Frequently Asked Questions Based on previous customer feedback, we’ve assembled this FAQ to help answer some of the questions you may have about Auction Harmony and its benefits. If you have a question that’s not listed here, please feel free to contact us. Our organization has always been responsible for managing registration and the auction portion of our event. Why should we contract with Auction Harmony to provide these services? Why should long lines at my event concern me? People shouldn’t mind waiting since it’s all for a good cause. I’ve heard that Auction Harmony can increase the revenue at an event. How is this possible? We have always processed credit card transactions from the office after the event. Why is it important to collect card information at registration using Auction Harmony? How do you provide feedback about the event once it’s complete? Are there reports you can give me? Contracting for event services means we “raise” less during our event or that we must increase the ticket price. How can we justify and manage this expense? Most auction events have a check out system that makes guests stand in line to pay and collect their purchases. How does Auction Harmony make lines disappear? You suggest that using the Auction Harmony will give our guests more time to bid. How can you say this? We have a live auction during our event. Can Auction Harmony add these items to a guest’s invoice? Do we have to find people to handle registration and other customer service functions at our event? What do you bring to my event? Am I responsible for supplying computers, printers, and all the other associated equipment to make the event a success I’ve been using computers for a long time and I know that things can break, crash, or just plain not work. What do you do to prevent a catastrophe from happening during my event? How does Auction Harmony capture the data needed to assign barcodes and print bid sheets? Does Auction Harmony test the data to be sure there are no duplicate guest or item records We used our credit card processing company’s terminals for a previous event. The system was difficult to set up, required a specific type of phone line, and each transaction took a long time to process. How does Auction Harmony get around these hassles? Sometimes we have guests mistakenly take items that they thought they won but didn’t. How do you prevent this from happening? Auction Harmony claims that bid data is more accurate using a barcode-based system. How can this be true? The Host Experience | top Q. Our organization has always been responsible for managing registration and the auction portion of our event. Why should we contract with Auction Harmony to provide these services? A. Time. There are millions of details that need to be managed before, during, and after an event. Auction Harmony can handle most of the tedious ones for you, releasing staff to focus on strategic details like item donations and marketing for a “sell out” event. During and after the event, staff are also free to cultivate relationships with guests, sponsors, and current/prospective donors. Such relationships are vital for an organization’s longevity and have a real impact on the bottom line. | top Q. Why should long lines at my event concern me? People shouldn’t mind waiting since it’s all for a good cause. A. Guests that are forced to stand in line are less likely to want to return to your event in the future and may even tell their friends about their frustration. From a financial standpoint, people standing in lines aren’t spending money. The less time it takes to make a bid, complete a beverage purchase, or get in on a game the better their experience and the more money they’ll spend. In general, short wait times translate into a better experience for guests and a more positive perception of the event. | top Q. I’ve heard that Auction Harmony can increase the revenue at an event. How is this possible? A. Auction Harmony streamlines financial transactions. It’s like giving each guest his/her own credit card for the event. Guests’ unique barcodes allow you to charge any financial transaction during the event to their accounts – beverage tickets, event game tickets, and silent/live auction items. Just like in the retail industry, this promotes more spontaneous spending and less thought about the amount guests are spending. Guests are not continually opening their wallets and purses and watching their cash supplies dwindle. Rather, they can quickly and easily pay at the end of the event with a single check or credit card transaction. | top Q. We have always processed credit card transactions from the office after the event. Why is it important to collect card information at registration using Auction Harmony? A. An organization loses money when they process credit cards after the event because credit card companies see these transactions as “cards not present.” Such transactions are considered more risky and card companies therefore charge a higher discount rate to cover potential losses. Auction Harmony uses the Magstripe data on the back of cards to send the card companies “cards present” transactions, which gets you a better discount rate. Auction Harmony’s payment process also saves time. Entering all that data, one transaction at a time, takes a significant amount of staff hours that could be used to analyze sales data and move on to the next event. | top Q. How do you provide feedback about the event once it’s complete? Are there reports you can give me? A. Auction Harmony recognizes the importance of assessment tools. We want you to know as much about your event as possible. To achieve this goal, we deliver a series of reports while still at the venue to give you instant feedback for your event. You can see a list of some of the reports we provide here. We provide additional reports in the days following your event based on your specifications and needs. If you anticipate special reporting requirements please let us know in advance of your event to ensure that we collect this