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How to Process Payments for your Live Auction Using Trellis

In this article, we will guide you on using our platform to process payments for your live auction.

Trellis supports payment collection for in-person live auctions where bidders use physical paddles. While the auction is running, we recommend having dedicated volunteers record winning bids and corresponding paddle numbers or donor names — ideally more than one volunteer doing this simultaneously for accuracy. We also recommend having the auctioneer call out the winning paddle number and bid amont once the item sells.

Before You Begin

  1. From your fundraiser builder, navigate to Silent and Live Auctions and confirm your items are set up as desired. This article goes over how to set up and display your Live Auction.
  2. Decide which tool you'll use to process payments:
    • Check-In Tool — Best if your guests checked in using Trellis. You can look up attendees by name or paddle number and add items directly to their cart.
    • Sales Entry System (SES) — Best if you are not using the Check-In Tool. Note that this requires manually entering purchaser details and can be time consuming after the event.

How to Process Payments

Using the Check-In Tool

  1. Navigate to the Check-In Tool from your Dashboard.
  2. Search for the attendee by name or paddle number.
  3. Click the Add to Cart icon to open their cart.
  4. Click + Add to Cart.
  5. In the dialog, switch the Purchasable Type to Live Auction Item.
  6. Select an existing live auction item or add a new one.
  7. Enter the Winning Bid Price.
  8. Choose whether to send a tax receipt to the purchaser.
  9. Click Add to Cart.

From the cart, you can complete the purchase to charge the card on file, send a payment link, or mark the item as paid for offline payment.

To accept offline payment:

  1. Click the vertical 3-dot menu next to the live auction item.
  2. Select a payment method.
  3. Click Mark as Paid.

 

Please Note: Marking as Paid removes the item from the attendee's cart and creates an offline checkout record. The credit card on file will not be charged.

Important:

Each auction item can only have one winner for payment. If you have multiple winners for a single live auction item, our system will automatically duplicate the live auction item each time it is added to an attendee's cart.

This allows you to process multiple payments and keep track of which payment is tied to each instance of a live auction item.

Using the Sales Entry System

The SES is the best method of charging live auction items if you did not use the check-in tool to manage your attendees.

  1. From the Event and Sales Manager, select Sales Entry System.
  2. On the Purchasable Select page, locate Live Auction Item at the bottom of the list.
  3. Click Add to Cart.



  4. In the dialog, choose Create New or Select from Builder:
    • Create New — Enter the item name, value, and sales price, then choose whether to send a tax receipt.
    • Select from Builder — Choose an existing item from your fundraiser, enter the sales price, and choose whether to send a tax receipt.
  5. Click Continue to complete checkout and enter the purchaser's information.

Please Note: Live Auction Items will only appear in the SES if auctions are enabled in your fundraiser builder.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if two people won the same live auction item?

You can add the same item to multiple attendees' carts. When the item is added to a second person's cart, Trellis automatically duplicates it so you can track each payment separately.

How do I remove a live auction item from a donor's cart?

Go to Results > Auctions > Bids from your Dashboard, locate the bid, click the 3-dot menu, and select Delete Bid.

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Need Help?

Did this answer your question? If not, please reach out to our Product Engagement Team via the blue chat icon or email support@trellis.org.