Some certification requirements use continuing-education credits. When a process treats a credit type as single-use, Rhythm does not count those credits automatically. You apply them to an application by hand, one credit at a time. After you apply a single-use credit to one application, that same credit cannot count toward any other application.
When to Use This
Use this task when an applicant's process includes a credit requirement for a credit type that cannot be reused, and the applicant already has recorded credits of that type. Credits from reusable types count automatically, so you do not need to apply them by hand. If the application does not show an Apply Credits to this Application... button, the process most likely has no single-use credit requirement.
Credits earned before the applicant started the application still count toward the requirement when they use the required type and still have quantity available. The credit does not need to be recorded after the application begins. Imported credits work the same way. A credit belongs to the contact, not to one application, so a credit imported for that contact by contact ID or email address is eligible just like one Rhythm recorded directly. You can review or delete an imported credit from its own Credit 360 record at any time.
A credit requirement only counts credits of the type named in the requirement. An activity counts toward that requirement only when the application's process has a matching credit requirement configured for it. If a member's activities and credits look correct on the member's record but never appear on the application's Credits tab or count toward the requirement, first check that the process names a requirement for that credit type. A requirement also cannot total credits across more than one credit type. If your organization needs a requirement to count credits regardless of type, the available workaround is to consolidate the applicable credits into one credit type so the requirement can evaluate them together. Keep in mind that this makes those credits harder to distinguish in reporting.
Tip
"Do not allow reuse of credits" is set on the credit requirement at Home › Certifications › Setup › Manage Application Processes › Requirements. A credit requirement can be set to Reuse, Do Not Reuse, or left blank, which defaults to allowing reuse. The name can sound like it blocks only credits already used elsewhere while still letting unused credits count automatically. In practice, it is stricter: when reuse is disallowed, Rhythm does not automatically apply or reapply any credit of that type, whether it has been used or not. You must apply or remove every credit by hand. Because of this, a requirement's accrued-credit total can look short even when the applicant has enough eligible credits, simply because nobody has applied them yet.
Prerequisites
- You need permission to create and delete credits, because Rhythm checks those same permissions when you apply or remove a credit here.
- The credit must use a type that the application's process names as a single-use credit requirement.
- The credit must have quantity still available and no expiration date. A credit with an expiration date cannot currently be applied through this dialog.
Apply Credits to an Application
- Open the application to its Application 360 page and select the Credits tab.
- Select Apply Credits to this Application....
- Review the applicant's qualifying credits. Each credit uses a single-use type named by the process and still has quantity available. Every eligible credit starts selected.
- Clear the checkbox for any credit you do not want to apply.
- Select Apply Credits.
Result
Rhythm applies each selected credit to the application and returns you to the Credits tab, where the credit now shows as used by this application.
The credit's own record shows the same use from the credit side. Its Qty Available drops by the amount Rhythm applied, and the credit's Applications tab lists this application among its uses. If the two views ever seem to disagree, remember that they describe the same credit from two angles, not two different credits.
Tip
The dialog shows a Qty box next to each credit, but Rhythm never receives the amount you type there. Instead, Rhythm applies the smaller of two amounts: what the requirement still needs or the credit's available quantity. The box only matters if you type a number higher than the credit's available quantity, which makes the form invalid and blocks the save.
Why a Credit Can't Be Applied
- The credit's type isn't single-use for this process. Rhythm refuses to apply a credit when its type is not configured as a single-use requirement on the process. The message says the credit "cannot be directly assigned to this application because they are not configured in the process ... as single-use." Credits from reusable types already count automatically, so you do not need to apply them by hand.
- The credit has an expiration date. Applying a credit with an expiration date currently fails, and the Console shows "Unable to apply credits." If a credit you need to apply has an expiration date, that is why it will not go through.
- The credit's available quantity is already zero. A credit can stay on the applicant's record after it has nothing left to give, but it is no longer eligible. This also happens after a single-use credit has already been used once. If its type disallows reuse, Rhythm does not offer it again, and it will not appear as eligible here even though the credit record still exists.
- Nothing is ticked. If you clear every checkbox and try to save, Rhythm refuses the request because at least one credit must be selected.
Warning
If an application shows no eligible credits even though the applicant clearly has some, check whether the application still references a credit record that no longer exists, such as one that was deleted. A stale reference like this can also block saving changes to the application's requirements with a generic error. Saving the application again can clear the reference and let you apply credits normally.
Remove an Applied Credit
If you applied a credit by mistake, or the applicant no longer needs it counted toward this application, you can remove it from the Credits tab.
- On the Credits tab of the application, find the row for the credit you applied by hand. Only credits you applied yourself show a remove button; credits counted automatically by a reusable requirement do not.
- Select the trash icon on that row.
- Confirm the removal.
Result
Rhythm removes the credit from the application and restores the credit's available quantity, so you can apply it to another application later.
Warning
Removing a credit succeeds even if the credit was not actually recorded as applied to this application, because the request does not check that first. If the removal fails partway through, the application and the credit record can end up out of step. If you see unexpected results after a removal, reopen the application to confirm its current state.
If Applying or Removing Credits Doesn't Go as Expected
Applying credits is not all-or-nothing. If Rhythm shows an error partway through applying credits, some selected credits can still be marked as used even though the application reflects only part of what you intended. If you retry right away, the remaining credits may no longer show as available because they were already consumed on the first attempt. Check the credit's own record to see what currently shows as used before assuming the credits are gone. The same kind of partial update can leave a certification's own record and its application's Credits tab out of step. The certification may show the credits applied correctly while the application shows only some of them. When totals disagree, compare both views rather than trusting either one alone.
On a renewal application, applied credits can appear on the Credits tab while the CE requirement still shows unfulfilled and its Used value stays at 0. If you remove those credits afterward, they can still remain marked as used on the credit record itself. If a credit no longer appears on the application at all but its available quantity reads zero, record a new credit of the same type, confirm that it shows as available on the application, and then remove the credit that is stuck showing as used. If a renewal's credit requirement still will not clear even though the applicant has enough eligible credits, you can also edit the certification application process and change that credit requirement to Manual. Then mark it fulfilled by hand after you confirm the applicant has earned enough credits. You may need to count the credits yourself, since Rhythm is no longer evaluating them automatically for that requirement.
Reopening a draft application and applying enough credits to satisfy a requirement can also run into an approval timing issue. If you then try to save other changes and see "Unable to Save Application: Forbidden: Illegal attempt to update application with Approved Status," Rhythm may have approved the application as soon as the requirement was met, before your edits finished saving. Reopen the application again; your edits and the newly applied credits are usually already there.
Tip
If you need Support's help investigating a credit-display problem like these, have a complete example ready, such as the specific applicant and application involved, rather than screenshots alone. Reproducing the issue end to end is usually what it takes to confirm whether something is wrong and whether a fix resolved it.
Related Reading
To find the application you're working on, see Search for and Manage an Application. To create or adjust a credit itself, see Record and Maintain a Credit. For how Rhythm tracks a credit's available quantity as it's used across applications, see How Credit Usage Is Tracked.