Deposits, checkout and settlement

When an auction ends with a winner (reserve met) or someone uses Buy It Now, MotoDealerHQ creates a purchase. The unit stays Auction pending sale until payment is verified in full. Nothing is marked sold before that.

Before you start #

Set your rules first under Auctions › Auction settings › Settlement settings.

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1. Stripe status. Live keys, test (sandbox) keys, or not connected. Without Stripe, auctions cannot require a deposit.
2. Hold length. How long a deposit authorization stays valid: 1 to 7 days (default 6).
3. Second approver. Payments at or above this amount need a second, different person to approve (default $10,000). Leave blank for one person.
4. Payment methods. Which offline methods staff may record: cash, certified funds, bank transfer, lender funding, other.
5. Cancellation policy. Shown to buyers. Its exact text is recorded with every cancellation.

You also set the payment and pickup reminder times, how long second-chance offers stay open (default 48 hours) and the deposit refund policy.

Bidding deposits #

You set a deposit per auction, under Bidding deposit in the auction form:

A deposit is a card authorization (a hold), not a charge. The bidder selects Authorize the deposit on the auction page and completes Stripe's secure card page. Only Stripe's signed confirmation changes a deposit's status.

When bidding ends, the winner's deposit is captured and applied to the purchase, and everyone else's is released. Holds expire after the hold length; bidders in running auctions are emailed 24 hours before to renew. An expired hold is never captured late.

Tick A winner who does not pay forfeits the deposit only if your local rules allow it. Forfeiture applies only to bidders who accepted a terms version that said so.

Process checkout #

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1. Status filter. Awaiting checkout, awaiting payment, unpaid, disputed, completed or cancelled.
2. Purchase awaiting checkout. Buyer, winning bid, invoice, amount paid and payment due date.

To check out a purchase:

1. Open Auctions › Auction purchases and select the purchase marked Awaiting checkout.
2. Under Process checkout, choose the Sales tax: a tax profile, or Exempt with a reason (for example, a resale certificate).
3. Add any Dealer fee lines. Your documentation fee is prefilled.
4. Choose How the buyer will pay and Pickup or delivery, and add instructions.
5. Check the preview, then select Create invoice and request payment.

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1. Sales tax. The rooftop's tax profile must be marked reviewed; an unreviewed profile blocks checkout. With no tax profile, your accounting tax rate is used.
2. Dealer fees. Up to three lines.
3. Payment and pickup. Card, cash, certified funds, bank transfer, financing or other; pickup or delivery.
4. Total preview. Winning bid, buyer fee, fees, tax, captured deposits and balance.
5. Payments. Money received so far, with who recorded and verified it.

Checkout issues an invoice in Accounting, creates or matches the customer and a lead in the CRM, applies captured deposits, and emails the buyer a Payment required notice with a link to their purchase page.

Take payment #

• Card: the buyer pays from their purchase page through your Stripe account. Stripe's signed confirmation records it.
• Cash, certified funds, bank transfer, lender funding: under Record money received, enter the method, amount, reference and date, and select Record for verification. It counts only after someone selects Mark verified payment. Above your threshold, a different person must also select Approve (second person).
• Financing: Hand off to financing sends the buyer your credit application. Record the lender's funding like any other payment.

A receipt or transfer screenshot from the buyer is never a payment. Auction invoices cannot take payments, refunds or voids directly in Accounting.

The sale completes by itself #

When the invoice is paid in full, every payment is verified or processor-confirmed, and no dispute is open, MotoDealerHQ completes the sale in one step: the unit becomes sold, the sale is recorded (source: auction), a delivered deal is recorded, the lead is won and the purchase is Completed. The buyer gets Payment received with pickup instructions. If anything fails, nothing changes and staff are alerted.

Then, under Pickup and delivery, set a time with Save and tell the buyer, and select Unit collected / delivered at handover.

When the winner does not pay #

• A reminder goes out before the payment deadline. After it, the purchase becomes Unpaid and the unit stays held.
• Under Problems › Cancel this purchase, choose who is cancelling and a reason from your published policy. Other payments must be refunded or rejected first.
• After a cancellation, the auction page offers Send second-chance offer to another eligible bidder, at no more than their own highest bid. Nothing binds until that bidder accepts it themselves.
• Or select Close without a sale, then relist or return the unit to retail.

Permissions #

Limitations #