# Bonus Periods

Bonus periods let you multiply entry amounts during specific timeframes. Run a 40x weekend, a 10x flash sale, or stack multipliers around key dates to drive urgency and engagement when it matters most.

## Why Use Bonus Periods?

- **Drive urgency** — Limited-time multipliers create a reason to buy now, not later
- **Highlight key moments** — Holidays, product launches, anniversaries, end-of-season pushes
- **Layer strategy** — Run different multipliers at different times throughout a single promotion

## Setting Up a Bonus Period

1. Open **Giveaway Gator** and go to **Promotions**.
2. Click **Manage** on your promotion.
3. Navigate to the **Bonus Periods** section.
4. Click **Add Bonus Period**.
5. Fill in the form:
   - **Name**: Something descriptive so you can identify it later (e.g., "Mother's Day 40X Bonus").
   - **Start Date & End Date**: The window during which the multiplier is active.
   - **Multiplier**: How many times to multiply entries (e.g., 40 means customers earn 40x their normal entries).
   - **Description** (optional): Internal notes about this bonus period.
6. Click **Add**.

> **Tip:** To include the full last day of your bonus period, set the end date to **12:00 AM on the day after** the final day. For example, for a bonus ending July 12th, set the end date to July 13th at 12:00 AM.

## Editing a Bonus Period

Click **Edit** on any bonus period to change its name, dates, multiplier, or description. This is useful if you need to extend a bonus window, adjust the multiplier mid-campaign, or update the name for clarity.

## Date Range Warnings

When you create or edit a bonus period, Giveaway Gator checks whether the dates fall within your promotion's start and end dates. If a bonus period starts before the promotion begins, ends after it finishes, or falls completely outside the promotion window, you'll see a **yellow warning banner** in the form.

Bonus periods that are outside the promotion's date range also display an **"Outside promo dates"** badge in the bonus periods list, along with a summary banner at the top of the page.

> **Why this matters:** A bonus period only takes effect while its parent promotion is active. If the bonus period's dates don't overlap with the promotion, customers won't see the multiplier — even though it looks like it's set up correctly.

## Multiple Promotions

If you have more than one promotion running at the same time, your storefront (entry tags, countdown timers, etc.) displays data from the promotion with the **highest active bonus multiplier**. If no promotions have an active bonus period, the most recently ending promotion is used.

This means you don't need to worry about conflicting multipliers — customers will always see the highest active bonus.

## Verifying It Works

After saving, refresh a product page on your storefront. The entry tag should reflect the new multiplier (e.g., "40X" instead of "1X") if the bonus period is currently active.

## Troubleshooting

**Timer or entry tags show "1X" instead of the correct multiplier:**
- Make sure the bonus period's dates overlap with the promotion's dates. Check for an "Outside promo dates" badge on the bonus periods page.
- If you have multiple promotions running, the storefront shows the highest active multiplier across all promotions. Verify the bonus period is active (not upcoming or ended) on the correct promotion.

**Bonus period shows as "Upcoming" when it should be active:**
- Double-check the start date and time. Dates use your promotion's timezone setting — make sure the bonus period's start time has actually passed in that timezone.