JP2003527696A - Early payment discount method and system for e-billing system - Google Patents

Abstract

  (57) [Summary] According to the present invention, instead of a customer paying their invoice electronically (eg, via electronic funds transfer (EFT)) through an e-billing system within a specified number of days from the online invoice posting date. In addition, an Early Payment Discount (EPD) mechanism is provided that allows for early payment discounts. The specified number of days is determined by the case of the transaction and can be changed periodically. Any EPD discount offered is based on the current invoice charge. The early payment discount percentage is calculated automatically depending on the date on which the EFT payment is made. The EFT account payment screen automatically displays the dependent discount percentage and the EPD availability period.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[02] The present invention relates to an electronic commerce (e-commerce) customer support service,
More specifically, enhanced for web-based billing system tools that allow customers to pay online for their invoices related to telecommunications products / services. Regarding features.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[03] A telecommunications company or provider of telecommunication services that currently provides comprehensive product / service information including electronic billing analysis and interactive customer support for fully integrated communications occurring over the Internet. There is no distributor. In the area of billing for telecommunications products / services, telecommunications service companies may use “online” electronic money transfer (EFT) or public switched telephone network (PSTN) dial-up for credit card payments for their invoices. Provides the ability.

[04] Existing comprehensive World Wide Web / Internet based invoice creation / payment system (hereinafter referred to as "e-billing").
g) ") allows customers to easily receive and analyze their invoices, and also to allow their customers to pay their invoices electronically via electronic cash transfer. This "e-billing" system allows telecommunications carrier customers to receive, analyze and pay for their invoices via a single, comprehensive interface. It includes a comprehensive software / system infrastructure that provides various tools to enable it.

[05] Due to the ease of processing and reduced costs from the point of view of the billing enterprise, it is increasingly desirable for telecommunications enterprise customers to pay their invoices “online”. It's starting. However, for various reasons, many customers are reluctant to conduct any e-business commerce online and are reluctant to pay their invoices electronically. There is.

[06] Therefore, in order to facilitate the customer to pay the invoice online, the customer electronically pays his / her invoice through the e-billing service within a specified number of days from the receipt of his / her invoice. Instead, it is highly desirable to use an early payment discount mechanism that allows to provide an incentive to receive an Early Payment Discount (EPD) on the current invoice charge.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[07] The present invention addresses the aforementioned need by providing an early payment discount mechanism for an e-billing system that provides an incentive for customers to pay their current invoice charges early. .

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

[08] According to one feature of the invention, a customer electronically (e.g., via electronic funds transfer (EFT)) through an e-billing system within a specified number of days from the date of receipt of his invoice. An Early Payment Discount (“EPD”) mechanism is provided that allows the user to receive an Early Payment Discount instead of paying for the invoice. The specified number of days is determined by the case of the transaction and can be changed regularly (eg, every 6 months). All EPD discounts offered are based on the current invoice charge. The percentage of the early payment discount is automatically calculated according to the date when the EFT payment is made. The EFT bill payout screen automatically displays the dependent discount percentages and EPD availability period.
As an example, an online customer may receive a first discount (eg, 2%) on EPD payments within a first set time period (eg, 5 days) after receiving the invoice, or , A second set period after receiving the invoice (for example, 1
A smaller second discount (eg 1%) for EFT payments within 0 days
) Can be received. The fact is that the early payment discount does not apply to past payments and is preferably applied only if the user has submitted the full payment. In the preferred embodiment, the EPD mechanism implements a rate table that represents two tiers (eg, 2% and 1%). Monthly, upon receipt of an invoice from the company's billing system, calculations are made based on eligibility criteria.
If this criterion is met, the invoice is'discounted 'for each tier.
Or appear online with'adjusted 'payment totals. The payment section of the application displays the discount amount and the date on which the customer should make the payment to receive the discount.

[09] Alternatively, multiple discount periods may be proposed, with discount percentages varying depending on the date the payment is made.

[10] According to another feature of the invention, a method for providing an online charging system is disclosed. The method retrieves customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount, calculates a discount amount based on the invoice amount, and displays the calculated discount amount. Selectively receiving, prior to the invoice date, a payment input authorizing payment for the discounted amount.

