Welcome to Bidsquare.
Here's everything
you need to know.
This is the first of two short reads that get you started — pair it with the Getting Started guide before you dive in. Together they take you from your first login to your first live auction. Read them once, bookmark them, and share with your team.
New to Bidsquare? Start with these two short guides, in order — read both before you dive into the platform. This one gives you the lay of the land; Getting Started hands you the tools and the order to learn in. Fifteen minutes across the two will save you hours later.
Your Two Environments
Train in Demo, do the real work in Production. This is the single most important rule on the platform — understand it first and everything else falls into place.
demo.bidsquare.com/seller
bidsquare.com/seller
Creating a staff account in Demo does not create it in Production. Configuring your buyer's premium in Demo does not configure it in Production. Every setup step must be performed in both environments independently. The most common onboarding mistake is assuming a setting applied in Demo has carried across.
The What's in your plan page shows the full auction workflow across all three Bidsquare tiers — Marketplace, White-Label, and Vault — so you can see exactly which features apply to you at each stage.
Do This First
Five minutes to get going — you don't need to read everything before you begin. Get logged in, look around, then work through the journey below.
Everything below happens in your Demo environment, where nothing is real. Click about freely — this is the place to learn before you touch Production.
Your Onboarding Journey
A step-by-step path from your first login in Demo to your first live auction in Production — with your site launch woven in at the right point.
This timeline reflects the typical onboarding journey. Your exact sequence, pace and priorities may differ based on your team size, data volume and go-live date. Your onboarding manager will adapt this to your specific situation — treat it as a framework, not a fixed schedule.
Tick off each step as you complete it — we'll remember your progress on this device.
Visit demo.bidsquare.com/seller with your provided credentials. Click every menu. Nothing here can break anything — explore freely.
Get comfortable with the layout before formal training begins. Check the main areas: Auctions, Consignments, Inventory, Users, Sales and Settings.
Your Bidsquare onboarding manager will share an early design preview of your white-label website. Review branding and layout, and provide feedback early while changes are still fast.
Add each team member in Demo with the correct role permissions. Catalogers, finance, registrars and auctioneers each get their own login — never share credentials.
Set buyer's premium, bid increments, platform entries, paddle ranges, TaxJar states, invoice reminder timing and all default item and shipping text fields.
All staff complete their relevant modules from the Training area in the admin sidebar. Use the User Manual alongside each module for deeper context. Allow 3–5 days across the team.
Build every rate structure you use — flat, tiered or step-down. These must exist before consignors or consignments can be created, so set them up before the mock.
Complete a full sale end-to-end in Demo, in order: Create consignor → Create consignment → Add items → Create auction → Assign lot numbers → Run live console → Generate invoices → Generate settlements. No exceptions — every team finds something here that training alone didn't surface.
Once your Demo configuration is confirmed correct, replicate every setting exactly in your Production admin: buyer's premium, platforms, commission rules, TaxJar and all defaults.
Reaching this step means your site design has been approved and Bidsquare has moved into launch phase — you'll receive DNS instructions from your onboarding manager as the signal that the site is ready. Update your domain records as instructed and Bidsquare completes the launch within 24 hours.
Visit your domain on desktop and mobile. Verify branding and the Upcoming Auctions page all load. This confirmation is the green light for the next two steps.
Settings → Payment Accounts → connect your processor. Run a real $1 pre-auth in Production. This must work before bidders can register. Do not skip. Contact your onboarding manager for assistance if needed.
Only after the site is confirmed live: Users → Bulk User List CSV Upload in Production. Uploading before launch creates accounts in the wrong place — this order is critical.
Remember — the data you load is yours to own and manage. You can control and export any of your customer data as you wish.
Create your first real auction in Production. Add consignors, consignments and catalog, assign lot numbers, and publish. Ideally do this before launch so content is live on day one.
Email your customers with your site URL, how to register and a link to your first auction. Share the Docs Hub with all staff. Book your onboarding contact for your first live sale.
Every team that completes a full mock auction in Demo before go-live reports a smooth first live sale. The mock surfaces gaps that training alone never catches — and fixing them in Demo takes minutes rather than the hours it would take during a real auction with real bidders watching.
Auction End-to-End Workflow
Before diving into training, get the big picture. Every auction follows the same sequence from first contact to final payout — understand this map first.
Auctions → Create Auction. Set date, time and location. Publish in Pre-Registration mode immediately — registrations can begin before the catalog is ready.
Consignments → Commission and Rules → Add New. Build flat, tiered or step-down rates for every consignor type you work with. These must exist before consignments can be created.
Consignments → Consignors → Add Consignor. Check for an existing bidder account first to unify records. Set payee name, payout preference and default commission rule.
One consignment per intake or delivery. Links items to the correct consignor and commission structure. The consignment ID is needed for bulk CSV uploads.
