Boost recurring donations this giving season with the upsell prompt!With the Auctions app, every bidder in an auction has a number that identifies them on the floor, on printed paddles, and in your records. Numbers are assigned automatically as bidders are created, and you can change them individually or across the whole auction.
How numbers are assigned
New bidders are numbered automatically, counting up from the Starting Bidder Number on the auction's Details tab. Numbers are unique within an auction, and a bidder can also have no number at all — shown as an em dash — until one is assigned.
Reserving numbers for pre-printed paddles
If you have paddles printed in advance, reserve their numbers so automatic assignment does not hand them to someone else.
- Open the auction and click the Details tab.
- For Reserved / Skip Numbers, enter individual numbers and ranges separated by commas — for example
1-99, 500. - Click Save.
Automatic assignment and every bulk operation skip these numbers. You can still assign a reserved number deliberately to a specific bidder.
Changing one bidder's number
- On the Bidders tab, select the bidder.
- Click Edit Bidder ID in the toolbar.
- Enter the number and confirm.
If the number is already taken, or falls inside a reserved range, the tool tells you rather than creating a clash.
Swapping two bidders' numbers
Two people given the wrong paddles is a common registration-desk mistake, and swapping is safer than editing each in turn — there is no moment where both hold the same number.
- Select exactly two bidders using the checkboxes.
- Click Swap Numbers in the toolbar.
- Confirm.
Bulk number operations
Click Manage Numbers in the toolbar to open the bulk tool for the whole auction. Choose an operation, preview it, then apply it.
| Operation | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assign missing | Gives a number to every bidder who has none, leaving existing numbers alone |
| Renumber all | Reassigns numbers in order across the auction |
| Clear & reassign | Clears every number, then assigns a fresh sequence |
| Resolve duplicates | Finds bidders sharing a number and gives all but one a new number |
Click Preview to see an Old to new bidder number preview before anything changes — one row per bidder showing their current number, proposed number, and any flags. Nothing is written until you click Apply.
If a result is not what you wanted, click Undo last apply to reverse the whole operation.
Locked bidders
A bidder who has placed a bid, won an item, or made a paddle raise commitment is locked: their number is excluded from bulk operations by default, and the bidders list shows a padlock next to it. This protects the numbers people have already used from moving underneath them mid-event.
To include them anyway, select Include locked bidders in the tool. The preview marks affected rows as Locked, kept or Locked, renumbered so you can see exactly what an override would do.
Important: Renumbering a bidder who has already bid means their paddle no longer matches your records. Only override the lock when you are certain, and preferably between sessions rather than during live bidding.
Handing numbers to your check-in staff
Click Export roster (CSV) in the Manage Numbers tool to download a bidder-to-number list. See Exporting the bidder roster.
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