> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.lobyco.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Accumulation types > The four ways a customer's progress on a challenge can add up, the earn rules each one uses, and an example of each. This page helps you choose the **Accumulation** for a challenge. It decides what counts toward the challenge and how the customer's progress adds up. It also decides which [earn rule](/business-documentation/activities/challenges/create-a-challenge#set-how-progress-is-earned) fields you see below it, on the **Settings** tab. > [!WARNING] > > Choose **Accumulation** before you set up your earn rules. If you change it later, Lobyco Nexus resets them. See [Changing the accumulation later](#changing-the-accumulation-later). ## At a glance | Accumulation | Progress comes from | Earn rules | Example | | - | - | - | - | | [One purchase](#one-purchase) | A single purchase that meets every rule | **Product quantity** or **Purchase amount**, one or more rules | Buy 3 cans of cola in one purchase | | [Multiple purchase](#multiple-purchase) | Purchases adding up over time | **Product quantity** or **Purchase amount**, one rule | Buy 4 coffees, get the next one free | | [Store visits](#store-visits) | Each purchase that reaches a minimum counts as one visit | Number of visits, one rule | Shop 3 times in a week | | [Payment method](#payment-method) | Each purchase paid a certain way counts as one | Number of purchases, one rule | 5 purchases paid through the app | Progress comes from the individual lines on the customer's receipt, never from the receipt total. The exception is **Payment method**, which counts the payments instead. Lines priced at 0.01 or less each, such as free items, don't count. Every type also works in a **Tiered** challenge. A tiered challenge keeps one earn rule, and each tier sets its own target on it. See [Tiered challenges](/business-documentation/activities/challenges/create-a-challenge#tiered-challenges). ## One purchase The customer completes the challenge in a single purchase. Each rule counts the products or the amount in that purchase, depending on its own **Earn method**. The rule is met when they reach its **Count** or **Amount**. It's the only type that can have more than one earn rule. You add each one with **Add Rule**. A purchase only counts when it meets **all** of them. One purchase doesn't mean the customer can only complete the challenge once. On a [renewable](#one-time-or-renewable) challenge, a purchase can complete more than one card. See [One-time or renewable](#one-time-or-renewable). **Example.** Buy 3 cans of cola in one purchase and get a coupon for a free can. Set **Earn method** to **Product quantity** and **Count** to 3, and list the cola products in **Product IDs**. **Example with two rules.** Spend at least 20.00, not counting tobacco, *and* buy a can of cola, in the same purchase. Add a **Purchase amount** rule with an **Amount** of 20, **ID's action** set to **Exclude**, and the tobacco products listed. Then add a **Product quantity** rule with a **Count** of 1 that lists the cola. A purchase that meets only one of the rules adds nothing. **Example with a bonus.** Buy 6 cans of Fanta in one purchase in the stores you pick, and get a 2.00 bonus. Pick the stores in **Store(s)** on **Activity details**. Set **Earn method** to **Product quantity** and **Count** to 6, and list the Fanta products. Give a **Bonus reward** of 2.00. ## Multiple purchase The products or the amount in every purchase add up, depending on the **Earn method**. The customer can make as many purchases as they need to reach the rule's **Count** or **Amount**. This type has one earn rule. **Example.** Buy 4 coffees and get the next one free. Set **Earn method** to **Product quantity** and **Count** to 4, and list the coffee products. Give a coupon for a free coffee as the reward. Choose **Unlimited**, so the customer starts again on a new card after each free coffee. **Example by amount.** Spend 100.00 this week, not counting tobacco. Set **Earn method** to **Purchase amount** and **Amount** to 100. Set **ID's action** to **Exclude** and list the tobacco products. Then set the challenge's dates to that week. ## Store visits Each purchase that reaches **Minimum amount per purchase** counts as one visit, however much more the customer spends. If you leave the minimum empty, any purchase above zero counts. Two purchases on the same day are two visits. To space visits out, set [Delay between purchases](#delay-between-purchases). The customer needs the number of visits in **Store visits**. You don't pick an earn method for this type. **Product IDs** are optional for this type. If you list products with **Include**, only their prices count toward the minimum. If you use **Exclude**, the listed products don't count toward it. **Example.