Help & Support — Leader Board Maker

Start here3 min read

Welcome to Leader Board Maker

Leader Board Maker lets you build live rankings, such as a sales race, a classroom points table, a step challenge or a fundraising goal, and show them anywhere people will see them: a phone, an office TV, a livestream or your own website.

Everything starts with a board. A board holds participants (people or teams), their scores and how the rankings look. When a score changes, every screen showing that board updates within a couple of seconds. Nobody has to refresh the page.

Build

Create a board in three steps, or start from one of 24 ready-made templates.

Score

Click +1/+5/+10, type a score, bulk update everyone, or calculate scores from columns.

Show

Share a public link, put it on a TV, add it to OBS or embed it on your site.

Your first board in five minutes

Sign inGo to app.makeleaderboard.com and enter your email. How sign-in works.
Create a boardClick New board, give it a title, add a few participants and pick a board type. Full guide.
Add scoresOpen the board and use the quick-add buttons in Live rankings. Updating scores.
Share itOn the board's Overview tab, choose Public URL, TV Display or Website Embed. Display options.

Account4 min read

Create an account & sign in

Sign-in and sign-up use the same screen. Enter your email first and Leader Board Maker works out whether you are new or returning.

Sign in screen with an email field, a Continue button and Continue with Google — The sign-in screen. Enter your email and click **Continue**, or use **Continue with Google**.

Enter your emailType it into Email address and click Continue.
Create your accountIf the email is new, you'll see Create your account. Fill in Full name, Create password (at least 8 characters) and Confirm password, then click Create account.
Verify your emailWe email you a 6-digit code. Enter it on the Verify your email screen and click Verify code. The code works for 15 minutes.

No code yet? Check your spam folder, then click Resend verification code. You can request a code up to 6 times a minute. Each new code replaces the previous one.

Enter your email and click Continue, then type your password. Tick Remember me to stay signed in on that device. To use a different email, click Change next to the address.

After 5 wrong passwords in a row, sign-in pauses for a short time and you'll see "Too many login attempts. Please try again in N seconds."

Sign in with Google

Click Continue with Google and pick your Google account. The first time, an account is created for you with your email already verified. After that, Google signs you straight in.

Forgot your password

Reset your password screen with an email field and Email reset link button — **Reset your password**: enter your email and we send a reset link.

Request a linkOn the password step, click Forgot password?, enter your email and click Email reset link.
Open the emailThe link in the email Reset your password works for 60 minutes.
Choose a new passwordEnter your email, a new password and the confirmation, then click Reset password. You'll go back to sign-in.

Billing3 min read

Activate your account after a purchase

If you bought a plan on our website before you had an account, your payment is already safe. You only need to confirm your email and set a password to open your workspace.

Open the payment emailAfter checkout you'll get a payment received email with an activation link. The link is valid for 7 days. You'll usually be taken to the activation page straight from checkout as well.
Verify your emailOn Activate your account, check your name and email and click Send verification code. Enter the 6-digit code and click Verify code & continue. You can request a new code once every 60 seconds.
Set a passwordEnter Create password and Confirm password, then click Activate account & continue. You'll see "Account activated. Welcome aboard!"

Already have an account with that email? You only need to verify the code. The plan is attached to your existing account and you're signed in. There's no password step.

Until activation is finished, every workspace page sends you back to the activation screen. That way the purchase can't end up on the wrong account.

If the link has expired, sign in if you already finished setup, or contact support with your payment receipt.

Basics4 min read

Find your way around

The sidebar on the left reaches every part of the app. The top bar holds search, notifications and the light/dark switch.

Sidebar item	What you'll find
Dashboard	Score activity over the last 12 days, board types and recent boards.
Analytics	Performance across all boards: top boards, recent score events, 14-day activity.
Leaderboards	All your boards as cards or a table. Create, open and archive boards here.
Members	Invite teammates and give them a role.
Workspace	Opens to Overview, Automations, Audit and Branding.
Display & share	TV, OBS, embed, public and password links for every board.
Notifications	Your in-app inbox.
Developers	API keys, the API explorer, request logs and API docs.
Billing history · Pricing plans · Subscription	Payments and invoices, available plans, and your current plan.

Your name at the bottom of the sidebar opens Profile, Preferences, Appearance and Log out. If your role doesn't include an area, that item is hidden from the menu.

Dashboard with stat cards, a score activity chart and board types — The **Dashboard**: boards and score activity at a glance.

Search

Use the search box in the top bar (placeholder "Search boards, templates…") to jump to any board by title or to a template. Results are grouped into Boards and Templates. Use the arrow keys to move through them, Enter to open one and Esc to close the list.

Dark mode and mobile

The moon icon in the top bar switches between light and dark. The app works on phones too: the sidebar becomes a slide-out menu behind the ☰ button.

Overview page in dark mode — Dark mode is remembered in your browser.

Boards5 min read

Create a board

Creating a board takes three short steps: details, participants and board type. You can change any of them later. Scoring, appearance and text settings live in the board's Settings once it exists.

Go to Leaderboards and click Create board, or click New board on the Overview page.

Step 1: Details

Create board step 1 with Board title and Description fields and a live preview — As you type, the live preview on the right shows how the board will look.

Board title (required): 2–200 characters, for example "Q4 Sales Race".
Description (optional): a short tagline of up to 30 characters, shown under the title. For example "Top closers".

Step 2: Participants

Create board step 2 for adding participants manually, by invite or by CSV — Add people one at a time, invite them by email, or upload a CSV.

