Managing Patron Accounting

The patron accounting tab in the patron account is where all financial transactions for a patron are handled and recorded.

Refund Lost Returns

A system preference allows you to specify the number of days a refund will not be issued when a lost item is checked in after it was marked lost.

System Preferences

1. Navigate to Administration --> Global System Preferences --> and search for preference NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge
2. Add the number of days (our example is 180) that Koha will look at when deciding to refund lost fees when a lost item is checked in.
3. You will also want to look at your system preferences for DefaultLongOverdueLostValue and DefaultLongOverdueDays.
4. Check your Circulation and fine rules for the setting Default lost item fee refund on return policy
   

Example

Once your system preferences are set, and your circulation rules are verified, the next time a lost item is returned, Koha will check the system preference for NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge and the setting for Default lost item fee refund on return policy, to determine if the patron should receive the refund or not.

If your library does refund lost fees and the item was marked "Lost On" less than the value of the new system preference, NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge, Koha will refund the lost fee.

If your library does refund lost fees and the item was marked "Lost on" after the value of the new system preference, Koha will not refund the lost fee as it is past the allotted time allowed for refunds to occur.

This 'Lost On' date can be found in the Items Tab.

What's the Difference Between a Refund and a Payout?

When a patron has paid off a debit, use a refund to reflect that they shouldn't have owed you for that debit in the first place and you're giving their payment back to them. If you give their refund to them as cash or some other payment type, the refund completes the interaction because it leaves the patron at an amount due of $0. If you give their refund as account credit (or if the refund is generated through an automated process that creates a credit -- like returning a lost item), then the patron will end up with unused credit on their account. That credit could be paid out to the patron or could be left on the account to pay for future fees.

When a patron has an unused credit on their account, use a payout to reflect that you've given that credit to the patron as cash (or some other form of payment) and therefore the library no longer owes the patron money.

Andrew put together a quick demo video to explain the difference between Refund and Payout:

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