Add single items directly to each consignment, or bulk-upload via CSV. Only the title is required at intake — all other fields can be completed later.
Complete titles, descriptions, conditions, estimates and categories. Use the AI auto-cataloging tool* or the Vault mobile app* for faster on-site intake.
Drag images onto each item record, or bulk-upload using the naming convention LotNumber_1.jpg. First image becomes the primary lot photo.
Auto-assign sequentially, drag-and-drop, CSV re-import, barcode scan, or manual entry.
Toggle Cloud Published on your auction. Items go live on your website within minutes. Toggle Bidsquare Published to also list on the marketplace.
User Registration tab → filter to Pending → hover names to review history → Approve or Batch Approve. Mark trusted buyers as Preferred for auto-approval on future sales.
Email consignors their lot list with estimates (Consignment tab → Batch Actions → Pre-Sale Reminder). Feature your best lots in the catalog banner.
From the Auctioneer menu inside the event: set up the Auctioneer Screen, print the Auctioneer Report, and set up the Floor Screen for in-person events.
Available 30 minutes before scheduled start. Set the three critical toggles: Auto Start Next Lot on, Enter Floor Numbers on, Auto Accept Online off.
Start Auction → Start Lot → accept online bids (green button) or Post Floor Bid for all other bids → enter paddle when lot sells. Auto Start handles the rest.
Enter LA or INV as paddle placeholders for third-party platform bids. Phone bidders use their registered paddle. Use Undo Last Bid to correct errors immediately.
Confirm every lot is sold or passed → click End Sale. Catalog moves to results state. Third-party lots show Reg N/A until import is complete.
Upload the LiveAuctioneers EOA / Invaluable Session Results file twice: first to Users to create accounts, then to Lots & Items to reconcile results.
All invoices start in New status — invisible to buyers. Review every invoice before sending. Correct hammer prices, BP or missing lots while you still can.
Send invoices → auto charge saved cards or record manual payments. Automated reminders run on your configured schedule until the balance reaches zero.
Generate settlements once key invoices are paid. Review each settlement in New status — check the red $ warning on any with unpaid invoices. Send statements, record payouts.
Create the auction first. Then build everything around it — consignors, consignments, inventory, and bidder handling are all defined by the event target. A published auction in Pre-Registration mode means registrations start accumulating from day one, giving you a warm audience before the catalog is even complete.
* The AI auto-cataloging tool and the Vault mobile app are paid additional features. Contact your onboarding manager or Bidsquare support for more information.
Your Training & Documentation Ecosystem
Now let's get to work. Learn everything through the Interactive Training Tool, the User Manual and the Docs Hub — in that order, at your own pace.
Read the relevant section of the User Manual first to understand the reasoning and context, then open the Training Tool and practice the workflow step-by-step in your Demo environment. Muscle memory built in Demo transfers directly to Production — the two systems are identical.
How to access the Docs Hub
Once your platform is live, the Documentation Hub is accessible directly from your admin panel via a link in the top-right corner of the header navigation. Share this link with your entire team — every role has relevant guides available from day one: catalogers, finance staff, registrars, and auctioneers each have guides written specifically for their workflows. The hub includes a live search bar so staff can find answers to specific questions without reading entire guides.
Where to Go From Here
You're live. Here are the guides and resources that will keep you on top of your game as you run your first sales.
The teams that get the most out of Bidsquare fastest are the ones that use the Demo environment aggressively — not just for initial training, but continuously. Every time a new feature is released, every time a new staff member joins, every time you're about to try something you haven't done before: do it in Demo first. That habit, more than anything else, is what separates smooth-running auction houses from ones that call support every week.
Getting Help
We're here whenever you need us. Phone, email, and your onboarding manager — for the questions the docs can't answer.
| Channel | Contact | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 📧 Email Support | support@bidsquare.com | Non-urgent questions, CSV issues, configuration help, anything you want in writing |
| 📞 Phone Support | 1-800-657-0092 | Urgent issues during a live auction, same-day questions, anything time-sensitive |
| 🧑💼 Onboarding Manager | By email or scheduled video call | Setup questions, configuration review, pre-launch walkthrough, pre-sale check-in |
- Exact IDs. Auction name, lot number, item ID, invoice number, user ID or email — the more precisely you point us to the record, the faster we find it.
- Expected vs actual. What did you expect to happen, what happened instead, and when did it start?
- Evidence. A screenshot or the exact error message cuts resolution time significantly. If you can see it on screen, capture it.
You're never on your own with Bidsquare — phone, email and your onboarding manager are all available whenever you need them. A few days before your first sale, request a pre-sale check-in with your onboarding manager. It's the ideal moment to ask any last-minute questions and clear up anything you're unsure about, so you can walk into your first auction with confidence.