Archived: New Features and Changes

Apr. 12, 2022

Outbid Notifications are now included in Send History at Site Settings > Customize Your Site > Email/Text Messaging > Send History.   A new article is available for Troubleshooting Missing Outbid Text Notifications.

Mar. 8, 2022 all sites

Visible upgrades to password handling and security include new password requirements and displayed warnings of weak and/or compromised passwords.

Feb. 8, 2022 Digital, Virtual and Fusion

Your supporters can now text a keyword (which you choose) to a dedicated phone number (shared by all of your event sites) to support a specific campaign.

Jan. 11, 2022 all sites

Custom Fields displaying a list of options were reconfigured to require a choice (rather than simply accepting the default value).

Dec. 14, 2021  Fusion

The Fusion auctioneer view is effectively an automated virtual paddle for online bids.  Instead of having an assistant monitoring online bids, the Fusion View  lights up with an online bidder's name/amount while they are the high bidder - allowing your auctioneer to focus on the audience and their raised paddles.

Nov 11, 2021 all sites

Optional fields are now available to explain the Covid protocols for your event and require file uploads for proof of vaccination status and/or negative test results.

Oct 6, 2021  all sites

We replaced the Dashboard flowchart help map to a wizard you can use to view a step by step guide for the specific type of event you are running.  

July 27, 2021    all sites (past and future)

"Your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness. . ."    

Customers often tell us how much they value being able to customize our software to fit their event (rather than having to adjust their event to fit the software).    

We also hear that the sheer number of settings and options available can be overwhelming - and specific settings can be hard to find. . .    

So we've reorganized Site Settings to make it easier to find what you're looking for by:

1.  Grouping related tools/sections together in the menu:

Example:     Registration Tools = Signup + Ticket Sales + Sponsorships

2.  Using more specific labels in the menu:

Examples:   Customize Your Site has been divided into three new sections:   General,  Look and Feel,  and Receipt Setup

                        Communications section has been relabeled Email/Text Messaging

3.  Consolidating related settings into a single section:

Examples:  All payment settings are now located in Payments/Credit Card

                       All SMS/Text settings are now located in Emails/Text Messaging  

4.  Decluttering site settings pages by collapsing and hiding rarely used settings in "Advanced" sections:

Examples:   You must now click on Advanced links to access settings such as Return to link URL and Search Engine Description

5.  Providing a sortable chart to help you find a setting's new location

July 27, 2021 all subscriptions

The Add/Edit item form now provides check boxes to flag how someone can bid/purchase or make a donation on an item (paper/paddle, online, virtual).  This change was necessary to allow hybrid-style events offering both Gala AND Virtual items.

In addition, the item form will also display any "Other" (non-auction) locations items is already being offered at - such as campaign(s), during ticket sales, or as part of a sponsorship package as well as links to add new locations.

July 27, 2021   all subscriptions

It's now easier to find items by selecting a common characteristic from the Common Filters dropdown menu.    The Advanced Search button (which allows you to apply multiple filters at once) has moved to the second line of tools.

July 21, 2021

Instead of the typical model of Standard, Plus and Premium feature levels/price points, we are moving to subscription packages that provide ALL the tools needed to produce the best possible Gala, Gala with Mobile Bidding, Virtual, or Fusion events.    We hope our new product mix will make our customers' initial buying decisions easier: instead of having to figure out which tools they must have and which they can live without - they can simply choose the package designed for their biggest fundraiser.

What does this mean for existing customers?   You'll have the option of renewing your current plan as a legacy subscription until 2024 - but you should definitely take a look at the new plans as the new feature sets may be a better fit for your fundraising plans (and the price points are mostly the same).  

For instance:  the Traditional plan (for gala events, same price as Standard) includes sponsorship packages,  catalog navigation by categories (with images),  option to include logo/banner image on print materials and email templates, and more - at the same price point as Standard. 

The Digital Plan (same price as Plus) includes the mobile dashboard, the ability to compose and send SMS/text messages, Master Categories for organizing catalogs with 300+ items, the ability to include a logo or banner image on emails, and bulk processing of credit cards.

If you'd like to switch to one of the new products before your annual renewal, just let us know and we can make it happen.

May, 2021 Extended to all during pandemic

You can now trigger animations to add a little pizazz and to celebrate a goal reached, winner announced, or last hero applauded.

April, 2021 Extended to all during pandemic

To allow (unknown) supporters to access the Virtual event via a public, shared link.   Public viewers can watch the livestream and bidding, but must sign-in or signup to place a bid, donation or chat.

April, 2021 Extended to all during pandemic

For events that charge admission to the Virtual Event that takes place while an Online Auction is underway.  More details here.

March, 2021 Standard, Plus, Premium

Online, Silent items can now be created with quantity > 1 for awarding to multiple bidders.

