Information Packet and Sample Printouts
Transcription
Information Packet and Sample Printouts
Information Packet and Sample Printouts Thanks for your interest in our software! In this document, we’ve included an overview of the SchoolAuction.net subscription-plan options (with prices), the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions, provided you with samples of the type of Bid Sheets, Description Sheets, and Gift Certificates that you can generate easily and quickly with SchoolAuction.net and thrown in a copy of one of our marketing flyers, that you can print out and take with you to a fundraising committee meeting. We know that the process of choosing and purchasing software to help with your auction can move slowly sometimes and that it is often a group decision; we hope this packet of information can help. If you have specific questions, please call me at (503) 913-4407 anytime; or email me at [email protected]. I love talking about auctions, online auctions, art shows, walka-thons, etc.; I’ve chaired my share and helped many schools with theirs. Together we can probably figure out quickly whether our software will work and will be cost-effective for your event (it is for many, but not all auctions; ask and I’ll tell you which types give us problems.) Best, Roger Devine SchoolAuction.net (503) 913-4407 [email protected] Subscription Plans SchoolAuction.net is web-based software; you set up an account for your organization with us, then you can create sites for each auction, online auction or other fundraising event you hold. You can set up a trial event site for free; for 14 days you’ll have full access to the software (although any printouts you make will have a watermark on them). To start your trial, go to http://my.schoolauction.net/signup Feature Basic Limited Standard Premium Gala Auction Features Track Item Donations Track Ticket Sales & Guest Information Print Bid Sheets Print Description Sheets Print Gift Certificates Print Catalog Check Guests In and Capture Credit-Card Number (Express Pay option) Sell Auction Items to Guests Check Guests Out and Process Credit-Card Payments Print Guest Receipts Automatic Receipt Sponsorship “Round-Up” at Check-Out Post-Event Reporting Online Item Donations Online Cash Donations Online Registration (Guest Tickets) Credit-Card Swipers Included 4 Feature Basic Limited Standard Premium $995 $1,295 Technical Support Online Documentation w/ videos Unlimited Email Support Event-Night Telephone Support Pre-Event Telephone Support (Unlimited) Other Features Online Auctions * Point-of-Sale Events (Cashiering Module) * Price $295 $695 (Best Value) * A Limited SchoolAuction.net subscription allows for one event only - a Gala Auction, an Online Auction or a Point-of-Sale event. Want to put the decision on which to purchase off and just try it out first? No problem; sign up for a free 14-Day Trial account by clicking on the link below (or typing it into a web browser) and we’ll start you off as if you are going to be a Standard subscriber. If you want to switch subscription types at the end of your trial, just email me ([email protected]) and let me know what you want to do. Here’s the link: http://my.schoolauction.net/ signup A few frequently asked questions What is SchoolAuction.net? It’s web-based software that your fundraising team can use to help plan, prepare for and run fundraising events. What kinds of fundraising events? Gala auctions, online auctions, and “point-of-sale” events – think art sales, bake sales and the like. Organizations have also used it successfully for golf tournaments and walk-a-thons, but it’s really built pri¬marily for auctions. What parts of the planning and preparation does it help with? Here’s the big 5: 1. Tracking donations. Anyone on your team who procures items for you to sell at the auction can enter all of the critical data about the items they get, from their home or work computer 2. Selling tickets. Your guests can buy their event tickets at your SchoolAuction.net website, or you can sell tickets by hand, and enter the data later. Or both! 3. Printing bid sheets, etc. SchoolAuction.net will automatically generate bid sheets, description sheets, gift certificates and a catalog listing from the information entered by your procurement team. It will also generate guest labels from the ticket data. 4. Event-night functions. You’ll use the software on event night to check guests in, sell them items and check them out quickly and easily. The software works with a variety of credit-card processors to process transaction data in real-time, at checkout. 