REFUNDS and PAYMENT ADJUSTMENTS in Aeon

OVERVIEW

A refund will be issued to patrons in situations where actual production services/quantities differ from the original estimate as prepaid by the patron. A refund is not a quick and easy solution, and should only be used when appropriate.

An adjustment will be used to record and track inequalities between services and payments; adjustments do not change Payment/Credit information and are only used with approval of Patron Services.

REFUNDS

There are two required actions when making a refund: Tracking the refund in Aeon and Paying the patron; the Aeon records needs to be updated to allow issuing a new invoice which reflects the refund (and that paperwork is sent forward in the process to pay the patron).

• Tracking the refund in Aeon

Aeon must be updated to reflect the refund. There are two areas in Aeon to update: Billing Details and  Payment/Credits, and a final check must be made to verify that the Balance Remaining is kept at Zero.

In the appropriate Aeon transaction, add new lines of services with quantities as either positive or negative numbers to reflect actual production; DO NOT change the existing Services (to retain the original estimate). The date for these new lines will be different than the original ‘estimate’ to clarify the change. Be certain to save the page to update the Total in this section.

In the Payment/Credits section, enter the refund payment using a new line. Working left to right in this area: 

Date:  [Will auto set when a Payment Method is chosen.]

Payment Method: Choose “Check” from the dropdown.

Credit Card Authorization: [Ignore. Tab through.]

Payment Reference: Write “Refund,” the “PR XXXX” (to be added for the check to be issued from HCOM) and BRIEF text about the reason for the refund, such as “Change in Service Level” or “Change in qty.” Be certain to enter the refund in the Amount field as a negative number (will later appear in parentheses). Save the page.

Verify that the Total field in the Payments/Credits section has updated and matches the Total field in the Billing Details section. The Balance Remaining (in “Billing Information” section, top right) must be “0.00.”

Adding this Refund Payment will create an entry in the Daily Cash Report which is appropriate (though may look unusual as totals for the day will include this ‘debit’ in addition to usual ‘credits’ ).  An added note may be needed on the Cash Report; it is this entry which will initiate the payment to patron process (which may involve additional contact with the patron).

• Paying the patron

At this point, we can only issue a refund via a check from Harvard. The patron must be set up in HCOM as a vendor, which requires a W-9 from the patron. (This may change when on-line credit card payments become available, and revision of this process will be due at that time.)

First, check the Vendor Request in HCOM to see whether the patron is already established or needs a New Vendor Request. Once the patron is established as a vendor, a Payment Request (PR) is prepared in HCOM using a copy of the Aeon Transaction, marked to show the refund amount and purpose, as the backup for the check to be issued.  The form “Invoice for web voucher refund… check request” is also completed to send to Central Finance.

From this point, the PR goes through normal HCOM processing, and the PR Number is noted for entry into Aeon.

ADJUSTMENTS

Adjustments are not used with Internal Billing orders.

In the case of pre-paid orders, we will use the “Adjustment” Service Context when a payment by wire transfer is less than the amount requested due to fees removed along the transit path, or when the actual production expense is greater than the prepayment, and we do not seek additional payment from the patron.

An Adjustment is recorded only in the Billing Details area. Nothing changes in the Payment/Credits area but a text note should be added in the “Note” field (at the bottom of the Detail tab).

Date: [Will auto-set when Service Context is chosen.]

Service Context: Choose “Adjustment/Payment” from the dropdown.

Service: Choose “Payment Adjustment” from the dropdown.

Unit Fee: Enter total of necessary adjustment as a negative number (will later appear in parentheses).

Quantity: Enter “1.”

Save the page.

Verify that the Total field in the Payments/Credits section has updated and matches the Total field in the Billing Details section. The Balance Remaining (in “Billing Information” section, top right) must be “0.00.”