Premier Specialists for Benefit and Charity Auctions
Benefit, Charity, and Fundraising Software
The best investment you will ever make for your Benefit or Charity Auction is Event Software. Your challenge in this regard is the fact that our industry has currently nearly 50 different software choices available! These choices range from very simple versions with limited capabilities to extremely robust packages with all the bells and whistles you could possibly ever need.
How do you decide which software package is best for you?
Please find below our "Top 10" suggestions regarding this important decision:
1) Purchase a package that will be able to handle your growth for years to come. There is nothing more frustrating for groups to have to convert over to new software simply because their old system was not able to adjust to their growing needs.
2) Make sure the software you invest in has a long and excellent track history. Be careful investing in new offerings as you will undoubtedly experience numerous revisions to counter "bugs". You time is valuable and should not be spent as a software "beta" tester. It is important that the system you invest in has already been successfully used by many organizations before you.
3) It is vital that the software you choose will be able to function quickly and efficiently with multiple users. You may not need that capability now but as your event grows this will be more and more essential.
4) Be sure your software easily transitions from less hectic pre-auction administration use to high demand auction day activity.
5) The expedient handling of express methods of payment is crucial. It is extremely important that the software you choose will efficiently handle this critical guest function.
6) Deal direct with software manufacturers. Many companies have commissioned "resellers" or "agents that market their packages. These resellers/agents are paid some sort of fee or percentage for their efforts. By going direct you may be able to negotiate more favorable terms of purchase.
7) Ask the software manufacturers for a list of at least five customers in your area. Call each of these users and inquire what their perception is of the software. Would they mind if you dropped by and saw it in action?
8) Ask the software manufacturers about their technical support. Is there additional cost for this? Is it available only during certain times? How long will technical support actually "support" the version of software you are interested in?
9) Ask the software manufactures how they handle new upgrades. Will you receive these at no additional cost? If so will this be for the entire duration of your ownership or will there be an expiration date?
10) Before making any purchase decision for Event Software make sure you receive and test a "demo" version. If a company does not offer this option or they want to charge; eliminate them from your choice list. Make sure a number of people in your organization are included in your testing program. Software of this type must be easy to use and understand, as it will be used primarily by volunteers. These volunteers will most likely be different year after year. Having a number of people involved with testing will show you clearly how easy it will be to learn and use this package.
Are there any Event Software Packages we can recommend?
We have worked with many fine software packages over the years. At this present time we don't have any specific recommendations. Please feel free to contact us directly should you have any questions and/or concerns about software packages you are considering. NOTE: We do not accept any compensation for our recommendations in this regard.