Manual: enter a Name and, if you like, an image, email, phone and starting score, then click Add participant.
Invite: enter their name and email and click Add invite. They'll get an email with a link to join.
CSV: upload a spreadsheet. See Import participants from CSV.

Photos can be JPG, PNG, WEBP or GIF. They're resized automatically and must end up under 2 MB. This step holds up to 100 participants, and you can skip it entirely and add people later.

Step 3: Board type

Create board step 3 with board type options such as Leaderboard, Scoreboard and Goal tracker — Pick the format that matches how you keep score.

Type	Best for
Leaderboard	Ranking people or teams by any score. Re-sorts live. Sales contests, classrooms, competitions.
Scoreboard	A live game clock, periods and head-to-head scores. Sports, trivia, streams.
Scoresheet	Round-by-round columns with automatic totals.
Bracket	Seeding entrants and advancing winners through rounds.
Goal tracker	Progress bars toward a shared or personal target.
Fundraising	Thermometer-style donation progress for a campaign.
Tier list	S / A / B style rankings for picks and reviews.

Click Create board. A new board starts Active and Public, with TV display, embed and QR code switched on. Self sign-up and self scoring start switched off.

If you invited people and see "Your email is not set up, so the invite was sent from the app no-reply address", the invite still went out. To send invites from your own address, set up SMTP email.

Boards2 min read

Start from a template

Templates give you a board that already has a sensible type, scoring style and look. There are 24 of them, grouped by use.

Template library with filters and template cards such as Revenue Race and Golf Lowest Score — The template library. Filter by industry or features, preview a template, then click **Use template**.

Category	Templates
Sales	Revenue Race, SDR Activity Contest, Team Sales Championship, Quarterly KPI Board
Sports	Football Points Table, Cricket Tournament, Racing / Lap Ranking, Golf Lowest Score, Multi-Round Competition
Fitness	Step Challenge, Distance Challenge, Team Fitness Challenge
Education	Classroom Points, Quiz Competition, House Points
Gaming	Esports Tournament, Ranked Ladder, Battle Points
Fundraising	Donation Leaderboard, Team Fundraising, Global Impact
Corporate & events	Employee Recognition, Hackathon, Conference Challenge

Open the libraryClick Browse templates on the Leaderboards or Dashboard page.
Narrow it downUse the industry chips (Sales, Sports, Fitness, Education, Event, Other) and the feature filters (Teams, Live TV, Gamification, Multi-Metric, Registration, Automation).
Use itClick Use template to go through the normal create steps, or use Quick create to give it a title and create it in one click. You can edit everything afterwards.

Boards2 min read

Manage your boards

The Leaderboards page lists every board in your workspace, with player counts and recent activity.

Leaderboards page showing board cards with players, updates and a Manage button — Switch between **Cards** and **Table** at the top right. Click the participant avatars to see a board's current standings.

Search by title or slug.
Manage opens the board workspace.
The open icon opens the board's public page in a new tab.
The bin icon removes the board from your list.

Removing a board archives it. It disappears from your boards and its public, TV and embed links stop working. Make sure nobody is still showing it on a screen before you remove it.

Boards3 min read

The board workspace

Open any board to manage it. Everything about that board is on tabs across the top.

Board workspace Overview tab with share options, live rankings and a preview of the board — The board's **Overview** tab: share options at the top, live rankings with score buttons below, and a live preview on the right.

Tab	Use it to
Overview	Share the board and update scores live. See Update scores.
Participants	Add, search, remove or import participants.
Token Management	Participant tokens and join requests. See Tokens.
Appearance	Layout, theme, fonts, medals, celebrations and animation.
Settings	Scoring rules, extra columns, the score formula and public options.
History	Every score change, who made it and when.
Archive	Remove the board and switch off its public links.

To rename the board, change its description or edit the participants list in the original three-step form, click Edit board.

Edit board form with title, description and preview — **Edit board** uses the same steps as creating one.

Scoring3 min read

Update scores

Scores are updated from the Live rankings panel on the board's Overview tab. Every change shows up on the public page, TV and embeds within a couple of seconds.

Quick add and typed scores

Click +1, +5 or +10 on a participant's row to add points.
Or click the score box, type the exact score and press Enter.
If your board has extra columns, use Points go to to choose whether quick-add buttons change the main score or a column.
Use Search participant... to find someone on a long board.

Update everyone at once

Open bulk updateClick Bulk update in Live rankings.
Pick what to changeChoose the main score or an extra column.
Enter the new valuesType each new value in the New column, or use Add to everyone (for example 5 or -2) to change all rows at once.
SaveClick Save scores. You'll see "Scores updated.", or "No scores changed." if nothing was different.

If a board uses a score formula, the main score shows an Automatic score badge and can't be typed in directly. Change the column values instead and the total recalculates.

The Current standings panel summarises the board: number of participants, score updates, highest score and average score.

Scoring3 min read

Scoring settings

Open the board's Settings tab to decide who wins, how scores are written and what participants can do themselves.

Board Settings tab with Scoring, Add participant, Score increments, Manage columns and Score formula panels — Settings has five panels: Scoring, Add participant, Score increments, Manage columns and Score formula.

Setting	Options
Sort direction	Highest score wins (most boards) or Lowest score wins (golf, race times).
Score format	Whole number · 1, 2 or 3 decimals · Time (HH:MM:SS) · Time (mm:ss.mmm)
Score suffix	Up to 32 characters shown after each score, such as `pts`, `$` or `XP`.
Make board public	When off, the public page and embeds are hidden.
Allow self registration	People can add themselves from the public page. See Self sign-up.
Allow self scoring	Participants can submit their own score from their personal link.
Let participants edit their entry	From their personal link, participants can change their name, score, a short line of text and their name color.

