Operate a live or hybrid auction

Prepare the room

From the owner’s Dashboard, open Live Auctioneer Control Panel for the event. Use its participant/projector links for the room; opening a projector does not grant operator permission. Only the auction owner can operate protected controls. Arrange floor clerk/pickup jobs without sharing account credentials or assuming private-event membership is a staff role.

Check the catalog order, reserves and seller readiness. In Live settings, review increment, countdown, anti-snipe and per-item timing. If another operator changes settings while your draft is open, close and reopen the settings to review the latest values before saving. Turning a card-related setting off is not a way to bypass protected online payment requirements. A video stream is a presentation aid, not a compensated bidding clock; verify any YouTube embed before the event.

Choose what the audience sees

Use Configure screen on your event’s projector, or the auctioneer’s settings, to choose the live lot leaderboard, fundraising goal progress, sponsor recognition, recent bid activity and live item comments. Only the event owner can save these choices. They change presentation, not bidding, payment or access rules.

When the leaderboard is enabled on the live projector, switch between Current lot and Lot leaderboard. The board ranks ordinary items with accepted leading bids, shows the top five and gives tied amounts the same rank. It omits bidder identities and private maxima. Fund-a-need goals appear separately. A pledge total or goal-reached message is not captured payment or money available for payout. Silent projector screens can also show the optional board.

Use the live room to celebrate progress, but check payment and pickup records at the desk. Hide comments for a quieter stage screen and add approved sponsor logos before the event.

Questions, moderation and private contact

Use the active item's comment controls to open Messages, reply to public questions, hide an inappropriate comment or restore a hidden one. Closing an item's discussion stops new public questions and replies; it preserves existing visible comments. This is separate from Configure screen, which only decides whether the projector shows comments.

The Private inbox contains individual conversations with participants. Select a participant to reply privately, or use Message winner on a receipt for pickup questions. Other bidders cannot read that conversation. Private messages do not appear on projectors, and their text is not included in notification previews. Official announcements remain a separate way to update eligible bidders.

Reorder the queue safely

Live queue changes support a complete catalog of up to 400 items. Reorder eligible upcoming lots in the auctioneer panel; closed and settled items stay closed, and reordering does not change the active lot, accepted bids or clock. If someone adds or removes an item while you drag, refresh the catalog and try again. A payment operation in progress can briefly block queue changes; let it finish before retrying. Finalized events cannot be reordered.

Start and select an item

1. Choose Go Live. For hybrid events, this promotes the live session; existing eligible silent bid state carries into the live item.
2. Start the next eligible queued item. Confirm the participant and projector show that item, its current amount and countdown.
3. Keep one organizer controlling the session. Reorder upcoming items with the queue controls and verify the resulting order.

Skipped eligible lots may be returned where allowed. Closed/frozen or settled awards cannot simply be reopened to erase accepted bids or payments. A queued item is not necessarily open for simultaneous silent bidding.

Pause, floor entry and corrections

Pause stops new live bids; Resume restores the session with preserved obligations. A pause does not cancel card authorizations. Confirm the visible paused state before making announcements.

For Floor Bid (In-Room) or Record Donation, enter the CAD amount, bidder number/name, reason and any relevant note, then submit. Record only an actual accepted in-room commitment. A floor award becomes cash due; it is not automatically charged to an arbitrary guest’s saved card. Use a paddle identifier rather than unnecessary personal details because the identifier can appear on public screens.

Use offered correction controls carefully and supply the reason. Verify the authoritative amount and bidder after saving. If a floor-entry response is uncertain, use Check floor submission before recording it again, advancing the lot or ending the session. The check preserves the original item, amount and request even if another operator has advanced the queue. Refreshing in the same tab preserves an unresolved entry. A confirmed floor entry is still a cash commitment, not proof of collection.

Close the item and end the session

Close the active item when bidding is finished. This freezes its outcome and starts eligible settlement. A reserve not met leaves an ordinary item unsold. Read the result: a card award may be paid or pending; a floor award needs cash confirmation. “Item closed” is not synonymous with “payment complete.”

Start the next eligible item only after checking the previous result. At the end choose End, then use the event’s finalization control to resolve remaining eligible obligations. Verify no pending card or cash obligations are overlooked. Do not delete or reprice items with accepted bidding/payment history.

Finish at the desk

Use payments and pickup to resolve pending cards, collect exact floor cash, release receipts and reconcile refunds. If connected screens stop updating or show conflicting items, pause operations, reload and inspect the existing accepted state. Contact support if the conflict remains; avoid creating a replacement award.