# How points work

> Velarya points are the loyalty balance patients build at your practice. Patients earn them for what you choose to reward, such as paid treatments, check-ins, referrals, signing up and birthdays. They redeem points in the patient app at 100 points to $1.00 of wallet credit and spend it when they book or buy.

- Source: https://velarya.com/help/how-points-work
- Who can do this: Admins and roles with Rewards & loyalty program set to Edit change the Earning Rule
- Plans: Basic, Scale, Branded, Connected
- Time: 5 minute read
- Last verified: 2026-10-01

## What are Velarya points?

Velarya points, also called loyalty or reward points, are the balance each patient builds at your practice, worth $0.01 of wallet credit apiece. You choose what earns them, and patients turn them into wallet credit in the patient app.

Points and wallet credit are two balances that work together:

- **Points** are what a patient collects. 100 points are worth $1.00, and the app shows that dollar amount as the balance's rewards value.
- **Wallet credit** is money the patient spends with you. Redeemed points are one way it fills up; sign-up bonuses, membership credits and your team add to it too.

Because a point is worth $0.01, your **Earning Rule** doubles as the percentage patients get back: 5 points per $1 gives 5% back in credit. The **Rewards Program** page in **Organization settings** shows the value of a point under **Token Economics** as the **Exchange Rate**: 100 PTS = $1.00.

![Rewards Program Token Economics showing the Exchange Rate of 100 PTS = $1.00 USD](https://velarya.com/assets/help/how-points-work/token-economics-f5c279fa.webp)

## How do patients earn points?

Patients collect Velarya points in seven ways, and every award lands in the same balance.

> **Good to know:** On Basic, patients earn points for paid treatments, joining a membership, referrals and points your team adds. The sign-up bonus, birthday gifts and check-ins are on the Scale, Branded and Connected plans.

| Way to earn | When the points arrive | Where you set it |
|---|---|---|
| Paying for treatments | Once per sale, when the sale is paid in full: in the app, by payment link, or at your front desk by any method, including a **New Transaction** sale | **Earning Rule** in **Rewards Program**; a member earns at their plan's **Member points earning rate** when it is higher |
| Joining your practice in the app | The moment they join, once, when the bonus is points | **Sign-Up Bonus** in **Rewards Program** |
| Joining a membership | Once, the moment the membership starts, when the plan's join bonus is points | **Membership Join Bonus** on the plan in **Memberships** |
| Their birthday | On their birthday, once a year, when the gift is points and they are in your **Eligible audience**, use the patient app and have a date of birth on file | **Birthday Gift** in **Rewards Program** |
| Checking in | When your team checks them in at the front desk, by scanning the QR code in their app or on the **Front Desk** board | The **Check-In** challenge in **Challenges** |
| Referring a friend, or joining with a friend's code | When the friend joins with the code, or meets your activation rule, such as paying for a treatment. With **Approve referrals** set to **Manually**, the points arrive when your team approves the referral. Each side gets the reward you set for it, when that reward is points | The **Refer a Friend** challenge in **Challenges** |
| Your team adding points | When a staff member adds points on their profile | **Adjust** next to **Rewards** in **Clients** |

Velarya adds up what the treatments in a sale cost, add-ons included, after any member price or discount. **New Transaction** shows each treatment at the patient's member or birthday price when one applies, with the regular price struck through. Velarya multiplies that total by the patient's rate and rounds down once to a whole point. An $89.99 facial at 5 points per $1 earns 449 points, and two in one sale earn 899. Each sale earns once. If you refund a sale, Velarya takes back the points the refunded amount earned.

To set the Earning Rule and a sign-up bonus, see [Set up points earning](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-points-earning). For the other ways to earn, see [Set up a birthday gift](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-birthday-gift), [Set up check-in rewards](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-check-in-rewards), [Set up referral rewards](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-referral-rewards) and [Create a membership plan](https://velarya.com/help/create-a-membership-plan).

## How do points become wallet credit?

Patients redeem Velarya points for wallet credit themselves in the patient app, at 100 points to $1.00, with no staff action. In the app, the patient:

1. Selects **Redeem** on the points card on **Home**, or next to their points on the **Rewards** tab. The **Redeem Points** sheet opens.
2. Enters a whole number in **Points to redeem**. The rewards value under the field updates with each digit.
3. Selects **Confirm**. The credit is in their wallet at once, and **Points Redeemed!** confirms how many points they redeemed.

A patient can redeem up to their whole balance; entering more points than they hold shows "Insufficient points balance".

## How is wallet credit spent?

Wallet credit in Velarya pays for bookings and purchases at your practice, in the app or at your front desk.

- **Booking in the app.** At checkout, the payment options show **Wallet Balance** with the switch **Use my wallet balance towards this purchase**. With it on, the summary shows **Wallet Credit** and what is **Due Now**, and the card pays the rest. When the credit covers the whole total, the payment method reads **Wallet balance**.
- **Joining a membership in the app.** Wallet credit counts toward the first payment, as [How memberships work](https://velarya.com/help/how-memberships-work) shows.
- **At your front desk.** Your team applies credit from the patient's wallet when they check the patient out from the **Calendar**, the **Front Desk** or a transaction, or in **Transactions** > **New Transaction** with **Use Credits ($)** under **Payment & Totals**. Velarya takes it from the wallet when the sale is paid, and the transaction shows it as **Credits applied**. [Redeem a voucher at checkout](https://velarya.com/help/redeem-a-voucher-at-checkout) walks through both.