Click Save scoring when you're done. You'll see "Board settings saved."

Score increments sets the amounts on the quick-add buttons (1, 5 and 10 by default).

Scoring4 min read

Columns & score formula

Extra columns track more than one number per participant, such as rounds, deals and calls, or events. A score formula then works out the main score from those columns for you.

Add extra columns

Open Manage columnsOn the Settings tab, find Extra columns.
Add a columnType a label (up to 24 characters, for example "Deals") and add it. A board can have up to 4 extra columns.
SaveYou'll see "Columns updated."

Calculate the score from columns

In the Score formula panel, choose How to combine:

Mode	Result
Add up	R1 + R2 + R3. Good for multi-round totals.
Average	The mean of the chosen columns.
Highest	The best single column wins.
Lowest	The lowest column. Golf-style.
Custom formula	Build it step by step with plus, minus, times and divide, using columns or fixed numbers.

A custom formula can have up to 12 steps. It is worked out left to right, like a calculator: ((R1 + R2) − R3) × 2. Dividing by zero leaves the running total unchanged instead of failing.

Choose Rounding (Keep decimals, Round, Round down, Round up), check the result in the Try it box, then click Save formula.

Saving recalculates every participant's score. Locked participants keep their score. While a formula is on, main scores can't be typed in by hand. Turn the formula off to edit them again.

Removing a column also removes it from the formula, so scores may change.

Scoring2 min read

Score history

The board's History tab records every score change: the old and new value, who made it and when.

Board History tab listing participant, action, old and new score, updated by and date — Filter by participant, who made the change, action type or date range.

Updated by: Owner, Scorekeeper, Self score, API, Import or System.
Action: Increase, Decrease, Reset, Undo or Correction.
Date: Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days or a custom range.

For changes across the whole workspace, such as members, branding and settings, use the Audit log.

Participants2 min read

Add participants

You can add participants while creating a board, or at any time afterwards from the board's Participants tab or the Settings tab.

Participants tab with a ranked list, Upload CSV and Add buttons — The **Participants** tab: search, add, upload a CSV or remove people.

Direct add puts the person on the board immediately. Enter a name and, optionally, email, phone, a short note (team or role) and a starting score.
Send invite emails them a link so they can join themselves. You'll see "Invite sent to …".
To remove someone, use their row's action and confirm. Their score history stays in History.

To see everyone across all your boards with their rank, score and status, open the Participants page (linked from Overview and Integrations).

All participants table across boards with board, rank, score and status — All participants across every board in the workspace.

Participants3 min read

Import participants from CSV

Add many people at once by uploading a CSV file. Click Upload CSV on the Participants tab or in step 2 of the create form. Download sample gives you a ready-made template.

participants.csv

name,email,phone,score
Maya Chen,maya@example.com,+1 555 0100,1200
Daniel Brooks,daniel@example.com,,950
Priya Nair,,,800

Only name is required. Email, phone and score can be left blank.
Other header names work too: player, participant or full_name for name, mobile for phone, points or starting_score for score.
Commas, semicolons and tabs are all detected automatically. A file without a header row is read in the order name, email, phone, score.
The file must be .csv and no bigger than 1 MB. Each upload adds up to 500 people from the board page, or up to the 100-person limit in the create form.

Working in Excel or Google Sheets? Use File → Save As → CSV (Excel) or File → Download → Comma-separated values (Sheets). .xlsx files can't be uploaded directly.

If some rows are skipped

The import keeps every valid row and tells you about the others:

Message	Fix
Row N skipped: name is empty.	Add a name to that row.
Row N skipped: "x" is not a valid email.	Correct the email or clear the cell.
Row N skipped: "x" is not a number.	Scores must be numbers. Remove currency signs and text.
Add a name column…	Add a header row with `name`.
That CSV is larger than 1 MB.	Split the file into smaller files.

Participants3 min read

Tokens & join requests

Each participant has a private 32-character token. Tokens are useful for challenges where people prove they've finished something, such as a scavenger hunt or a course module, by submitting their token.

Token Management tab listing participant tokens with Copy and Regenerate buttons — **Token Management**: copy or regenerate each person's token, and review requests.

Switch on Require tokenOn the Token Management tab, turn on Require token.
Give each person their tokenUse Copy and send it to them privately.
They submit itOn the public board they click Submit token, paste it and add an optional note.
You decideThe request appears under Requests and you get a notification. Accept or decline it.

Accepting a token marks that participant as complete and locks their score. Locked scores can't be changed afterwards, including by a formula.

If a token has leaked, click Regenerate. The old token stops working straight away.

Participants3 min read

Self sign-up & personal links

Let people join by themselves

Turn on Allow self registration in Settings. The public page then shows Join this board, where visitors enter their name and, optionally, their email. After joining they're taken to their own personal link and asked to save it.

Self sign-up only appears when the board is public, Allow self registration is on, and Require token is off.

Personal participant links

Every participant gets a private link that shows only their own score. Open the board's Overview tab, choose Participant links, and copy the link for each person.

Personal links work even when the board is not public, so you can keep the full ranking private.
With Allow self scoring on, the participant sees Submit my score. Their submissions appear in History as Self score.
With Let participants edit their entry on, they see Edit my entry and can change their name, score, a short line under their name (up to 80 characters) and their name color.

Treat personal links like passwords. Anyone who has the link can see, and if allowed change, that person's entry.

Display2 min read

Display & share hub

Every board can be shown in five ways. Display & share in the sidebar collects them for all your boards in one place.

Display and share page with a card per board and buttons for TV Display, Website Embed, OBS, Public URL and Password Protected URL — Each board card has a button for every channel.

