ClickBid 101: Event Readiness

Two days before your event start date, your ClickBid Account Manager runs a readiness check covering the same settings in this video. This walkthrough gives you a chance to review everything yourself ahead of time, so nothing catches you by surprise on event day.

Quick Summary

• Confirm your time zone, start date, and bidder registration settings under Software Settings > Auction Settings.
• Double check that credit card charging and payouts are enabled, and decide how you’re handling the admin fee.
• Turn on mobile checkout so silent auction winners can pay from their phone.
• Confirm your FMV and tax ID settings for bidder receipts.
• Open Auction Early and Show Signin on your landing page control when guests can actually log in and bid.
• Under Items > Manage Items, check closing times, item statuses, and starting bids or raise prices for anything that looks off.
• Know your event day support contact, and how to reach your account manager or our support team if you need help.

Step 1: Confirm Your Time Zone and Start Date

Go to Software Settings > Auction Settings and confirm your time zone matches the start time you’ve set, so your event opens exactly when you intend.

Step 2: Check Your Bidder Settings

1. Confirm Bidder Registration is enabled if you want guests to self-register from your landing page. Set it to No if your event is exclusive to ticket purchasers only.
2. Set Require Credit Card Info to Yes if you want a card on file for anyone who registers or logs in to bid.
3. Review the Welcome Email that goes out when a new bidder registers. The default message thanks them and includes event info and their bidder number, but you can customize it with your own text, images, and links.

Step 3: Check Your Butler Settings

The Custom Welcome Text under Butler Settings is a dual-purpose message, it goes out both when a bidder registers from your landing page and when they’re checked in at the event.

ℹ️ Double check that your shortcodes are set up correctly and that the message isn’t getting cut off by the character limit.

If you don’t want this text sent at check-in, switch Send Welcome Text at Check-In from Yes to No under Login Details.

Step 4: Review Your Payment Settings

1. Confirm Credit Card Charging and Payouts are enabled. If your merchant account isn’t set up, click through to complete merchant registration.
2. If either shows as disabled, look for a banner message at the top of the page with instructions on what information is still needed.

ℹ️ There is a 3.5% processing fee on all card transactions through ClickBid.

The Capture Admin Fee section lets you require or offer guests the option to cover that fee on ticket sales, auction purchases, and donations.

💡 We typically recommend entering 3.63% here so you’re not losing pennies on the dollar for each transaction. Set the opt-out toggle to Yes to let guests choose whether to cover it, or No to make it required and automatically included in their total.

Step 5: Turn On Mobile Checkout

Set the Silent Auction Winning Text Message to Yes if you want guests to be able to pay from their phone or computer at the end of the event. This message goes out automatically when silent auction items close and includes a direct link straight to that bidder’s cart.

ℹ️ You can customize this message, just make sure it isn’t cut off by the character limit. If you turn mobile checkout off, this text won’t go out at all, since it depends on guests checking out from their phones.

Step 6: Confirm Your Fair Market Value and Tax Settings

1. Under Fair Market Value Settings, decide whether to show FMV on bidder receipts. This is optional, but useful if you want the receipt to double as a tax receipt showing the deductible amount.
2. Under Custom Content, add your tax ID or business ID to the statement footer so it appears at the bottom of purchase receipts.

Step 7: Review the Landing Page Builder

Go to your Landing Page Builder and click into Page Settings.

1. Open Auction Early overrides your scheduled start date and time. Keep this set to No if you want your event to start at a specific date and time, or switch it to Yes any time you want to open bidding ahead of schedule.
2. Show Signin controls whether the sign-in button appears on your landing page at all. Make sure this is set to Yes before your event goes live, otherwise no one will be able to log in or bid.

While you’re on this page, preview your landing page and check for any incomplete or outdated content that may have carried over from a previous event.

Step 8: Double-Check Your Items

Go to Items > Manage Items and review three things:

1. Closing times: use the sort arrows on the closing column to spot any outliers. Select the items that need adjusting (or use the header checkbox to select all), scroll to Batch Update, choose the correct closing date and time, and click Update.
2. Item status: items should be Active if they’re meant to be viewable and biddable, Closed if visible but not open for bidding, or Invisible if they should only be accessible through the Butler. Use the sort arrows here too, and make any changes through Batch Update.
3. Starting bid and raise price: filter by Silent to review just your silent auction items, then use the sort arrows to catch anything with an unexpectedly low starting bid or raise amount. You can also check the fair market value alongside it and adjust as needed.

Step 9: Know Your Event Day Support

Every ClickBid event includes support on the date of your choosing. That contact is available by call or text for the duration of your support day, and their information is sent along with your event readiness email about two business days before your event.

If you have questions on anything covered here, reach out to your account manager, or use the request form under Training Support (it goes directly to our support inbox). From your home page, you’ll also find a form that goes straight to your account manager, plus chat support with a live team member from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, Monday through Friday, and AI-assisted support outside those hours.

Related Best Practices

• The full pre-event checklist → Event Readiness in ClickBid: Step-by-Step Setup
• Setting item closing times → How to Set an Item Closing Time