** Shop 3 times in one week, spending at least 10.00 each time, and get a coupon for a free tote bag. Set **Store visits** to 3 and **Minimum amount per purchase** to 10. Then set the challenge's dates to that week. ## Payment method Each purchase paid with any **Payment method** you pick counts as one. You can pick one or more of **Card**, **Cash**, **Loyalty App** and **Other**, and the field is required. The customer needs the number in **Purchases by payment method**. You don't pick an earn method or list products for this type. With **Minimum amount per purchase**, a purchase only counts when the customer pays at least that much with the selected methods. If you leave it empty, any purchase paid that way counts. **Loyalty App** matches payments recorded as paid through the Lobyco app. **Other** only matches payments that your POS sends as *Other*, with no name of their own. If the POS sends a payment with its own name, the challenge matches it by that name instead, so it never counts as **Other**. The form can't match a payment by its name. Before you rely on **Loyalty App** or **Other**, ask whoever runs your POS integration what it sends. If you need a named payment method, ask your Customer Success Manager. **Discounted items behaviour during challenge progress** shows for this type, but it has no effect. **Example.** Make 5 purchases of at least 10.00 paid through the app, and get a bonus. Set **Purchases by payment method** to 5, **Payment method** to **Loyalty App**, and **Minimum amount per purchase** to 10. ## Fields shared across accumulation types These fields work the same under every accumulation type. Not every type shows every field, though. ### Earn method Shown only for **One purchase** and **Multiple purchase**. * **Product quantity** counts how many of the listed products the customer buys. The highest **Count** you can set is 9,999,999. * **Purchase amount** adds up the prices of the lines that count, until they reach the **Amount**. ### ID's action, Product IDs and Category IDs **Include** counts only the listed products. **Exclude** counts everything except them. If you list a category, it also covers every category below it. | Earn method or type | ID's action | Product IDs or Category IDs | | - | - | - | | **Product quantity** | Always **Include**. You can't change it. | Required. Fill in at least one of them. | | **Purchase amount** | Required. Pick **Include** or **Exclude**. | Required. Fill in at least one of them. To count spending on everything, choose **Exclude** and list what shouldn't count. | | **Store visits** | Optional | Optional | | **Payment method** | Not shown | Not shown | To fill in **Product IDs**, select **Add items** and type the IDs one per line. You can also **Upload** a CSV file of IDs, or **Download** the list you have. **Category IDs** works the same way. Use the IDs from your product catalogue. To look one up, open a segment rule in [Segments and Audiences](/business-documentation/audiences-and-data) and its **Product** picker. It shows each product's and category's ID in bold under its name. A challenge can hold up to 10,000 IDs in total. That counts product and category IDs together, across every earn rule. If you go over, Nexus shows an error and doesn't save the challenge. The limit is set for each setup, so ask your Customer Success Manager if you need more. **Global product exclusions** apply on top of a challenge's own lists. They're set under **Global Settings → Product exclusions**, and they cover challenges when **Activities included** lists **Challenges**. They only affect **Purchase amount** and **Store visits**. **Product quantity** and **Payment method** ignore them. A product that a challenge lists under **Include** still counts, even if it's excluded globally. The global list applies to every challenge, including ones already running. A change affects purchases counted after it, and doesn't change progress already counted. ### Unit of measure Shown only for **Product quantity**. **Units**, the default, counts whole items. **Litres**, **Grams** and **Kilograms** let you set a **Count** with up to two decimals. With **Units**, the quantities in a purchase are added up first, and then rounded down once at the end. > [!WARNING] > > The unit on the rule has to match the unit your POS sends for that product. Nothing converts one unit into another. For example, say a rule asks for 2 **Kilograms**, and the POS sends 600 for a product it weighs in grams. The challenge reads that as 600 kilograms, and the card completes. To fix it, either have the POS send 0.6, or set the rule to **Grams** with a **Count** of 2000. Before you build rules on weight or volume, check the units with whoever runs your POS integration. **Litres example.