> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rescueconsole.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Auctions

> The lots in a gala auction, what they open at, and the one field that decides what a winner can deduct.

An auction happens **inside a campaign**. Your gala is already a campaign, with its own goal and its own donations, and the auction is part of that evening rather than a separate pot of money.

<Note>
  Bidding is not built yet. Today you can put an auction together and print a catalogue from it; taking bids, naming winners and collecting payment are coming.
</Note>

## Set one up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Make the campaign first">
    Open **Fundraising → Campaigns** and create the campaign for the event, with its goal. Skip this if it already exists.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the auction">
    Open **Fundraising → Auctions** and press **New auction**. Choose the campaign, give it a name, and set when it opens and closes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Say what a bid has to beat">
    **Bids go up by** is the least a new bid must add to the current one. A lot can override it, which is worth doing for anything unusually valuable.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the lots">
    Open the auction and press **Add a lot** for each one.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Fair market value, and why it is not optional

Only the part of a winning bid **above** an item's fair market value is tax deductible. If somebody pays $400 for a weekend away worth $300, \$100 of it is a gift and the rest is a purchase.

The box has three different answers and they are not interchangeable.

| What you enter | What it means                            | What a receipt can say      |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Nothing        | You have not worked it out               | No deductible amount        |
| `0`            | The winner receives nothing of value     | The whole bid is deductible |
| A number       | The winner receives something worth that | The bid minus that number   |

<Warning>
  Leaving the box empty and entering `0` are not the same thing. An empty box means you have not said; a zero is a statement that the winner got nothing of value, and it appears on a donor's receipt as a claim your rescue is making. Enter `0` only when you mean it, which is usually a donated service.
</Warning>

Sensible for a donated service with no cost to the giver: `0`. Sensible for a restaurant voucher: what the voucher is worth.

## What a lot carries

| Field             | What it is for                                                                                               |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Lot number        | The number called out. Two lots in one auction cannot share it.                                              |
| Category          | Your own word: *Wine*, *Experiences*, *Pet portraits*. Nothing is fixed; the list is whatever you have used. |
| Opening bid       | What bidding starts at.                                                                                      |
| Fair market value | See above.                                                                                                   |
| Donated by        | Somebody already on your people list, so the gift stays on their record.                                     |
| Credit them as    | Only when it differs from their name on file: *The Marsh Family* rather than *Ada Marsh*.                    |

## Opening and closing

An auction moves one way: **Draft → Open for bids → Closed → Settled**. It cannot go back, because re-opening one would mean bidding against lots that already have winners.

A lot is **Available** until you withdraw it. You cannot mark one **Sold** or **No bids** yourself: those are decided when the auction closes, because winning is what makes a lot sold.