Technique for integrating electronic accounting systems with an electronic payment system

US6363362B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• CheckFree Services Corporation · US

Inventors

• Christopher B. Burfield · Worthington, US
• Alan C. Van Ness · Norcross, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 7, 1999
• Grant date: Mar 26, 2002
• Expiry date: Apr 7, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q20/102
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A technique is provided for paying bills electronically using data generated by any of multiple accounting software packages. The data generated by each accounting software package has a different structure. Respective rules associated with each accounting software package are stored. Structured data including data corresponding to a payee name, a payee address, an invoice number and an invoice amount generated by one of the accounting software packages is received. The data corresponding to the payee name, the payee address, the invoice number and the invoice amount is extracted from the received structured data by applying only the respective rules associated with the applicable accounting software package. The extracted data is mapped such that the extracted data corresponding to the payee name is identified as first type data, the extracted data corresponding to the payee address is identified as second type data, the extracted data corresponding to the invoice number is identified as third type data, and the extracted data corresponding to the invoice amount is identified as fourth type data. Representations of the extracted data corresponding to the payee name, the payee addr…