Waive charges

Discover how to waive a fine or charge in OLIB.

icon_issues.gif Circ. Desk
► Circulation> User Charges

Fines and other charges are paid or waived in the User Charges domain which you can access either:

Waive a charge

When you enter the barcode of a User with outstanding charges in the Circ. Desk screen OLIB displays the following message:

The user has charges to pay.

  1. To pay or waive the charges, click the Pay Charges button.
  2. This displays the User Charging layout
  3. To waive a charge, enter the total amount to be waived in the Amount To Pay/Waive field. The full amount outstanding or just part of the total amount outstanding can be waived.
  4. Select a Waive Reason from the drop down list in the Payment/Waive Type field.
  5. The Payment/Waive Type drop down list shows values that have been set in reference data. They include waive types as well as payment types, so whether the amount is 'paid' or 'waived' will be determined by the payment/waive type you specify in this field. Select a payment type that is connected with waiving charges, e.g. Illness.
  6. Add a free text Note if required. This will appear in Fine/Charge/Payment/Waive History section.
  7. Click the Register Payment/Waiver button, the screen auto-refreshes. Save and Close.
  8. Use the breadcrumbs to navigate back to the Circ. Desk screen.

The amount waived is automatically deducted from the outstanding amounts - starting with the terminated charges at the top of the list. Any terminated charges that are waived in full are removed from the Terminated Fines / Charges list. If a charge was only part-waived before the amount ran out, this charge will remain in the list, with the remaining outstanding amount displayed.

A full audit trail of all charge, payment and waive transactions is maintained and displayed in the history section at the bottom of the User Charging screen. It is also displayed in the Fine History section on the Circulation History screen on the Users layout. A transaction type of Fine Waiver will display.

 Tip: to also insert a free text comment, click on the user barcode in the Barcode field. The user record is displayed - put the record into modify mode. A comment relating to the charges can be entered into the Reason field on Main sheet of the Users layout and saved.

The User Auditing search from the Circulation menu also displays waive transactions and charge types.

 Note: the system manager can waive charges in bulk if it becomes necessary. A Calendar record is used for this.