data. Most of our reports are available as spreadsheets for easy importing into your existing management system. | top Q. Contracting for event services means we “raise” less during our event or that we must increase the ticket price. How can we justify and manage this expense? A. We actually find that events raise more with our system than they would otherwise. In addition, a problem-free event sends a message to guests and sponsors that an organization is in control and leveraging funds strategically. To help manage this additional expense we offer several pricing options to cater to any size event and budget. We also offer flexible payment options to meet the needs of many types of organizations. | top The Guest Experience | top Q. Most auction events have a check out system that makes guests stand in line to pay and collect their purchases. How does Auction Harmony make lines disappear? A Auction Harmony reduces lines because payment information is collected during guest registration. Our barcode-based system means that data is processed quickly, allowing invoices and packing slips to be printed minutes after the close of the auction. Volunteers or Auction Harmony staff then assemble a guest’s winning bids for quick pickup. All a guest needs to do for checkout is sign a receipt and pickup their pre-packaged items. | top Q. You suggest that using the Auction Harmony will give our guests more time to bid. How can you say this? A. Using barcodes means that data can be processed faster. Organizations are free to leave the silent auction area open for a longer period of time. Because Auction Harmony brings multiple computers, scanners, and printers, we can have invoices ready within minutes of the close of the auction. | top Q. We have a live auction during our event. Can Auction Harmony add these items to a guest’s invoice? A. Yes. Our system can handle live auction items in addition to silent auction items. We use a unique tracking system to reprint invoices for those guests who have made additional purchases after the initial batch of invoices is printed. This allows you to continue making beverage, game, and live auction sales until checkout time. | top The Staff Experience | top Q. Do we have to find people to handle registration and other customer service functions at our event? A. That’s up to you. Our system is easy to use and designed with the volunteer in mind. We’re happy to train people you provide to handle registration, data entry, and checkout. If you have a limited volunteer pool, we’re also happy to provide Auction Harmony staff to perform these functions at your event. | top Q. What do you bring to my event? Am I responsible for supplying computers, printers, and all the other associated equipment to make the event a success? A. Auction Harmony supplies everything for you. Based on your requirements, we bring all bidding/registration materials, printing supplies for late registrants, and enough computer terminals to run your event. In addition, we also provide our own wireless networks and redundant servers regardless of event size. Our goal is to free you from the logistical details of your event and supply everything necessary to keep things running smoothly. | top Q. I’ve been using computers for a long time and I know that things can break, crash, or just plain not work. What do you do to prevent a catastrophe from happening during my event? A. Auction Harmony’s commitment to your event goes beyond just supplying the system and hardware. We also provide an Event Manager and IT Engineer from start to finish to ensure that any problems that may arise are corrected quickly. We use redundant computer, network, and power systems that ensure a single failure won’t slow down your event. Not even if the lights go out. | top Q. How does Auction Harmony capture the data needed to assign barcodes and print bid sheets? A. Auction Harmony will supply you with a spreadsheet that requests an item description, opening bid, minimum raise, and donor information. You can use your current data management system (Raisers Edge, auction catalog production software) to export the data and place it in our spreadsheet. | top Q. Does Auction Harmony test the data to be sure there are no duplicate guest or item records? A. We perform tests before and during the event to ensure accuracy. In addition, the software in our system is written to “check” for duplicates. | top Q. We used our credit card processing company’s terminals for a previous event. The system was difficult to set up, required a specific type of phone line, and each transaction took a long time to process. How does Auction Harmony get around these hassles? A. Auction Harmony processes credit card purchases using a secure, internet-based connection that is much faster than a system using a phone line. Part of the benefit of using Auction Harmony is that your organization is not responsible for procuring equipment, setup, or transaction processing. | top Q. Sometimes we have guests mistakenly take items that they thought they won but didn’t. How do you prevent this from happening? A. In addition to invoices, Auction Harmony prints packing slips for silent/live auction items. This allows workers to package items and strictly control delivery. Rather than collecting their own winning bids, guests simply present proof of payment to receive their pre-packaged items. To help guarantee accuracy, each auction item has been labeled with its own barcode identification. | top Q. Auction Harmony claims that bid data is more accurate using a barcode-based system. How can this be true? A. Hitting the wrong key, transposing digits, or looking in the wrong place is easy to do when working under pressure. Simple mistakes like these can turn into complicated customer service problems. Barcodes all but eliminate these kinds of human errors and can help you realize a hassle-free event. Capitalize on the speed and accuracy of the technology like retailers have for years. | top
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