FAQs: Claiming Serials

Every title under serial control is linked to a control record. The control record stores information that allows the prediction of issues. Each expected issue is stored in a prediction record. When a prediction is received, a receipt record is attached to the prediction record. When a claim is created, a claim record is attached to the prediction record.

What is the claiming process?

When multiple copies of an issue are expected, and fewer than expected are received, a claim record is created for the unreceived copies. The claim reason is INSUFFICIENT.

Claim records can be created in the Modify a Serial Control wizard by using the Create Claim tool on the Claimed tab. You can specify the claim reason when you create the claim.

Once a claim record is created, one of two reports can be used to notify vendors of claims.

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Serial Claim Notices Report

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X12 Serial Claim Transactions Report

How are late issues identified for claiming?

The Prediction as Late report identifies the issues that need claiming. It is delivered with default selections on the Prediction Selection tab that effectively identify predictions that qualify for claiming.

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Number of Copies Expected is set to >0 (greater than zero)

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Date to Claim is set with a Start Date of Since the Beginning of the System and End Date of The Date This Report Will Be Run

When Number of Copies Expected is >0, fully received predictions are excluded.

When the Date to Claim is set with a Start Date of Since the Beginning of System and End Date of The Date This Report Will Be Run, predictions are selected in which the Date to Claim is the same as the report run date, or earlier.

My scheduled Prediction as Late report uses different selections. Is that OK?

If you are using different selections, evaluate them carefully. If you have added selections in addition to the defaults, or if you have removed default selections, you may be creating too many or too few claim records.

While considering your own selections, note that the following selections are coded into the report. They should not be changed; in fact, Any Copies Received does not display in the WorkFlows default selections.

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Any Copies Received is set to No.

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Number of Copies Expected is set to > 0.

What changes in the prediction record when a claim is created?

Two things happen.

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The indicator that specifies that copies are on current claim is set to Yes.

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The number of Copies Claimed is set to reflect the correct number.

What are the key data elements in the claim record?

The following values are important for the claim.

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The Date Claimed identifies the date the vendor claim notice is generated. For a manually-created claim, this field identifies the date the claim was created.

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Claim Reason identifies the reason for the claim and generates a policy-defined note in the results of the Serial Claim Notices report.

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Copies Claimed indicates the number of copies included by a particular claim.

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Times Claimed is set by the Count as Sent claim notice counter.

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Next Claim Date is the date that the claim notice reports use to determine whether a claim record qualifies for notice production.

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Claim Comment is an 80 character comment that prints in the results of the Serial Claim Notices report.

Do I need to set the Next Claim Date when I create a claim using Modify Control?

Yes, you would typically supply the current date in the Next Claim Date field when using the Create Claim tool. This is crucial selection for both of the reports that produce claim notices. If you do not supply a date in the Next Claim Date field when you create a claim record, that claim will not be selected by your claiming report, and no claim notice is produced.

How can I review claimed issues before I send claims to my vendor?

The Prediction As Late report automatically produces a listing of the predictions for which claim records have been created.

Additionally, the Serial Claim Notices report can be run with the Count as a Notice Sent option cleared. This option is particularly useful for identifying and reviewing the following types of claims which are not identified by the Prediction As Late report.

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Second and subsequent claims

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Claims with operator assigned claim types

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Claims with a claim reason INSUFFICIENT

What should I do if there is a claim record and I don’t want to send a claim notice to the vendor?

Do not remove claim records to prevent the production of claim notices, particularly those with a Claim Reason INSUFFICIENT. The Prediction as Late report cannot create claim records for partially received predictions. Instead, manipulate the Claim Reason and/or the Next Claim Date fields in the claim record using the Change an Issue tool on the Claimed tab.

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To permanently block the creation of a claim notice for a prediction, select the Claim Reason CLAIMNEVER (or any Claim Reason with the policy designation DO NOT CLAIM).

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To delay the production of a claim notice, change the date in the Next Claim Date field.

How do I set up effective serials claiming reports using the Serial Claim Notices report?

To set up the Serial Claim Notices claiming report

Select the Prediction As Late (Issuelate) report.

On the Prediction Selection tab, accept the delivered default for the Date to Claim. It will select all of the outstanding issues from the beginning of the system until the report run date. However, if the Date to Claim is NEVER (depending on the Days to Wait Before Claiming value on the serial control’s Patterns tab) issues will not be selected.

Schedule the report to run on a regular claiming schedule, or save it as a template to be run as needed. When run, the report marks selected predictions with an ISSUELATE claim reason. This report should always be run before running the Serial Claim Notices report.

Select the Serial Claim Notices (Serclaimntc) report.

On the Serials Claim Selection tab, accept the selection defaults. You may produce notices for all vendors, or a list of specified vendors. The Date to Send Claim has a Start Date of Since the Beginning of the System and an End Date of The Date This Report Will Be Run. The Number of Copies Claimed is > 0.

However, if the Next Claim Date is NEVER in the serial receipt record, issues will not be selected. Serial receipt records get a Next Claim Date of NEVER if the Days to Wait Before Claiming field on the Patterns tab of a serial control record is set to zero.

On the Serial Claim Notice tab, it is possible to set your claim notices report to Count As Notice Sent. This increases the Times Claimed value in the prediction record, and updates the Date Claimed for the issue. It is recommended that you do not select the Count As Notice Sent check box until you are certain that your report is set up properly.

