How should I price and budget for rewards?

Getting reward pricing right keeps your Taco Shop engaging without depleting too quickly or feeling out of reach. Here's how to think about it.

Start with a taco-to-dollar ratio

The most practical starting point is 4 tacos per $1 of value. At this ratio, a $10 reward costs 40 tacos and a $25 reward costs 100 tacos. This works well for most teams starting out.

As more tacos circulate in your team over time, you may want to increase the taco cost of rewards to maintain their perceived value. If a $10 gift card still costs 40 tacos after a year of active taco-giving, it may feel too easy to redeem — which can cheapen the sense of achievement. Use HeyTaco's Taco Value Calculator to help determine the right ratio for your team's specific taco economy.

Create tiers

A tiered reward structure gives everyone something to aim for and keeps the program engaging at different levels of taco accumulation. A simple example: a low-tier reward at 20 tacos (a coffee gift card), a mid-tier reward at 100 tacos (a meal delivery voucher), and a high-tier aspirational reward at 400 tacos (a team outing). People who save their tacos feel rewarded for patience, while people who want something accessible don't feel locked out.

Set quantities

For rewards with a real cost, set a quantity limit so you don't overcommit your budget. This also creates a natural sense of urgency — limited-quantity rewards tend to generate more excitement than unlimited ones. At the end of each month or quarter, review what's been redeemed and restock or rotate as needed.

Don't forget non-monetary rewards

Non-monetary rewards — like coffee with the CEO, choosing the team lunch location, or leading an all-hands meeting — cost nothing but often generate the most enthusiasm. They don't affect your budget or your taco economy, and they create experiences that purely monetary rewards can't replicate. Including a mix of monetary and non-monetary rewards keeps the Taco Shop culturally rich rather than purely transactional.

Launch a few at a time

A common mistake is trying to create enough rewards for everyone on the team at once. In practice, it's impossible to guarantee everyone gets exactly one of everything. A better approach is to launch a small selection of quality rewards and rotate them regularly. This keeps the Taco Shop fresh and gives people a reason to check back in.

Budget by period

Set a monthly or quarterly budget and build your reward catalog to fit within it. Track redemptions through Admin → Redemptions and adjust quantities, pricing, or reward selection based on what's actually being redeemed. If something isn't being redeemed, it's either priced too high, not appealing enough, or not visible enough — all fixable.