5. Post-event reporting. There are over 100 standard reports to help you figure out what types of items sold, to whom, and for how much. (Plus much more...) What does it cost? A one-year subscription costs 995. This lets you use the software for as many events as you want to hold during the subscription term, and includes all support. The renewal fee for each subsequent year is 795. SchoolAuction. net does not charge any transaction fees, nor any fees based on the number of users. What will I need to use it? To get started, all you need is a computer (Mac or PC), an internet connection, and a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari). On event night, you will need additional computers and printers to use as check-in stations (we recommend 4 stations for auctions of up to 250 guests, with an additional station for every 50 guests thereafter). You will need an internet connection at your auction venue - it can be wired or wireless. If you plan on accepting credit cards at your event, you’ll also need to set up an account with a credit-card processor. This is called a merchant account, and if your organization already has one, chances are very good you can use that exist¬ing account. If not, we can recommend several banks to you that are willing to provide accounts to small non-profits, at very reasonable rates (generally 1.75 - 2.5, plus between 0.10 and 0.30 per transaction) What kind of support and training will I get with my subscription? We have extensive documentation available, an all-you-can-eat email support policy, weekly free online training sessions for event-night volunteers, and on-demand cell-phone support on the day of your event (for up to 4 events per year.) Why is SchoolAuction.net better than the other auction software out there? We have a lot of respect for our competitors – you won’t catch us saying unflattering things about their software. But we believe that our business model – with a flat fee, no transaction charges, and no user-seat fees, is easier to budget, saves your organization money, and makes it easier for you to spread the work out among your whole team – volunteers, and school staff alike. We used to be able to differ¬entiate ourselves by pointing out that our software was web-based, and theirs wasn’t – but now most of them are intro¬ducing web-based upgrades to their software, too. Our customers also say very nice things about our customer service – if you’d like to talk to any of them, let us know. We treat our customers the way we want to be treated by the people we buy from, especially since we still think of ourselves as the same kind of people our customers are – most of us are also former or current auction chairs, PTA presidents, development directors and the like. So, how do I get started? You can set up a free 14-day trial account at: http://my.schoolauction.net/signup During your trial, if you need any help you can email lisa@tofinoauctions.com and I’ll be happy to answer any questions. Or, just call me at (503) 913-4407. You can be setup and working on your auction in 10 minutes. Printout Samples The following pages show some samples: bid sheets, description sheets, a signup-party sheet and a gift certificate. The bid and description sheets have several options you can select, including: Size: the Normal sheets fit 2-across on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, the Large are each 8.5 x 11. Bid Increments: Print just the first line, and leave the others blank, or print bid increments all the way down the line Show FMV: Either have the Fair Market Value printed at the top, or not Show Closing Time: Either have the Closing Time printed across the top, or not Buy It Now: Have a Buy It Now price printed at the bottom, or not. (This can be selected on an item-by-item basis) Name Buy it now: Bid # $75.00 $20.00 Amount Minimum Raise: $5.00 Thanks To: Sample Donor Minimum Bid: $20.00 Value: $50.00 Item #1 Closing Time: 9:00 PM Martini Set Sample Donor Thanks To This is where you enter restrictions, like "must be used before 11/12/2013" or "batteries not included." Here's a sample item listing, to inspire you to enter your own. Value: $50.00 Martini Set Item #1 Bid # Name $30.00 Amount Minimum Raise: $5.00 Thanks To: Sample Donor Minimum Bid: $30.00 Value: $75.00 Item #3 Closing Time: 9:00 PM Pyrometer Sample Donor Thanks To A very handy gadget for measuring how hot things get. Who doesn't need one of those? Value: $75.00 Pyrometer Item #3 Hawaiian Luau! #4 20 Places Available Cost: $10.00 Come to Roger's house on Auguat 12, for Pig, Poi, and Pomegranate Daiquiries! Wear your loudest Aloha shirt and bring the kids to swim in the pool. Please purchase one slot for each adult attending - kids are free! Thanks To Sample Donor Hawaiian Luau! #4 20 Places Available Bid # Name Cost 1 $10.00 2 $10.00 3 $10.00 4 $10.00 5 $10.00 6 $10.00 7 $10.00 8 $10.00 9 $10.00 10 $10.00 11 $10.00 12 $10.00 13 $10.00 14 $10.00 15 $10.00 16 $10.00 17 $10.00 18 $10.00 19 $10.00 20 $10.00 Thanks