JP2012048285A - Invoice data inspection support device, invoice data inspection support method and invoice data inspection support program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce operation costs in management tasks for invoice data.SOLUTION: An invoice data inspection support device comprises: a first generation unit for generating records having a common form including predetermined fields from a plurality pieces of invoice data according to an editing rule; and a second generation unit for generating an invoice master including one or more records compared with an inspection record having the common form, by aggregating a plurality of records whose contents are completely identical into one. The device improves convenience in checking invoice data.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for inspecting bill data presented from a provider of goods or services.

In companies that have bases such as stores and window companies in various locations, the communication carrier, line type, etc. that contracts at each base may differ depending on the regional line laying status of each base, the size and importance of each base, etc. May be different. Line types include, for example, telephone lines, dedicated lines, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), and ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line).
FTTH (Fiber To The Home). Furthermore, there are cases where a single site makes a line contract with a plurality of communication carriers as a countermeasure against a failure. As the number of bases increases or the number of lines contracted at each base increases, the number of invoice data issued increases. In addition, the form of bill data may differ depending on the communication carrier.

JP 2003-11796 A JP 2004-112205 A

  Depending on the company, invoice data issued from each communication carrier to the line contract at each site may be consolidated and centrally managed at the company's head office or department in charge. In this case, since the number of invoice data is enormous and the format is various, invoice data management such as inspection of invoice data entry mistakes and checking of whether or not to review the fee structure Work takes time and effort, and operation costs are high. In addition, due to the occurrence of human errors such as input mistakes when inputting bill data, the efficiency of bill data management operations may be reduced.

  An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide an invoice data inspection support apparatus that reduces the operation cost of an invoice data management operation.

One aspect of the present invention is a bill data inspection support apparatus. This invoice data inspection support device
A first generation unit that generates a record group having a common format including a predetermined field group from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule;
Second generation for generating an invoice master including one or more records to be collated with the inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records having the same contents in the record group into one And
including.

  Another aspect of the present invention is the bill data inspection support method described above. Another aspect of the present invention can include a bill data inspection support program that causes a computer to function as an information processing apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium that records the bill data inspection support program.

  According to the disclosed invoice data inspection support apparatus, the operation cost of the invoice data management work can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a network operation management system of a company. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of an invoice data inspection apparatus. The function structural example of an invoice data inspection apparatus is shown. It is a figure which shows the example of line charge billing information. It is a figure which shows the example of bill format information. It is an example of line application information (history). It is a figure which shows the example of tmp information. It is a figure which shows the example of charge amount definition information (master). It is a figure which shows the example of error information. It is a figure which shows the example of error information. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of a production | generation process of line | wire charge billing information. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of the initial construction process of billing amount definition information (master). It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of an invoice data inspection process and the update process of charge amount definition information (master). It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of an invoice data inspection process and the update process of charge amount definition information (master). The example of the tmp information in a modification is shown. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of the initial construction process of billing amount definition information (master) in a modification. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of the update process of the invoice data inspection process in the modification, and charge amount definition information (master). It is a figure which shows the example of the contract relationship between a some communication carrier and a some company.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the following embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
<Invoice data management work>
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a contract relationship between a plurality of communication carriers and a plurality of companies. In FIG. 16, company A, company B, and company C each have a plurality of bases. Each base of each company has at least one line contract with at least one communication carrier of communication carrier A, communication carrier B, and communication carrier C. Each communication carrier provides various types of line services such as ADSL, FTTH, telephone lines, dedicated lines, ISDN, and the like.

  For example, in FIG. 16, a certain base of the company A has a usage contract for the ADSL line with the communication carrier A. Further, another base of the company A has a contract for using the FTTH line with the communication carrier B. Further, another certain base of the company A has a contract for using a dedicated line with the communication carrier C. Further, a certain base of the company A has a use contract for a telephone line with the communication carrier A and a use contract for an ADSL line with the communication carrier B.

  When such a company A centrally manages invoice data for line usage contracts at each site, an invoice data inspection device is applied.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a company network operation management system to which an invoice data inspection apparatus can be applied. FIG. 1 shows, for example, the network management operation system of company A in FIG.

  The network operation management system includes a Web server 100, a business server 200, and a database server 300.

  The Web server 100 uses a proxy when a client terminal (denoted as “client” in FIG. 1) in the network operation management system connects to a network outside the network operation management system using a public line provided by a communication carrier. Acts as a server.

  The business server 200 is a server that manages the network operation management system of the company A. The business server 200 is used for a bill data management task when the company A centrally manages bill data for a line usage contract at each site. In addition to the invoice data management business, the business server 200 includes, for example, a laying management process for designing a base network, a fault management process for supporting fault isolation when a network fault occurs, a network maintenance process, etc. I do.

