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Forgive vs. Void
There are two ways to remove a bill (whether partially or fully) from a patron's account: forgive and void. In general terms, void indicates that the bill was incorrect, and forgive indicates that the bill was correct, but that the library chose to waive it.
How to Forgive a Bill
From the patron's Bills tab:
- Click on the bill line item.
- In the Pay Bill section, choose Forgive in the Payment Type dropdown menu.
- Enter the amount to be forgiven in the Payment Received field.
- Click the checkbox next to Annotate if you want to note why the payment is being forgiven. Once you click Apply Payment,“ a popup will appear to input your note.
- Click Apply Payment.
Once a bill has been forgiven, it will show up under Bill History > Payments as “forgive_payment” in the Payment Type column.
How to Void a Bill
From the patron's Bills tab:
- Right-click on the bill line.
- Choose Void All Billings.
You can also void a bill by clicking on the bill line and going to Actions > Void All Billings.
Void is also used by the system for various purposes. For example, if an item is marked Lost but then the item is returned, the cost of the item that was originally billed to the patron will be voided by the system.
Line items on a bill that were voided by the system will appear in the Bill Details tab as Yes under the Voided? column with a void timestamp, as shown in the screenshot below; however, bills that are entirely voided manually by staff do not appear in the staff client and are only available through reports, so please be mindful of using this function. Generally, staff do not need to void bills.
Reports
There are PINES Quick Reports available to assist with reviewing forgivals and voids:
- PINES Quick Reports > Bills > Bills Voided Within a Date Range
- PINES Quick Reports > Bills > Detailed Forgive and Work Payments