Tips, Tricks & Best Practices
Everything we've learned from hundreds of auction house training sessions — the shortcuts, the pitfalls to avoid, and the techniques that separate a good sale from a great one.
All Roles — Foundations Everyone Should Know
These apply to every person who touches the Bidsquare admin, regardless of their role.
When a bidder says 'I can't see my invoice' or 'I can't register,' go to Users → find their account → click Impersonate. You'll see your website exactly as they do. 90% of support queries resolve in under 60 seconds this way. 'I can't see my invoice' almost always means the invoice was generated but never sent — New status is invisible to buyers.
Admin & Managers
System configuration, platform strategy, and operational oversight.
Every auction gets a permanent URL the moment it's created. It never changes when you edit the title, update the description, or change the date. Include it in printed mailers, email campaigns, and social posts the day you create the auction — even if the catalog isn't ready for months. Start promoting upcoming sales earlier than you think you need to.
Settings → Auction Settings → Default Pre-Filled. Create a structured boilerplate that catalogers fill in rather than starting from scratch. A Condition template with sections for 'Overall Condition:', 'Specific Notes:', 'Provenance:', 'Dimensions:' produces more consistent catalog copy, speeds up cataloging significantly, and reduces published items with missing fields.
Uploading users before your white-label website is launched can create accounts on Bidsquare.com rather than your own site. Users receive account emails but cannot find their accounts on your website. Always confirm the website connection is active before running any bulk user upload.
| Platform | Range |
|---|---|
| Floor / Phone | 1 – 999 |
| Your website (White-Label) | 2,000 – 6,999 |
| Bidsquare marketplace | 7,000 – 9,999 |
| LiveAuctioneers | 900 onwards |
| Invaluable | 10,000+ — always the highest, no exceptions |
Catalogers
Intake workflow, CSV mastery, images, barcodes, and AI tools.
Photograph items against a neutral background in good light with multiple angles — overall front, back, any maker's marks, signatures, hallmarks, damage, and identifying inscriptions. The difference in AI output quality between a single dark photo on a cluttered surface and a well-lit multi-angle set is night and day.
For bulk image uploads, name files as LotNumber_sequence.jpg — e.g. 101_1.jpg (Lot 101, first image), 101_2.jpg (second image). The number after the underscore controls display order. If items don't have lot numbers yet, use the system Item ID as the identifier instead — it never changes regardless of how many times the item moves between auctions.
When building a multi-day sale, do all cataloging in a single auction event first. Once complete, batch-move the Day 2 lots to the second event (Batch Actions → Move or Remove Items from Sale → Reassign and Move) and assign lot numbers there. All images, descriptions, and consignment data travel with the items.
The most common CSV upload failure: a space after a column name, or wrong capitalisation. Always download the latest template and use its exact header row — don't type column names from memory or copy them from a previously modified file.
| Column | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LotName | Yes | The only truly required field for intake |
| StartingBid | For auctions | No $ symbol. Required to publish a lot |
| ConsignmentId | Optional | System number (not name) — auto-routes items |
| Featured | Optional | 1 = featured in catalog banner, 0 = standard |
| Attributes | Optional | Format: Material:Silver;Style:Art Deco |
| Category | Optional | Semicolon-separated: Furniture;Chairs |
Finance Teams
Invoicing, settlements, Products & Services, reporting, and reconciliation.
1) Confirm all buyer invoices are Paid or final. Chase outstanding balances. 2) Confirm all settlements are generated, sent, and payouts recorded. 3) Export Invoice Journal and Settlement Journal as CSV — save permanently. 4) Trigger QuickBooks sync. 5) Reconcile QuickBooks bank entries against your payment gateway. 6) Run Sales Tax Report and confirm your tax liability balance. File any required state returns.
In the Settlements list: 
red dollar = lots with unpaid buyer invoices. 
yellow gavel = unsold lots included. 
orange dollar with down arrow = one or more lots sold below reserve. Review these cues before mass-sending settlement batches so you're not caught off-guard by a consignor question about a below-reserve sale.
The QuickBooks integration is only as good as its account mapping. Incorrect mapping — Buyer's Premium posting to the wrong income account — creates accounting errors difficult to reverse at scale. Have your QuickBooks chart of accounts open on screen during setup. Do a test sync against a completed auction before enabling live Production sync.