** Buy 40 litres of fuel in one purchase. Set **Unit of measure** to **Litres** and **Count** to 40. You can also mix units in one **One purchase** challenge, for example 9 **Units** of one product and 5 **Kilograms** of another, each on its own earn rule. ### Delay between purchases The number of hours that have to pass after a purchase counts, before the next one can count. Each customer has their own delay, and it runs across the whole challenge. It starts from the receipt time of the last purchase or refund recorded for that customer. A purchase inside the delay adds nothing, and it doesn't restart the clock. Use it to space progress out. For example, 24 hours means no more than one counted purchase a day. Leave it empty for no delay. The delay only decides whether the next purchase counts. It doesn't limit what one purchase can complete, so on a renewable challenge a large purchase can still complete several cards. ### One-time or renewable You set this in **Specify if the challenge should be one-time or renewable**. * **One-time**. The customer completes it once. * **Auto-renewable**. The customer starts a new card each time they complete one, until they've completed the number in **Total number of cards issued**. That number is at least 2. After that, their purchases add nothing. * **Unlimited** is the default. The customer starts a new card each time they complete one, until the challenge ends. On a renewable challenge, each purchase that meets the rules completes another [card](/business-documentation/activities/challenges). Anything a purchase adds beyond what a card needs carries over to the next card. On **Multiple purchase**, the carry-over stays on the new card for later purchases. On **One purchase**, it only counts within the same purchase, because each purchase is judged on its own. So one large purchase can complete several cards, until the customer reaches **Total number of cards issued** on an **Auto-renewable** challenge. In a [lottery](/business-documentation/activities/challenges), each completed card is one entry in the draw. These examples show how renewing and the limit add up. A challenge set to **Auto-renewable** with a **Total number of cards issued** of N gives up to N rewards, on **One purchase** and on **Multiple purchase**. | Setup | What the customer buys | Result | | - | - | - | | **One purchase**, 4 coffees, **One-time** | 3 coffees, then 4 coffees | Nothing, then the reward. The challenge is used up. | | **One purchase**, 3 cans of cola, **Auto-renewable** with 5 cards | 2 cans, 3 cans, 10 cans, 3 cans, 3 cans | Nothing, 1 reward, 3 rewards, 1 reward, nothing. That's 5 rewards. | | **One purchase**, 30.00, **Auto-renewable** with 5 cards | 25.00, 30.00, 65.00, 30.00, 30.00, 30.00 | Nothing, 1, 2, 1, 1, nothing. That's 5 rewards. | | **Multiple purchase**, 4 coffees, **One-time** | 3 coffees across several purchases, then 1 more coffee | Nothing, then the reward. The challenge is used up. | | **Multiple purchase**, 3 cans of cola, **Auto-renewable** with 2 cards | 3 cans, then 3 more | 1 reward, then a second. That's 2 rewards. | ### Discounted items You set this in **Discounted items behaviour during challenge progress**. A line counts as discounted when the customer paid a different price for it than its original price. * **Include Discounted Items**, the default, counts discounted lines too. A **Product quantity** rule counts them at full quantity. A **Purchase amount** rule adds the price the customer paid for them. * **Exclude Discounted Items** counts only full-price lines. It applies to **Product quantity** and **Purchase amount**. It's hidden for **Store visits**, and it has no effect on **Payment method**. ## Changing the accumulation later If you change **Accumulation**, Nexus resets the first earn rule to the new type and removes any others. It only asks you to confirm when there's more than one rule. With a single rule, the change happens without asking. What the rule keeps depends on the new type. * **One purchase** and **Multiple purchase**: the rule becomes **Product quantity** and keeps its number. For example, an **Amount** of 100 turns into a **Count** of 100. It keeps its product lists, but **ID's action** becomes **Include**. So products you excluded become the only ones that count. For example, a rule that excluded tobacco then counts only tobacco. **Minimum amount per purchase** is cleared. * **Store visits**: the rule keeps its number, which now counts visits, and keeps its product lists. * **Payment method**: the rule keeps its number, which now counts purchases. Its product lists and minimum amount are cleared. Check the rule again after you change the accumulation. ## Related * [Create a challenge](/business-documentation/activities/challenges/create-a-challenge) — the whole form, tab by tab, including where these fields sit. * [Challenges](/business-documentation/activities/challenges) — how cards, rewards and lottery entries relate. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.