March, 2021 Premium

We've added new features to our Premium subscription which will allow you to run a Gala, or other real-time event, with some supporters participating in-person and others virtually:

• The event is livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.
• Virtual guests can watch the livestream, chat, bid, and donate from a single screen.
• In person guests watch the action live and can chat/bid/donate using a simplified interface on their smartphones OR bid/donate using bid paddles with an assistant to the auctioneer recording their bids on the Virtual Control panel.
• Guests can check-out and pay online or you can offer in-person guests the option to check-out in person.

February, 2021 Extended to all during pandemic

We've added a new Campaign template - the Online Store template is designed to offer an online catalog of items to buy (and/or funds to donate too).

November, 2020 Standard, Plus, Premium

We've added controls so you can select a subset of the guest/donor/buyer forms to add a custom field to.

August, 2020 Extended to all during pandemic

Create unique pages for fundraising campaigns on a single event site to accept one-time and/or recurring donations and/or to sell/pre-order items.

June, 2020 Extended to all during pandemic

This feature provides the tools needed to gracefully run a Live Auction (with paddle raise) with a virtual audience of bidders.  Our software uses a WebRTC livestream (similar to web meeting platforms) to provide feeds to viewers in almost real time.

Your supporters will be able to watch your livestream and place bids from the same screen, plus communicate with your auctioneer/team and other bidders via a chat window.  

April, 2020 Extended to all during pandemic

The Signup form, Online Welcome Page, and Mobile Auction Tools (Send Invitations and Proxy Bidding) have all been reworked so they can be used with Online Auctions and/or Voting Contests and/or Virtual Events (coming soon).

March, 2020

To support all of our customers in this emergency, we are providing complimentary access to our advanced tools that will help you communicate with your supporters as you pivot to - and run your most successful online only event.

Mar 1, 2020  Standard, Plus, Premium

Thermometer or horizontal bars can be added to your homepage, catalog, and/or give page to display progress toward your fundraising goal.

Mar 1, 2020 Premium

Premium subscribers can compose and send custom text/sms messages to gala guests and/or online bidders. Common uses of custom text messages include:

• Texting links for advance check-in.
• Closing Soon reminders for silent auction tables and/or mobile bidding.
• Providing link for self check-out.
• Texting links for important pre-event details (directions, parking, childcare etc) and post-event details (how to pick up items).

Dec 19, 2019 Premium

Thank You templates include merge tags to include purchase/donation details:

Dec 19, 2019  

The new html email formatting includes graphic elements to draw attention to your messages.

Plus subscribers can specify their desired text and colors for the header and footer background and font.

Premium subscribers also have the option of adding a logo or banner image to their emails.

Oct 15, 2019 Premium

A professional event night tool for premium subscribers. . .The Mobile Dashboard makes it easy for event chairs to confirm their set-up, monitor bidding by group, bidders, and/or items and make adjustments on the fly.

Feb 25, 2020  Standard, Plus, Premium

The Common Filter > Duplicate Users now filters the User page to a list of users with duplicate emails and names, sorted by name AND sticky - allowing you to return to the filtered report after merging selected users.

Feb 18, 2020 Premium

A third layer of navigation is now available to make it easier to browse catalogs of 300+ items

Examples:  

• Master Category  >  Item Category > Item
• Entertainment  > Date Night  > Night on the Town  
• Sports  > Soccer > Signed Jersey

Feb 18, 2020  Premium

Premium subscribers now have the option to display Item Categories as Image Tiles (as well as List view)

Feb 18, 2020  Premium

Premium subscribers have access to a library of stock images, and built-in cropping tools when uploading images for Master and Item Categories.

Feb 11, 2020   Standard/Plus/Premium

We've added several new tools to the gala check-in screens, including buttons for access to a linked guest's guest record, the ability to unlink guests from the check-in screen (as long as they haven't already checked in) and made it easier to sell multi-guest tickets at check-in.

Feb 1, 2020  Standard/Plus/Premium

All subscribers now have the ability to upload non-image files (stored in the cloud) to provide links on the event site for downloading posters, info sheets, pledge sheets etc.

Jan 15, 2020    Premium

Premium subscribers can compose custom text messages ahead of time (or on the fly), then bulk send them to online bidders and/or gala guests for real time announcements and prompts, such as Items closing soon,  bidding has been extended, check-out is open etc.

Dec 1, 2019   Plus/Premium

Enabling Auto-Send at Check-in allows your front desk team to conclude each guest check-in with a simple statement, "You're all checked in - and we've just emailed you a fresh invitation to bid.   Previous ones will still work - but you'll find a new one at the top of your inbox. . ."

Oct 15  2019   Standard/Plus Premium

eChecks allow online buyers to authorize a one-time direct transfer from a bank account for online payments.   eChecks are processed via a secure WePay.com gateway and incur processing fees of 1.5% of amount, plus .30 per transaction (up to a maximum of $10)

If you're using a different gateway for credit card processing, you can still accept eChecks - it takes only 5 minutes to create a WePay.com account for use with eChecks only.