[11] According to another feature of the present invention, a server device for providing an online charging system is disclosed. The server device includes a communication interface configured to retrieve customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount. The server device further includes a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to calculate a discount amount based on the invoice amount, and the calculated discount amount is displayed via the client. A payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount is selectively received from the client prior to the invoice date.

[12] In yet another aspect of the invention, an e-billing system is provided. The e-billing system includes a database configured to store customer invoice information including invoice date and invoice amount. The system is
Further included is a server in communication with the database and configured to retrieve the customer invoice information from the database. The server is configured to calculate a discount amount based on the invoice amount. The system further includes a client in communication with the server. The client is configured to display the discount amount and is configured to send a payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount to the server prior to the invoice date.

[13] According to still another feature of the present invention, a server device for providing an online charging system is disclosed. The server device retrieves customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount, a means for calculating a discount amount based on the invoice amount, and a means for displaying the calculated discount amount, Means for selectively receiving payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount prior to the invoice date.

[14] In yet another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for providing an online charging system is disclosed. The one or more sequences of one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, provide the one or more processors with customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount. Prior to the invoice date, you can search, calculate the discount amount based on the invoice amount, display the calculated discount amount, and authorize payment for the calculated discount amount. , Selectively receiving.

[15] The EPD system of the present invention can be applied to the “Days Receiva
ble Outstanding) ”conveniently shortened, which provides telecommunications companies with significant savings.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[16] A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as many of the advantages associated with the present invention, can be readily obtained upon further understanding with reference to the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Can be obtained.

[22] For purposes of explanation, the following description sets forth specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

[23] Although the present invention is described with respect to Internet-based charging systems, it is recognized that the present invention has applicability to any packet switched network.

[24] As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary e-billing system 100 (eg, MCI Worldcom Interact System).
)) Physical hardware architecture is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, a billing system, represented as cloud 110, is provided. Specifically in connection with e-billing, a link through the two firewalls 125a provides the billing system 100 and the electronic billing / billing of third party vendors.
statement and presentment) is provided for interfacing with system 200, which generates online billing invoices for customers of telecommunications companies over the Internet through two firewalls 125b. Function to present. In operation, the file containing the customer's billing / invoice data is sent by the billing system (eg, accounts receivable (ac
counts receivable department)) to the third party system 200, and the corresponding version of the customer's invoice (
Web pages containing corresponding versions) are generated and posted online. The customer initially does not have access to web-based invoices. Instead, online invoices are available to corporate audit departments that check invoices for format compliance and billing accuracy. As soon as the online versions of the invoices are approved by the audit department, these invoices are signaled as available online and the third party system 200 notifies the customer and these invoices are available. Post voice online for customer access. A customer can pay for his or her invoice by accessing a series of web-based applications, including an e-billing application (not shown), through the MCI "Interact" web server portal via the public internet 120.

[25] FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (a) to FIG. 3 (c) show in detail a data flow list 300 according to the present invention, and generate an invoice and an EPD discount with a charging company. 3 illustrates in detail the invoice generation process according to the present invention as it relates to a third party electronic billing reporting / presentation system for application. As shown in FIG. 2, a first step 303 generally illustrates providing customer invoice data to a third party electronic billing / presentation system 200 (FIG. 1). This information can be provided to the third party system in the form of a uniformly formatted file, and the information can be a softcopy image of the customer's invoice. A step is preferably performed in which data is extracted from the enterprise's legacy billing system 110 and transferred to a common data store maintained by the third party system 200. As shown in FIG. 3A, there are two ways in which the billing system 110 can provide billing data to the third party e-billing payment / presentation system 200 (ie, for electronic delivery). By providing a filtered extract 125 that includes the charges defined in 1., or by providing a non-filtered extract 150 that includes all charges). In the latter scenario, the third party system, as shown in FIG.
It is required that the billing data be matched to the enrollment storage 190. There are several formats that the billing system can provide to the third-party system 200, and these formats are AFP (IBM high-performance printing (Ad
vanced format printing), Line Data, Xerox Metacode, and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) electronic file formats, but are not limited thereto. Once the billing system 110 has completed the extraction, the data is routed to the third party system 200 for processing. Known techniques may be implemented to use dedicated communication circuitry for routing this data to third party systems 200 for high capacity billers, or receiving and receiving this data. Value-added network (V
AN) 175 can also be implemented. Once the data has been sent to the VAN, the third-party system 200 periodically cleans the assigned VAN's mailbox, thereby obtaining the billing data and shown in FIG. 3 (c). Electronic bill presentment and payment such as
: "EBPP") loaded into temporary data store 180 on server 195. As further shown in FIG. 2, at step 309, the trading rule criteria for applying EPD to invoice billing data for a customer is sent to a third party system for invoice application. As will be described in more detail later in this specification, this billing data includes a discount period and one or more levels of discount percentages for the billing period. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, there are steps performed by the third party system to process the extracted customer data and generate an invoice for online presentation. This stage is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c).

