | Item Type | Workflow (Allocation, Handover & Setup)
|
Digital Badges
| Virtual or Certificate | How it's allocated: Allocation rule.
How it's received: Virtual or Check-in Download.
Required Setup: Allocation rules.
|
Daily Vouchers
| Distributable (Quantity)
| How it's allocated: Allocation rule or automation.
How it's received: Team Leader at Shift check-in/out.
Required Setup: Check-in handouts.
|
Uniform Kits
| Distributable (Variants)
| How it's allocated: Bundle Template.
How it's received: Counter staff/ Vendor Portal.
Required Setup: Bundles, Location Items, and Vendors.
|
Points Store
| Distributable | How it's allocated: Redemption.
How it's received: Vendor counter or Admin pick-up.
Required Setup: Reward Points Store
|
Tracked Uniform
| Distributable | How it's allocated: Import or automation.
How it's received: Manual SKU number entry at check-in or a Vendor.
Required Setup: SKU numbers configured in the item.
|
Choosing Allocation Rules or Automations
Understanding when to use Allocation Rules versus Automations ensures items are issued at the right moment without creating administrative overhead or unexpected system behavior. While both tools automatically grant items, they serve distinct operational purposes based on the trigger event, calculation logic, and communication requirements.
Allocation Rules
Allocation Rules strictly rely on Shift and Event attendance metrics. To use an Allocation Rule, your requirement must align with exactly one measure and one threshold:
Total Number of Shifts: Triggers when reaching a set count of completed Shifts.
Total Number of Events: Triggers when attending a set count of distinct Events.
Total Shift Hours Attended (by scheduled time): Triggers based on cumulative hours from rostered Shift times.
Total Shift Hours Attended (by check-in to check-out time): Triggers based on cumulative hours from actual time-card timestamps.
Total Shift Hours per Day: Triggers when completing a set number of Shift hours within a single calendar day.
These rules operate continuously in the background, making them ideal for long-term recognition programs where volunteers earn badges, pins, or entitlements automatically as their Shift records update. Because Allocation Rules evaluate quietly without sending automated emails, they suit high-volume, operational entitlements where immediate User notifications are unnecessary or handled verbally on site.
Automations
Automations are ideal when item assignment depends on specific system events, form answers, or workflow updates rather than Shift hour totals. Use an Automation when an item must be granted immediately after a User completes a training module, updates a profile field, submits a registration form, or reaches a specific account checkpoint. Automations are also the correct choice whenever an item assignment must trigger an instant email notification or confirmation message to the User.
Selection Criteria
Requirement | Allocation Rules | Automations |
Triggered by Shift hour/count milestones
| â | â |
Triggered by training, forms, or checkpoints
|
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Evaluates recurring daily Shift hours
| â | â |
Sends automated email notifications
| â | â |
Multi-variable conditional logic
| Single metric only
| Supports complex rules |