Channel	Use it for
TV Display	Full-screen view for a projector, venue screen or office TV.
Website Embed	An iframe for your website, Notion page or intranet.
OBS / Livestream	A transparent overlay for OBS, Streamlabs or vMix.
Public URL	The link players and guests open on a phone or laptop.
Password Protected URL	The same public page, locked until visitors enter a password.

You'll find the same options on each board's Overview tab, under Show your leaderboard.

Display4 min read

Show a board on a TV

The TV display is a full-screen, auto-updating view built for screens across a room. Open it on a smart TV browser, a laptop plugged into a projector or a streaming stick.

TV Display settings with layout options and a live preview — TV Display settings. The open TV follows whatever you save here.

Open the TV settingsGo to Display & share → TV Display and pick the board.
Pick a layoutClassic Table, Podium + List, Sports Arena, Minimal, Event Showcase or Team Battle.
Choose what's on screenShow the top 5, 10 or 20, or everyone. Then switch the title, logo, avatars, rank movement, ticker, sponsors, QR code and LIVE badge on or off.
Set playbackFor long boards, use auto pages (every 5–30 seconds) or auto scroll (slow, medium or fast). Only one of them can run at a time.
Open it on the TVClick Copy link and open it on the TV's browser, or click Launch TV. Use Enter Fullscreen on the screen itself.

Full-screen TV display of the Q4 Sales Challenge with a LIVE badge — The TV screen updates by itself about every 1.5 seconds. If the connection drops, it shows *Reconnecting* and catches up when it's back.

Ticker and sponsors

Add a scrolling message of up to 280 characters (for example "Round 3 • Final starts at 8:00 PM") and up to 6 sponsor logos, placed in any corner or edge.

Stop an old screen from showing the board

Click Rotate link. The previous TV link stops working immediately and shows "Link revoked". Open the new link on the screens you still want.

Display4 min read

Add an overlay to OBS or a livestream

The OBS overlay is a transparent leaderboard you add as a Browser Source in OBS Studio, Streamlabs or vMix. It updates live during the stream.

Compact Top 5 overlay as it appears in OBS — The overlay itself. Everything outside the card is transparent in OBS.

Overlay presets

Preset	Best for
Compact Top 5	Gaming, sports and competitions.
Side Panel	Streams where gameplay stays the focus.
Horizontal Ranking Bar	Across the top or bottom of the broadcast.
Top 3 Podium	Final rounds and winner moments.
Lower Third	A card for the current leader.
Team Battle	Team competitions.
All Participants	Everyone on screen.

On the Canvas tab, match your stream resolution (1920×1080, 1280×720 or 2560×1440) and choose a transparent, solid or theme background.

Add it in OBS Studio

Copy the URLClick Copy OBS URL. It's hidden on screen so it doesn't leak while you're live.
Add a Browser SourceIn OBS, under Sources, click + → Browser → Create new.
Paste and size itPaste the URL and set the width and height to the canvas size you chose. Click OK.
Position itDrag and resize the overlay in the OBS preview.

Control it while you're live

The Broadcast tab has live buttons: Show Overlay, Hide Overlay, Show Winner, Return to Leaderboard and Trigger Celebration.

If the URL was shown on stream by accident, rotate it from the OBS page. The old URL stops working immediately, so update the Browser Source in OBS with the new one.

Display4 min read

Embed a board on your website

Put a live board on any website with an iframe. For security, an embed only works on websites you approve.

Website Embed settings with Security, Layout, Size, Style and Share tabs and a preview — Website Embed settings. Until a domain is approved, the status reads **Not live yet**.

Approve your websiteOn the Security tab, enter your domain, such as example.com or *.example.com for every subdomain, and click Add. Enter only the domain, without https:// or a path. You can approve up to 20.
Choose layout and sizePick an Inline block (sits in your page) or a Floating widget (pinned to a corner). Use a preset (Compact 420×560, Standard 960×640, Wide 1280×720) or set your own size.
Style itToggle the title bar, footer credit, drop shadow and transparent background, and limit how many rows show.
Save and copy the codeSave, then on the Share tab copy the Iframe snippet and paste it into your site.

Example iframe snippet

<iframe src="https://app.makeleaderboard.com/b/your-board-slug?embed=1"
        width="960" height="640" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
        title="Live leaderboard"></iframe>

Adding it to WordPress: paste the snippet into a Custom HTML block (Gutenberg), an HTML widget (Elementor) or a Code module (Divi).

Embed shows blank or "refused to connect"? Check three things: the board is public, the embed is switched on, and the exact domain is saved. example.com and www.example.com count as different domains, so add both if you use both. Unsaved domains show as Pending save.

Display2 min read

Share a public link

The public URL is the simplest way to share a board. Anyone with the link can watch it live on a phone or computer. No account is needed.

Public board page showing the Q4 Sales Challenge rankings — The public board on a laptop.

Public board page on a phone — On a phone.

Find the link at Display & share → Public URL, or on the board's Overview tab. Use Copy or Open public page.
Turn Public link off to hide the board. Visitors then see "Board not found." Personal participant links keep working.
The page refreshes by itself about every 2 seconds.

Public URL settings with an on/off switch, join code and share link — Public URL settings, with the board's join code.

Display2 min read

Password-protect a board

Keep a board's public page private to a group by asking visitors for a password first.

Password Protected URL settings with New password and Confirm password fields — Set a password of at least 8 characters.

Set a passwordGo to Display & share → Password Protected URL, enter and confirm a password of at least 8 characters, and click Save display settings.
Share itSend the link and the password separately. Visitors see "This leaderboard is password protected." and click Open board after entering it.

