🤔 What Are Forced Points?
When creating a scanner, Forced Points option allows you to automatically assign a fixed number of loyalty points every time a digital card is scanned — without manually entering transaction details.
This feature is ideal for high-volume operations, such as during peak hours, becoming a very used scanner best practice for various use-cases.
🎯 When Should You Use Forced Points?
We recommend enabling Forced Points when:
There is high foot traffic and you need to speed up the process.
Staff has limited time to input transaction data.
Your loyalty program has a simple logic (e.g., 1 point per visit).
⚙️ How to Enable Forced Points on a Scanner
Log into your Welcome Back dashboard.
Go to the “Scanners” section.
Select the scanner you want to configure and click the pencil icon to edit it.
Enable the checkbox "Use Forced Points."
A new field will appear — enter the number of points to assign per scan (e.g.,
1).Click "Save" to apply the settings.
From that moment, every scan on that scanner will automatically grant the specified number of points.
⚖️ What’s the Tradeoff of Using Forced Points?
While Forced Points simplify your operation, there's an important limitation:
The customer’s purchase amount will not be recorded.
This means you won’t be able to track how much the customer spent on that specific transaction. If your loyalty strategy relies on ticket value, using forced points may result in the loss of valuable data for analysis and segmentation.
🎁 What Happens if a Customer Has a Reward Available?
When a customer scans their card and has a reward available, the system ignores the Forced Points logic and triggers the regular reward flow.
This allows you to:
Display available rewards on-screen
Confirm whether the customer wants to redeem a reward
Accurately record the redemption in their history
This ensures your business maintains control over rewards and the customer doesn’t miss out on redeeming their benefits.
✅ Practical Example
A coffee shop gives 1 point per visit. During peak hours, they activate Forced Points with a value of 1 to streamline service.
If a customer shows up with a reward (e.g., free coffee), the system will display the redemption option normally — ensuring inventory control and traceability.
📝 Recommendations
Use Forced Points only during specific times, not as your only scanning method.
Switch back to the manual flow when you want to track ticket value.
Train your staff to handle cases where a customer has a reward to redeem.
Need help configuring this based on your store’s workflow? Message us through the chat — we’ll assist you in just a few minutes.