The Five-Star Review Incentive
Last updated: July 22, 2026
TeamCare can turn great reviews into real rewards. The Five Star Review incentive pays your team a bonus for each 5-star review they earn — a simple, motivating way to encourage the behavior that grows your reputation.
What It Is
The Five Star Review badge is one of TeamCare's built-in staff incentives. Its purpose:
Gives a bonus to individual team members for each 5-star review.
A common setup is $5–$10 per 5-star review. You choose the dollar amount, who's eligible, and how the money is split when more than one person is attributed to a review.
How a Review Earns the Bonus
When a 5-star review comes in through the sync (or is logged), and the incentive is active, TeamCare automatically credits the reward to the review's attributed staff — the same team members shown on the leaderboard and in the "New Review" email.
This is why accurate staff attribution matters: the people attributed to a 5-star review are the ones who get paid.
The one-time backfill of your historical Google reviews does not trigger incentive payouts — only reviews that arrive after setup earn the bonus.
How the Payout Is Split
When a 5-star review is attributed to more than one team member, the process type decides how the bonus is distributed. You set this once; it applies to the review incentive:
Process type | How the bonus is distributed |
|---|---|
Split equally (default) | The reward is divided evenly among all attributed staff |
Last touch | The full reward goes to the last staff member attributed |
The default is Split equally.
Setting It Up
The Five-Star incentive is managed in the Incentives area, and is also reachable directly from the Reviews section via the Incentives tab in the reviews sidebar.
Setting up or adjusting the reward involves:
Choosing the dollar amount per 5-star review.
Choosing who's eligible — specific individuals, or the team.
Choosing the split (equal vs. last touch).
Setting the timeframe (a date range, or ongoing).
Approving & Paying Out
Rewards move through a simple, manager-approved flow before any money is paid:
Choose Eligible Staff → Earn Badges → Approve → Payout
As qualifying 5-star reviews come in, staff earn badges toward the reward.
Owners and Managers review the results, can adjust the dollar value or the split if needed, and approve.
Once approved, the amounts are marked as paid for payroll.
This keeps you in control — nothing is paid automatically without a manager signing off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do 4-star reviews earn a bonus? No. The incentive is specifically for 5-star reviews.
Q: Two hygienists were both on the appointment for a 5-star review. Who gets paid? That depends on your process type. With Split equally (the default) they each get half; with Last touch, the last-attributed staff member gets the full amount.
Q: A 5-star review had no team assigned — did anyone get the bonus? No one can be credited until the review is attributed. Have a manager attribute the correct staff, and the reward can then be applied.
Q: Is the bonus paid the instant a 5-star review arrives? No. Reviews accrue toward the reward, and an Owner or Manager approves the payout before anything is marked as paid.
Q: Where do I turn this on? Open the Incentives tab from the Reviews sidebar (or go to the Incentives module) and configure the Five Star Review reward.
Q: Can I change how much we pay per review later? Yes. The amount, eligibility, and split are all editable, and managers can adjust values during approval.