![New Transaction Payment & Totals with $12.00 entered in Use Credits ($), next to Custom Discount ($)](https://velarya.com/assets/help/how-points-work/new-transaction-credits-69bf0a66.webp)

When a patient pays with credit, Velarya spends the credit your practice gave them first, such as redeemed points, bonuses and membership credit. Credit the patient paid for goes last.

Here is one patient's first two visits at an Earning Rule of 5 points per $1, with a 250-point sign-up bonus and a 50-point check-in challenge:

| What happens | Points | Points balance | Wallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joins your practice in the app | +250 | 250 | $0.00 |
| Checks in at the front desk for a facial | +50 | 300 | $0.00 |
| Pays $189.00 for the facial | +945 | 1,245 | $0.00 |
| Redeems 1,200 points | -1,200 | 45 | $12.00 |
| Books a $120.00 peel, uses the $12.00 credit and pays $108.00 by card | +600 | 645 | $0.00 |

## What do patients see?

Patients see their Velarya points and wallet credit on the **Home** and **Rewards** tabs of the patient app, and every change in **Activity**. The patient app is your own app on the Branded and Connected plans, or the Velarya app.

- **Home** shows a points card with the balance, such as 1,245 Points, its rewards value in dollars, **View Activity**, and **Redeem** when they have points.
- The **Rewards** tab shows a wallet card with their **Available balance** and **View Activity**, then their points, with **Redeem** when they have points. The **Challenges** they can take part in follow.
- **Activity** lists everything, with the filters **All**, **Points & Rewards** and **Transactions**. Points rows read like +945 pts; wallet rows read like +$12.00.
- A notification arrives when they earn points for a visit, a check-in, a referral, the sign-up bonus or their birthday, and when they redeem points, as [Loyalty notifications patients receive](https://velarya.com/help/loyalty-notifications) lists.
- Before they book, the booking summary shows the **Points Earned** for the visit at their rate, and the appointment and its receipt show the points it earned.

## What you can change

Velarya points are set once for your whole practice: in **Organization settings** > **Rewards Program**, in **Challenges**, and on each membership plan in **Memberships**.

| Setting | Options and limits | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Earning Rule** (**Rewards Program**) | A whole number from 0 to 100 points per $1 | 0 | Points per $1 patients spend on treatments |
| **Member points earning rate** (each plan in **Memberships**) | Points per $1; a rate below the Earning Rule saves as the Earning Rule | Your Earning Rule | A member's points per $1 on treatments |
| **Membership Join Bonus** (each plan in **Memberships**) | **Points**, a discount or a free service | Off | A one-time gift when a patient joins the plan |
| **Sign-Up Bonus** (**Rewards Program**) | **Points** up to 9,999, **Credits** up to $9,999, or **Voucher** | Off | A one-time gift when a patient joins in the app |
| **Birthday Gift** (**Rewards Program**) | A discount, a free service or points | Off | A gift on each eligible patient's birthday |
| **Check-In** and **Refer a Friend** (**Challenges**) | Points per check-in; points or a free service per referral | Off | Rewards for checking in and for referring a friend |

## Where to find patients' points and credit

Your team sees each patient's Velarya points and wallet credit on their profile in **Clients**: **Wallet** shows the credit and **Rewards** shows the points. Seeing them takes **Wallet, points & credits** at View or above; [Loyalty roles and permissions](https://velarya.com/help/loyalty-roles-and-permissions) lists which roles have it.

![Patient profile totals with Wallet at $350.00 and Rewards at 100 pts, the Rewards total outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/how-points-work/client-balances-f8db89d5.webp)

The same balances appear as **Wallet** and points chips on a transaction, and the appointment drawer shows the patient's wallet balance when they have credit. The **Point Ledger** at the bottom of **Organization settings** > **Rewards Program** lists the point awards, adjustments and redemptions at the location you are working in, or another you choose in its location menu, plus the practice-wide ones, as [Set up points earning](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-points-earning) describes. It shows patient names as your role's **Client name visibility** allows. Seeing it takes **Rewards & loyalty program** at View, which Admins and Location Managers have by default.

To add or remove points or credit for one patient, see [Adjust a patient's points or wallet credit](https://velarya.com/help/adjust-a-patients-points-or-wallet-credit).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can patients use their points at every location?

Yes. Each patient has one Velarya points balance and one wallet for your whole practice, so points earned at one location can be redeemed, and the credit spent, at any other. The Earning Rule, the sign-up bonus and the birthday gift are also set once for the practice, so patients earn the same way wherever they visit.

### How many points can a patient redeem at once?

Any whole number from 1 up to their balance, whenever they like. Each point adds exactly $0.01 of wallet credit, so the credit is always a whole number of cents. A patient with 1,250 points can redeem all of them for $12.50, or redeem 500 for $5.00 now and keep 750 for later.

### What happens to points when you refund a treatment?

Velarya takes back the points the refunded amount earned, at the rate the sale earned them. A full refund of a $200.00 treatment at 5 points per $1 takes back the 1,000 points it earned, and a $50.00 partial refund takes back 250, the same share of the points as of the price.

### Do patients earn points on treatments they pay for with wallet credit?

Yes. Wallet credit counts like card or cash: Velarya counts what the treatment costs after any member price or discount, however the patient pays for it. A $120.00 peel at 5 points per $1 earns 600 points whether the patient pays by card, with credit, or with both. A treatment covered by a voucher costs $0, so it adds no points.

### Where can a patient see how they earned their points?

In Activity in the patient app, under the Points & Rewards filter. Every award is its own row with its date and points, titled by where it came from: Booking for a paid treatment, Check-In, Referral, Welcome bonus for the sign-up bonus, Birthday gift, the membership join bonus, or Points adjustment for a change your team made. Redemptions appear there too.