[26] Referring to FIG. 3B, once the customer's invoice data is EB
Once loaded into the temporary data store 180 on the PP server 195, the customer's invoice data is parsed for loading into the Oracle database 210. This process involves several steps including known processes as facilitated by Bluegill® software available from BlueGill Technologies, Inc. (Contents of Bluegill® software and The disclosure is incorporated herein by reference). First, the raw input file is moved to a working directory that is monitored by the splitter processor 182 running continuously in the server. Once a file reaches this directory, splitter 182 automatically begins the process of splitting the file into separate statements and the process of creating one working file for each. Furthermore, during this process, the splitter
Parse each statement for important information like deposit account number and invoice amount. The splitter process will generate a working file 205 only for those statements that have a savings account number that matches the savings account in the directory data store 190. This step assumes that statement definition file 192a and extract definition file 192b have been previously created and loaded into the server. These files 192a, 192b define how to locate the key elements in the statement and which elements to extract and load on the server as separate charges. Secondly, the work file 205 is input to the second work directory monitored by the extraction processing unit 184 that operates without interruption on the server. The extraction processor begins processing the statement as soon as the work file 205 arrives. The extraction processing unit parses each work file (statement) from the beginning to the end based on the position of the information defined in the extraction definition, and extracts the important element defined in the statement definition. This information is then used (except for important fields like deposit accounts and statement dates) for binary large objects (Binary l
arge object: BLOB) and is loaded into the Oracle database 210 via the web-based server interface as a separate statement record for later access. Once all working files 205 have been processed, the process is repeated with the next extraction from the billing company.

[27] The actual generation of the final online (HTML) invoice is described below with respect to FIG. 3 (c). As shown in FIG. 3 (c), a third party EBPP server 195 hosts an Oracle® database 210, which stores invoice data for all customers in a web server. Stored in a format accessible by the interface. The stored charge contains all the information needed to generate a complete customer invoice, including a list of charges, details of the charges, and all data elements originally defined in the statement definition. If the method for determining whether the customer is eligible for the EPD discount is further implemented to apply the trading rules and if it is determined that the EPD discount is available, the discount amount and the discount Further data is generated, including the availability period. The first output mechanism serves requests from various processing units, and during request processing (eg,
A web server interface that acts as a sentry for the HTML server 250 and the Oracle database 210. Compressed customer invoice data in the database can be stored only at the request of an interface that serves requests from web applications, or at a consolidated consolidation service provider that facilitates the transfer of information.
Only instantiated by a scheduled process from the Service Provider (CSP).

[28] H that functions as a “frame” before the billing data is presented to the customer.
The TML presentation template is implemented, and invoice data is presented in the frame. The invoice data includes EPD discount data that includes the discount amount for presenting on the online customer invoice and the discount available period.

[29] Returning now to FIG. 2, as shown in step 315, the third party system includes an invoice frame in the auditing department of the billing system prior to enabling the online invoice. Web page audit / review (audit / review
Notify that it is available for view). An audit / review of the generated online invoice is shown in step 318 and is usually done manually to ensure that the generated online invoice matches the original paper invoice. . At this stage, verification is made that the EPD data is correctly applied to the customer and that the EPD amount and expiration date are correctly indicated.

