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Tally
211 topics across 23 areas — summaries, walkthroughs, and the data model behind them.
Process walkthroughs
ProcessBuyer portal — invoices, loadouts, purchasesAs a buyer, sign in to the portal to see what you owe, pay it, pick up your animals against a loadout ticket, and review everything you've ever bought.ProcessConsignor portal — submit, track, settleConsignors sign in to see the consignments they've delivered, watch them move through the sale, and check their settlement payouts — without calling the office.ProcessComplete auction workflow: consignment to payoutThe end-to-end barn day — create a sale, take in consignments, catalog and weigh animals, build lots, sell the ring, invoice and load out buyers, then settle and pay consignors.ProcessBuyer checkout: from won lots to a settled invoiceThe buyer checkout flow — generate and issue the invoice, record payments by method, watch the balance fall to zero (PAID), then authorize the buyer for loadout.
Featured concepts
ConceptAudit log — tracking changesEvery meaningful change is written to an append-only audit log — who did it, when, what entity, and the before/after state — so the barn can reconstruct exactly what happened.ConceptAnimals inventory: every head received for saleThe catalog of individual head taken in for sale — how each Animal is recorded (species, sex class, breed, back tag, EID tag, intake weight) and how its status moves from RECEIVED through the ring to loaded out.ConceptTransactions ledger: every lot hammered in the ringThe chronological ledger of every SaleTransaction recorded across all sales — buyer, lot, unit price, head count, weight at sale, gross amount, and hammer time — and how voids and corrections preserve an auditable trail instead of deleting.ConceptThe consignment lifecycleAnimals arrive as a consignment from one seller and move through intake → pen → lotting → sale → settlement — the consignment is the thread that ties an animal back to who gets paid.ConceptLots — grouping animals for auctionA lot groups like animals — possibly across consignments — under one lot number and ring order, and sells to a single buyer at one pricing mode.ConceptBuyers directory: the registered buyer rosterThe roster of registered buyers — buyer number, names, credit limit versus credit used, loadout holds, dealer license, and tax-exempt status — and how a buyer record ties forward to invoices and loadout authorization.
All topics
Auctions
- Transactions ledger: every lot hammered in the ringThe chronological ledger of every SaleTransaction recorded across all sales — buyer, lot, unit price, head count, weight at sale, gross amount, and hammer time — and how voids and corrections preserve an auditable trail instead of deleting.Concept
- The consignment lifecycleAnimals arrive as a consignment from one seller and move through intake → pen → lotting → sale → settlement — the consignment is the thread that ties an animal back to who gets paid.Concept
- Lots — grouping animals for auctionA lot groups like animals — possibly across consignments — under one lot number and ring order, and sells to a single buyer at one pricing mode.Concept
Buyers
- Buyers directory: the registered buyer rosterThe roster of registered buyers — buyer number, names, credit limit versus credit used, loadout holds, dealer license, and tax-exempt status — and how a buyer record ties forward to invoices and loadout authorization.Concept
- Buyer credit & payment termsEach buyer has a credit limit and payment terms — Cash at Pickup or Net 7/15/30 — and loadout is blocked once their used credit reaches the limit.Concept
- Buyer numberThe short numeric ID a buyer is called by in the ring and on invoices.Element
- Display nameThe everyday name a buyer is shown by throughout Tally.Element
- Legal nameThe buyer's formal legal entity name, used on tax and settlement paperwork.Element
- Tax IDThe buyer's SSN or EIN, stored encrypted and shown only as a masked value.Element
- Dealer licenseThe buyer's livestock dealer license number, where required by law.Element
- Dealer license expirationThe date the buyer's dealer license lapses; Tally warns when it's past.Element
- AddressThe buyer's mailing address, used on invoices and correspondence.Element
- PhoneThe buyer's contact phone number.Element
- EmailThe buyer's email — also their login for the buyer portal.Element
- Credit limitThe most a buyer may owe before loadouts are blocked.Element
- Credit usedThe buyer's current outstanding balance, maintained by Tally.Element
- Payment termsHow long the buyer has to pay — cash at pickup or a net window.Element
- Hold loadoutA switch that blocks all loadouts for a buyer, regardless of credit.Element
