Online Payments

Online Payments and Library Reimbursements

Software from EnvisionWare is used in the online catalog for processing online payments.  When a user makes a payment via My Account, the system records the payment as being made by Winnefox, and the payment type as ONLINEPAY.

We use three reports to tally the Winnefox ONLINEPAY payments.

  1. A report listing payment for lost and damaged items
    This report is used to credit the payment back to the owner of the item.
  2. A report listing payment for Referral fees, UI-ITEMS, fax charges, and other bills not connected to specific items.
    This report is used to credit the payment back to the billing library.
    UI-ITEMS:  After a check-out item becomes long overdue, a report is run that breaks the link between the user and item, so the item can be withdrawn.  A UI-ITEM bill is created on the user’s record, but it is not connected to an item in the collection.  Because the link to the item has been broken, there is no way to tell which library owned the item.  We can only tell which library BILLED the user for the item.  Since most of the library’s circulation is from its own items, the UI-ITEM is likely to be for an item that was owned by the billing library.
  3. A report listing all other online payments, mostly overdues.  These are bills that are connected with items. This report is used to credit payments back to the billing library.  

The Winnefox office staff uses the reports to process the funds deposited in the Winnefox online payment account back to the library owed the money.  The payments are made quarterly, with the following deducted from the library’s amount:

  1. $5.14 monthly charge—divided among the libraries getting a payment that quarter
  2. 4% of the funds collected
  3. $.23 for the cost of the check

Payments of less than $5.00 are held on account until the amount is higher than $5.00.

Information sent with the check indicates how much of the check is for the following:

  • Damaged, lost, missing contents
  • Referral fees
  • UI (unreturned items)
  • Miscellaneous
  • Overdues

It is possible for a library to have a negative balance if a refund is issued just after the library has been reimbursed, but before additional payments have been made.  In that case, if the amount is under $100, the account will carry the negative balance into the next quarter and make the adjustment then.  If the negative balance exceeds $100.00, the library will be invoiced.

Refunds

If a user finds a lost item and is to be issued a refund, there is a form to be completed by the library.

If the library owns the lost/paid item being refunded, the form is to be sent to the Winnefox Library System office.  The check will be mailed to the user within 2-6 weeks.

If the library does NOT own the lost/paid item being refunded, the form is to be sent to the owning library.  That library will decide if a refund will be issued and the amount of the refund.  Some libraries charge overdue or processing fees.

March 22, 2010, revised May, 2010, February, 2012