To: Sample Donor Acme Industries Donated By Must be 18 or over; must sign liability waiver before ride begins. Total guest weight must be under 1,000 lbs. Restrictions Redemption information: Call Tom at 555-1212 to schedule your trip; all trips leave from Valley Park in Springfield. An amazing 2-hour ride over the Central Valley. Look close - you can see your house! A Ride In A Hot Air Balloon Item #4 Big Blue Auction Gift Certificate All about credit-card processing and our software Fundraising auctions can get a huge boost to their bottom line simply by accepting credit-cards as a payment method for their guests. Indeed, most auction teams we work with don’t even think of this as optional; integrated credit-card processing is a must-have feature in any auction software system they consider. Most of the auction-software products on the market (including Tofino Auctions and SchoolAuction.net) do integrate credit-card processing into their systems seamlessly. Matter of fact, many of them were initially built primarily to accomplish just this function. But not every product on the market handles this the same way. The most common method is for a software company to make an exclusive alliance with one transaction-processing bank (the merchant processor) and make all of their customers use that bank. There is one non-negotiable fee schedule. In addition to the cost that the software company charges its customers for the software product itself, there is a 1-2 fee on each creditcard transaction that the software company adds on to the bank’s rates, and keeps for itself. This is rolled into the total transaction-processing fee (usually 3.25–3.75), and if the breakdown is disclosed to the customer, it usually is not done so very clearly. Tofino Auctions and SchoolAuction.net are different. Our customers can choose between a large group of merchant processors, shop for the best rates, and pay only the rates that the bank charges - we do not layer on any additional per-transaction costs for us. We do this by integrating our software with 6 large, well-known Internet Payment Gateways - companies that serve as an interface between websites (like your organization’s Tofino Auctions or SchoolAuction.net event websites) and the merchant processors. The list of supported Internet Payment Gateways is: eProcessing Network PayTrace Wonderpay Authorize.net Braintree Merchant e-Solutions Vanco eServices PayFlow Pro If you have an existing merchant-processing account with another bank, ask that bank if they interface with one of these gateways; if so, you can use your existing account with Tofino Auctions and SchoolAuction.net simply by having them set up a account for you with one of the gateways listed above. If your organization does NOT have an existing merchant processor, start looking for one by calling one of the preferred merchant processors listed below. Tell them that you want to use Tofino Auctions/SchoolAuction. net, and they will set you up with a package that includes a supported gateway account. To make this list, they have to a) provide lower rates than the traditional specialized auction-payment services, b) have a track record of working with non-profit organizations on fundraising auctions, and c) provide excellent customer service (we monitor the customer service level of these companies and welcome your feedback). Recommended Merchant Processors Northwest U.S. Total Merchant Concepts, Vancouver, WA. Contact: Eric Jenks, 1-888-249-9919 or [email protected] North Pacific Payment Services, Portland OR Contact: John Jordan, (503) 639-5577 or [email protected] New England/New York Reliance Merchant Services Contact: Sandie Griffin, (203) 438-5961, x11 or sgriffi[email protected] California, Midwest, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, Southern U.S. PayPlanner Contact: Robert Hanczor, (619) 248-2002 or [email protected] About Security: Why This Is Safe Tofino Auctions/SchoolAuction.net follows the PCI Data Security Standards for account data protection. If your school or organization chooses to ask guests to give you a credit-card number at check-in on the night of your auction; that data is encrypted, and then sent through a secure tunnel to the Internet Payment Gateway, which securely stores the card data and then returns to the application a secure token which can be used for processing that card later in the evening. Card data is NOT stored on your computers, or on our servers. If you choose to forego capturing card numbers at check-in, and instead only enter card numbers at check-out (when you are also sending the transaction amount), the account and transaction data is passed directly through to the bank, without being vaulted at the gateway. SCHOOLAUCTION.NET™ AUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE