[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Billing notices?

[Dawn Fritz]

Hi Jennifer,

When we joined Evergreen we were told that there is no automated Balance
Notice. Since we do send patrons to Collection, we wanted a way to notify
them about that potentially happening when they have fines but no lost
items. It's not as bad as it sounds, at least now that we have it all set
up! I think we look up about 5 patrons a day.

I absolutely agree that the best thing would be an automated notice, if you
do find a way to have that, I would be very interested in learning about it!

Thanks,

Dawn

On Tue, Mar 13, 2018 at 12:25 PM, Walz, Jennifer <jlwalz at asbury.edu> wrote:

> Dawn,
>
>
>
> Thank you for this great information!     That sounds like a workable
> process, but it sure would be nice to have this occur with the Evergreen
> software instead.   It sounds like you do a great deal of work to make this
> happen!     Why can’t it be automated?
>
>
>
>    Thanks!
>
>
>
> Jennifer
>
>
>
> *From:* Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-
> bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf Of *Dawn Fritz
> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 13, 2018 10:53 AM
>
> *To:* Evergreen Discussion Group
> *Subject:* Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Billing notices?
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
>
>
> We are relatively new to Evergreen, this past October was our start time.
> With our former system a Balance Notice was automatically generated to send
> to patrons who had fines which would cause them to lose privileges. With
> the help of Elizabeth Davis, we created a Report which gives us a list of
> patrons who have had the Alert added to their record saying that they've
> reached the Fine Threshold. By adding a filter to say when the Alert was
> added, and having the report run daily, we can then send a Balance Notice
> to patrons each day. We have a Google Doc set up for our Notice and we just
> change the name, address, etc. for each new patron. The amount the patron
> owes is another filter, and sometimes it's not correct in the report.
> That's not a problem for us since we're already going through the list to
> choose which patrons get a Notice.
>
>
>
> If you'd like more details, I'll be glad to try to share what we use.
>
>
>
> Dawn Fritz - Circulation Manager
>
> Bethlehem Area Public Library
>
> Bethlehem Pa
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 13, 2018 at 10:24 AM, Walz, Jennifer <jlwalz at asbury.edu>
> wrote:
>
> Terran,
>
>
>
> Thanks!   That gets a bit closer.
>
>
>
>    I am TRYING to use that trigger for the notices.   It seems like a good
> fit, but I don’t see that it is working properly.  So there must be
> something I am missing.    The trigger or hook or something is not right.
>
>
>
>   And for clarification to everyone – I don’t mean billing for lost or
> damaged items.   I mean for FINES.   Fines that have exceeded a threshold
> or amount.   Fines that have been on an account for a certain period of
> time.   HOW does everyone deal with this?     Does everyone just let the
> amount sit there?     I know that there is a way to limit their circulation
> functions or other things when the amount reaches a limit, but wouldn’t it
> be nice to NOTIFY people when that happens before they try to come in to
> check out books?    It would also be very effective to notify patrons on
> some kind of time line so that they don’t let the amount sit and never get
> paid.   To be more clear – we have a transitory population – at an academic
> institution.   We cannot let our students leave campus without taking care
> of their bills – especially those over any limits we set.   It would be
> GREAT to have the notices go out one last time just prior to the end of
> each semester.   (our previous system had things like this and I confess I
> don’t know why this is so difficult in Evergreen)
>
>
>
>   Why can’t notices be triggered by a specific date?   Or a relative date?
>
>
>
> Thanks for any information anyone can supply!
>
>
>
> Jennifer
>
>
>
> *From:* Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-
> bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf Of *Terran McCanna
> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 13, 2018 10:10 AM
> *To:* Evergreen Discussion Group
> *Subject:* Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Billing notices?
>
>
>
> Hi Jennifer,
>
> These are the notices we send out:
> https://pines.georgialibraries.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=circ:notification-
> wording
>
> We do not send any notices when a patron hits a total bill amount
> threshold.
>
> There is an an action trigger hook for penalty.PATRON_EXCEEDS_FINES but I
> have not tested it to see if it will work for what you want to do.
>
>
> Terran McCanna
> PINES Program Manager
> Georgia Public Library Service
> 1800 Century Place, Suite 150
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=1800+Century+Place,+Suite+150++%0D%0AAtlanta,+GA+30345&entry=gmail&source=g>
> Atlanta, GA 30345
> 404-235-7138 <(404)%20235-7138>
> tmccanna at georgialibraries.org
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 13, 2018 at 9:58 AM, Walz, Jennifer <jlwalz at asbury.edu> wrote:
>
> All –
>
>
>
> So far I have received no response from anyone regarding billings.    Are
> you telling me that NO LIBRARY out in Evergreen land ever sends out a bill
> to their patrons?
>
>
>
>   Surely this is not true.    And then, if you DO send out a notice, what
> form does it take and how do you do it from Evergreen?     What is the
> trigger?   What is the notice language like?   What is the frequency?
> WHEN does it escalate to a collections agency?     How do you handle that
> with a notification?
>
>
>
> I have had at least 2 other people contact me to ask how this is done.
> Surely there is a need for this out there.
>
>
>
> Can anyone help?
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
> Jennifer
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> Jennifer Walz, MLS - Head of Research & Distance Services
> Kinlaw Library -  *Asbury University*
> One Macklem Drive, Wilmore, KY 40390
> 859-858-3511 ext. 2269 <(859)%20858-3511>
> jlwalz at asbury.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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