A visitor stays unlocked until they close the browser. Changing the password signs everyone out. Use Turn protection off to remove it.

Design4 min read

Board appearance

Each board's Appearance tab controls how it looks everywhere: the public page, TV and embeds. A live preview updates as you change things.

Layout

Display style (List, Bars, Columns, Podium), number of columns, fixed or full width, and density (compact, comfortable, spacious).

Look

12 themes: Emerald, Minimal White, Ocean Blue, Gold Trophy, Sports Arena, Corporate KPI, Sunset, Midnight, Esports, Neon Purple, Dark Carbon and Glass. Or pick a solid or sports background.

Text

About 50 fonts, preset sizes or a custom size from 12–96 px, and title and description colors.

Effects

Medals for the top 1/3/5/10 in 20+ styles, and celebrations such as fireworks, confetti, coins or balloons. Choose whether they play on any update, when a score goes up, or when there's a new leader.

Animation adds entrance effects, borders, hover and score motion and animated page backgrounds. Speed, intensity and which ranks they apply to are all adjustable. Save each section with its own button, such as Save effects.

For office TVs, a calm theme with medals for the top 3 and a celebration only on New leader is easy to read and doesn't get distracting.

Design3 min read

Brand Studio

Set your logo, colors and sponsors once in Workspace → Branding, and every board in the workspace uses them by default.

Identity: logo and brand name.

Colors: your brand palette in HEX.

Tab	What you can set
Identity	Workspace logo (PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF, up to 5 MB, 64–4096 px), icon, brand name (80 characters), and the name's color and position.
Colors	Primary, secondary, accent, background and text colors, such as `#064E3B`.
Look	Default theme, font, card corners (Soft, Sharp, Pill), light or dark, and which brand elements boards show.
Sponsors	Up to 6 sponsors with name and logo (2 MB upload or a logo URL), their position and logo size.
White label	Replace the "Powered by" line with your own text (up to 30 characters) or logo, or hide the platform name.

Changes save with Save Changes. The status next to it shows Unsaved changes or Saved. Preview your brand on desktop, tablet and mobile before saving. A board can still override its own logo and theme from its Appearance tab.

Team4 min read

Members & roles

Invite teammates to help run your boards. Each member works on your workspace's boards, and a role controls which parts of the app they can see.

Workspace members page with Add a member form and member list — **Workspace members**: choose a role first, then add the person.

Add a teammate

Choose a rolePick an existing role, or Default access, or create a new role with only the areas this person needs.
Choose how to add themDirect add is for people who don't have an account yet. They get a 7-day link to set a password. Invite by email works for both new and existing accounts.
SendClick Send login link or Send invite. The person appears under Pending invitations until they accept.

Default access gives full access to every workspace area, including billing pages. For scorekeepers or helpers, create a role with only Leaderboards and Display & share.

What a role can include

Group	Areas
Workspace	Overview (always on), Members, Usage
User panel	Leaderboards, Create board, Templates, Participants, Analytics, Audit, Automations, Display & share, Integrations, Branding, Notifications, Developers, Settings
Billing	Billing history, Pricing plans, Subscription

Invitation rules

All invitation links expire after 7 days. Cancel and resend if needed.
The person must sign in with the same email the invite was sent to.
Someone who already owns boards, or already belongs to another workspace, can't join until they've moved or removed those boards.
Only the workspace owner can add or remove members.

Automation4 min read

Automations

Automations run small jobs for you, such as sending an alert when someone takes the lead or showing an announcement on the TV when a goal is reached. Each one follows When → If → Then.

Create automation page with recipes, trigger choices and a summary — Start from a recipe or build from scratch in four steps: Trigger, Conditions, Action, Review.

Part	Options
When (trigger)	Rank changed · Entered Top 3 · Score threshold reached · Participant joined · Scheduled time (daily, weekly or monthly)
If (optional)	Up to 8 conditions on board, rank, score or participant. For example "Rank is at most 3".
Then (action)	Send notification · Presentation announcement (on TV and public page, 180 characters) · Award badge. Each action can be used once, up to 3 per automation.

Message text can include placeholders that are filled in when the automation runs: {participant}, {board}, {rank}, {score} and {leader}.

Example announcement

{participant} just took #{rank} on {board} with {score}!

Recipes to start from

Celebrate New #1 · Top 3 Alert · Score Goal Reached · New Participant Welcome · Scheduled Leaderboard Report

Test and manage

Save as Draft while you build, then click Activate Automation.
Use Run test from the row menu to try it. The result shows under Runs, with every condition marked as passed or not.
From the same menu you can Edit, Duplicate (creates a draft copy), Enable/Disable or Delete.
Automations can't trigger each other in a loop. Chained runs stop on their own.

Automations list with run statistics and filters — The automations list shows active automations, runs this month and success rate.

Insights2 min read

Analytics & audit log

Analytics

Analytics shows how your boards are doing: score activity for the last 14 days, boards by type, your most active boards and the latest score events.

Audit log

Workspace → Audit records important actions across the workspace: score updates and resets, new participants and boards, settings and branding changes, member invites, automations, access changes and API key activity.

Inbox1 min read

Notifications

The bell in the top bar shows new alerts as they happen. Open Notifications for the full inbox.

You'll be notified when a subscription is purchased, an invitation is accepted, a target is reached, a participant submits a token (with a link to review it), or one of your automations sends a notification. Use Mark all as read to clear the badge.

Notifications inbox, currently empty with 'Inbox is quiet' — Notifications appear in the app only. They are not sent by email.

