Release 18 - September 2026
Release 18 introduces Handbid Live, so you can stream your event from the Manager without a separate streaming service. It also makes the guest list easier to work from on event day, adds a sponsor import, gives bidders a single My Activity page across auctions, and makes everyday tasks smoother across the Manager and the events site.
Highlights
Section titled “Highlights”Handbid Live
Section titled “Handbid Live”Stream your event directly to your Handbid events site. Rather than using YouTube or Vimeo, you can stream straight out of Handbid using a camera and microphone.
Turn on Handbid Live in Live Stream Settings. If you prefer to use streaming software, the Manager gives you a server address and stream key to paste into it. You can keep editing your settings while you’re live, and the Manager shows how many people are watching and for how long.
Show an Image on the Live Tab
Section titled “Show an Image on the Live Tab”Before or between live segments, you can switch the Live tab to a still image, such as a welcome slide or a sponsor board, and switch back to video when you’re ready. Your stream settings stay as they are.
A Smarter Guest List for Event Day
Section titled “A Smarter Guest List for Event Day”-
Custom question answers from your tickets and sponsorships, such as dietary restrictions, now appear in a Custom questions column. You can filter the list by question and by answer, and you can edit a guest’s answers in the Manager.
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Undo check-in for one guest or several at once.
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Make a bidder from the three-dot menu at the end of a guest’s row, without checking them in. Handbid assigns the next paddle number, or, if you’ve turned on manual paddle number assignment, you can enter any paddle number. The guest needs an email address to become a bidder.
Example: The day before your event, you want to assign paddle numbers to a sponsor’s table and set the paddles out on the table in advance. Make each guest at that table a bidder (remember, each guest needs an email address). On event night, simply confirm each guest’s arrival and keep the line moving.
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Link a guest to an existing bidder from the three-dot menu in the Actions column, so the same person isn’t registered twice.
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Attendance column now shows Listed, Registered or Checked in, and you can sort the guest list by status.
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Invited status appears next to Listed or Registered when a sponsor, or someone who bought multiple tickets, invites a guest from the events site.
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Source shows how each guest was added, such as by import, ticket purchase or in the Manager. You can filter by source and include it in your export.
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Action bar for selected guests appears when you select guests, with Check in selected, Edit selected, Remove and Clear. It stays in place as you scroll, so you can keep selecting guests without losing your options.
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Adding a guest who may already be registered now shows where each possible match comes from, such as your bidder list or your contacts, and lets you choose which phone number to keep.
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The Guest-List Cleanup Assistant now remembers the proposals you skip, so each new scan shows only what still needs your attention.
Bring Every Sponsor Into Handbid in One Upload
Section titled “Bring Every Sponsor Into Handbid in One Upload”Sold sponsorships outside of Handbid? Now you can bring those sponsors, their guests and their seats into Handbid with a single spreadsheet, and manage everything in one place. Each row creates:
- The sponsor’s contact
- Their sponsorship, recorded as a paid-offline ticket purchase
- The guest slots that come with the sponsorship
Assign each sponsor to a table right in the same file. When a sponsor’s table grows, their guest slots grow with it, and guests you import later drop straight into the sponsor’s slots.
For step-by-step instructions, see How to Import Sponsors from a Spreadsheet.
My Activity on the Events Site
Section titled “My Activity on the Events Site”Bidders now have one My Activity page that shows their bidding across your auctions. Items are grouped into clear lists, such as winning, outbid and waiting on the seller’s decision, with View all for each list.
Favorites on the events site are now saved to the bidder’s account, so the heart on an item, the favorites list and next/previous browsing through favorites all stay in sync.
Your Complete Fundraising Story on the Dashboard
Section titled “Your Complete Fundraising Story on the Dashboard”Organization dashboard totals now include revenue from all of your past auctions, giving you a complete view of your organization’s fundraising history.