[30] Next, if the audit department approves the online HTML version of the invoice in step 321, the third party system is notified in step 324. If an error is detected during the invoice (for example, the wrong invoice total amount), the audit department will give this invoice a severity code.
And notify the third party system to that effect. Based on the severity code, the third-party system regenerates the HTML invoice for further audit approval (eg, high severity code) or corrects the error and posts the invoice to the customer. continue.

[31] Assuming that the generated online invoice has been approved by the audit process and if the audit process may spend more than a day processing, the third party system may, at step 324, Accurately and automatically recalculate the discount availability period and generate a notification via email that the customer's invoice is now available online. The date of notification of the posting of the report by e-mail needs to be stored in order to calculate the start and end dates, and preferably the discount can be stored until the next report.

[32] Returning to FIG. 3 (c) and referring to this figure, once the approved HT
Once the ML template is loaded, the EBPP server 195 processes the request using the developed web application.

[33] Customer 99 accesses an interactive website via a computer device 99 running a web browser (eg, preferably including Netscape® or Internet Explorer® v4.0 or higher). In doing so, the customer can authenticate himself by entering his user ID and password. The e-billing system is authorized by interacting with the system and Universal Authentication ("UA").
Based on customer profile information maintained by the system, the interact universal authentication system implements a UA server 145 (FIG. 1) to provide a real-time interface with the e-billing system 100.

[34] After successful login and access to the e-billing system, the HT
The ML web server receives the customer request and communicates the request to the web application, which generates the request for the interface. The interface receives the request, handles authentication to the directory store, and returns a response to the web application. The web application uses the pre-built template to generate the resulting HTML and provide the response to the customer. This process consists of authentication, listing invoices,
Invoice details, including applicable EPD discounts, or other requests, are essentially the same for all requests. However, when a request for invoice data is processed, its contents are materialized from the database 210 by the interface.

[35] Finally, as shown in FIG. 2, at step 327, the customer logs in to the interact system website and selects the e-billing option. The EPD data is calculated when the customer makes a request, the invoice data and EPD data are placed in the HTML template, and
The entire HTML page can be read by the HTML web server 250 (Fig. 3 (c)).
) Is sent back to the customer 99. These templates are constructed for web-direct delivery.

[36] In the preferred embodiment, any EPD discount provided is based on the current invoice bill. This allows the invoice screen to automatically calculate the discount percentage depending on the date the EFT payment is made. As an example, an online customer may receive a first discount (eg, 2%) on EPD payments within a first set period (eg, 5 days) of receiving an invoice.
) Or receive a smaller second discount (eg 1%) for EFT payments within a second set period (eg 10 days) after receiving the invoice. be able to. It is preferable that the marketing team of the company decides the discount period including the specified number of days, and these periods are decided by the case of the transaction and can be changed regularly (for example, every 6 months). Is understood. The fact is that the early payment discount does not apply to past payments and is preferably applied only if the user has submitted the full payment. In the preferred embodiment, the EPD mechanism used by the third party charging system implements a rate table (not shown) representing two tiers (eg, 2% and 1%). When an invoice is received from the company's billing system 100 on a monthly basis, calculations are made based on eligibility criteria. If this criterion is met, an invoice will appear online with a'discounted 'or'adjusted' payment amount for each tier. The payment section of the application displays the discount amount and the date on which the customer should make the payment to receive the discount.

[37] FIG. 4 (a) illustrates a typical "current" invoice web-based display screen 400 that includes an HTML frame 402 generated in accordance with the e-billing system described herein. ing. As shown, bar portion 401
Shows the current billing period, deposit account holder, and invoice date / number. Total Invoice Amount field 404 occupied by current invoice invoice amount
There are further fields occupied by deposit account data, including a field 406 occupied by the total unpaid billing amount (unpaid balance) and a field 410 occupied by the total payment amount. A user selectable "pay-now" button 415 is provided to initiate the EFT payment for the invoice.