Email3 min read

Send email from your own address (SMTP)

By default, invitations come from the app's no-reply address. Connect your own mailbox and teammates and participants will get invites from you.

SMTP Email page with mailer, host, port, username, password, encryption and from address fields — Open it from the Overview page or the "Set up your email" link on the Members page.

Get your SMTP detailsYour email provider supplies the host, port, username and password. Many providers, including Gmail and Microsoft 365, need an app password rather than your normal password.
Fill in the formMailer smtp, Host, Port (usually 465 with ssl or 587 with tls), Username, Password, From address and From name. Click Save.
Send a testUnder Send a test email, enter an address and click Send test. You'll see "Test email sent to …".

When you edit settings later, leave the password blank to keep the one already saved.

Workspace1 min read

Integrations & usage

Integrations lists the ways boards connect to other tools. REST API keys, CSV import, Website embed and OBS / livestream are available now. Google Sheets sync and outbound webhooks (Slack, Discord) are planned.

Integrations page with REST API keys, CSV import, Website embed and OBS cards — Integrations.

Usage and Limits page showing current plan and usage per resource — Usage & Limits.

Usage & Limits (from Overview → Usage) shows your current plan, renewal date and how much of each resource you've used: leaderboards, workspace members, automations and reports. Usage turns amber at 70% and red at 90% of a limit.

API6 min read

Developer API

Use the REST API to read boards and standings, add participants and push scores from your CRM, game server or spreadsheet scripts. Go to Developers in the sidebar.

API Workspace overview with request quota, active keys and quick start — The API Workspace: Overview, API Keys, API Explorer, Request Logs, Usage and Documentation.

Create an API key

Open API KeysClick Create API Key.
Name it and choose scopesGive it a name you'll recognise later, such as "Production CRM". Tick only the scopes it needs, and set an expiry date if you want one.
Copy the key nowThe key starts with lm_live_ and is shown only once. Store it in a password manager or your server's secret store.

Scope	Allows
`leaderboards:read`	List leaderboards, teams and board details.
`participants:read`	List participants on a board.
`participants:write`	Add or remove participants.
`scores:write`	Set scores, one at a time or in bulk.
`standings:read`	Read the current ranked standings.

Make your first request

Send the key in the Authorization header. The base URL is https://app.makeleaderboard.com/api/v1.

cURL

# List your leaderboards
curl https://app.makeleaderboard.com/api/v1/leaderboards \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Set a participant's score (replaces the current main score)
curl -X POST https://app.makeleaderboard.com/api/v1/leaderboards/{leaderboard}/scores \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: deal-48213" \
  -d '{"participant":"PARTICIPANT_ID","score":48250,"note":"Closed won"}'

Endpoints

Method & path	Scope	Notes
`GET /leaderboards`	leaderboards:read	Supports `page` and `per_page`.
`GET /leaderboards/{id}`	leaderboards:read	One board's details.
`GET /leaderboards/{id}/teams`	leaderboards:read
`GET /leaderboards/{id}/participants`	participants:read	Up to 50 per page.
`POST /leaderboards/{id}/participants`	participants:write	`display_name` (required), `email`, `initial_score`.
`DELETE /leaderboards/{id}/participants/{participant}`	participants:write
`POST /leaderboards/{id}/scores`	scores:write	Sets the main score. Send an `Idempotency-Key` so a retry can't apply the same score twice.
`POST /leaderboards/{id}/scores/bulk`	scores:write	`column_id` and up to 100 `rows`.
`GET /leaderboards/{id}/standings`	standings:read	Current ranked order.
`GET /usage` · `GET /openapi.json`	any key	Your quota, and the full OpenAPI spec.

API Explorer with an endpoint list, request form, code sample and response panel — The **API Explorer** sends real requests with your key and shows ready-to-copy code in cURL, JavaScript and Python.

Rate limits & errors

Each key can make 60 requests per minute by default, and your plan may also set a monthly quota. Every response includes X-RateLimit-Limit and X-RateLimit-Remaining headers. Errors always come back in the same shape:

Error response

{ "ok": false, "error": { "status": 403, "code": "insufficient_scope", "message": "This key does not include the scores:write scope." } }

Code	Meaning
`unauthorized`	The key is missing, wrong, expired or revoked.
`insufficient_scope`	The key exists but lacks the scope this endpoint needs.
`not_found`	The board or participant doesn't exist in your workspace.
`validation_error`	A field is missing or invalid. The message says which one.
`rate_limited`	More than the per-minute limit. Wait and retry with backoff.
`quota_exceeded`	The monthly quota is used up. The response includes `resets_at`.

Rotate a key to replace it, or Revoke it to switch it off. Both take effect immediately, with no grace period, so update your application first. Never put an API key in front-end code or a public repository.

Billing2 min read

Plans & checkout

Compare plans under Pricing plans. Switch between Monthly, Yearly and Lifetime. Yearly prices are shown per month, with the saving marked.

Pricing plans page with Monthly, Yearly and Lifetime tabs — Pick a billing period, then click **Subscribe now** or **Purchase lifetime access**.

Payment is handled securely by Stripe. We never see or store your card details.
Have a coupon or promo code? Enter it on the Stripe checkout page.
Your current plan is marked Currently active. If you've cancelled, you'll see Resume subscription instead.

Billing2 min read

Subscription & invoices

Cancel or resume

Open SubscriptionUnder Active subscriptions, click Cancel on your plan.
Tell us whyThe reason field is required. It helps us improve.
ConfirmClick Confirm cancel. You keep full access until the end of the current billing period, and the status shows Ending — Access until ….

Changed your mind? Click Resume any time before the period ends.