*Note:  eChecks are not available with TipTop subscriptions

Oct 1  2019 Standard/Plus/Premium

This is a significant change and improvement!  We've replaced individual online open and closing dates/times with online bidding groups.  You can now create different bidding groups with unique names and open/closing times and assign items to the desired group at item entry or via bulk edits.   If you need to edit an open or closing time, simply edit the group and all associated items will be automatically updated.  Existing items can assigned to different groups via individual or bulk edits.

Oct 1  2019 Standard/Plus/Premium

New html formatting ensures that your emails will display consistently across all devices and mail services.

Plus/Premium subscribers also gain the ability to customize the color and messaging in their email header and footer.

Premium subscribers have the option to add a logo or banner image.

Oct 1  2019 Premium

Premium subscribers now have the ability to send SMS/Text invitations to bid to some or all supporters in a single action.

Oct 1  2019 Premium

Premium subscribers now have the option of bulk processing vaulted credit cards from  the Auction Night > Check-out Screen or Orders Page.

Oct 1  2019 Premium

Now available M-F, 9-5 PST for Premium subscribers.

Oct 1  2019 Premium

Another Professional Event Night tool for premium subscribers. . .The Mobile Dashboard makes it easy for event chairs to confirm their set-up, monitor bidding by group, bidders, and/or items and make adjustments on the fly.    

Oct 1  2019 Premium

Premium Subscribers gain two new email templates for emailing thank you messages to donor and guests which detail their donations/purchases.

Sep 2019  Standard/Plus/Premium

We've added columns showing each items' FMV and Bids as a percentage of FMV to make it easier to assess the progress of online bidding.

Admin > View reports > View Summary Reports > Online/Mobile Bidding Tab > Online Bids:

July 2019 Plus/Premium

To prevent spam and fraud (and because some recipients may incur charges from their mobile carrier), Users are now allowed to  Opt in/out before receiving text messages.   When text notifications are enabled on an event site, the phone field and opt in/out options are automatically added to the following forms:

• Signup to Bid
• Ticket Sales (for buyers only)
• Check-in and Self Check-in

July 2019 Standard/Plus/Premium

We've simplified the filter and search options on the Orders page by replacing the existing Origination/Status filters with pre-set filters for the most common searches and reports:

May 2019  Plus/Premium

Sometimes even the best laid plans go awry.

This new feature allows you to extend the online closing times of all your items by 10 minutes - with just two clicks - from the Auction Night Tasks screen.

May 2019  Plus/Premium

You can choose a specific view for desktop and mobile displays or you can choose the starting view, then allow vistors to your site to switch views as desired.

May 2019  Plus/Premium

Adds a level of navigation to your catalog to make it easy for your supporters to find the items they're most interested in bidding on.

If this option is enabled, a list of item categories is displayed first. Clicking on any category will bring the user to the items within the category, with access to breadcrumbs, additional filters and a search function.

In addition, we've added tools for managing your categories:  drop and drag to re-order, counts of items assigned to each category and the ability to hide empty categories in the admin view (empty categories are always hidden from your supporters).

May 2019  Standard/Plus/Premium

Item names display in full on the detail page, but names longer than 35 characters are truncated with an ellipsis on the Catalog Tiles (or List view).   The new preview tool shows you where the ellipsis will kick in.  

May 2019     Standard/Plus/Premium

You now have the option to Auto-Send Invitations to Bid to ALL Guests as they check-in for your Gala event.  Even if invitations have already been sent to launch pre-bidding, enabling this feature allows your front desk staff to confirm check-in with the message: "You're all checked in - and we've just sent you a fresh invitation to bid. Previous invites will still work - but this one will be at the top of your inbox. . ."

Note:  This feature replaces (and alters) the previous option for "Auto-Send Invite to New Guests". The new setting auto-sends to ALL guests, as they check-in.  Invites will no longer be auto-sent if new tickets are issued from the Tickets page or purchased from the Buy Tickets link.  If you want to provide immediate bidding access to Online Ticket Buyers, you can edit the Ticket Sale Confirmation email template(s) to include the Invite to Bid merge tag to provide a link to start bidding.

Oct 2018  Plus/Premium

Items can now be uploaded directly into the catalog from a spreadsheet.    View illustrated instructions here.

Oct 2018 Plus/Premium

Plus/Premium customers now have the option to request or require supporters to vault a credit card prior to placing online bids.   Enabling this feature adds a credit card form to the Signup to Bid form and/or the Invitation to Bid welcome screen.

Oct 2018 Plus/Premium

Images can now be uploaded and displayed on printed bid and/or description sheets.

Oct 2018 Plus/Premium

A third format has been added for print materials:  a combination bid and description sheet.