Aleph 500, Version 16

Cash Management in Circulation 16

ALEPH 500, VERSION 16

Cash Management in Circulation

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Navigation Tree: Patron Tab – Cash Node

2.1. Cash Transactions (Upper Pane)

2.2. Creating and Working with Cash Transactions

2.3. Cash Transaction Information (Lower Pane)

3. Navigation Tree: Loan and Return Tabs

4. Payment Report

4.1. Generating a Report

5. Services Related to Cash Transactions

1. Introduction

Functions related to cash transactions are available in the Circulation Module via four different means:

1. Navigation Tree: Patron Tab – Cash node. The patron's list of cash transactions is recorded here. You may use this window to record payment of debt, waive a transaction and add a new cash transaction.

1. The ability to pay for cash transactions, add a new cash transaction, and display the patron's list of cash transactions is available on both session nodes of the Navigation Tree: Return Tab andNavigation Tree: Loan Tab.

1. A Payment Report is available from the Menu Bar. Select Reports/Payment Report. The Payment Report lists all the cash transactions that have occurred within a given time period. The report is only available for the current workstation and includes transactions that were processed by all staff that have used the workstation during the designated time period, or only for the currently logged-in staff member.

1. Related reports and processes are available from the Menu Bar. Select Services/Cash Transactions and the appropriate service. One of these services is cash-09, which creates a file of transactions that can be exported to your institution’s Accounts Receivable office.
   

2. Navigation Tree: Patron Tab – Cash Node

When you click on the [C]Cash node of the Patron Activity root in the Navigation Tree: Patron Tab, the transactions lists display in the upper pane and the detail of a highlighted transaction displays in the lower pane:

2.1. Cash Transactions (Upper Pane)

As shown below, there are four tabs in which to view different categories of cash transactions. Each tab offers the same options for columnar display and work with the same functional buttons as appropriate; they are merely there for sorting the list. Either click on a tab, or when that pane is selected (there will be a red square around it) key [Alt + the number of the tab] to bring that tab to the foreground. The different tabs include:

1. Active Cash – only displays “Not Paid” and “Transferred to AR” transactions
2. Cash History – only displays “Paid” transactions
3. Cancelled Transactions - only displays “Cancelled” (Waived) transactions
4. All Transactions – displays all transactions from tabs 1, 2, & 3.

2.2. Conventions of the Cash Upper Pane

Columnar Display

Columnar displays, an ALEPH standard, have default widths that can be adjusted by positioning the mouse between the columns, holding down the left mouse button and dragging to the left or right to widen or narrow. When you are satisfied with the width, let go of the mouse button. Specific information about a cash transaction can also display in a ‘bubble’ format. Highlight the line and hold down your right mouse button:

Debit/Credit and Color Coding

Thinking of the cash transaction list with regard to the borrower, debit means money that the borrower owes the library and credit means money that the library owes the borrower. The numeric values in both of these columns will be either red or green. Green means that it is paid or waived. Red means that it is not paid. The colors are simply an added visual convenience, since the actual description is in the Status column.

Balance & Subtotal

The Balance field (on bottom portion of upper pane) displays the total amount of “Not paid” transactions. If it is a credit, the value is a positive number and if it is a debit, the value is a negative number.

The Subtotal field reflects the amount of the selected line in the pane. Like the Balance field, if it is a credit, the value is a positive number and if it is a debit, the value is a negative number. If you highlight a Paid or Waived transaction, then 0 will display in the subtotal field. The following example shows a debit of $12.95, and so the subtotal box contains –12.95.

Limiting by Sublibrary

It is possible to configure ALEPH to only display and permit payment on cash transactions from specific sublibraries on certain workstations. If these settings are applied, what you see on your screen is what you are potentially able to work with.

For example, maybe the Law Library handles all of its own cash transactions, and the rest of the sublibraries pool together their fines. Making these customizations will configure ALEPH so that at the Law Library staff will only see and pay Law Library fines, and at the rest of the sublibraries’ staff will only see and pay non-Law Library fines.

2.2. Creating and Working with Cash Transactions

You may read, but not change, the cash transactions displayed in the pane. The ability to change the information is provided by the buttons on the right-hand side:

The “Pay Sum” button works in tandem with the “Sum to Pay” field located in the lower right corner of the upper pane:

If the user wants to pay the total amount due, make sure that the Balance amount appears in the Sum to Pay field; click “Pay Sum”.