The easy solution for school fund-raising auctions— now with online bidding 0M`V\HYLY\UUPUN`V\YZJOVVS»ZH\J[PVUTHU\HSS` `V\»]LWYVIHIS`[OV\NO[HIV\[HJX\PYPUNH\J[PVU THUHNLTLU[ZVM[^HYL[VRLLW[YHJRVMKVUH[PVUZHUK YLK\JL`V\YWSHUUPUNZL[\WHUKJOLJRV\[[PTL )\[TVZ[H\J[PVUZVM[^HYLPZKLZPNULKMVYO\NL ILULÄ[H\J[PVUZTHUHNLKI`WHPKWYVMLZZPVUHSZ 0[»ZL_WLUZP]LHUKKPMÄJ\S[[VHKHW[[VH[LHTVM ]VS\U[LLYZ ;OH[»Z^OLYL:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[JVTLZPU)\PS[I` WHYLU[Z:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[PZH\J[PVUTHUHNLTLU[ ZVM[^HYLKLZPNULKKL]LSVWLK·HUKWYPJLK· ZWLJPÄJHSS`MVYZJOVVSM\UKYHPZPUNH\J[PVUZ >OH[»ZKPMMLYLU[HIV\[:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[& :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[PZ^LIIHZLK ,]LY`TLTILYVM`V\Y[LHTJHULU[LY[PJRL[ZHSLZHUK WYVJ\YLTLU[P[LTZHZZVVUHZ[OL`JVTLPUMYVT[OLPY OVTLJVTW\[LY·L]LUPM[OL`JVUZPKLY[OLTZLS]LZ [LJOUVSVN`JOHSSLUNLK :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[PZÅL_PISL :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[^VYRZ^P[OH^PKLYHUNLVMJVTW\[LYZ7* 4HJHUK3PU\_HUKWLYPWOLYHSZWYPU[LYZJHYKZ^PWLYZ6U[OLUPNO[ VM[OLH\J[PVU\ZL`V\YZJOVVS»ZJVTW\[LYZVYYLU[[OLTMYVTVUL VMV\YYLJVTTLUKLK]LUKVYZPU`V\YHYLH(UKUV^:JOVVS(\J[PVU UL[OLSWZ`V\Y\UIV[OSP]LL]LU[ZHUKVUSPULH\J[PVUZ :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[WYV]PKLZLHZ`HJJLZZ[V`V\YPUMVYTH[PVU :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[THRLZP[LHZ`MVY`V\[VL_WVY[`V\YKH[H([ HU`WVPU[`V\JHUX\PJRS`HUKLHZPS`JVU]LY[HU`YLWVY[NLULYH[LK I`:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[[VH[L_[JZ]VY4PJYVZVM[,_JLSÄSL :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[SL[Z`V\\ZL[OLJYLKP[JHYKWYVJLZZVY`V\ WYLMLY 0M`V\KVU»[OH]LVUL^LJHUYLJVTTLUKHML^PUL_WLUZP]LVULZ I\[^L^VU»[PUZLY[V\YZLS]LZIL[^LLU`V\HUK[OLT·HUK^L ^VU»[THYR\W[OLPYMLLZ :JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[PZWYPJLKMVYZJOVVSH\J[PVUZ @V\YÄYZ[`LHYH:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[Z\IZJYPW[PVUJVZ[Z`V\YVYNHUPaH[PVU 7LYPVK5VWLYJLU[HNLVM[YHUZHJ[PVU MLLZUVJOHYNLZMVY¸HKKP[PVUHS¹\ZLYZUV\WNYHKLJOHYNLZUVJ\Z[VTLYZLY]PJLMLLZ@V\JHUYLUL^`V\YZ\IZJYPW[PVU LHJO`LHY[OLYLHM[LYMVY ;VÄUKV\[TVYLHIV\[OV^`V\JHU\ZL:JOVVS(\J[PVUUL[[VTHRL`V\YH\J[PVUY\UTVYLZTVV[OS`LTHPS PUMV'ZJOVVSH\J[PVUUL[VY]PZP[^^^ZJOVVSH\J[PVUUL[ Customer References All of our volunteers had a really easy time with the system – we had far fewer complaints than we did when using the other software we had tried. All of the volunteers wanted to use it again! And I love SchoolAuction.net because of the excellent customer service – I knew that I could count on a thorough and timely response whenever I had a question. I recommend SchoolAuction.net often, whenever I talk to a school that is holding a fundraising auction. Callie Philippi Director: Special Events and Volunteer Activities The Prairie School Racine, WI Our major fundraising each year supports all the programs and school functions that happen during the year. So it is very important to be able to count on the software and support we get from the people behind SchoolAuction.net to meet the challenges that come with reporting and tracking donors, items and keeping information confidential and secure. I highly recommend them. Marg Everett, Congregation Neveh Shalom Portland, OR SchoolAuction.net is a great program with a staff that is second to none with tech support. They will bend over backwards to help you fine tune their product to meet your needs and then continue that same service with excellent customer support! I would recommend them to any fundraising group. Maria Wiggins, Garris Chapel Church LaGrange, NC Having used SchoolAuction.net two times over the past 3 years (our auction is every other year) I can't say enough positive things about the system and the support available. The registration and auction set up is very easy to create and manage, the timelines and email reminders are essential to staying on track and the online auction feature helped us raise even more money after the actual auction date. We had multiple users entering data into the system (many who were very new to this type of tool and they were up and running with 20 minutes of training!) If you are planning an auction and have not considered using an online auction management tool, I urge you to think again and definitely look at using SchoolAuction.net. Andrea Lowery, Boones Ferry Primary School Tualatin, OR As a small nonprofit, our budget is very limited. One expense that we are glad to pay for is auction software for fundraising events. It is a MUST! We were very lucky to find SchoolAuction.net, as their product blew other systems out of the water and fit our budget. It is easy to tell they take pride in delighting their customers and their passion is infectious. Emily Leppert-Everett The WEB Foundation