- Hold reasonThe note explaining why a buyer's loadouts are on hold.Element
- Tax exemptMarks a buyer as exempt from sales tax on their purchases.Element
- Tax-exempt certificate numberThe certificate number backing a buyer's tax-exempt status.Element
- Loadout zoneThe buyer's usual pickup area in the yard.Element
- ID on fileConfirms the barn has verified identification for the buyer.Element
- Buyer statusWhether a buyer is active, inactive, or banned from buying.Element
- NotesFree-form notes about the buyer for your staff.Element
Compliance
- Health documentation (CVI, brand inspection, and more)Health papers — CVIs, brand inspections, and disease tests — are attached to a consignment, can be scanned with OCR, manually verified, expired, or placed on legal hold.Concept
- Paper typeThe kind of health or compliance document this record represents.Element
- Document numberThe identifying number printed on the health or compliance document.Element
- Issued dateThe date the health or compliance document was issued.Element
- ExpiresThe date the document is no longer valid — Tally warns when it has passed.Element
- Inspector nameThe veterinarian or inspector who issued the document.Element
- Inspector licenseThe license or accreditation number of the issuing inspector.Element
- Origin addressWhere the animals came from, as stated on the document.Element
- Destination addressWhere the animals are headed, as stated on the document.Element
- Head countThe number of animals covered by the document.Element
- SpeciesThe kind of animal the document covers.Element
- Document fileA link to the scanned PDF or image of the actual health paper.Element
- OCR confidenceHow confident the automatic scan was when it read the document's fields.Element
- Manually verifiedWhether a person has checked the document's fields against the original.Element
- Verified byThe user who confirmed the document's fields against the original.Element
- Legal holdLocks the document so it cannot be modified or deleted.Element
Consignors
- Consignors directory: the seller rosterThe roster of sellers — names, contact, default commission, payment method, the running balance carried between sales, and portal access — and how a consignor ties to consignments and settlements.Concept
- Display NameThe everyday name a consignor is known by — shown on lists, the ring screen, and settlement statements.Element
- How sellers get paid (settlement)After a sale closes, each consignor's settlement is gross sale proceeds minus commission and fees, plus or minus adjustments, plus any prior balance — leaving the net amount payable.Concept
- Legal NameThe consignor's full legal name as it should appear on 1099 tax forms.Element
- Tax ID / SSNThe consignor's taxpayer ID, stored encrypted and shown only as a masked value for 1099 reporting.Element
- Tax ID TypeTells the system whether the consignor's tax ID is an SSN, EIN, or ITIN — or that none is on file.Element
- Mailing AddressThe consignor's mailing address, used on settlement checks and 1099 forms.Element
- PhoneThe consignor's contact phone number for sale-day calls and settlement questions.Element
- EmailThe consignor's email — their contact address and the login for the consignor portal.Element
- BrandThe consignor's registered livestock brand mark, recorded for identification and brand-inspection matching.Element
- Payment MethodHow this consignor prefers to be paid their settlement proceeds.Element
- ACH RoutingThe consignor's bank routing number for ACH direct-deposit payouts, stored encrypted and shown masked.Element
- Running BalanceThe consignor's current account balance carried across sales — can be negative if they owe the barn.Element
- Default CommissionA custom commission rate for this seller that overrides the sale's fee schedule.Element
- Beef Checkoff ExemptMarks a consignor as exempt from the mandatory beef checkoff fee on their settlements.Element
- StatusWhether a consignor is active, inactive, or banned — banned sellers can't take new consignments.Element
- NotesFree-form internal notes about a consignor, visible to staff only.Element
Data Entry
- Weight capture — animals, lots, and pen groupsWeigh tickets record gross, tare, and net weight in hundredths of a pound for a single animal, a whole lot, or a pen group — and can be voided or marked informational-only.Concept
- Species & sex class taxonomyEvery animal is classified by species — cattle, sheep, goat, hog, horse, or other — and by a sex class within that species, which drives eligibility, lotting, and reporting.Concept
Intake
- Arrival TimeWhen the consignment's livestock arrived (or is expected to arrive) at the yard.Element
