Boost recurring donations this giving season with the upsell prompt!With the Auctions app, you can send a bidder a secure link to their own checkout. The bidder can then see what they owe and pay it themselves, by saved card, new card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay, where your device supports them. The link works without signing in, and for bidders with or without a user account. You can send it by email or text message, or show it on screen as a QR code.
Sending a link
- Open the Auctions Manager.
- Click the title of the auction you want to manage.
- Click the Checkouts tab.
- Click the bidder's name, or click Open on their row.
- Under Checkout link, tick Email, Text, or both. The bidder's address and phone number are shown beside each.
- Click Send link.
A new link is created and sent. The result shows where it went, for example "Sent by email to … and text to …". If one channel fails, the message names it and gives the reason. Below the options, the pane shows when the bidder was last contacted, or "Not contacted yet".
Email is ticked for you when the bidder has an email address. Text is ticked for you only when a phone number is the bidder's only contact. A channel with no contact on file reads "(none on file)" and can't be ticked.
Send link is unavailable when the bidder owes nothing.
Adding a phone number
If the bidder has no mobile number on file, you can add one while you send:
- Click Add phone number.
- Enter the bidder's mobile number.
- Click Use this number. Text is ticked for you.
- Click Send link.
The number must be a valid 10-digit US mobile number. Otherwise you'll see "Enter a valid 10-digit US mobile number." The number is saved to the bidder's record when the link is sent.
Showing or copying a link instead
At a checkout table, or when a bidder has no email address or phone number, you can hand them the link directly:
- Under Checkout link, click Generate link.
- Click Copy to copy the link, or View QR to show a QR code the bidder can scan with their phone.
The message reads "Link created. Copy it, show the QR code, or send it. Older links no longer work." The QR code fills the screen with the words "Scan to open your checkout", so nothing else in the administrator is visible to the bidder. Click Close, or press Esc, to return.
What the bidder receives
| Channel | What arrives |
|---|---|
| An email titled "Your checkout link", with a View and pay your checkout button, the date the link expires, and the link itself to copy if the button doesn't work. | |
| Text | A single text message such as "Spring Gala checkout: [link] (expires Sep 23)". A long auction name is shortened to fit. |
How long a link lasts
- A link works for 7 days.
- Each bidder has one working link at a time. Generate link stops the bidder's older links working immediately.
- Send link stops the older links working only once the new link has gone out, so if a send fails, the bidder's previous link keeps working.
- After the bidder has paid in full, the link they used still opens their checkout, so they can check what they paid.
Links that are still working are listed under Checkout link, with Created and Sent via (Email, Text, or "Not sent" for a link you generated but didn't send).
Revoking a link
To stop a link working before it expires:
- Under Checkout link, find the link in the list.
- Click Revoke.
- At "Revoke this checkout link? It stops working immediately.", click Revoke.
The resend cooldown
To avoid messaging a bidder over and over, the auction's Resend Cooldown (Minutes) setting sets how long to wait before you can send the same bidder another link. The default is 30 minutes, and 0 turns the cooldown off. Only links that actually went out count.
If you send inside the cooldown, the pane shows "Contacted N min ago — inside the 30-minute cooldown." with a Send anyway button. Click Send anyway to send regardless.
The cooldown also applies to Send Reminders to All Unpaid. Bidders contacted within the cooldown start unchecked in the reminder review and are not sent a reminder, even if you tick them. To reach one of them straight away, open their checkout and use Send link, then Send anyway.
See Configuring checkout and settlement settings.
When a link no longer works
A link that has expired, been revoked, or been replaced by a newer link opens a page reading "This link is no longer valid" and "This link may have expired or been revoked, and can no longer be used to access this page. Please contact the organization to request a new link." The page is the same whatever the reason, and offers a Back to Auction button. Send the bidder a new link.
Important: Opening a checkout link signs that browser in as the bidder, and signs out anyone who was already signed in to your website. The checkout then says "You were signed out of [name]'s account. This is [bidder]'s checkout." Don't open a bidder's link in a browser where you are signed in to your website. Use View QR so the bidder opens it on their own phone.
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