Recording a Receiver Initiated Transaction
Receiver Initiated Transactions are created when the receiving institution records getting an animal before the sending institution records sending it to them. The most common reasons for this are the sending institution may be short staffed and the person charged with recording transactions wears multiple hats, or the person responsible for recording transactions is off. This type of transaction is functional only for From Another Institution. Once completed, the Receiver Initiated transaction will create a Pending Transaction for the sending institution which they can confirm. The receiving institution will be able to record data in the record just like if it confirmed a Pending Transaction from the sender.
There are two ways to do a Receiver Initiated transaction. You can start a new accession, or you can find the animal in the ZIMS database.
We have received two American bison from Roger Williams Park Zoo but they have not yet recorded sending them to us. The paperwork has the Local IDs for the bears. We will start a new accession for the first bison.
Start > Accession > Individual Animal > From Another Institution
Record the Sender (Ownership) and the Local ID or GAN.
Once you move into the next field ZIMS will look for a match. All possible matches found will display. You have the option to select No (none of the records match) or check one and select Yes.
This takes you out of the Start accession screen and into the screen for accepting a Pending transaction. This is because much of the information required in the accession screen such as birth date, sex, parents and taxonomy has already been captured by the Roger Williams Park Zoo record. Complete the screen and select Add to Transaction List.
You receive a message that the current holder has not recorded sending the animal to you yet. This is true so select OK and then Save All Changes.
Hovering over the circle will indicate that you are waiting on confirmation from Roger Williams Park Zoo. A Pending will be created for them to confirm. In the meantime, this is a Local record and all data can be recorded in it.
For the second bison we will find the animal in the database. Using your preferred search method find the bison by typing in the institution and the Local ID (or GAN if known). This will open a Global copy of the record. Go to My Transactions > Add Transaction > Acquisitions > From Another Institution.
This opens the Pending Acquisitions screen to complete with your Local information. The taxonomy, birth date, sex and parents have already been entered by Roger Williams Park Zoo. Complete the screen, Add to Transaction List and Save All Changes.
You will receive the message as shown previously and this will create a Local record for you to record data on. Roger Williams Park Zoo will receive a Pending for them to confirm.
Receiver Initiated transactions for groups can get tricky because you may not be receiving all the members of the origin group from the sender. The sender may be splitting some members out to send you. If the number you receive matches the number of members recorded in the sending institution’s group you are probably safe to do a Receiver Initiated transaction for the entire group. If it does not, we recommend creating an Incomplete Accession and waiting for the sender to record the disposition and associating the two.
Revised 5 March 2025
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