A "bonus letter" is a letter issued by an employer to an employee informing him or her of the good news of receiving a bonus for the labor and efforts put in by the employee in managing all of the duties that were given to them. These letters are usually sent out automatically after meeting certain criteria have been met, but they can be sent out at any time during the year as well. In addition to telling the employee that he or she has been awarded a bonus, these letters also often include information about how much the employee will be paid and when it will be paid. Employees who receive bonuses will sometimes call them "performance-based" bonuses to distinguish them from other forms of compensation such as salary increases or benefits upgrades. These letters are also useful for reminding employees that they are being compensated even though they may not have done anything special recently. Finally, employers use them to thank their employees for past services rendered. Employees like receiving bonus letters because it shows that their employer values them enough to give them a bonus even if they didn't do anything especially great. Employees may feel appreciated and valued by their employers when they receive bonuses. In addition, receiving a bonus may mean that an employee has met some sort of goal which means that he or she will likely be offered another job with the company or at least informed about future opportunities.