Choose the payment arrangement early.
Decide whether your organization will collect auction payments or request OFG’s full checkout services. Confirm the methods accepted, the records required, and who resolves a payment problem. Make those expectations visible to bidders.
Separate consignment reserves from gross sales in your internal reconciliation. Use the agreed proposal as the source of truth.
Create a simple handover for each lot.
The checkout team needs the winning bidder, lot identifier, final amount, and fulfillment instructions. Physical collection, shipping, and travel redemption may require different handovers. Avoid releasing an item before payment has been confirmed.
- Provide a clear place for questions and payment.
- Keep paid items distinct from unsold inventory.
- Give winners the correct contact and written next steps.
- Record items that remain uncollected at the end of the evening.
Leave with an accountable closeout list.
Name the person responsible for outstanding payments and fulfillment questions. Confirm when your team receives the final report and proceeds. Your event proposal sets out the reporting and settlement schedule.
A calm checkout is the result of an agreed workflow, not simply having more people behind a table.
Use a clear status for every purchase.
The same lot should have the same status in the sales record and at the collection point. Choose labels your team understands and give each transition an owner.
| Status | Next action |
|---|---|
| Winner recorded | Verify lot number, accepted amount, bidder identity, and contact details. |
| Payment pending | Direct the buyer to the agreed payment process; do not treat a winning notification as a receipt. |
| Payment confirmed | Authorize the appropriate item release or experience handover. |
| Collected or instructions sent | Record what the winner received and whether any delivery or booking task remains. |
| Exception open | Assign a named owner, next step, and follow-up date until the issue is resolved. |
Separate fast handovers from questions that need time.
A guest collecting a small paid item should not have to wait behind a complicated delivery discussion. If the room allows, establish a straightforward collection route and a separate help point for exceptions. Both should use the same authoritative record so speed does not create conflicting information.
Prepare instructions for experiences before the close. The winner may need a voucher, booking reference, current terms, and a support contact. An attractive auction display is not a substitute for the actual redemption materials. Confirm who supplies those documents and how they are linked to the correct buyer.
Brief the people releasing purchases.
Staff and volunteers need a consistent answer to a few practical questions.
- What evidence confirms that payment has been completed?
- How is the correct item matched to the winning buyer?
- Who may collect on someone else’s behalf, and how is that recorded?
- Where are packing materials, certificates, and redemption documents kept?
- Who handles a disputed amount, incomplete payment, or missing item?
- How are uncollected purchases and unsold consignment items separated at breakdown?
Do a closeout while the event team is still together.
Before everyone leaves, reconcile the item list against the sale and fulfillment records. Identify sold lots without confirmed payment, paid purchases not yet collected, experiences awaiting instructions, and items with no sale. Give every outstanding issue an owner. “The committee will follow up” is less useful than a specific name and next action.
Confirm the settlement arrangement with OFG for sold consignment items. If your organization collects funds, the reserve invoice needs to match the agreed sales record. If full checkout is arranged, use the proposal’s reporting and proceeds schedule. Keep gross sales, reserves, agreed costs, and net proceeds distinct.
Review the exit as part of the guest experience.
A clear closing announcement, visible collection point, and friendly handover can make the last part of the event feel welcoming. Ask where guests hesitated and where staff had to improvise. Those observations are practical improvements for the next event, not just administrative notes.
Bring your questions. We’ll start there.
Tell us what you have in place, what you are still deciding, and where your team needs support.
Discuss your checkout plan