Wave Close organizes silent auction items into timed groups that close on a schedule. Wave 1 might close at 8:00 PM with 10 items. Wave 2 at 8:30 PM. Wave 3 at 9:00 PM. Wave-close banners alert bidders and staff as each wave ends. Auctioneers use it to create urgency waves across the night instead of one panicked scramble at auction close.

How does Offline Mode work?

The admin iPad hosts a local web server via mDNS/Bonjour hostname. Bidders scan the auction QR code and connect to the iPad's local server instead of the venue Wi-Fi. Bidding continues normally. When Wi-Fi comes back, the app syncs all bids to Stripe and the organization's records automatically. No bids are lost. No other silent auction platform on the market has this capability.

What is the War Room dashboard?

The War Room is the admin's live-view iPad dashboard during the auction. It shows every item's current bid, number of bids, highest bidder, and time remaining in the wave. Bid heat indicators highlight items attracting activity vs items that are cold. Coordinators use it to send volunteers to gently walk near cold items to encourage last-minute bidding.

Do attendees need to install an app to bid?

No. Attendees scan the auction QR code with any phone camera. The bidding page opens in their browser. They enter their name and mobile number for SMS bid confirmations and winner notifications, and start bidding. No app to download, no login to create. First-time bidders typically bid within 20 seconds of scanning.

Is silent auction included in the free tier?

The free tier supports a single event at a time under the Community Foundation Grant Reporting Mode, which includes basic auction functionality. Full silent auction — Wave Close, War Room dashboard, Offline Mode, Stripe winner checkout, unlimited events — requires Pro at $34.99 per month with unlimited users.

How does this compare to Givebutter?

Givebutter offers silent auction with a tip-funded model — the organization pays nothing and a 15% tip is pre-selected on every bidder's checkout. Chance2Win research shows 30 to 40% of buyers abandon purchases when they hit an unexpected fee. Giving Toolbox includes silent auction with Pro at $34.99 per month, charges the organization a transparent 0.5% platform fee, and never asks donors to tip. Plus Wave Close, War Room, and Offline Mode — features Givebutter does not offer.

How does this compare to Handbid, OneCause, and Greater Giving?

Handbid charges $1,396 per event. OneCause and Greater Giving quote enterprise pricing starting around $3,000 per event. All three are dedicated silent auction platforms. Giving Toolbox includes silent auction with Pro at $34.99 per month total, unlimited events, plus everything else the nonprofit runs.

INCLUDED IN PREMIUM

Silent Auction Management

Wave Close, War Room live bidding, and Offline Mode when the venue Wi-Fi drops.

Nonprofits pick Givebutter and Zeffy because they charge $0 in platform fees. The 15 to 20% tip ask defaulted on every bidder's checkout drops conversion 30 to 40% — the “saved” fee costs $3,000 in lost bids on a $10,000 auction. Giving Toolbox includes silent auction with Pro at a transparent 0.5% platform fee, never asked of the donor. Plus Wave Close, War Room live bidding, and Offline Mode when the venue Wi-Fi drops.

Download Free on iOS

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FEATURES

Everything Silent Auction does.

Every feature you see is built and available now in the app.

Catalog Editor

Add items with photos, descriptions, fair market value, and starting bids. Reorder at any time. Each item ties to the event P&L for hammer price tracking.

Wave Close

Organize items into timed waves that close on a schedule. Wave 1 at 8:00 PM. Wave 2 at 8:30 PM. Auctioneers use this to create urgency waves across the night.

War Room Live Dashboard

The admin iPad shows live bid heat across the room in real time. Which items are hot, which are cold, which are one bid away from being won. Coordinator sees everything at once.

Live Bid Tracking

Live dashboard polls every 2 seconds. Sort and filter by status, current bid, and wave. Bid count and highest bidder at a glance.

Self-Serve Bidding QR

Attendees scan a QR code to bid from their own phones — no app download required. First-time bidders bid within 20 seconds of scanning.

Offline Mode

Admin iPad becomes a local server via mDNS/Bonjour. Bidding continues when venue Wi-Fi drops. When Wi-Fi returns, the app syncs everything automatically. No other silent auction platform has this.

Projector Display

Show live bid status on a venue screen to drive in-room competition. Fullscreen launch, real-time updates.

Winner Checkout

Process winner payments with Stripe (chip, tap, or manual entry) directly to your organization's account. Or record cash and check. Receipts generate automatically with your EIN.

Auction Finalize

Close the auction, record final results, and generate a complete P&L summary PDF for the board packet. Hammer prices tie to the event P&L.

HOW IT WORKS

From setup to results.

Every module is designed to run with zero training.

Build the Catalog

Add items with photos, FMV, starting bids. Organize into waves with open and close times. Set the overall auction schedule.

Open Bidding

Print the QR code and post at every table. Attendees scan and bid from their phones. War Room dashboard shows activity across the room in real time.

Close & Checkout

Waves close on schedule with staff and bidder notifications. Winner checkout via Stripe (or cash/check) processes directly to your account. Receipts generate automatically.

Finalize

Generate the final results summary. Archive auction data with all bidder and hammer records for your board report and next-year planning.

THE HIDDEN COST

What “zero fees” actually costs your organization.

Givebutter, Zeffy, and RallyUp charge your nonprofit nothing. They fund themselves through a 15 to 20% tip pre-selected onto every bidder's checkout. Boards see $0 in platform fees on the P&L. What they never see is the revenue that never showed up because bidders hit a surprise fee at checkout and closed the tab.

30–40%

Of bidders abandon their purchase when they hit an unexpected fee at checkout. Chance2Win checkout analysis of tip-funded platforms.

$3,000

Lost per $10,000 auction on a tip-funded platform. 75 of 250 bidders never complete winner checkout.

$0

Donor tip asks on Giving Toolbox. Ever. The 0.5% Pro platform fee is charged to the organization, transparent to the donor.

Ready to run your next auction?

Download free and unlock this module with a Premium subscription.

Download Free on the App Store

Free tier available · No credit card required

How this fits together

One app for the whole organization

This is one part of a mobile-first nonprofit operations app that also handles expenses, grants, events, volunteers and donors, and keeps working offline.

See the nonprofit mobile app →

Running a gala or benefit?

See how ticketing, check-in, auction, paddle raise, raffle and donations work as one evening, with the expenses captured for a real event profit and loss.

See nonprofit gala software →