Defining Notices, Invoices, and Reminders

Your library can use Horizon to automatically send printed or electronic messages to borrowers informing them of unresolved library business, such as overdue items, fines, fees, items on hold, or expired holds. You can also send messages automatically using a telephone calling system.

You can set up these basic message types:

Notices. Notices are the main type of message sent to borrowers. They include overdue, billing, final, and lost notices. Your library can send multiple notices about a problem. You determine the total number of notices sent for each problem.

When Horizon automatically creates a lost notice, it also places a lost block on the item record. Horizon also bills the borrower for the amount of the lost item, and the item no longer displays as checked out to the borrower.

If the lost item is later checked in to the library, Horizon adds a credit block to the borrower and assesses the borrower an overdue fine calculated from the due date to the checkin date.

Invoices. Circulation invoices are generally used to bill for library-defined fees. You can create several invoices, and each invoice can contain one or more fee-type blocks. For example, you might have a monthly invoice sent out which lists interlibrary loan fees. You might have a weekly invoice sent out which lists overdue fines. Invoices show only new fees that have not been previously invoiced. (For more information on invoices, see Setting Up Invoices.)
Reminders. Reminders are messages sent to follow up previously sent billing or overdue notices. Any unresolved notices of either type are combined on a single reminder.

You can notify borrowers of fines either with the system-generated fine notice or with invoices. The borrower’s BTYPE determines which type of notice (normal or invoice) borrowers receive. (For more information, see Defining a Borrower Circulation Type (BTYPE).) Some settings for notices may also affect invoices.

This section explains these topics:

 


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