Billing history page with payments and invoices — Billing history.

Invoices and receipts

Billing history lists every payment (reference, product, amount, method, status) and every invoice with its subtotal, discount and billing period. Use the action button on an invoice to view or download it for your records.

Account2 min read

Profile & password

Open your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then Profile.

Your profile: photo, name, password and account deletion.

Photo: upload a JPG, PNG or WebP image of up to 2 MB, or remove it.
Password: enter your current password, then the new one (at least 8 characters) twice, and click Update.
Delete account: permanently removes your login and access. You'll be asked for your password to confirm. This can't be undone.

Signed up with Google and want a password as well? Use Forgot password with your Google email.

Account2 min read

Appearance & preferences

Appearance and theme page with brightness, color palettes and a live preview — Appearance & theme.

Preferences page with timezone and notifications — Preferences.

Brightness: Light, Dark or System. Saved in this browser only.
Typography & density: font scale (90/100/110%), spacing, corner radius and shadow depth.
Color palette: set by a platform admin for everyone.
Timezone (Preferences): used for timestamps and scheduled automations. Set it before creating scheduled reports.

Admins only5 min read

Platform admin guide

Platform administrators see an extra Admin group in the sidebar for managing every account, plan and payment on the installation. Regular workspace owners don't have these pages.

Admin Users and access page listing accounts with role, type and last login — **Users & access**: search accounts, change roles, add credits, sign in as a user or delete them.

Page	Use it to
Users & access	Find any account, change its role (user, moderator, admin), activate or deactivate it, adjust balances, reset a password, impersonate it to see what the user sees ("Switch back to admin" returns you), or delete it.
User Email	See which workspace owners have connected an SMTP mailbox.
User Leaderboard	See how many boards each user has made, and remove one board or all of a user's boards.
Account logs	Removals and account changes.
AI Setting · AI Usage	API key and model for the AI board builder, and a usage and cost log.
Subscription packages	Create the plans customers can buy: name, type, status, visibility, prices and Stripe products.
Manage coupons	Discount codes with value, currency, validity dates and redemption counts.
Transactions · Invoices	Every payment attempt and every issued invoice.
Premium customers	Paid accounts, renewals and cancellation reasons.
Credentials	App name and logos, Stripe keys and webhook secret, Google sign-in client, main SMTP, a separate SMTP for verification codes, yearly discount badge and moderator permissions.
Roles (`/admin/roles`)	Create workspace roles and assign them to members.

Admin Subscription packages page — Subscription packages.

Admin Credentials page with app branding, Google OAuth and Stripe sections — Credentials.

Admin Premium customers page with renewal statistics — Premium customers.

Workspace roles page for creating a role with permissions — Roles & permissions.

Setup checklist for a new installation

Set the app name, logo, dark logo and favicon in Credentials → App branding.
Add the Stripe publishable key, secret key and webhook signing secret, and point Stripe webhooks to /stripe/webhook.
Add the Google OAuth client ID and secret, using /auth/google/callback as the redirect URI, so Continue with Google works.
Configure the main SMTP and the OTP SMTP so verification codes and invites are delivered.
Create at least one active package in Subscription packages. Until then, the Pricing plans page is empty.
On the server, keep the Laravel scheduler (cron) and a queue worker running. Scheduled automations and test runs depend on them.

Moderators

Moderators get a Deletable users page. An admin adds email addresses to a moderator's deletion list in Credentials, and the moderator can then permanently remove only those accounts. Moderators can't add their own email or an administrator's.

Troubleshooting5 min read

Troubleshooting

Find the message you're seeing in the left column below. Most problems take one setting to fix.

You see	What to do
These credentials do not match our records.	Check the password, or use Forgot password. If you signed up with Google, use Continue with Google.
Too many login attempts…	Wait for the countdown, then try again.
That code is invalid or expired. Request a new one.	Codes last 15 minutes and only the newest one works. Click Resend and use the latest email.
Google login is not configured.	A platform admin needs to add Google credentials. Use email sign-in for now.
This activation link is invalid or has expired.	Activation links last 7 days. Sign in if you already finished, or contact support with your receipt.
This invitation has expired.	Ask the workspace owner to send a new invite. Links last 7 days.
Sign in with the email address this invitation was sent to.	Sign out and sign back in with the invited email.

Scores & participants

You see	What to do
This score is calculated automatically…	A score formula is on. Edit the column values, or turn the formula off.
This participant is locked and cannot be scored.	The participant is locked, often because a token was accepted. Locked scores stay fixed.
This participant already completed the task…	Their token was accepted earlier, so the score can't change.
A board can hold 100 participants.	The create form takes up to 100. Add more later from the Participants tab or with a CSV.
Participant photos must be 2 MB or smaller.	Use a smaller JPG or PNG.
That token does not match a participant on this board.	Check the token was copied completely. It's 32 characters.
This board is not accepting token requests.	The board must be public and active.

Displays & sharing

You see	What to do
Embed is blank / refused to connect	Approve the exact domain in Embed → Security, save, and make sure the board is public.
Not live yet. Approve a website…	Add at least one domain on the Security tab and save.
This embed is turned off.	Switch the embed on in Website Embed settings.
Link revoked	The TV or OBS link was rotated. Copy the new link from Display & share.
Presentation unavailable	The board is archived or not active, or TV broadcast is switched off.
Board not found.	The public link is switched off or the board was archived. Check Public URL.
That password is incorrect.	Passwords are case-sensitive. After 10 wrong attempts, wait a minute.
TV shows "Reconnecting"	The screen lost its internet connection. It reconnects and catches up by itself.