[38] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), from the menu bar 411 that provides other user e-billing system options, the user may click “Invoice” to initiate payment. The “pay invoice” button 412 may be selected.

[39] When either the "immediate payment" button 415 or the "invoice payment" button 412 is selected, the EPD home page 425 is displayed on the user browser as shown in FIG. 4 (b). . In FIG. 4 (b), EPD home page 425 includes an HTML frame 430 that presents a banner 432 to the customer that describes EPD discount options for the customer. This frame is the EFT for the invoice when the customer selects the Pay button 440.
It is further populated by information 435 to allow immediate payment or to make a scheduled payment at a later date by selecting the Schedule button 445. EFT payment information includes bank account information, invoice date / number, current total bill amount, EPD amount 437 calculated based on the percentage applied, and total payment amount if the discount is applied. 439 and automatically occupied. Frame 43
0 indicates the percentage applied to EPD, and EPD
Banner 4 occupied by recalculated date 449 showing the period in which
47 are provided. It is understood that this date is calculated based on the posting date of the online invoice. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, a web application executing a BG EBPP server 195 (FIG. 3 (c)) has a calculated EP
Pre-populate D's amount 437, total payment 439, and recalculated date 449 depending on when the customer accesses the online invoice (pre-popu
late) is understood. For example, if a user accesses an online invoice 11 days after the posted invoice date, the customer is not eligible for a first tier discount (eg, 2%) within 10 days of the invoice date. Therefore, the EPD home screen 425 does not display the first tier EPD criteria. However, if this customer is within the second tier EPD criteria, the EPD home screen is automatically populated, eg, by the second tier discount criteria (eg, 1%) within 20 days of the invoice date. . This principle applies to each EPD tier when a large number of discount periods are proposed with discount percentages varying depending on the date the payment is made.

[40] When the “immediate payment” button 440 is selected from the EPD home page,
The electronic payment confirmation 450 is displayed on the user browser as shown in FIG. 4 (c). In FIG. 4 (c), electronic payment confirmation 450 confirms the electronic payment for the invoice including the application of the discount (ie, the EPD credit amount 462) and the EPD credited payment amount 464. It includes an HTML frame 460 that presents information to the customer. In order to enforce EPD, 1) the customer has to pay electronically, for example within 10 days from the date the invoice is posted, 2
), The customer must not have any unpaid charges from the previous month's invoice, 3
It is understood that the customer must comply with the trading rules that the customer must pay the invoice in full.

[41] On the other hand, the user selects the schedule button 445 from the EPD home page 425.
If is selected, the scheduled payment page 475 is displayed on the user browser as shown in FIG. 4 (d). In FIG. 4 (d), the edit page for scheduled electronic payments allows an input field 486 that allows the customer to enter the date of the EPD.
And an HTML frame 480 including a banner 481 reminding the user to take advantage of the EPD discount by scheduling a payment date up to the determined discount expiration date 484 occupied by the system. After the user enters the payment date, the user clicks the continue button 487, in which case the scheduled EP
The D confirmation screen 490 is displayed on the user browser as shown in FIG. 4 (e).

[42] In the planned EPD confirmation screen 490 of FIG. 4E, BG EB
The web application executed on the PP server 195 (FIG. 3 (c)) is
It is preferable to make a determination as to whether the expected payment date entered by the customer is within the applicable EPD discount period window. If the scheduled payment date is outside the window, it is determined by the scheduled payment date being later than the EPD discount period window and the customer returning to the scheduled electronic payment edit page 475 (FIG. 4 (d)). A banner 491 is displayed on the HTML frame 492 to remind the user that the payment can be rescheduled before the discount expiration date 484. Otherwise, if the user wants to maintain a payment period with no discount,
This customer inputs the submit button 494. This allows EPs that do not show discounts
As shown in D field 437, no discount will be applied.

[43] In addition to making a determination as to whether the expected payment date entered by the customer is within the applicable EPD discount period window, a calculation is also made as to whether the EPD discount should be applied. You should understand.

