Patron Record Fines Payment Lock in the Circulation Desk Function (Sierra)

This is documentation for fines payment locks that can appear when attempting to pay, waive, or adjust a fine for a locked patron record during the payment process. It will also display when two Sierra logins have the record open simultaneously.

Fine Lock Information

The fine locking behavior is designed to prevent duplicate fine payments. The fine lock is removed when the payment is completed or the patron record is closed by the Sierra login that locked it. If a fine lock is in place for a patron record, fines cannot be accepted elsewhere within the system until that lock is removed.

Reasons a Fine Payment Becomes Locked

• When attempting to access a patron record locked due to a fine payment process, staff members can clear the lock or wait for it to expire automatically.

• It can occur if a patron leaves their record open at a self-check station or if a staff member leaves the patron’s record open.

When you retrieve a patron record in the Circulation Desk function, Sierra checks for that patron to see if there is a fines payment lock. The system creates a fines payment lock when another user is paying, waiving, or adjusting fines to duplicate transactions against the same fine.

Example of a fines payment lock message:

Open

• A warning box gives information about who locked the record, where the patron’s record is locked, and when the lock will be cleared. Once you close the record at the other station, the second user can access it.  

• The length of the lock depends on the function for which it was created. Locks created from the Circulation Desk function or self-checkout stations are the longest. If you wish to proceed with your fine transaction, you can clear the fine payment lock by clicking 'Override'. This is particularly useful when a patron attempts to pay fines at a self-checkout station, cannot complete the transaction, and wants to pay the fine at the Circulation Desk.

• If you do not override the lock, you can still access all other Circulation Desk functionality, including adding fines, for that patron. However, if you attempt to pay, waive, or adjust a fine without clearing the lock, the system displays a message similar to the following:

• Another payment action is pending for patron <record_number>. Try again later. Invoice No. <#> could not be paid.

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