Towbook's Auction Manager makes it easy to organize, manage, and promote your vehicle auctions from one centralized location. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create an auction, add and manage vehicles, customize your listings, use the built-in management tools, and share your auction with potential bidders.
Create Your First Auction
Towbook's 'Auction Manager' feature is included in the Ultimate Plus Plan and above.
When this feature is enabled, you'll see the 'View Auctions' button in your 'Impounds' tab.
Creating the Auction in Towbook
To create an auction click on the 'View Auctions' button
Select the 'New Auction' option in the upper-right corner of the screen
Enter the basic details describing your auction, such as the name, location, dates, and description.
Once your basic auction details have been added, click the 'Create Auction' button.
Adding Your Vehicles
Next, add the vehicles you want to include in your auction. Simply select the vehicles from your inventory. Vehicles with an active police hold are identified by a 'gold shield' icon, making them easy to recognize.
After selecting your vehicles, click the button on the right side of the screen to assign them to the auction.
Call Editor Update
Once a vehicle has been added to an auction, a new 'Auction Details' section will appear within the 'Call Editor' for that job.
This section displays the vehicle's auction information, including:
Starting price, reserve price, and final sale price
Lot location
Catalytic converter status
Airbag status
Auction description
The Auction Details section stays synchronized with the auction.
Any changes made from either the Call Editor or the Auction Manager are automatically reflected in both locations, ensuring your information is always up to date.
Refining Your Auction
Now that you've created your auction and added your vehicles, it's time to customize your listings.
From the auction management screen, you can reorder your listings, update photos and vehicle details, set pricing, and make other changes before your auction goes live.
Reordering Auction Vehicles
Each vehicle in your auction includes three options on the left side:
Reorder – Change the vehicle's position in the auction listing.
Modify Impound – Update the vehicle's impound information.
Remove from Auction – Remove the vehicle from the current auction.
To change the order of your auction listings, click and hold the six-dot drag handle next to a vehicle, then drag and drop it to the desired position in your auction.
Modifying Auction Vehicles
To edit a vehicle's information, click the pencil icon next to the vehicle.
From here, you can:
Update the vehicle details and lot location
Enter the starting bid, reserve price, and final sale price
Add or update title information
View and upload photos, choose which photos are visible to bidders, and select the primary auction photo
View the vehicle's auction history
Removing Vehicles from Your Auction
To remove a vehicle from your auction, simply click on the 'trash can' icon and confirm the option to 'remove' the vehicle.
Auction Options
At the top of the Auction page, you'll find several tools to help you manage and organize your auction vehicles.
Auction Page Tools
Search
Use the search box in the upper-left corner to quickly find vehicles by any available auction details.
Add Filter
Filter your auction vehicles using built-in criteria, including: Lot Number, Row Number, Keys, Catalytic Converter, Starting Price, Reserve Price, and Storage Lot.
Reset
Clear all active filters and return to the full auction list.
Columns
Customize the information displayed on the page by showing or hiding columns, such as Sale Price or Title Brand. You can also rearrange the column order by dragging and dropping the six-dot handle next to each column.
Export
Export your auction vehicle list to an Excel spreadsheet.
Saved Views
Create and save custom views for different workflows. Simply apply the filters and column settings you want, then save the view with a name for quick access later.
Condensed/Card View
Switch between a compact list view or an expanded card view, depending on how you'd like to browse your auction vehicles.
Sharing Your Auction
Many towing companies promote their upcoming auctions by sharing spreadsheets, PDFs, photos, or other documents with potential bidders.
Public URL
With Towbook's Auction Manager, you can instead provide a professional public webpage where bidders can view all of your auction vehicles before the auction begins.
Simply click 'Copy Public URL' to copy the auction link, then share it on your website, social media pages, email campaigns, or anywhere else you'd like to promote your auction.
Traditional Options
As mentioned previously, if you still prefer to export your auctions to Excel or download a PDF and share it that way, Towbook offers those options to you as well via the 'Download PDF' and 'Export' options.