[44] FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system in which one embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system 501 includes a bus 503 (or other communication mechanism for communicating information), and a processor 505 coupled with bus 503 for processing information. Computer system 501 includes information and processor 50.
5, a main memory 507, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 503 for storing instructions to be executed.
Further includes. In addition, main memory 507 can be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 505. Computer system 501 includes static information and processor 50.
Read-only memory connected to bus 503 for storing instructions for 5 (
ROM) 509 or other static storage. A storage device 511, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided for storing information and instructions and is coupled to the bus 503.

[45] For computer system 501, it may be coupled via bus 503 to a display 513, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. Input device 515, which includes alphanumeric keys and other keys, is coupled to bus 503 for communicating information and instruction selections to processor 505. Another form of user input device is a mouse, trackball, or cursor direction key for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 505 and for controlling cursor movement on display 513. Such a cursor control device 517.

[46] According to one embodiment, the e-billing function is a processor 50 that executes one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 507.
5 is provided by the computer system 501. Such instructions may be read into main memory 507 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 511. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 507 causes processor 505 to perform the processing steps described herein. In a multi-processing arrangement, more than one processor may be used to execute the instruction sequences contained in main memory 507. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Therefore, embodiments are not limited to any particular combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[47] Furthermore, the functionality of the e-billing system can reside on computer readable media. The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 505 for execution. Such media include non-volatile media, volatile media,
It can take many forms, including but not limited to transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 511. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 507, for example. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that are buses 503. In addition, transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as the media generated during wireless and infrared data communications.

[48] Computer-readable media in a conventional form are, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic media, CD-ROM, other. Any optical medium, punched card, paper tape, any other physical medium with hole pattern, RAM, PR
OM, EPROM, flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave as described later in this specification, or any other computer-readable medium.

[49] Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to execution processor 505. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can remotely load the instructions associated with the e-billing function into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 501 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to bus 503 can receive data carried in the form of infrared signals and place the data on bus 503. Bus 503 carries data to main memory 507, and processor 505 retrieves and executes instructions from main memory 507. The instructions received by main memory 507 optionally include processor 50.
5 may be stored on the storage device 511 before or after execution.

[50] Computer system 501 further includes a communication interface 519 coupled to bus 503. The communication interface 519 provides two-way data communication connecting the network links 521 connected to the local network 523. For example, the communication interface 519 may be a network interface card for attaching to any packet switched local area network (LAN). As another example, the communication interface 51
9 is an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) card for providing a data communication connection to a corresponding type telephone line, an integrated services digital network (ISDN)
It may be a card or a modem. Wireless links can also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 519 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

[51] Network link 521 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 5
21 to the host computer 525 through the local network 523,
Alternatively, a connection can be provided to a data device operated by the service provider, which data device is a communication network 527 (eg, the Internet).
To provide data communication services through. LAN 523 and network 5
27 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Signals through various networks, signals on network link 521, and signals through communication interface 519 are signals that carry digital data from / to computer system 501 and are exemplary of carriers that carry information. Format. Computer system 501 can send notifications through a network, network link 521, and communication interface 519, and
Data including program code can be received.

[52] The techniques described herein provide various advantages over conventional approaches to making payments for billing via online systems. This arrangement is an integrated e-payment for making payments and analyzing invoice information.
Provide a billing system conveniently.

[53] The present invention has been shown and described in detail with reference to its preferred embodiments, while the foregoing modifications in form and detail, and without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other changes can be made. More specifically, the system management / early payment discount system described above can be applied to any of the comprehensive applications available via the web and is not limited to the telecommunications industry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an e-billing system architecture with an early payment discount (EPD) mechanism, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of steps for generating an EPD incentive for inclusion in an online customer invoice according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3a is a diagram of an exemplary electronic billing reporting / presentation system 200 used by a third party to generate an online invoice with EPD incentives, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3b is a view similar to FIG. 3a.

FIG. 3c is a view similar to FIG. 3a.

FIG. 4a is a diagram of an exemplary web page that provides a user invoice / payment screen including EPD incentives, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4b is a view similar to FIG. 4a.

