Bonuses

Bonuses are a point-awarding system that complements the Penalties system. While Penalties deduct points for negative behaviors, Bonuses award points for positive achievements and special occasions.

Overview

The Bonuses feature allows you to:

• Create custom bonuses that award points to children
• Manage bonuses through the Bonuses card in your dashboard
• Apply bonuses instantly via the UI or services
• Assign bonuses to specific children or all children
• Categorize bonuses with icons and descriptions

How Bonuses Work

1. Create a Bonus - Define a bonus with a name, point value, optional description, and icon
2. Assign It - Choose which children the bonus applies to (or leave empty for all)
3. Apply the Bonus - Award the points to a child through the Bonuses card or via service call
4. Points Awarded - The child receives the bonus points immediately in their account

Bonuses vs Penalties

Aspect	Bonuses	Penalties
Purpose	Reward positive behaviors	Discourage negative behaviors
Point Effect	Awards points (+)	Deducts points (-)
Common Use Cases	Perfect week, good report card, extra chores	Rule breaking, incomplete chores, screen time violations
Trigger	Parent recognition, special events	Behavioral issues, incomplete tasks

The Bonuses Card

The Bonuses Card provides a green-themed interface for managing all your bonuses. Key features:

• List of Bonuses - View all defined bonuses with their point values
• Add New Bonus - Create a new bonus definition directly from the card
• Apply Bonus - Select a child and click the bonus to award points
• Edit/Delete - Manage existing bonuses
• Visual Indicators - Color-coded icons help distinguish different bonus types

Lovelace Configuration

Add the Bonuses Card to your dashboard:

type: custom:taskmate-bonuses-card
entity: sensor.taskmate_overview
title: Bonuses

Creating and Managing Bonuses

Create a Bonus

1. Open the Bonuses Card on your dashboard
2. Click "Add Bonus" or the + button
3. Fill in the bonus details:
   • Name - The bonus title (e.g., "Perfect Week")
   • Points - Points awarded when applied (1-10000)
   • Description (optional) - Details about when to use this bonus
   • Icon (optional) - MDI icon for visual identification
   • Assigned To (optional) - Specific children (leave empty for all)
4. Click Save

Update a Bonus

1. In the Bonuses Card, click the edit icon on the bonus
2. Modify the desired fields
3. Click Save

Remove a Bonus

1. In the Bonuses Card, click the delete icon on the bonus
2. Confirm the deletion

Apply a Bonus

1. In the Bonuses Card, select a child from the dropdown
2. Click the bonus you want to apply
3. The points are instantly awarded to that child

Services

The Bonuses system provides four services for advanced automation:

taskmate.add_bonus

Create a new bonus definition.

taskmate.update_bonus

Update an existing bonus definition.

taskmate.remove_bonus

Remove a bonus definition.

taskmate.apply_bonus

Award bonus points to a child (calls the internal add_points service).

See the Services page for detailed parameter documentation and YAML examples.

Undoing an applied bonus (v4.0.0)

Applied the wrong bonus, or gave it to the wrong child? An admin can reverse it. Each applied-bonus row in the activity log shows an Undo button, which restores the child's balance and earned total and removes the transaction. The same action is available as the taskmate.undo_transaction service. See Points Economy and Services.

Common Use Cases

Perfect Week Bonus

Award extra points when a child completes all assigned chores in a week.

Bonus Details:

• Name: "Perfect Week"
• Points: 25
• Description: "Completed all chores for the week"
• Icon: mdi:star

Report Card Bonus

Reward good grades or school achievements.

Bonus Details:

• Name: "Great Grades"
• Points: 50
• Description: "Honor roll or excellent report card"
• Icon: mdi:school

Special Event Bonus

Celebrate birthdays, holidays, or milestones.

Bonus Details:

• Name: "Birthday Bonus"
• Points: 100
• Description: "Happy Birthday!"
• Icon: mdi:birthday-cake

Chore Motivation Bonus

Quick bonuses for exceeding expectations.

Bonus Details:

• Name: "Extra Effort"
• Points: 10
• Description: "Completed a chore ahead of schedule"
• Icon: mdi:lightning-bolt

Tips & Best Practices

Start Simple - Begin with a few bonuses (Perfect Week, Good Grades, Birthday) and expand based on your family's needs.

Balance Your Economy - Keep bonus point values reasonable compared to chore rewards to maintain motivation balance. Example: If chores award 5-20 points, bonuses might award 10-50 points.

Use Icons Consistently - Choose recognizable MDI icons that make bonuses instantly identifiable on the card.

Assign Strategically - Use assignment to create age-appropriate bonuses. Younger children might have simpler bonus criteria.

Celebrate Often - Bonuses are more effective when applied promptly and for genuine achievements. Don't overuse them.

Combine with Automations - Use the apply_bonus service in automations to award bonuses based on Home Assistant sensor values (e.g., door lock, presence, weather).

Troubleshooting

Bonus Not Appearing on Card

• Verify the bonus was saved (check the card's bonus list)
• Refresh your dashboard (F5 or hard refresh)
• Check that the sensor.taskmate_overview entity is available

Can't Apply Bonus

• Ensure a child is selected from the dropdown
• Verify the bonus is assigned to that child (or assigned to all if "Assigned To" is empty)
• Check Home Assistant logs for errors

Points Not Awarded

• Confirm the child's point balance increased after applying the bonus
• Verify the apply_bonus service is properly configured (if using automations)
• Check that the bonus points value is correctly set

Service Call Fails

• Verify the bonus_id and child_id are correct (use Developer Tools to find IDs)
• Ensure the bonus and child still exist
• Check Home Assistant logs for detailed error messages