Custom app for consignment sales at an auction house
Appfront builds apps for auction houses, consignment shops and dealers who sell on behalf of the owner: the intake per consignor with photo, description, valuation and reserve, the lot number in the right auction, the proceeds after the hammer with commission and costs, and the settlement to the consignor. So that every item can be traced from intake to payout, and no consignor keeps calling to ask what their cabinet fetched.
What is an app for consignment sales at an auction house?
An auction house usually doesn't sell its own goods. It sells on behalf of hundreds of consignors, each with one or more items, an agreed reserve and a commission. An app for consignment sales keeps track of that side: who consigned what, which auction it is in, what it fetched, and what the consignor receives after commission and costs are deducted.
The auction platform handles the bidding. The intake around it is often kept in a spreadsheet, on paper consignment forms and in the valuer's head. After an auction with four hundred lots from a hundred and fifty consignors, the settlement is a week's work, and a lot that went unsold gets lost between two auctions. A consignor who calls waits while someone looks for their form.
We build custom software because the app has to fit your house: which auction platform you use and what it exports, how you charge commission and costs, which reserves and agreements you make, how you handle unsold lots, and which VAT rules apply to your sales. An auction platform knows the buyer; the consignor is your client.
Intake per consignor
Every item with photo, description, valuation, reserve and commission agreement, recorded at intake and signed by the consignor, with a unique number that tracks the item.
From intake to lot
Items assigned to an auction and a lot number, with the description that goes to the auction platform and the status per item until the hammer falls.
Settlement after the hammer
The results from the auction platform per lot, the proceeds per consignor after commission and costs, and a settlement that matches the payment received from the buyer.
How we build your app for consignment sales at an auction house
We start with your last auction: how many consignors, how many lots, how long the settlement took, and how many questions consignors asked.
How you take in and value goods, what agreements you make with consignors, which auction platform you use and what it exports, and how you settle now.
Intake with photo and description, the consignment agreement, and the ongoing consignments carried over from your current administration.
Assignment to auction and lot, importing results, settlement per consignor and handling of unsold lots.
The portal for consignors, the integration with accounting and the auction platform, reporting per auction, and then management and expansion.
What an app for consignment sales at an auction house concretely does
The components below come up at almost every auction house. Which ones you need depends on what you auction and how you currently work with consignors.
Intake
Items received with photos, description, dimensions, condition and valuation, linked to the consignor, with a label and a location in the depot.
Consignment agreement
Reserve price, commission, photography and catalogue fees, and terms for unsold items, recorded per item and digitally signed.
Lot allocation
Items assigned to an auction and a lot number, with the catalogue text that is sent to the auction platform.
Results and settlement
Hammer prices per lot from the auction platform, proceeds after commission and costs per consignor, and payout once the buyer has paid.
Unsold items
Lots below the reserve or without a bid, with the options set out in the agreement: returned to the consignor, moved to the next auction or given a new reserve.
Consignor portal
Consignors can see their items, the auction they are part of, the result and the settlement, without having to phone.
For those building a consignment sales app for an auction house
The app is intended for parties who sell on behalf of owners and whose consignment administration no longer keeps pace with their business.
Art and antiques auctions
Many items per auction, valuations and reserves. Intake, lot allocation and settlement are the core.
Machinery and vehicle auctions
Consignments from companies, with inspection reports and collection after the auction. The agreement and the handling per lot matter most.
Consignment shops
Design pieces, clothing or furniture sold in-store and online on behalf of the owner. Consignment, contract term and payouts are what's needed.
Estate and household contents auctions
One consignor with hundreds of items. Bulk intake and a clear settlement for heirs are the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about consignment and settlement. For the bidding itself, see our page on an auction platform; for recording value, see our page on a valuation app; and for paying out consignors, see our page on an invoicing app. You can read about our approach on custom software development.
For growers who want to use the inspections of their batches to improve quality, there is our software for soft-fruit inspection certificates.
Why choose Appfront for your consignment sales app for an auction house?
A consignor entrusts you with their belongings. We build on that: following every item from intake to payout, and a settlement the consignor understands.
Every item easy to find
From intake to collection, every item has a number, a location and a status. A lot that went unsold doesn't get lost between two auctions.
Settling in an afternoon
Hammer prices come from the platform, the terms are in the agreement. The settlement per consignor follows automatically.
Consignors check for themselves
In the portal, consignors see their items and the result. The phone stops ringing after the auction.
Security and privacy for a consignment sales app for an auction house
The app holds consignor data, valuations, reserves and payouts. Access is set by role: the valuer takes in and describes, administration settles, and the consignor sees only their own items. Every change to a reserve or settlement is logged with name and time.
The app runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily back-ups. The integration with the auction platform uses its own key, which can be revoked.
Frequently asked questions about a consignment sales app for an auction house
Questions auction houses ask before getting started.
It records each consignment per consignor, with photo, description, valuation, reserve and commission, assigns items to an auction and a lot, takes over the results from the auction platform, settles accounts per consignor and determines what happens to unsold lots. Consignors track their items in a portal.
No. The platform continues to handle the listing. The app delivers the lots and catalogue texts to the platform and pulls back the hammer prices and payments. Which platform you use determines whether that happens via an integration or an export.
According to the terms of the consignment agreement: the hammer price, minus the commission and any costs you charge, such as photography, catalogue, transport or insurance. Payouts are made once the buyer has paid, so you never pay out money that has not yet been received.
VAT depends on what you are selling and in what capacity: special schemes may apply to second-hand goods, art and antiques. For each sale, the app applies the scheme you have agreed with your adviser and produces the settlement and bookings accordingly.
The app follows the arrangement set out in the agreement: back to the consignor, to a subsequent auction with the same or a new reserve, or to aftersales. The consignor is notified and can see the choice in the portal.
For some sales, the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) may apply, for example to art above a statutory threshold. The app can record the identification of consignors and buyers and flag when a sale falls under it. You determine with your adviser which rules apply to you.
Check that first. Some auction packages include a consignment module, and that is sufficient if your arrangements with consignors are straightforward. Custom development makes sense if you combine several auction formats, if commission and costs differ per consignor, or if consignors want to track their items themselves.
Settling with consignors without a week of spreadsheet work?
Tell us what you auction, which auction platform you use and how you currently settle with consignors. We will show you what intake, lot allocation and settlement look like.