FIG. 4c is a view similar to FIG. 4a.

FIG. 4d is a view similar to FIG. 4a.

FIG. 4e is a view similar to FIG. 4a.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a computer system that functions according to one embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

99 Customer / Computer Equipment 100 e-billing system 110 billing system 120 public internet 125a, 125b firewall 145 UA server 175 Value Added Network (VAN) 180 Temporary data storage 182 splitter 184 Extraction processing unit 190 registry storage device 192a Statement definition file 192b Extraction definition file 195 EBPP server 200 Third Party Electronic Billing Reporting / Presentation System 205 working file 210 Oracle (registered trademark) database 250 HTML server 250 501 computer system 503 bus 505 processor 507 main memory 509 ROM 511 storage device 513 display 515 input device 517 Cursor control device 519 Communication interface 521 network link 523 LAN 525 host computer 527 IP network

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OA (BF , BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, G M, KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ , UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, B Z, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE , DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, I S, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK , LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, P T, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL , TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW

Claims (42)

[Claims] 1. A method for providing an online billing system, the steps of retrieving customer invoice information including invoice date and invoice amount, and calculating a discount amount based on the invoice amount. And displaying the calculated discount amount, and selectively receiving a payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount prior to the invoice date. . 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the discount amount is valid for a predefined period. 3. Compute an expiration date defining a predefined period,   With the stage of displaying the expiration date The method of claim 1, further comprising: 4. The discount amount is based on a percentage of the invoice amount, and the method calculates another discount amount associated with another expiration date based on another percentage of the invoice amount. The method of claim 1, further comprising: applying both discount amounts automatically based on the time of receipt of the payment input. 5. A step of determining whether a criterion for early payment discount is satisfied for a customer participating by communication, and a step of selectively applying a discount amount based on the determination step. The method of claim 1, further comprising: 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the criteria in the determining step comprises maintaining the amount of unpaid bills by the customer at zero. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing an electronic funds transfer in response to selectively receiving the payment input. 8. A server device for providing an online billing system, the communication interface being configured to retrieve customer invoice information including invoice date and invoice amount, and connected to the communication interface. And a processor configured to calculate a discount amount based on the invoice amount, the calculated discount amount being displayed via the client and authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount. The server device, wherein the input is selectively received from the client before the invoice date. 9. The server device according to claim 8, wherein the discount amount is valid for a predefined period. 10. The server of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to calculate an expiration date that defines a predefined time period, the expiration date being displayed via the client. apparatus. 11. The discount amount is based on a percentage of the invoice amount and the processor is configured to calculate other discount amounts associated with other expiration dates based on other percentages of the invoice amount. 9. The server device according to claim 8, wherein both discount amounts are automatically applied based on a reception time of the payment input. 12. The processor comprises: for a customer participating by communication,
9. The system is configured to determine whether a criterion for early payment discount is met, and to be configured to selectively apply the discount amount based on the determination. The server device described in. 13. The server device according to claim 12, wherein the criterion includes maintaining an amount of unpaid bill by a customer at zero. 14. The server device of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to initiate an electronic funds transfer in response to receiving the payment input. 15. An e-billing system, a database configured to store customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount, and a customer invoice in communication with the database. A server configured to retrieve information and configured to calculate a discount amount based on the invoice amount, configured to communicate with the server and display the discount amount, and a calculation A client configured to send a payment input authorizing payment for the discounted amount to the server prior to the invoice date. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the discount amount is valid for a predefined period. 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the server is configured to calculate an expiration date that defines a predefined time period, the expiration date being displayed via the client. . 18. The discount amount is based on a percentage of the invoice amount, and the server is configured to calculate other discount amounts associated with other expiration dates based on other percentages of the invoice amount. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein both discounts are automatically applied based on the time of receipt of the payment input. 19. The server is configured to determine whether the criteria for early payment discount are met for a customer participating by communication, and