Schedule these reports to run on a regular claiming schedule, or save them as a template to be run as needed. When run, the report generates notices for vendors for outstanding claims. This report should never be run before running the Prediction As Late report. If scheduled, set this report to run after the Prediction as Late report.

How do I set up effective serials claiming reports using the X12 Serial Claim Transactions report?

The following procedure sets up the X12 Serial Claim Transactions claiming report. This report is delivered with selections that effectively identify claimed predictions for the production of X12 claims.

To set up the X12 Serial Claim Transactions claiming report

Select the Prediction As Late (Issuelate) report.

Select the X12 Serial Claim Transactions (serclaimx12) report.

On the Vendor Selection tab, accept the default value for the Library.

Type a vendor Name or use the Browse Vendor gadget to select a vendor. The vendor is required and must be provided when you run the report. The vendor you select must be an X12 vendor. The Extended Info text box displays the NOTE entry in the vendor’s address that contains the value X12_CAPABLE.

On the Prediction Selection tab, accept the default for Any Copies Claimed, which is Yes. Accept the default for the Last Prediction Number, which is >0. Accept the default for the Vendor Cycle Key which is >0.

On the Serials Claim Selection tab, accept the default for the Date to Send Claim which has a Start Date of Since the Beginning of the System and an End Date of The Date This Report Will Be Run.

On the X12 EDI tab, it is possible to set your claim notices report to Count As Notice Sent. This increments the Times Claimed value in the prediction record, and updates the Date Claimed for the issue. It is recommended that you do not select the Count As Notice Sent check box until you are certain that your report is set up properly.

Schedule these reports to run on a regular claiming schedule, or save them as a template to be run as needed. When run, the X12 Serial Claim Transactions report generates X12 data for vendors for outstanding claims. This report should never be run before running the Prediction As Late report. If scheduled, set this report to run after the Prediction as Late report.

How do I schedule claiming for my library only?

In a multilibrary environment, it is often desirable to produce notices for one library only. The Library can be selected either in combination with a list of vendor records on the Vendor Selection tab, or on the Serial Control Selection tab.

Should I use more than one version of notice text for serials claiming?

You may want to vary the notice text in the following situations.

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You could schedule multiple iterations of the report by selecting different Claim Reasons on the Serials Claim Selection and specifying different files of Notice Text on the Serial Claim Notice tab.

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You could schedule multiple iterations based on the Number of Times Claimed. In the first version, specify the Number of Times Claimed as 0 and select a Notice Text that is appropriate for a first claim. In the second version, specify the Number of Times Claimed greater than 0 or a range, such as Number of Times Claimed between 1 and 3, and select a Notice Text that is appropriate for second and subsequent claims.

Can I use X12 claims for some vendors, and traditional claim notices for others?

Yes. It is recommended that if you use a mixture of X12 and traditional claim notices, run the X12 Serial Claim Transactions report before you run the Serial Claim Notices report.

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Only claims associated with the vendors you have selected for X12 claiming will be included in X12 claims.

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X12 claiming will reset the Next Claim Date in the selected claim records so that they will not be selected when you run the Serial Claim Notices report, which is not limited to selecting only vendors that are not X12 capable.

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Alternately, make mutually exclusive vendor selections, so that Serial Claim Notices report is limited to selecting only vendors that are not X12 capable.

What happens in a claim record when one of the vendor claiming notices is sent?

When either report is run with the Count as a Notice Sent option selected, the following values are updated in the claim record.

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Date Claimed is set to the report run date.

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Times Claimed is incremented.

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Next Claim Date is calculated and set. The Days Before Subsequent Claim that is stored in the control record is added to the report run date to determine the Next Claim Date.

What happens when I receive a previously claimed prediction issue?

In the prediction record, the number of Copies Claimed is decremented. If the number of Copies Claimed is set to 0, the indicator for copies currently on claim is set to No.

In the claim record, the number of Copies Claimed is decremented.

What do I need to do before I begin claiming in WorkFlows when upgrading from a version before Unicorn Version 99.2?

Prior to running reports in WorkFlows if you upgrade to serials Unicorn Version 99.2 or higher, the following setup processes have to be completed.

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All conversion of pre-99.2 serials should be complete. Run the Calendar Conversion report and use the Convert Calendar wizard (not on the serials toolbar). Refer to the Help or upgrade document for more information.

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All serial controls must be linked to a vendor (or order) for claims to be created.

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Notices are not printed for issues if the Date to Claim field is set to NEVER. If any serial control records that should be claimed have the value 0 in the Days to Claim or the Subsequent Days to Claim, they will not be selected by the Prediction As Late and Serial Control Notices reports. These number of days values need to be changed to a non-zero value before the Prediction As Late report is run.

How do I rollover a vendor fiscal cycle linked to the serial control record?

Use the Rollover Vendor Cycles in Serial Control Records Report, which provides the ability to automatically rollover vendor information links in serial control records. This report can assist sites with their serial claiming functions when claims span vendor fiscal cycles.

The Rollover Vendor Cycles in Serial Control Records report updates vendor cycle links in serial control records from a specified fiscal period to a new fiscal cycle. Typically, this report would be run once a year.