Set Patron Accounting Options

To set Polaris to accept patron overpayments as credits, distribute waives, automatically waive fines at check-out or renewal, and limit the transactions listed in the patron’s transaction summary:

1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Parameters folder for the organization, and select the Patron Services tabbed page in the details view.
2. To allow credit for overpayment to be carried on patron accounts, double-click Credit for overpayment, and select Yes.

If this parameter is set to No, when an overpayment is accepted, the charge is paid and a message prompts the staff member to refund the difference.

3. To allow a specified amount to be waived from multiple charges, double-click Distributed waives, and select Yes.

If this parameter is set to No, the Distributed waive option is not available on the Waive dialog box when a charge is being waived.

4. To limit how long transactions are listed in a patron’s transaction summary, follow these steps:
   1. Double-click Account transaction deletion.The Finished Transaction deletion setup dialog box appear.
   2. Select (check) Enable finished transaction deletion.
   3. Select years or months, and type the number of years or months that transactions should be retained.

Most finished deposit or charge transactions older than the period you specify will be deleted from patron transaction summaries, including charges for lost/billed items. However, the following transactions remain in the transaction summary, regardless of your setting: payments that have been refunded or credited, including lost-and-paid transactions that were refunded or credited; deposits that have been credited; any transaction associated with a credit; any transactions that occur for patron accounts currently in collection.

Important:
After the cut-off date, all completed transactions are removed from the system, including lost-and-paid transactions. Set this parameter to a minimum of one year, for example, if you reimburse patrons for lost-and-paid material when the material is found within a year.

Note:
This setting also determines how long some patron account data from deleted patron records is saved for certain financial reports. See Retaining Financial Information for Deleted Patron Records.

5. Click OK on the dialog box.
6. Select File, Save.

Related Information

• Permission to create a credit manually - Staff members must have the permission Create a patron account credit: Allow to create a credit manually for a patron account. For more information, see Setting Circulation Permissions.
• Permission to distribute a waived amount - If you allow distributed waives, staff members who set up the waived amount need the permission Fines: waive fines at circ: Allow. For more information, see Setting Circulation Permissions.