How do I apply Disqualifiers and Penalties to a ProPay?

What's the difference between a Disqualifier and a Penalty?

Protiv gives you two tools to manage situations where a bonus should be reduced or removed entirely.

Disqualifier — A pass/fail check. If marked as failed during approval, the entire ProPay bonus is voided. No one on the job gets paid. Use this when a job-level condition should prevent the whole crew from receiving a bonus (e.g. safety violation, failed inspection, incomplete work).

Penalty — A dollar deduction. Instead of wiping the bonus, it reduces the pool by a specific amount. That deduction is then split across all workers on the ProPay based on your distribution method (equal rate, weighted by wages, etc.). Use this when a specific cost needs to be deducted from the bonus (e.g. damaged equipment, material waste).

Step 1: Configure them in Settings

Before disqualifiers and penalties appear in the approval flow, you need to set them up.

1. Go to Settings → Incentives
2. Under Disqualifiers, add your categories and name each condition (e.g. "Safety Violation", "Failed Inspection")
3. Under Penalties, add each type, set the amount or enable "set at approval", and assign a category (e.g. "Damaged tool — minor: $20")
4. Save your settings
5. Click Sync Qualifiers & Penalties so existing open ProPays pick up the new rules.

Step 2: Apply them at approval

When you approve a ProPay, Protiv walks you through a Disqualifiers & Penalties screen — a 3-step flow.

1. Go to Completed Jobs and open the ProPay you want to approve
2. Click Approve
3. Step 1 — Disqualifiers: Did any configured conditions apply? If yes, the bonus is voided for everyone on the job
4. Step 2 — Penalties: Did any deductions apply? Select the penalty and enter the amount if required
5. Step 3 — Confirmation: Review and confirm
6. Click Apply to finalize

What if the deduction only applies to one worker?

Disqualifiers and penalties at the ProPay level affect everyone on the job. If the situation is specific to a single worker, do not apply it at the ProPay level.

Instead, approve the ProPay normally and apply the deduction directly on that worker's bonus statement. That way only the individual is affected and the rest of the crew's bonuses stay intact.

How to add a statement-level deduction:

1. Go to the Bonus Section in your dashboard
2. Click the worker's name on the relevant bonus statement
3. Choose to tie it to a specific ProPay or add it as a Non-ProPay adjustment
4. Enter a description, amount, and save

All adjustments appear on the worker's bonus statement and update their total — visible to both the worker and payroll.

→ How do I add additional bonuses or deductions to a worker's bonus statement?

Common issues

Penalties aren't showing in the approval screen Either they haven't been configured yet (go to Settings → Incentives) or they were configured after the ProPay was generated. Run Sync Qualifiers & Penalties from Incentive Settings to fix this.

Can I change my decision after a ProPay is already approved? Yes. Approved ProPays support updated decisions. You can revisit applied penalties after approval. Contact support if you don't see this option.

Do penalties apply to ProGoals or Statements too? Yes, but they're configured separately. Statement-level rules live in Settings → Incentives. ProGoal penalties are configured directly on the ProGoal Template.