Catalogue & lot intake
Pedigree, radiograph library, vetting reports, professional video. Six-figure lots need six-figure catalogue tooling. Not an off-the-shelf CMS.
Case study · Custom software delivery
A bespoke bidding platform for Ballypatrick's international sport-horse sales.
This is a case study of one of our custom software builds. Not a product we sell. Ballypatrick Auctions handles international sport-horse sales into 28 buyer countries. They needed a bidding and broadcast platform that behaved like their sale room. Not a generic SaaS template. We built it bespoke: catalogue, bidder accounts, timed and live-webcast formats, KYC, and post-sale settlement into their finance stack. Live at ballypatrickauctions.com. If your operation has a similar mismatch with off-the-shelf software, our custom software development service is where that conversation starts.
What we built
One client. Four moving parts.
The Ballypatrick build isn't a template we resell. It's an example of how we shape a bespoke system around a specialist operator's day. Four things had to work together for their first sale on the new platform to land cleanly.
Bidding & broadcast
Server-authoritative clock, anti-sniping extensions, low-latency video sync between the rostrum and international bidders. Everything the client needed on sale day.
KYC & buyer verification
Onfido ID + selfie, card-AVS pre-auth, sanctions screening above defined thresholds. International bidders in 28 countries. Regulated flow, one workflow.
Post-sale settlement
Buyer's premium, VAT margin scheme, invoicing into the client's accounting system. Consignor statements auto-generated after each sale.
Public proof
Live in the wild.
Where clients have agreed to public attribution, you can browse the live platform and see the work end-to-end. Bidder UX, lot detail pages, the catalogue layout, the live bidding interface.
What's in the platform
Six pillars. Built bespoke. Owned by you.
Every auction platform we build covers these six pillars. Depth varies by client. A fine-art house needs heavy KYC + condition reporting; an equestrian auction needs pedigree + vet-report integration; a general house needs a fast catalogue tool. The architecture stays consistent.
Bidder-facing storefront
Server-rendered catalogue (fast, SEO-indexable). Filterable by category, estimate, location, status. Lot-detail pages with image zoom, condition reports, provenance, related lots.
Bidding engine
Server-authoritative clock. Anti-sniping extensions. Proxy bidding. Reserve & start-price handling. Auctioneer clerk interface for live webcast (room / phone / online lots in one screen).
KYC & fraud screening
Onfido / Veriff / SumSub integration for ID + selfie. Card-AVS pre-auth. Sanctions + UBO checks for high-value lots. Configurable thresholds per category.
Buyer's premium & invoicing
Configurable buyer's premium (tiered, vendor-specific, lot-specific). VAT margin scheme for second-hand goods. Invoicing in your accounting system on hammer-fall.
Consignor portal
Consignors see their lots, watch live, get statements. Auto-generated settlement statements after each sale. Optional 1099 / agent commission splits.
Comms & notifications
Outbid notifications (email + SMS via Twilio + push). Lot-end alerts. Won-lot invoices. Saved-search digests. All branded as your house, not us.
How we run it
Catalogue first. Hammer second.
We almost always start with the lot intake / cataloguing tool. If you can't catalogue a sale efficiently, nothing else matters. Bidders never see the lots. Once cataloguing is solid, we layer in bidding, then KYC, then settlement. Live in fortnightly increments.
01
Paid discovery · €2,000-€4,000
2 weeks. Sale-day workflow walkthrough, lot taxonomy, format definitions (timed/live/hybrid), KYC thresholds, settlement flow, ERP integration map, fixed-price build quote.
02
MVP build · 8-14 weeks
Catalogue + bidder accounts + timed bidding + invoicing live. Soft-launch one sale on the new platform with us in the room. UAT, sandbox auctions, rollback plan, dress rehearsal.
03
Roadmap · from €1,200 / month
Live webcast, KYC tier-up, consignor portal, mobile app, white-label affiliate channels. Built in priority order against your actual sale calendar.
Tech you don't have to care about
Underneath, it's boring on purpose.
We optimise auction platforms for the two things that actually matter on sale day: a bidding clock that everyone trusts, and a database that doesn't fall over when 800 bidders refresh in the final 30 seconds. We pick tech that's been deployed at scale for a decade. Not whatever's trending on Hacker News this week.
Payments
Stripe Connect (UK/EU), Worldpay, GoCardless for bank-debit settlements. PCI-DSS SAQ A scope.
KYC + AML
Onfido / Veriff / SumSub. Comply Advantage for sanctions + PEP screening on lots > threshold.
Hosting + delivery
AWS or Hetzner EU. Cloudflare in front. EU data residency. 99.95% target uptime, surge-tested before each major sale.
Comms
Postmark / SendGrid for transactional email, Twilio for SMS, OneSignal for push. Branded sender domain with DMARC enforcement.
Common questions
About this case study.
Is this something you sell as a product?+
No. this page is a case study of a bespoke build we delivered for Ballypatrick, not a productised service. If you have a specialist sale process (equestrian, industrial, specialist collectibles) and off-the-shelf platforms won't shape around your workflow, we can scope a similar custom build. Start on the [custom software development page](/intellix/services/custom-software). that's the actual service.
What was the build for?+
A custom online bidding and broadcast platform for Ballypatrick's international sport-horse sales. Timed lots, live-webcast hybrid, KYC and post-sale settlement into their accounting system. Live at ballypatrickauctions.com.
How long did it take?+
About 14 weeks from scoping to first live sale on the new platform. Two-week paid discovery, then fortnightly increments. Standard delivery cadence for a build of this shape.
How did you handle KYC and high-value bidders?+
Onfido for ID + selfie, card-AVS pre-auth, and configurable thresholds for the higher-value lots. Sanctions and PEP screening for buyers above a defined hammer level. The same pattern we use on any regulated custom build.
Who owns the code and the data?+
The client. Source code, database, brand. Everything. We host it and keep shipping features on a monthly retainer, but there's no lock-in, no proprietary formats, no per-lot or per-hammer fees. That's how we structure every custom build we deliver.
Can you build something similar for us?+
If the fit is right. Yes, but as a bespoke custom software engagement, not as an off-the-shelf product. Read [Custom Software Development](/intellix/services/custom-software) and get in touch with a scoping brief.
Talk to us
Tell us about your auction.
One short call. Bring your sale calendar, your current platform (or 'we run it on Excel + a phone'), and the formats you trade in. timed, live, hybrid, sealed-bid. We'll come back within two working days with whether we're a fit and what discovery would cost.
- You own the platform. No SaaS lock-in.
- No per-lot or per-hammer fees. Ever.
- EU / Ireland data jurisdiction.