Checking In a Billed Item

Set the following options related to checking in a billed item:

If the Check-in: Authorization required to check in billed item circulation option is set to "YES," the system requires permission 61 (Authorized to chkin billed items). See Permissions Used by Sierra for more information.

When you attempt to check in a billed item, the system's response depends on whether:

Patron Has Not Paid the Bill

If the item's STATUS is 'n' (BILLED), the patron has been billed for the item, but has not yet paid the related charges.

Retaining Bills

The system adjusts outstanding bills on patron records when checking in billed items. To sever checked-out items from patron records without altering the associated bill, use batch checkin.

To check in an item that is billed but unpaid:

  1. Check in the item as you normally would, depending on whether the patron is present or not present.
  2. If prompted, enter your login and password. The system prompts you for authorization only if the Check-in: Authorization required to check in billed item circulation option is set to "YES".
    • If the login has the correct authorization, the system checks in the item.
    • If the login is not authorized to check in billed items, the system blocks the checkin and displays:

Cannot checkin item because item status is BILLED.

To clear this message, choose OK.

Streamlining Results in Automatic Checkin

If the Check-in: Streamlined Check-in at wrong location circulation option is set to "YES", the system checks in the item without prompting you for authorization, regardless of the setting of the Check-in: Authorization Required to Check In Billed Items option.

After the item is successfully checked in, the system updates the item's STATUS to '-' (AVAILABLE) and displays:

Item status is BILLED and has been cleared.

  1. Choose OK to continue. The system adjusts the bill.

    Note that if the calculated remaining balance owed is '0', the system does not add an adjustment to the patron's record. For more information, see Adjusting Charges for Returned Billed Items.

If Item Status Is Changed

If the item is billed but the item status was changed either manually or by the system before the item is checked in [for example, from 'n' (BILLED) to 'z' (CLAIMS RETURNED)], and the checkin is backdated, the system does not reduce the fine; the fine remains in the patron record. You must manually waive or adjust the fine from the patron's record.

  1. If you are using the Circulation Desk function, the system prompts you to print a bill reduction receipt, which displays the amount billed, amount credited, amount paid, and amount currently owed. Note that the Check-In (No Patron) function does not enable you to print a bill reduction receipt.
  2. The system displays the item information in the Check In table. In addition to the item title, barcode, call number, and the patron name, the system displays the amount the patron now owes and the number of days overdue.

Patron Has Partially Paid the Bill; Possible Patron Credit

When you check in a billed item for which the patron has partially paid the bill, the same prompts display as for billed and unpaid items. However, a partial payment on an item and subsequent checkin can result in a credit added to the patron record.

Money is credited to patrons for a billed item under the following circumstances:

When crediting money to a patron, the system enters a negative number in the MONEY OWED field of the patron record. To remove this negative value, see Removing Negative Fines.

Patron Has Paid the Bill

If the item's STATUS is '$' (BILLED and PAID), the patron has paid the bill for the item.

To check in an item that is billed and paid:

  1. Check in the item as you normally would, depending on whether the patron is present or not present. The system prompts you to clear the item's status.
  2. Choose an option as appropriate:
    • To make the item available for checkout, choose Yes. The system updates the item's STATUS to '-' (AVAILABLE).
    • To retain the item status of '$', choose No.
    The system informs you that the item is not checked out. This message displays because the item's checked-out status was cleared when the patron paid the replacement bill and the item's STATUS was changed to '$' (BILLED and PAID); therefore you can disregard the message.
  3. Choose OK.