- Truck DescriptionA short description of the truck or trailer that delivered the consignment.Element
- Head Count DeclaredThe number of head the consignor says they're bringing — their stated count.Element
- Head Count ReceivedThe actual number of head counted at intake — flagged if it differs from the declared count.Element
- Commission OverrideA commission rate set on this one consignment that beats both the seller's default and the fee schedule.Element
- Ring Order HintA suggested position for this consignment in the sale order, used when building the ring lineup.Element
- Withdrawn ReasonWhy a consignment was pulled from the sale before selling.Element
- Consignment NotesFree-form notes about this specific load — handling, sorting, or seller instructions.Element
- SpeciesThe kind of livestock — cattle, sheep, goat, hog, horse, or other.Element
- Sex / ClassThe animal's sex and class (e.g. steer, heifer, cow, bull) — the valid choices depend on the species.Element
- BreedThe animal's breed, recorded as free text (e.g. Angus, Hereford, Boer).Element
- Back TagThe visual stick-on or paint ID applied to the animal at intake for sale-day identification.Element
- EID TagThe animal's 15-digit electronic ID tag, unique within a consignment for this barn.Element
- Birth YearThe animal's year of birth, used to gauge age for lotting and buyer information.Element
- Intake WeightThe animal's weight recorded at intake, stored in hundredths of a pound to avoid rounding drift.Element
- Pelvic BrandedMarks an animal carrying a pelvic (spay) brand, which affects how it can be lotted.Element
- Group OnlyMarks an animal that must sell with its consignment group rather than being split into another lot.Element
- StatusWhere the animal is in its sale lifecycle — received, lotted, sold, no-sale, withdrawn, or dead.Element
Invoices
- Invoice numberThe human-facing identifier printed on a buyer's invoice.Element
- Invoice buyerThe buyer this invoice bills.Element
- SubtotalThe sum of the buyer's winning bids on this invoice, before fees and tax.Element
- Buyer feesThe fees charged to the buyer, added on top of the subtotal.Element
- TaxThe sales tax assessed on the invoice.Element
- Total dueThe full amount the buyer owes — subtotal plus fees plus tax.Element
- Amount paidThe total payments recorded against the invoice so far.Element
- Balance dueWhat the buyer still owes — total due minus amount paid.Element
- Due dateWhen payment is due, derived from the buyer's payment terms.Element
- Paid-in-full dateThe moment the invoice balance reached zero.Element
- Invoice statusWhere an invoice stands — from draft through paid, voided, or written off.Element
- Payment methodHow a payment was made — cash, check, ACH, wire, card, and more.Element
- Payment amountHow much money a single payment covers.Element
- Payment reference numberThe check number, ACH trace, or card authorization code for a payment.Element
- Payment received dateWhen the payment was actually received.Element
- Payment received byThe staff member who took the payment.Element
Loadouts
- Loadout ticket numberThe unique reference for a loadout, used at the gate.Element
- Loadout buyerThe buyer authorized to pick up livestock on this ticket.Element
- Loadout invoiceThe invoice this loadout is tied to.Element
- Loadout lotsWhich lots are being released on this loadout ticket.Element
- Head countHow many animals are leaving on this loadout.Element
- Pickup pen codesWhich pens the yard crew pulls the livestock from.Element
- Loadout statusWhere a loadout stands — pending, authorized, partial, complete, or voided.Element
- Authorized atWhen the loadout was cleared to leave the yard.Element
- Authorized byThe staff member who cleared the loadout.Element
- Gate-out atWhen the livestock actually left the yard.Element
- Gate-out byThe staff member who released the livestock at the gate.Element
Lots
- Lot numberThe numeric identifier called out in the ring for a lot, unique within a single sale.Element
- Ring orderThe position that decides the sequence in which a lot runs through the ring.Element
- Lot speciesThe animal species of a lot; every animal in the lot must be the same species.Element
- Sex classThe sex/class grouping of a lot; every animal in the lot must share the same class.Element
- Head countThe number of animals in the lot.Element
- Aggregate weightThe total weight of all animals in a lot, used to compute per-hundredweight pricing.Element
- Pricing modeHow a lot is priced — per hundredweight, per head, or as a single lump sum.Element
- Reserve priceAn optional minimum price below which the consignor will not sell the lot.Element
- Cross-consignment lotA flag marking a lot whose animals come from two or more different consignments.Element