The system of claim 15, wherein the system is configured to selectively apply a discount amount based on the determination. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the criteria includes maintaining a customer's unpaid billing amount at zero. 21. The system of claim 15, wherein the server is configured to initiate an electronic funds transfer in response to receiving the payment input. 22. A server device for providing an online charging system, a means for searching customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount, and calculating a discount amount based on the invoice amount. Means, means for displaying the calculated discount amount, and means for selectively receiving a payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount prior to the invoice date. apparatus. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the discount amount is valid for a predefined period. 24. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for calculating an expiration date that defines a pre-defined period, the display means displaying the expiration date. 25. The discount amount is based on a certain percentage of the invoice amount, and the device is means for calculating other discount amounts associated with other expiration dates based on other percentages of the invoice amount. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: and means for automatically applying both discounts based on the time of receipt of the payment input. 26. Means for determining whether a criterion for early payment discount is satisfied for a customer participating by communication, and means for selectively applying a discount amount based on the determination. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the criteria includes maintaining a customer's unpaid billing amount at zero. 28. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for performing an electronic funds transfer in response to the payment input. 29. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for providing an online charging system, wherein the one or more sequences of one or more instructions. When executed by one or more processors, the one or more processors are searched for customer invoice information including an invoice date and an invoice amount, and a discount amount based on the invoice amount. To calculate the discount amount, display the calculated discount amount, and selectively receive payment input authorizing payment for the calculated discount amount prior to the invoice date. A computer-readable medium comprising. 30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein the discount amount is valid for a predefined period. 31. The method of claim 29, wherein the one or more processors further perform the steps of calculating an expiration date that defines a predefined time period and displaying the expiration date. Computer readable medium. 32. The discount amount is based on a percentage of the invoice amount, and the one or more processors are based on other percentages of the invoice amount, and other discount amounts associated with other expiration dates. 30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, further comprising the steps of: and applying both discounts automatically based on the time of receipt of the payment input. 33. The one or more processors determine whether a criterion for early payment discount is met for a customer participating by communication, and based on the determining step, a discount amount. 30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, further comprising: selectively applying. 34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the criteria in the determining step includes maintaining an amount of unpaid bills by the customer at zero. 35. The computer of claim 29, wherein the one or more processors further perform the step of performing an electronic funds transfer in response to selectively receiving the payment input. A readable medium. 36. An early payment discount (EPD) program for an e-billing system that includes a computer system accessible for conducting in-line online communications of an invoice, the computer system comprising: A database for storing customer invoice information, including a voice date and an invoice amount, accessible to the customer for online interaction; calculating an early payment discount amount based on the invoice amount; and A mechanism for displaying for the user, the early payment discount amount and the modified invoice total amount reflect the early payment discount, the computer system via the e-billing system And a mechanism for initiating the electronic money transfer of the modified invoice amount. An early payment discount program, wherein the early payment discount is applied only to payments within a predefined period from the invoice date. 37. The applying mechanism comprises a mechanism for calculating an expiration date that defines the predefined time period and for displaying the expiration date for the user. An early payment discount program as claimed in claim 36. 38. The early payment discount is a predetermined first percentage of the total invoice and is applicable during a predefined first period from the invoice date, and the calculator is 38. The early payment of claim 37, wherein the predetermined first percentage is automatically applied if the user accesses the invoice online within the predefined first time period. Discount program. 39. The early payment discount is a predetermined second percentage of the total invoice and is applicable within a second predefined period after the expiry date, and the calculator is: The early payment discount of claim 38, wherein the predetermined second percentage is automatically applied when the user accesses the invoice online within the predefined second period. program. 40. A mechanism for enabling electronic payment by the user to be scheduled, wherein the early payment discount is provided if the payment is scheduled within the predefined first period. , Including the predetermined first percentage, or, if the payment is scheduled within the predefined second period, the early payment discount includes the predetermined second percentage. Claim 3
Early payment discount program as described in 9. 41. The customer of claim 36, wherein the customer has associated EPD eligibility criteria and the calculator applies the early payment discount amount if the user meets the eligibility criteria. Early payment discount program as described. 42. The early payment discount program of claim 36, wherein the EPD eligibility criteria includes maintaining an unpaid invoice amount by a customer at zero.