Team & email

You see	What to do
This email already has an account. Use Invite by email…	Direct add is only for new people. Switch to Invite by email.
This account owns boards…	The person must move or remove their own boards before joining your workspace.
Test email could not be sent…	Check host, port and encryption (465/ssl or 587/tls), and use an app password if your provider requires one.
Invites arrive from a no-reply address	Connect your own mailbox in SMTP email.
Scheduled automation didn't run	Check it's enabled and the timezone in Preferences is right. On self-hosted installs, the scheduler and queue worker must be running.

Reference1 min read

Limits at a glance

The numbers worth knowing before you plan a big event.

Item	Limit
Board title	2–200 characters
Board description	30 characters
Participants in the create/edit form	100
CSV import	.csv only, 1 MB, up to 500 rows per upload
Participant name	160 characters
Participant photo	2 MB (JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF)
Extra score columns	4 per board, 24-character labels
Custom formula steps	12
Bulk score update	400 rows in the app · 100 rows per API call
Score suffix	32 characters
TV / OBS ticker	280 characters
Sponsors	6
Embed allowed domains	20
Board password	At least 8 characters
Workspace logo	5 MB, 64–4096 px
"Powered by" custom text	30 characters
Automation conditions / actions	8 / 3
API requests	60 per minute per key (default)
Verification code · reset link · invite link	15 minutes · 60 minutes · 7 days

FAQ4 min read

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to the questions we get most often.

Do viewers need to refresh to see new scores?

No. Public pages refresh themselves about every 2 seconds and TV screens about every 1.5 seconds.

Can the lowest score win, for golf or race times?

Yes. In the board's Settings → Scoring, set Sort direction to Lowest score wins. For times, choose a time Score format such as mm:ss.mmm.

Can I track several numbers per person and total them?

Yes. Add up to 4 extra columns and turn on a score formula: add up, average, highest, lowest or a custom calculation.

Can I undo a wrong score?

Type the correct score back in, or use bulk update. Every change, including corrections, is kept in the board's History with who made it.

What happens when I delete a board?

The board is archived. It leaves your list, and its public, TV, OBS and embed links stop working. If you need it back, contact support.

Can participants enter their own scores?

Yes. Turn on Allow self scoring and send each person their personal link. Their submissions show in History as Self score.

Can I show the board on a TV without a computer?

Any device with a modern web browser works: a smart TV browser, Fire TV or Chromecast with a browser app, or a small PC. Open the TV link and go full screen.

Can I keep the full ranking private but let each person see their own score?

Yes. Turn off the public link and share personal participant links. They keep working on private boards and only show that person's entry.

Does the embed work on WordPress, Wix or Squarespace?

Yes. Any site builder that lets you add HTML or an iframe works. Remember to approve the site's domain in Embed → Security first.

Someone saw our TV or OBS link. How do I lock it?

Rotate it from the TV Display or OBS page. The old link stops working at once. For the public page, use password protection.

Can several people manage the same boards?

Yes. Invite them from Members and give them a role. They work directly on your workspace's boards.

I can't see some menu items that a colleague has.

Your role controls which areas you see. Ask the workspace owner to add the missing area to your role.

How do I change my timezone for scheduled reports?

Open Preferences from the menu under your name, choose your timezone and click Save changes.

If I cancel, do I lose access immediately?

No. You keep access until the end of the period you've paid for, and you can resume before then.

Where do I get an invoice for my accountant?

Under Billing history → Invoices, use the action button on any invoice to view or download it.

I paid but my account isn't active.

Finish the activation steps from your payment email. If that doesn't help, contact us with your Stripe receipt and we'll attach the plan to your account.

Support

Contact support

Can't find what you need? We usually reply within one business day.

Email us

For account, billing and technical questions.

support@makeleaderboard.com

Open the app

Sign in to your workspace to try the steps in this guide.

Go to app

Developer docs

The full API reference lives in the app under Developers → Documentation.

API guide

Help us help you faster

The email address on your account.
The board name, or a link to the board.
The exact message you see on screen, copied word for word.
A screenshot, and the browser and device you're using.

We'll never ask for your password. Don't send API keys, tokens or passwords in an email.

Run every leaderboard without guesswork.

Browse by topic

Welcome to Leader Board Maker

Build

Score

Show

Your first board in five minutes

Create an account & sign in

Sign up with email

Sign in with email

Sign in with Google

Forgot your password

Activate your account after a purchase

Find your way around

Search

Dark mode and mobile

Create a board

Step 1: Details

Step 2: Participants

Step 3: Board type

Start from a template

Manage your boards

The board workspace

Update scores

Quick add and typed scores

Update everyone at once

Scoring settings

Columns & score formula

Add extra columns

Calculate the score from columns

Score history

Add participants

Import participants from CSV

If some rows are skipped

Tokens & join requests

Self sign-up & personal links

Let people join by themselves

Personal participant links

Display & share hub

Show a board on a TV

Ticker and sponsors

Stop an old screen from showing the board

Add an overlay to OBS or a livestream

Overlay presets

Add it in OBS Studio

Control it while you're live

Embed a board on your website

Share a public link

Password-protect a board

Board appearance

Layout

Look

Text

Effects

Brand Studio

Members & roles

Add a teammate

What a role can include

Invitation rules

Automations

Recipes to start from

Test and manage

Analytics & audit log

Analytics

Audit log

Notifications

Send email from your own address (SMTP)

Integrations & usage

Developer API

Create an API key

Make your first request

Endpoints

Rate limits & errors

Plans & checkout

Subscription & invoices

Cancel or resume

Invoices and receipts

Profile & password

Appearance & preferences

Platform admin guide