Customer Center
The Customer Center stores both your bidders and consignors’ information. From the Customer Center, you can import or export customer records as needed. Whenever a bidder successfully registers for your auction, their details will be automatically added to your Customer Center.
Adding Customers from the Customer Center
- New Customer: This feature allows you to add a new bidder to your system without the need to check them into an auction.
- Mailing List: Create and export a tailored list of bidders for use in email marketing campaigns.
- Permanent Bidders: Permanent bid card numbers are issued only for live auction participants and are not available to online bidders. Online bidders receive event-specific numbers.
- Online participants typically receive temporary or event-specific bidder numbers that change for each auction. Therefore, permanent bid card numbers are used only in live auctions and are not available for online or remote bidders.
- Import Customers: This feature enables you to import customer data from a spreadsheet.
- Export Customers: Export your customer data to a spreadsheet for easy access and analysis.
Customer Details
The “Customer Details” page in Auction Flex 360 (AF360) provides a detailed view of a customer’s information. Here’s an explanation of the various sections visible in the following image:
- Customer Info: This tab contains the core details of the customer, such as their name, contact information, and any other basic identification or registration details.
- Addresses: This section holds all address-related information for the customer, including billing and shipping addresses. Multiple addresses can be stored if necessary.
- Accounting: This tab tracks the customer’s financial transactions with your auction service. It includes invoices, payment history, any credits or balances due, and a breakdown of their financial interactions with your auction house.
- Auction Buyer Details: This section provides specific information about the customer as a buyer. It includes bidding history, preferences, purchase details, buyer numbers, and other auction-related behavior.
These settings allow you to manage customer data efficiently in Auction Flex 360, organizing all necessary information into specific categories for easy access and management.
Live Auction Check-In
If you’re conducting a live auction, follow these steps to check in your bidders:
- Navigate to Auction Day > Check In.
- Click the ‘Check In’ button on the left side of the screen.
For internet-only auctions, bidders are automatically checked in, so no additional steps are needed.
Once a bidder has been checked into an auction, their information will be saved in your Customer Center, which can be accessed from the top menu in AF360.
Note:
In the Check-In area, you can quickly search for and mass check-in all your permanent bidders at once, or search for a specific bidder by their bid card number. This feature streamlines the process, making it fast and efficient to manage your bidders, whether you’re handling a large group or just one individual.
New Customer Filter: Sellers Only
We’ve added a convenient filter to the Customers page, allowing you to sort by Sellers, Bidders, or All. This makes it easier to quickly find and manage specific customer groups based on your needs, improving overall organization and efficiency.
Set Buyer Tax and/or Buyer’s Premium by Bidder
This powerful new feature allows you to track and set custom tax rates and buyer’s premiums (BP) for specific bidders. If you have special bidders who receive a lower BP than others, simply navigate to their customer record and set their unique BP. When lots are clerked to them, the system will automatically apply the new BP to their settlement.
Additionally, for bidders who need to be charged their local tax rate instead of yours, you can easily set their custom tax rate in their customer record. Once set, the correct tax will be applied to any future lots clerked to them. This feature is especially helpful for managing special bidder arrangements and ensures accurate settlements for every bidder. More enhancements to this feature are coming soon!
Bidder Deposit Management: Return or Move Deposits
This feature allows you to record any advance payments made by a bidder and easily apply them to their settlement. To do this, simply check the bidder into the auction through the Check-In process. Once the bidder is checked in, you can track their deposit and seamlessly apply it to their final settlement when the auction concludes, ensuring accurate and efficient financial management.
- You can add several deposits this way or individually as you check bidders in.
We’ve added new features to make managing bidder deposits even easier. Now, after your auction ends, you can either return the remaining balance of a deposit directly on the bidder’s settlement or move the deposit to the next auction.
In the Settlements area, you’ll see a notification if there are remaining deposits for an auction. Simply click Edit to return the deposit or select the option to transfer the balance to another auction. You can also manage and adjust the deposit right from the bidder’s settlement page, giving you complete control over how deposits are handled. This improvement simplifies post-auction settlement and keeps things running smoothly for both you and your bidders.