You can also use this field to pay less than the total amount due, in other words, make a partial payment where the system selects the transactions to pay. In order to use this type of partial payment, enter the amount the patron is going to pay in the Sum to Pay field; click “Pay Sum”. You will be prompted to confirm that the patron really wants to pay the specified amount. After confirmation, the system will register as many transactions PAID as can be covered by the amount paid. The system pays the transactions beginning with the first unpaid transaction and pays every transaction that it can in full. If it cannot pay any more transactions in full and the money has not been completely allocated, the system goes back to the new earliest unpaid and partially pays that transaction.

Depending on how your System Librarian has configured the system, one or more receipts will be printed.

You cannot use “Pay Sum” to satisfy payment of credits from the library to the patron. In order to do this, use the “Pay Selected” button.

If the patron wants to pay for an individual transaction either in full or partially, highlight the transaction and click the “Pay Selected”button; the Cash Administration window displays:

Choose “Yes” to pay in full or “No” to partially pay. If you select “No,” the following screen displays in which to specify a partial amount. Click “OK” to complete the transaction:

The patron can also pay for several transactions at once. Highlight the desired transactions and click “Pay Selected”. In order to highlight a continuous list of transactions, press [“Shift”] and click the desired beginning and ending transactions in the group. In order to highlight non-continuous transactions, press [“Ctrl”] and click the desired transactions. If you choose to partially pay this group, the system will apply the funds in the same way that it does for “Pay Sum.” The system pays the transactions beginning with the first unpaid transaction and pays every transaction that it can in full. If it cannot pay any more transactions in full and the money has not been completely allocated, then the system goes back to the new earliest unpaid and partially pays that transaction.

Click on the “New” button to register cash transactions on an ad hoc basis using the New Cash Transaction form:

The New Cash Transaction form enables you to define the transaction as a debit or credit, write a descriptive note about the transaction, and link the transaction to a particular target, sublibrary, or item record.

The following briefly describes the fields of the New Cash Transaction window.

Enter Item Barcode (Optional): if you wish to link this transaction to a particular item, select the item by entering its barcode, or by choosing from a list (by clicking on the expand arrow to the right side of the field). After selecting an item, its bibliographic description, ADM record number and item sequence number display.

Type (Optional): enter the code of the transaction or choose from a list of transactions by clicking on the down arrow to the right side of the field. Only numeric values are displayed for you to choose from. When you enter a type, the description and sum are automatically completed, except for type "0000" which is a general type. If you use type "0000" enter description and sum manually. All system-generated values can be changed manually. System-activated transactions are assigned numbers from 0000-8999 while manually activated transactions are assigned numbers from 9000-9999.

Sum: enter the fee for the transaction. The fee may be zero. When there is a library-defined fee for the selected transaction type, it will appear in this field. Otherwise you can enter or change the fee manually.

Debit or Credit:if the user will owe the library money for the transaction, click “Debit”. If the library will owe the patron money, click “Credit”.

Key: not implemented yet.

Description: if you choose cash parameter type as explained above, the system completes the matching description. The field can be edited if needed.

Sublibrary (Optional): if the transaction relates to a particular sublibrary, enter the sublibrary code here or choose from a list of sub-libraries by clicking on the expand arrow to the right side of the field.

Target (Optional): enter the department that should receive the fee.

When you have completed the New Cash Transaction form, click ”OK”.

Clickthe “Waive” button after highlighting one or more item(s) to cancel one or more debit transactions. The Waive Description form displays for you to enter a comment or reason for canceling the transaction(s):

After clicking the “OK” on the form, a receipt can be set up to print.

ALEPH does not let you waive a credited cash transaction. If the user wants to cancel a credited transaction, a debited transaction of the same value must be created.

This printing feature creates a printout of the cash transactions in the pane without needing to highlight any of them. If the window is currently displaying all transactions, then all transactions will be printed. If the window is currently displaying a filtered view, you will be prompted to print all of the user's transactions or only those in the filtered view.

Clicking the “By Sublibrary” button provides a breakdown of

total amounts due by sublibrary or by ADM if the sublibrary is

not tied to a cash transaction. If you are limiting the display by

sublibrary, i.e. using the feature described in the previous

section Conventions of the Cash Upper Pane, Limiting

by Sublibrary, this will not affect the display in the ‘by sublibrary’

breakdown.

