LOSAP Points Tracking: Configure Length of Service Award Programs

Many volunteer fire departments participate in a Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) that rewards members with retirement-style benefits based on annual service points. Tracking those points — across calls, training, meetings, standby shifts, officer duties, and more — is typically a year-end scramble of spreadsheets and manual tallying.

Command Established's compliance programs feature includes a Points mode built specifically for this. Define your LOSAP plan's categories, point values, and caps, and Command Established evaluates every member against them in real time. When the year ends, export the results for your LOSAP administrator or board.

This article walks through setting up a LOSAP program step by step. For general information about compliance programs, see Compliance Programs.

How Points Mode Works

A points-mode program scores members by converting their activity into points:

1. Each requirement defines a category (e.g., "Alarms," "Training," "Meetings")
2. Activity is converted to points using a points per unit and unit size formula — for example, 1 point per alarm, or 1 point per 2 hours of training
3. Each category can have a maximum points cap so one category can't dominate the total
4. A member qualifies by reaching a point threshold (e.g., 50 points)
5. Optionally, the member must earn points in a minimum number of categories (e.g., at least 2)

Setting Up Your LOSAP Program

Step 1: Create the Program

1. Go to Settings > Compliance Programs
2. Click New Program
3. Select the LOSAP Points Program template, or start from scratch

If you start from scratch, toggle the mode to Points.

Step 2: Set the Evaluation Period

Most LOSAP plans run on a calendar year (January–December), but if your municipality uses a fiscal year, select Fiscal year and choose the start month.

Step 3: Set the Point Threshold

Enter the total points a member needs to qualify. For example, if your plan requires 50 points per year, enter 50.

Step 4: Set the Minimum Categories (Optional)

If your plan requires members to earn points across multiple types of activity — not just pile up all their points from one source — set the minimum categories. For example, setting this to 2 means a member who earns 50 points entirely from alarms doesn't qualify; they need points from at least two different categories.

Step 5: Add Requirements (Point Categories)

This is where you map your LOSAP plan's point structure into Command Established. Add one requirement per scoring category.

Each requirement needs:

The point formula is: floor(activity / unit size) × points per unit, capped at max points.

Example: Maryland-Style LOSAP

Here's a real-world LOSAP point structure and how to configure each line:

Alarms (1 point per alarm, max 40)

1. Click Add requirement > Call count
2. Leave "Minimum calls" at 0 (points mode doesn't use minimums for gating)
3. In the Points scoring section:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 1
   • Max points: 40
   • Category: Alarms

Meetings (1 point per meeting, max 25)

1. Add Event attendance
2. Filter by event type: Meetings
3. Set minimum events to 0
4. Points scoring:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 1
   • Max points: 25
   • Category: Meetings

Standby (1 point per 4 hours, max 20)

1. Add Event attendance
2. Filter by event type: Standby
3. Set minimum hours to 0
4. Points scoring:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 4
   • Max points: 20
   • Category: Standby

Training Courses (1 point per 2 hours, max 20)

1. Add Training hours
2. Filter by format: Course (excludes drills)
3. Set minimum hours to 0
4. Points scoring:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 2
   • Max points: 20
   • Category: Training

Drills (1 point per 2 hours, max 20)

1. Add Training hours
2. Filter by format: Drill (excludes courses)
3. Set minimum hours to 0
4. Points scoring:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 2
   • Max points: 20
   • Category: Drills

Collateral Duties / Rig Checks (1 point per 3 checks, max 25)

1. Add Rig checks
2. Set minimum checks to 0
3. Points scoring:
   • Points per unit: 1
   • Unit size: 3
   • Max points: 25
   • Category: Duties

Officer Bonus (25 flat points)

1. Add Officer bonus (only available in points mode)
2. Select the ranks that qualify as officers (Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, etc.)
3. Set flat points to 25
4. Category: Officer

Final Settings

• Point threshold: 50
• Minimum categories: 2

This means a member qualifies by earning at least 50 total points across at least 2 of the 7 categories.

Step 6: Set Applicability

If LOSAP only applies to volunteers (not career members), filter by personnel type to Volunteer. If it applies to specific ranks, filter those too.

Step 7: Activate

Review the live preview to see how many members currently qualify. When you're satisfied, change the status to Active.

Using the LOSAP Dashboard

Once active, the compliance dashboard shows your LOSAP program with:

• Compliance rate — what percentage of applicable members have reached the point threshold
• Member matrix — each member's point progress across all categories, with a total points column
• At-risk members — members who are behind the expected pace (based on how far through the year you are)
• Filters — quickly show only members who haven't qualified yet

Reading the Dashboard

Members are sorted with non-qualifying members first so you can focus on who needs attention. Each requirement column shows the member's current point count in that category — green if they've hit the cap, amber if behind pace, blue for tracking-only categories.

Exporting for Your LOSAP Administrator

CSV Export

Click Export CSV on the dashboard. The file includes:

• Member name and rank
• Points earned per category
• Total points
• Qualification status (Compliant / Not compliant)

Open in Excel, filter and format as needed, and send to your municipality's LOSAP administrator.

Print Report

Click Print for a formatted report with your department name, program details, summary statistics, and the full member breakdown. This is formatted for board meetings — hand it to your board of trustees, township committee, or municipal council as-is.

Stipends and Incentive Pay

Not every pay-related program uses points. For simpler eligibility tracking — "complete 50 calls to earn your annual stipend" or "complete 30 hours of training for the educational incentive" — use Threshold mode instead:

Annual Stipend

1. Create a new program in Threshold mode
2. Add a single Call count requirement with minimum calls set to your threshold (e.g., 50)
3. Set applicability to the relevant members
4. Activate

The dashboard shows exactly who qualifies. Export for payroll.

Educational Incentive Pay (e.g., Tennessee $600 Incentive)

1. Create a new program in Threshold mode
2. Add a Training hours requirement with the minimum hours (e.g., 30)
3. Optionally filter by training type or credit category if only specific training qualifies (e.g., "in-service training" only)
4. Activate

Volunteer Incentive Pay (VIP)

1. Create a new program in Threshold mode
2. Add requirements for each criterion — training hours in specific categories, certifications, call counts
3. All requirements must be met (AND logic) for the member to qualify

Tips and Best Practices

Start with a template, then customize

The LOSAP template pre-configures a realistic point structure. Adjust the numbers to match your plan rather than building from scratch.

Use categories consistently

In points mode, the Category label on each requirement is how points are grouped. Members must earn points in N categories — make sure each distinct activity type has a unique, clear category name. "Training" and "training" are treated as the same category, but "Training Courses" and "Drill Training" are different.

Separate drills from courses when your plan does

Many LOSAP plans score drills and classroom training separately. Add two training hours requirements — one filtered to "Drill" format, one to "Course" format — with different category labels.

Use NERIS type filtering for call-based categories

If your LOSAP plan only awards alarm points for certain call types (e.g., fire responses but not EMS), use the NERIS incident type filter on the call count requirement. See Compliance Programs for details.

Review quarterly

Run the compliance dashboard quarterly so members know where they stand. Early warnings give members time to pick up extra training or events before the year ends.

Keep draft programs for modeling

Before your municipality finalizes LOSAP parameters, create a draft program with the proposed structure and see how your members would score against it. The live preview shows exactly who would qualify — useful for board discussions about adjusting thresholds.

Frequently Asked Questions