Koha 22.11 New Accounting Options

by Hebah Amin-Headley on May 23, 2023

Adding information to accountlines information

A recent Monday Minutes episode already showed the new feature to customize the description for overdue fees via Template Toolkit (Monday Minutes: Customizing the Description in Overdue Fines).

In addition to that option for customizing overdue descriptions, another enhancement in 22.11 allows libraries to add additional fields to either credits or debits for data needs beyond what the 'notes' field provides. Bug 31254 allows libraries to add fields to credits or debits, via Administration -> Additional Fields.

For example, a library could add a field to accountlines:credit to add a field to specifically record a check number for payments made via check. With that field added, the field will appear on a payment screen below the default payment fields. (It will appear on all payments or write-offs, as well as when staff create a manual credit.)

For an additional field added to accountlines:debit, the additional field will appear when adding a manual invoice to an account. It can be viewed later in the transaction details in the account.

Additional fields for both credits and debits can be added as a blank, free-form field, or the field can be set up with a corresponding authorized value for more controlled options.

New receipt/notice options

Libraries now have an option for a print notice of outstanding balances on accounts. Bug 31713 adds a new notice, ACCOUNTS_SUMMARY, which becomes available on patron accounts with any outstanding balances (fees owed or available credits). The notice is available from the Print menu at the top of a patron detail page, under the 'Print account balance' option.

The format for the notice is print, and it is a notice formatted with template toolkit formatting, so please put in a ticket if you need help customizing it.

And finally, libraries using the point of sale module have the option to email receipts instead of just printing them. Bug 30619 introduces this functionality for the Point of Sale RECEIPT notice. After a payment is made, the option to print or email pops up, and if email is selected, a box appears to enter the email address.

This is another notice utilizing template toolkit and can be customized.

Additional resources

Customizing Notices & Slips with Template Toolkit