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Fees & payments

The kinds of fees, when they apply, and how payments and balances work.

Kinds of fees

• Membership and joining fees — set on each membership type.
• Overdue / late fees — for toys returned past their due date.
• Damage / missing-piece charges — recorded at return.
• Refundable bond — held while a household is a member, returned when they leave.

Fee rules

Fee rules decide when and how much — e.g. a per-day overdue fee with a cap. They live in Settings → Fees, separately from membership types, so you can change the late-fee policy without touching membership pricing.

Recording payments

Every charge and payment lands on the household's balance. Staff record payments (cash, bank transfer, card) against it; members can also pay online through the library's connected Stripe or PayPal. The balance always reflects charges minus payments.

Waiving vs refunding

With permission, staff can waive a fee (e.g. a first-time overdue) — the waiver is recorded so the books still reconcile. A waiver cancels a charge; a refund returns money already paid. They're different actions for different situations.