What is LotOut?

LotOut is where every job lives from start to finish. It replaces the need to jump between spreadsheets, Slack channels, Monday boards, cost sheets and approval messages.

Costings. Approvals. Buyers. Payments. Collection slots. Site attendance. Notes. Post-auction sales. Everything in one place.

If someone asks, "What's happening with this job?", the answer should always be in LotOut.

🗂️ The Planning board is the pipeline

Every job is a card sitting in one of six columns, left to right as it progresses:

1. Each card shows the forecast & actual hammer and, when there's something to do, amber badges: 💳 X to send (payment requests waiting) and 📅 X to invite (booking invites waiting).
2. The strip at the top says how many actions are waiting across all jobs — your at-a-glance "what needs doing today."
3. Click a card → Open full auction to drop into its Overview, Buyers, Payments and Slots.
4. The coloured badge next to the auction name (top bar) tells you which stage that job's at without clicking in.

🔄 How a job runs once the auction ends

This is the part that spans the whole team. Here's the full flow and who does what:

1. Import buyers & lots. When the auction closes, the Auction Manager / office team download the Lots and Buyer data from GAP, combine them with the LotOut Merger tool, then upload the result via Import buyers. Each buyer comes in with their lot numbers and total due.
2. Send payment requests. On the auction's Overview, click ✉ Send payment emails — every unpaid buyer gets a payment request and pays online. The board shows 💳 X to send so you can see at a glance who still needs one.
3. Send booking invites. Once a buyer has paid, click 📅 Send booking invites. They get a personal link to book a collection slot. Board badge: 📅 X to invite.
4. RAMS — if the job needs it. For jobs where buyers need a risk assessment / method statement, click Require RAMS on the buyer; they get a form to complete. When it's back, open Review RAMS and either Approve or Reject with a quick note (e.g. "Rejected — missing PPE section, please resubmit"). Your name and the decision are stamped against the buyer.
5. Reminders go out automatically. Buyers get a reminder the day before their booked slot — nobody has to chase.
6. On collection day. Ops check the buyer's Paid and, if required, RAMS approved before releasing anything, then tick lots off as collected.

📧 What the buyer sees

From the buyer's side it's a simple, guided run — all by email, no login needed:

1. Payment request arrives → they pay online.
2. Booking invite arrives → they click their link, pick a collection slot, and get a confirmation.
3. If RAMS is needed → they get a form link, complete it, and hear back once it's approved (or are asked to resubmit).
4. Reminder the day before their slot.
5. They turn up in their slot and collect — ops tick off their lots.

Costing a job & getting it approved

1. Go to Costing Approvals → + New costing. Give it a title and client.
2. Fill in the revenue (forecast hammer, buyer/seller premium %, event fee) and your labour lines. Pick NCM Employee or Subcontractor per line — you don't need to name a person yet — and add a note for context ("2 people, 1 day incl. travel"). Mileage and overnight allowances are in the dropdown too.
3. Add anything unusual under Expenses (skip hire, permits…), and any Other costs.
4. The box at the bottom shows what the job costs NCM and a suggested event fee. Use the − / + buttons to flex the margin and see the fee move — handy for deciding what to charge.
5. Happy with it? Submit for approval. The approver selects ✓ Approve or ✗ Decline — their name and the time are stamped on it, so there's a record of who said yes and when.
6. Once approved, click Convert to job →. It creates the job in Terms Received, ready to run.

Moving a job along

As a job progresses, drag its card (or open it and change the stage) to the right column. Keep it honest — the board is only useful if it reflects reality.

On the day

1. Site attendance → sign yourself in when you arrive and out when you leave. Keeps a clean record of who was on site.
2. Check the Key Site Information tab for the job — check-in point, PPE, and Lot info (removal order/dependencies, e.g. "mezzanine can't come out until the racking's cleared"). If you spot something on site that others need to know, add it.
3. When a buyer arrives, open the auction's Buyers list. Check they've Paid and their RAMS is in before releasing anything.
4. Tick lots off as collected as they go.
5. Use Slot manager to see who's booked in when.

Taking cash on site

1. If you sell something on the day that wasn't in the auction, log it under the job's Out-of-auction tab (lot, buyer, price, premiums).
2. If they pay cash, tick Paid in cash on site and put your name in "Cash held by" — so finance knows exactly what cash is out there and who's got it.

Out-of-auction sales

1. Open the job → Out-of-auction tab → log the sale: lot ref, buyer, sold price, buyer/seller premium %.
2. The panel works out the NCM take and the buyer's invoice for you.
3. Mark Paid and Xero as they're done, and add a note if there's anything to flag ("buyer collecting the rest Friday").
4. Cash? Tick Paid in cash and record who's holding it.

Site & lot details

Keep the Key Site Information tab current — check-in point, opening times, and especially Lot info for anything about how lots come out (dependencies, exclusions, leased items). It travels with the job so ops aren't guessing on the day.

Payments & reconciliation

1. Payments page → search/sort buyers, see who's paid and who's Awaiting, and Mark paid as money lands.
2. Cash from site: check the Out-of-auction tabs for sales marked Paid in cash — the "Cash held by" name tells you who to collect it from.
3. Refunds stay in the existing approval portal — once Brum approves, key the approved refund into LotOut against the buyer.
4. Auction reports → the P&L per job (revenue, costs, realised profit) with Export CSV for your working sheet.

1. Click the green 💬 Feedback button — it's bottom-right on every screen.
2. Pick 🐞 Fault, 💡 Idea or ❓ Question, type a line, and Send.
3. It automatically tags the screen you were on, so we know where to look — you don't have to explain where you were.