The Cash Subtotals by Sublibrary window provides a sublibrary breakdown of a particular borrower’s outstanding cash transactions with total amount due listed at the top of the window. If the transfer to Accounts Receivable (AR) service is used (cash-09), those totals display in a separate column.

2.3. Cash Transaction Information (Lower Pane)

Highlight a cash transaction to view extensive details in the lower pane:

The “Print“ button located on the lower pane allow you to print the details of the specific cash transaction.

3. Navigation Tree: Loan and Return Tabs

Cash information and functions are available through the Loan and Return tabs in the [S] Session nodes. These panes display the patron's outstanding balance and amount transferred to Accounts Receivable (if applicable), and also provide options to add a new cash transaction or to register a payment. The Cash functions work the same in both the Loan and the Return tabs. See an example of the Loan Navigation Tree below:

You may register a cash transaction on an ad hoc basis by clicking “New Cash”. The same New Cash Transaction form displays as the onedescribed in theCreating and Working with Cash Transactionssection above. Again, this enables you to define the transaction as a debit or credit, write a descriptive note about the transaction, and link the transaction to a particular target, sublibrary, and/or item record.

If the user wants to pay some or all of the money he owes, enter the amount in the Pay field and click “Pay Cash”. This functions in the same way as the Sum to Pay field with the “Pay Sum” button in the Navigation Tree: Patron Cash Tab upper pane. You will be prompted to confirm that the user really does want to pay the specified amount. After confirmation, the system will register as paid as many transactions as can be covered by the amount paid, starting with the earliest unpaid transaction. Depending on how your System Librarian has configured the system, one or more receipts will be printed.

To view the Cash node in the Navigation Tree: Patron Tab of the patron listed in the Loan or Return Tab, click “Patron’s Cash”.

4. Payment Report

The payment report provides a report of cash transactions that were paid. Its main purpose is to verify the cash drawer with the payments recorded at the workstations using that cash drawer.

Select Reports/Payment Report from the Circulation Main Menu Bar or use [Alt + R + P]to open the Payment Report window:

From Date/And Hour: enter the earliest date and hour that you want to include in the report. When entering the hour, keep in mind that the system uses a 24-hour clock, so if you want to start the report at 6 pm, enter "18:00". You can use or to the right of the date and hour fields respectively to choose the desired value.

To Date/And Hour: enter the latest date and hour that you want to be included in the report. You can use or to the right of the date and hour fields respectively to choose the desired value.

Create Report Using: if you want the report to be for the current workstation (and therefore include transactions that were processed by all staff who used the workstation during the time period), select IP address. If you want the report to be for the currently logged-in staff member only, select Staff Name.

Sort Report By: if you choose Sublibrary, all transactions for a given sublibrary will be grouped together. If you choose Payment Target, the report will be grouped according to the body that is supposed to receive the payments for the transactions.

4.1. Generating a Report

Click “OK” to generate your report. Once the report is generated, the following occurs:

1. The system will produce a printout or a print preview that can be found in ALEPH/Task Manager.

1. You will be prompted to "update the default time". If you choose yes, this means that the next time you run the report, the From Date/and Hour will start where the previous report left off.

5. Services Related to Cash Transactions

Reports and processes relating to cash transactions are available from the main menu. Select Services/Cash Transactions and the appropriate service from the Circulation Main Menu Bar.

More information about actually running services and handling output is covered in the document “Task Manager Overview” later in this Circulation Training notebook. A brief description of each service for cash transactions follows:

Cash Transaction Report (cash-02)

This service produces a report of cash transactions for library patrons. The function can be run only when the active library is an ADMinistrative library.

Run this function whenever you need to know the volume or cash flow for any or all cash transactions.

Payments Received Report (cash-03)

This service produces a report of payments received.

Run this service whenever you need to know the volume or cash flow for any workstation, library staff member, sublibrary or target.

Delete Paid Transactions (cash-04)

This service deletes paid cash transactions.

Unpaid Transactions Letter/Update Transactions to "Paid" (cash-05)

This service changes the payment status from "unpaid" to "paid" for all cash transactions that occur between the dates you enter in the form above.

The service also prints a letter for each user, listing each transaction and the total amount of cash owed. A library might use this service, for example, if it transfers the responsibility for cash collection to another agency (possibly using the Cash Transaction Report cash-02, to report the information.)

Notices to Patrons with Owing Money (cash-06)

This service enables you to print out notices to borrowers who have fines exceeding the amount defined in this service. This service can be run only when the active library is an ADM library.