- Combined-from lotsThe audit trail of lot IDs that were rebroke or combined to form this lot.Element
- Lot statusWhere a lot is in its life — pending, in the ring, sold, no-sale, rebroke, or withdrawn.Element
- No-sale reasonWhy a lot ran the ring but did not sell.Element
Portals
- Buyer portal — invoices, loadouts, purchasesAs a buyer, sign in to the portal to see what you owe, pay it, pick up your animals against a loadout ticket, and review everything you've ever bought.Process
- Consignor portal overviewThe consignor portal lets sellers sign in to see their own consignments, settlements, and tax forms — scoped strictly to themselves, never another seller's data.Concept
- Consignor portal — submit, track, settleConsignors sign in to see the consignments they've delivered, watch them move through the sale, and check their settlement payouts — without calling the office.Process
- Buyer portal overviewThe buyer portal lets buyers sign in to see their invoices, authorized loadouts, and purchase history — scoped to themselves.Concept
Ring Operations
- BuyerThe buyer who won the lot in the ring.Element
- Ring order, hammer price & sale transactionsLots cross the block in ring order; when one sells, the clerk records the buyer, the hammer unit price, and the head count, and Tally computes the gross — voidable or correctable afterward.Concept
- Loadout tickets — picking up purchasesAfter invoicing, loadout tickets group a buyer's purchases by pickup pen; holds (credit or admin) block them until the office authorizes pickup and the animals gate out.Concept
- Unit priceThe winning bid, quoted in the lot's pricing-mode unit.Element
- Head count at saleThe number of head that actually sold, which may differ from the lot's head count.Element
- Weight at saleThe weight the lot sold on, used to compute per-hundredweight gross amounts.Element
- Gross amountThe total dollars a lot sold for, computed from unit price and pricing mode.Element
- Hammer timeThe timestamp the hammer fell and the lot officially sold.Element
- VoidedMarks a sale transaction as canceled so it no longer counts toward invoices or settlements.Element
- Void reasonThe recorded reason a sale transaction was voided.Element
- Correction ofLinks a replacement transaction back to the voided transaction it corrects.Element
Sales Setup
- Sale NameThe label for an auction event — must be unique within your barn.Element
- Sale type designationsEach sale is classified as Weekly Cattle, Special Sheep/Goat, Horse, Dairy Dispersal, Bred Cow, or Mixed — and that classification gates which species and sex classes are eligible.Concept
- Sale typeThe sale's classification — Weekly Cattle, Special Sheep/Goat, Horse, Dairy Dispersal, Bred Cow, or Mixed — which sets the species and sex classes eligible for the ring.Element
- Scheduled StartThe planned date and time the sale begins.Element
- Scheduled EndThe optional planned end time for the sale.Element
- Fee ScheduleWhich fee schedule this sale uses; its rates are locked in at sale creation.Element
- Auctioneer NameThe name of the auctioneer running this sale.Element
- Sale NotesFree-text internal notes about the sale.Element
- Sale StatusWhere the sale is in its lifecycle — from draft to settled.Element
Settings > Fee Schedules
- Fee Schedule NameThe label for a set of selling rates.Element
- Effective FromThe date a fee schedule's rates start applying.Element
- Effective ToThe optional last date a fee schedule applies.Element
- Commission (%)The barn's selling commission, taken as a percentage of gross proceeds.Element
- Minimum Commission (per head)An optional floor so commission is never less than this amount per animal.Element
- Maximum Commission (per head)An optional ceiling so commission never exceeds this amount per animal.Element
- Yard Fee (per head)A flat per-animal charge for penning, handling, and yardage.Element
- Insurance Fee (per head)A flat per-animal charge covering insurance while animals are at the barn.Element
- Beef Checkoff (per head)The national beef-promotion assessment collected per head of cattle sold.Element
- State Checkoff (per head)An optional state-level promotion assessment collected per head.Element
- Brand Inspection (per head)An optional per-head charge for state brand inspection.Element
- Vet Fee (per head)An optional per-head charge for veterinary inspection or services.Element
- Manure Fee (per head)An optional per-head charge for manure removal and pen cleanup.Element
- Applies To SpeciesWhich animal species this fee schedule is meant for.Element
- Custom FeesExtra barn-specific fees beyond the standard built-in set.Element
Settings > Pens
