ClickBid 101: Bidders

Getting bidders into your system correctly, and keeping their records clean, makes everything downstream (check in, bidding, checkout) run smoother. This walkthrough covers everything from the video above: the four ways to add bidders, updating bidder info, custom tags, and merging bidder records.

Quick Summary

• There are four ways to get bidders into ClickBid: adding them one at a time, mass importing a spreadsheet, letting guests self register from your landing page, or converting ticket buyers into bidders.
• The Butler is your day-of tool. Use Bidder Lookup for registered guests, or Add New Bidder for walk-ins.
• You can update bidder numbers individually in the Butler or in bulk under Manage Bidders.
• Custom Tags let you flag VIPs, allergies, teams, or anything else, and message people by tag later.
• You can merge two bidder records together, useful for couples sharing a bidder paddle.

Step 1: Add Bidders Individually

1. Go to Bidders > Manage Bidders and click Add Bidder.
2. ClickBid assigns the next available bidder number automatically.
3. Enter first name, last name, phone number, email, and any additional information.

Step 2: Mass Import Bidders

1. On Manage Bidders, scroll to the bottom to find the mass import bidder template and click Download.
2. Fill in as much information as you have. First and last name are required, phone number and email are strongly recommended.
3. Leave the bidder number column blank to auto-assign starting at 100, or set your own numbers.
4. Save the file, then use Drop Files to Upload to bring it in.

💡 This is especially helpful if you sold tickets outside of ClickBid, or you’re pulling bidders from a CRM we don’t integrate with.

Step 3: Turn On Bidder Registration From Your Landing Page

1. From the home page, find your event’s landing page link and QR code under Your Event Site.
2. On the landing page, guests can sign in, sign up, or use Register to Bid from Home to text or email in and start their registration.
3. Turn on and customize requirements (custom questions, credit card, address) under Software Settings > Bidder Settings.
4. Under Butler Settings, set your custom welcome text, the message sent automatically when someone registers on the landing page, and your custom welcome email.

ℹ️ You do not need to add any shortcodes to the welcome email. ClickBid automatically includes the bidding link and bidder number.

ℹ️ To set up the custom questions bidders answer during registration, go to Manage Bidders and scroll down to Custom Questions. You can choose text or dropdown format and decide whether each question is active and required.

Step 4: Convert Ticket Buyers Into Bidders

1. Go to your ticket page and click Manage Guests to see everyone attending.
2. Select the guests you want to convert.
3. Scroll down, type make bidder into the box, and click Update.

This copies each guest’s information into Manage Bidders and assigns them a bidder number. No notification is sent to the guest, and you can run this as many times as you’d like, whether that’s periodically leading up to the event or all at once. Once converted, the Bidder Number Assigned column changes from No to Yes.

Step 5: Add Bidders On Site With the Butler

1. Use Bidder Lookup first to check in guests who are already registered.
2. If someone isn’t found, click Add New Bidder.
3. Enter the first name, then the last name. Clicking outside the box after the last name assigns the next available bidder number automatically (you can still change it).
4. Add phone number, email, and credit card information if available.
5. Click Complete to check them in.

ℹ️ If you leave a required field blank, that bidder will be prompted to enter their email and credit card information the first time they sign in.

Step 6: Update Bidder Numbers

To update one bidder’s number, open their record in the Butler and click Edit Bidder Record, then change the number and save.

To update numbers in bulk, go to Manage Bidders, select all the bidders you want to update, and scroll down to the Bidder Number Batch Update section. Enter the new starting number and update.

💡 This is handy if your bid paddles start at a different number than what’s currently in the system, for example if you’re reusing paddles that start at 100. Just make sure the new numbers aren’t already in use before you reassign them.

Step 7: Create and Use Custom Tags

1. Go to Manage Bidders and scroll to the Custom Tags section to create as many tags as you’d like (VIP, allergy, team assignments, and so on).
2. Select the bidders you want to tag, then use the batch update section to choose Assign Custom Tag, pick the tag, and click Update.
3. To adjust a tag for one person, pull them up in the Butler, click edit, and update the tag from the dropdown.

Tags also work as a filter when messaging bidders. Under Bidders > Text and Email Bidders, you’ll see a new Bidders with Tags filter once a tag exists. Use it to message everyone, or just a specific group like your VIPs. Write your message, set a send time, decide if it should auto send, then save it for later or send it immediately.

Step 8: Merge Bidders

Merging is useful when two people, like a couple attending together, want to share one bidder paddle.

1. From Manage Bidders, select the two bidders you want to combine and click Merge.
2. Choose which bidder number to keep. One credit card stays on file, but both phone numbers and both emails are kept, so each person still receives their own outbid texts and receipts.
3. Review the details, then click Confirm Merge.

You can also merge from the Butler: pull up a bidder, click Edit Bidder Record, then Merge Bidder to combine them with someone else.

⚠️ Merging bidders cannot be undone, so double-check you have the right two records before confirming.

Related Best Practices

Want more detail on any of these steps? Check out:

• Adding bidders in bulk → Mass Importing Bidders
• Registration and sign in → Bidder Registration & Log-In and Allowing Bidder Registration on Your Landing Page
• Custom registration questions → Setting Up Custom Bidder Registration Questions
• Managing bidder numbers → Assign and Manage Bidder Numbers
• Custom tags → Using Custom Bidder Tags
• Merging records → How to Merge Duplicate Bidders and Merge Two People Using the Same Bidder Number
• Other bidder record fields → Using the Update Bidders Tool (Table and Company Info Only) and Adding Table Numbers to Bidder Records