Summary

This guide will describe how to set up MackinVision to email overdue notices to patrons automatically.

Overview

Emailing Overdue Notices is an efficient way to encourage your patrons to return resources that are overdue. MackinVision allows you to set up the emailing of Overdue Notices to happen automatically according to rules.

Using email to send Overdue Notices is faster than printing notices and, once set up, can be completely automated.

  Before setting up an automatic email Overdue Notice in MackinVision, there are two factors to be considered:

• Is MackinVision configured to send emails;
• Do all Patrons have an email address entered in their patron record.

Once you have confirmed that MackinVision can send emails and all patrons have an email address, you then need to set up the ‘rules’ to be used for sending the Overdue Notice emails. The ‘rules’ are determined by the settings used in one or more Overdue Notice Templates. The factors here are:

• What format will be used for each of the Overdue Notices;
• How many overdue notices will be sent;
• When should each of the Overdue Notices be sent.

Email Configuration Confirmation

  To confirm that MackinVision is configured to send emails:

        4. If you receive the email, then MackinVision can send emails.

        5. If the email does not arrive within a reasonable period of time:  

• Check any spam filters to make sure the email has not been intercepted;
• Double check that the To: email address you used is valid;
• Try sending the email to another address.

Do all Patrons have an email address?

  MackinVision can only send emails to patrons who have an email address entered in their patron record.

         2. If you need to enter email addresses for a large number of patrons, performing an import from a csv file                         containing the Alias and email address is a more efficient method than entering each one manually. Refer to                 the guide: How to Import a Patron CSV file for details. 

What format will be used for each of the Overdue Notices?

Select a suitable option from the list of available Email forms. Most of the forms are available with variations to include:

• Cost
• Overdue link

How many overdue notices will be sent and when should each of the Overdue Notices be sent?

The number of Overdue Notices sent and when they are sent is controlled by the two fields Days Due Back (from) and Days Due Back (To). Together they specify a range of dates relative to the due date during which an item on Checkout will be included in the Overdue Notice.

For example:

                                                          Due Date of Checkout:                 3 October 2016

                                                          Days Due Back (From):                7

                                                          Days Due Back (To):                     13

The checkout will be included in the Overdue Notice report starting on 10 October 2016, 7 days after the checkout was due, and stopping on 16 October 2016, 13 days after the checkout was due at which time the next Overdue Notice Template will take over.

How to Set Up ‘Rules’ to email Overdue Notices

An Overdue Notice Template allows you to configure all the settings required to automate the sending of Overdue Notices by email. In the following example three Overdue Notice Templates will be created that will send out increasingly strongly worded emails to Students if the item is not returned.

1. 7 days overdue. Send a friendly reminder email;
2. 14 days overdue. Send a request for immediate return’
3. 21 days overdue. Send a final demand email.

Each email will only be sent once as the items become overdue by 7, 14 and 21 days.

  The Overdue Notice Template allows you to specify:

• A range for the number of days overdue during which the Notice will be sent, for example, 7 – 14;
• The format of the report that will be used;
• Custom text for the Report Header, Message and Footer;
• Restrictions for which Patrons will be included, for example, Students only;
• Restrictions for which Resources will be included, for example, Textbooks only;
• Whether the notice will be emailed just once or every night until the item is returned.

• Frequency = Regular - Daily: Enables automatic processing of the Overdue Notice Template by Housekeeping each night
• Repeat = One Notice Only: Ensures that each Overdue Checkout is only emailed once. If Multiple Notices is selected, the Patron will be sent an email about the checkout being Overdue every single night.  6. Select a suitable Email form, for example, First notice email.    

         7. Enter suitable text for the Report Header and Report Footer. If these are blank, the default text will be                             displayed.   Enter suitable text for the Report Message. This will be printed above the list of overdue                                  checkouts.

         8. Click the Save Button when all required fields have been completed. The OVERDUE DETAILS summary screen for the Overdue Notice Template will be displayed. Click the Edit link for Patron Selection.   9. The PATRON SELECTION screen will be displayed. Choose a suitable Patron selection and click the Save button. 
Note: You can choose selections from more than one field and these will be combined with a Boolean ‘AND’. Some combinations may be mutually exclusive, for example, Patron Type = ‘Student’ AND Checkout Category = ‘Staff’.  

         10. Patron Selection now displays as a Check to indicate that patron selections have been applied to this         q                    Overdue Notice Template.   

        11. Repeat these steps to create Templates for the Second Notice and Final Notice.   

Enable Overdues Run in Housekeeping

 To enable the Regular emails to be sent out automatically each night, make this change if required.

1. Enable the Housekeeping process Overdues Run. To do this:

• Navigate to System > Housekeeping;
• Click the Edit button or ;
• Ensure the Overdues Run option is ticked;   

Troubleshooting Automatic emailing of Overdue Notices.

Repeat has been ‘used up’ during testing. While testing the setup of an Overdue Notice Template, leave Repeat as Multiple until all testing has been completed. When you Run a Template set to Repeat One Notice Only any Overdue Checkouts that are reported will never again be reported by that Template. This behavior can be confusing when first encountered.

If the Overdue emails are not listed, check the Overdues Run Housekeeping setting has been ticked and that Regular is set to Yes in the Overdue Notice Template.  If the field Log shows ‘This email was sent successfully’, then the email has been sent by MackinVision v5. Ask the patron to check if the email has been caught by spam filtering.  If the field Log shows that the email was NOT sent successfully, double check the email settings.