- Pen CodeThe short label that identifies a pen.Element
- Pen management & capacityPens are the physical holding spaces, each with a code and a capacity, and they tie consignments to a location that drives weigh tickets and loadouts.Concept
- Pen LocationAn optional description of where the pen physically sits.Element
- Pen CapacityHow many head the pen comfortably holds.Element
- Pen SpeciesAn optional restriction limiting a pen to one species.Element
- Pen ActiveWhether the pen is in service and available for assignments.Element
- Pen Asset LinkAn optional link tying this pen to its record in Stratum Assets.Element
Settings > Users
- User EmailThe email that identifies a staff member, matched from their Suite sign-in.Element
- User NameThe staff member's display name.Element
- User RoleThe staff member's role, which controls what they can see and do.Element
- User ActiveWhether the staff member can currently sign in and work.Element
- User Workforce LinkAn optional link tying this staff member to their Stratum Workforce record.Element
Settlements
- Run numberThe sequence number of this settlement within a consignor's settlements for the sale.Element
- ConsignorThe seller this settlement pays — the consignor whose lots sold in the sale.Element
- Gross amountThe total sale proceeds from all of this consignor's sold lots, before any fees.Element
- CommissionThe barn's selling commission deducted from the consignor's proceeds.Element
- Yard feeThe per-head yard charge for penning and handling the consignor's animals.Element
- Insurance feeThe per-head insurance charge deducted from the consignor's proceeds.Element
- Beef checkoffThe mandated per-head beef checkoff assessment, waived for exempt consignors.Element
- State checkoffThe state-level per-head checkoff assessment, where applicable.Element
- Brand inspection feeThe per-head brand inspection charge collected on the consignor's behalf.Element
- Vet feeThe per-head veterinary charge deducted from the consignor's proceeds.Element
- Manure feeThe per-head cleanup charge for pen waste removal.Element
- Custom fees totalThe combined total of any barn-specific extra fees applied to the settlement.Element
- Custom fees breakdownThe itemized list of named custom fees that make up the custom fees total.Element
- Prior balance appliedThe consignor's carried-over credit or debt rolled into this settlement.Element
- AdjustmentsAn ad-hoc correction added to or subtracted from the settlement total.Element
- Adjustments detailThe itemized list of each ad-hoc adjustment and its reason.Element
- Net payableThe final amount the consignor is paid — gross less all fees, plus prior balance, plus or minus adjustments.Element
- Payment methodHow the consignor's net payable is paid out.Element
- Check numberThe check number used to pay the consignor, when paid by check.Element
- ACH trace numberThe bank trace number for an ACH-paid settlement.Element
- Settlement statusWhere the settlement is in its lifecycle, from draft through paid.Element
- Approved byThe user who approved the settlement for payment.Element
- Approved atThe date and time the settlement was approved.Element
- Paid atThe date and time the settlement payout was issued.Element
- Paid byThe user who recorded the settlement as paid.Element
Weigh
- Weigh subjectWhat a weigh ticket is weighing — a single animal, a lot, or a pen group.Element
- Gross weightThe raw weight read off the scale before any shrink is deducted.Element
- Tare (shrink)Weight deducted from gross for dirt, mud, or disease — the shrink — defaulting to zero.Element
- Net weightGross minus tare — the weight settlement and per-cwt pricing use.Element
- Weigh head countHow many animals were on the scale for this ticket.Element
- Scale operatorThe staff member who ran the scale and recorded the weigh ticket.Element
- Scale IDAn optional identifier for which scale produced the weigh ticket.Element
- Weighed atThe time the subject was actually weighed.Element
- Weigh voidedMarks a weigh ticket as canceled so its weight no longer feeds pricing or settlement.Element
- Weigh void reasonThe recorded reason a weigh ticket was voided.Element
- Informational onlyFlags a weigh ticket as reference-only so it never feeds pricing or settlement.Element
Workflow
- Complete auction workflow: consignment to payoutThe end-to-end barn day — create a sale, take in consignments, catalog and weigh animals, build lots, sell the ring, invoice and load out buyers, then settle and pay consignors.Process
- Buyer checkout: from won lots to a settled invoiceThe buyer checkout flow — generate and issue the invoice, record payments by method, watch the balance fall to zero (PAID), then authorize the buyer for loadout.Process