Automated invoice reminders stop only when the invoice balance reaches zero. There is no per-bidder 'stop reminders' button. Add 'If you have already arranged payment with us, please disregard this reminder' to your reminder email template to pre-empt calls from buyers who have paid by cheque but the payment hasn't been recorded yet.
| Status | Visible to Buyer? | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| New | No — hidden | Yes, fully editable |
| Sent | Yes | Limited |
| Partial | Yes | Limited |
| Paid | Yes | Refund only |
Registrars
Bidder vetting, approvals, absentee bids, and building your Preferred Bidder base.
heart icon on anyone who paid promptly and bid without issues. Preferred bidders are auto-approved for every future auction the moment you publish it. Build this list aggressively and your pre-sale approval workload shrinks dramatically within 3–4 sales.In My Account → Account Settings, bidders can enable 'Auto-Register for Future Auctions.' When enabled, they're automatically registered and auto-approved for every new auction you publish. Include a line in your post-auction thank-you email: 'Register once for all future auctions — visit My Account → Settings to enable auto-registration.' 10 seconds for the bidder; significant workload reduction for your team.
When testing bidder registration in Demo, use Stripe's test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry, any CVC, any zip. This produces the blue card icon without charging a real card. Important: this only works if your Demo payment gateway is connected to Stripe's test environment.
Auctioneers & Clerks
Live console setup, bid handling, error correction, and the purple swap button.
Never run the Live Console and your video streaming feed on the same machine. Streaming consumes significant CPU and causes console lag — missed bids, delayed bid acceptance, erratic lot closing behavior. Even an older dedicated laptop prevents this entirely. If you only have one machine, skip the video stream rather than risk console performance.
In the Live Center (right panel of the console), create one-click message templates before the auction starts. Suggested: 'Welcome! Auction starting shortly', 'We're taking a 10-minute break — back soon', 'Thank you for bidding — invoices will be sent within 24 hours.' These persist across all future auctions.
Multiple simultaneous users in the Live Console cause data conflicts and technical errors — including duplicate bids and incorrect hammer prices. Designate one console operator and ensure all other staff know to stay out of that tab for the duration. Have the second person work in Lots & Items for background corrections instead.
| Setting | Detail |
|---|---|
| Auto Start Next Lot | ON for most sales — automatic advance after each Sold or Pass |
| Enter Floor Numbers | ON whenever you have floor, phone, or third-party bidders |
| Auto Accept Online | OFF for mixed auctions — ON only for pure online-only sales |
| Green button | Your website or Bidsquare.com bid — click to accept |
| Blue Post Floor Bid | Every other bid: floor, phone, LA, Invaluable |
| Purple swap button | Swap floor/platform bid for competing online max absentee at same level |
| LA placeholder | Type 'LA' for LiveAuctioneers winners |
| INV placeholder | Type 'INV' for Invaluable winners |
| Undo Last Bid | Grey button — rolls back one bid, reinstates absentee bids at lot start |
Consignment Managers
Consignor relationships, commission strategy, communications, and the portal.
Every pre-registration auction page automatically includes a Consign With Us tab. Potential consignors submit items directly — no phone call, no email, no friction. Include a link in every outbound email and social post with copy like 'Have items to sell? Submit your consignment inquiry online →'. It works 24/7 and captures interest you'd otherwise miss.
The most common commission mistake: editing the default rule to give a VIP consignor a better rate. This changes the rate for every new consignment being created. Instead, create dedicated rules: 'VIP Flat 10%', 'Dealer 12%'. Staff select the correct rule during consignment creation. One clean default; exceptions explicitly named.
After every sale, run Reports → Under Bidder Report. It shows the highest non-winning bidder for every lot — including unsold lots. For any item that passed unsold, you know exactly who wanted it most. Contact them with a direct second-chance purchase offer. This converts a significant percentage of unsold lots into sales without re-cataloging.
As soon as items are added to a consignment, they become visible in the consignor's portal if Consignor Login is enabled. Only enable Consignor Login after item cataloging is complete and any consignor conversations about lot selection, estimates, or commission are finalised.
Post-Sale Operations — All Roles
Third-party imports, clearing unsold items, the Audit Log, and the permanent clearance strategy.