<!-- TMPL_INCLUDE NAME="doc-head-open.inc" -->Online Help: System Preferences -- Issuing rules<!-- TMPL_INCLUDE NAME="doc-head-close.inc" -->
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<h1>Issuing rules</h1>
<p>Issuing rules deals with 2 topics :</p>
<ul>
	<li>Issuing length and quantity : they say how many items and how long a borrower category can issue for an itemtype </li>
	<li>Overdue charges : they are based on the item type and borrower type. These charges are defined on this page.</li>
</ul>
<p>Itemtypes and borrower categories must be defined before issuing rules are defined. Your defined items types and borrower categories are then displayed in a grid on this page.</p>

<h2>Issuing length and quantity</h2>
<p>Each box in the grid contains 2 numbers, separated by commas, defining how many days a given borrower type can issue how many material. For example : 21,5 means the borrower can issue up to 5 books for up to 21 days</p>
<p>The <b>*</b> have a specific meaning. They mean "any". If you set 21,5 for itemtype=*, borrower category=student, branch=main, then a student can't issue more than 5 items of ANY item type. This "any" box is cumulative with other boxes. It means that 21,5 as itemtype=book, 14,2 as itemtype=CD and 30,6 as itemtype=* (with category=student) means a student can issue up to 5 books, up to 2 CD but a maximum of 6 items (books or CD). In this case the "30 days" in itemtype=* is discarded and the issuing length is calculated on the exact itemtype</p>

<h2>Overdue charges</h2>
<p>Each box in the grid contains three numbers separated by commas, defining the fine, how many days overdue the item must be before the fine is assessed and a first notice prepared (the "grace period"), and how many days after that the fine is assessed again and a second notice sent. For example, if you charge adults 1 dollar (or euro, or whatever currency) for overdue videos after three days and add another dollar charge after another five days, put "1,3,5" in the box in the grid that aligns with "Adult" and "Video." If you charge adults 25 cents for overdue fiction books after a grace period of seven days and repeat the charge seven days later, then the entry in the corresponding box in the grid would be ".25,7,7". After the first and second notice are given, Koha prepares a "final notice" after the number of days set by the final number in the grid and sets the charge to the maximum, which is 5.</p>

<p>(Note : fines are calculated by the fines2.pl script, located in misc directory. Ask your system administrator to put this script in crontab, after midnight, to have fines calculated every night.)</p>

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