A happy client!

Excellent Event Planning Software!

We are a hypothermia shelter that houses 12 guests during the coldest months of the year, and have a fundraising gala every 2-3 years. At the beginning of our planning process for our February 2020 gala, we wrestled with the question “Do we really need an auction and event planning package for our little event?” At the end, there was no question that Silent Auction Pro was a HUGE reason why our event went so smoothly and exceeded our fundraising goals!

Pros

I cannot say enough good things about our experience using Silent Auction Pro. Some of the key things that we liked: Event Coach. From the beginning, we were assigned an event coach ([SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]), and she proved incredibly helpful in both understanding Silent Auction Pro as well as anticipating what other issues might come up before, during, and after our event. She checked in regularly, and was available even on weekends. Training Videos. Silent Auction Pro has a large number of training videos on YouTube that were very helpful. Admittedly, they seemed difficult to understand when I viewed them before we actually signed up, but once I was on Silent Auction Pro and able to play around, they made much more sense, and proved very helpful. Pricing Structure. At first, it seemed expensive to pay $800 and still give up 2% of our proceeds to Silent Auction Pro. However, the 2% is only out of auction proceeds, and not things like tickets or sponsorships. That kept the 2% cost down to under $300, for a total cost of $1,100. Comparing that to the many, many hours of time saved, the ability to start the auction before the event, ability to easily sell tickets, and all the communications tools made it worth the money many times over! Usability. While I would not call Silent Auction Pro the most user-friendly website in existence, it is user-friendly, and with a minimal amount of practice it becomes very easy to get around. The reports are also very useful and easy to generate.

Cons

There were a few very minor bugs, but that was it. I didn't care at all for WorldPay, which is one of the two credit card processors that Silent Auction Pro works with. They had horrible customer service and wanted to know WAY to much personal information about me in order to open an account. But that isn't Silent Auction Pro's fault ...

Awesome Customer Service

Pros

This was our fourth year using Silent Auction Pro. Like so many nonprofits in 2020, we were faced with really two questions: how can we successfully fundraise using mostly social media and how can we put together an event that seemed so foreign at the time, so quickly. While the changes made to the software were helpful and kept us competitive with other organizations, it was Silent Auction's customer service that was the secret sauce. From explaining all the new features to problem-solving, to follow-up reminders, we were able to host a successful fundraising event this year.

Cons

Some things are a little bit clumsy and not as user-friendly as I would like them to be. It would be helpful to be able to change the program colors to be a bit more like our brand. Reports could be more specific or to be able to customize them more.

Review

Pros

Not a million screens amongst which to navigate.

Cons

There is a lot of repeat info on each screen. Would be great if information could be streamlined a bit.

Excellent Choice to manage your event/auction!

I have been with Silent Auction Pro for 7+ years. I have referred clients who have since thanks me for doing so. They are an exceptional company with a great heart for nonprofits. Like any company there are areas for improvements. They are actively engaged in improving their product daily. Very impressive company. Their customer support is without match. They are outstanding!

Pros

Their customer service should be an example ALL companies of what great customer support entails. Hands down, Silent Auction Pro provides the best customer support in the industry! I wish all the companies I work with offered Silent Auction Pro’s level of customer support

Cons

Some features still needs some work. But they are always working on improving the software based on customer input. This year they started taking a percentage of ticket sales and sponsorships. That is a large sum when you include sponsorships. We manage our sponsorships outside of Silent Auction Pro so I don’t see this fee as justified. They offer one feature during the ticketing process to add guests to the sponsor’s group. But that’s about it.