  The database server 300 (hereinafter referred to as the DB server 300) has contract information, bill information, information related to management in the network, etc. used by each store or window company.

  Invoice data management work performed using the business server 200 includes (1) charge amount definition information (master) initial construction work, (2) line application work, (3) line charge inspection work, and (4) charge amount. There are four types of definition information (master) change work.

(1) Billing amount definition information (master) initial construction work An administrator or operator who manages the company network inputs fee structure information such as contracts presented by the communication carrier to the business server 200 from the input screen of the operation terminal. . The business server 200 constructs billing amount definition information (master) according to the input and stores it in the DB server 300. The billing amount definition information (master) is, for example, definition information of billing details of a line usage contract including information such as a basic line fee, large line discount information, whether or not a device fee is charged, and a device fee billing amount.

(2) Line application work When a line application is made to a communication carrier, an administrator or an operator creates application information for the communication carrier, and a line application form as a history held in the DB server 300 from the operation terminal. Register data as information. Data registered in the line application form information includes, for example, a line type, a line distance, a selected carrier, a use start date, and a use end date.

(3) Line charge inspection business When invoice data is presented from a communication carrier, an administrator or an operator inputs the invoice data to the business server 200 from the operation terminal. The business server 200 collates the input bill data with the bill amount definition information (master) held in the DB server 300, and checks whether the bill amount is correct.

(4) Billing amount definition information (master) update business When the communication fee is revised by the communication carrier, the administrator or operator operates the operation terminal based on the new line fee structure information notified from the communication carrier. To DB server 30
The billing amount definition information (master) held at 0 is updated.

  As the scale of the company network to be constructed increases, the number of line usage contract patterns increases. Therefore, in (1) billing amount definition information (master) initial construction work, the data for initial construction increases and the data The processing of the administrator or operator who inputs the number increases. In addition, in (3) line charge inspection work, collation processing between the bill data of the business server 200 and the billing amount definition information (master) increases. In addition, in (4) billing amount definition information (master) update operation, if the line usage contract pattern increases, the maintenance frequency of the billing amount definition information (master) increases due to a review of the charge system.

  In addition, since the administrator or the operator inputs data in (1) initial construction work of billing amount definition information (master) and (4) billing amount definition information (master) update business, definition of billing amount definition information (master) There is also a possibility that errors will occur. Along with this, there is a possibility that invoice data check errors or check omissions may occur in (3) line charge inspection work.

  Therefore, the larger the scale of the company network to be constructed, the higher the operating cost for the management of bill data on the company side.

  In the first embodiment, the business server 200 of FIG. 1 functions as an invoice data inspection device, (1) initial construction of billing amount definition information (master), (3) line charge inspection business, and (4) billing amount. Performs invoice data management for definition information (master).

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the format of bill data differs for each communication carrier. The format includes a description item, a description order of the description item, a description format of the description item, and the like. Hereinafter, the format is also referred to as a format.

  The bill data inspection apparatus takes in bill data having a different format for each communication carrier from an input from an operation terminal on the network or from the DB server 300. The invoice data inspection device extracts a predetermined description item from the invoice data taken in accordance with the editing rule, stores the description item in a corresponding field of a record in a common format, and stores the invoice data Format the records into a common format.

  Further, the invoice data inspection apparatus automatically generates bill amount definition information (invoice master) by aggregating a plurality of records in which the contents of a record group having a common format are completely identical (the above (1) ) Billing amount definition information (master) initial construction work).

  The bill data inspection device generates a record group of a common format from bill data sent from a communication carrier in a unit such as monthly, and collates each record with billing fee definition information (master) Then, the invoice data is automatically inspected ((3) line charge inspection work).

  The invoice data inspection device determines whether or not the fee structure has been changed in the process of inspecting the invoice data. If it is determined that the fee structure has changed, the invoice amount definition information (master (4) Billing amount definition information (master) update business). In addition, the invoice data inspection device (3) invoice data that may have an error in line charge inspection work, and (4) invoice amount that may have an error in the billing amount definition information (master) update process Outputs definition information (master) data.

<< Configuration example of invoice data inspection device >>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the bill data inspection apparatus. For example, the server functioning as the business server 200 shown in FIG. 1 functions as an invoice data inspection device. The invoice data inspection device 1 is an information processing device that includes a processor 101, a main storage device 102, an input device 103, an output device 104, an auxiliary storage device 105, and a network interface 107, which are connected to each other via a bus 109. is there. The information processing apparatus 1 is a dedicated computer such as a server machine, for example.

  The input device 103 is, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a scanner, or the like. Data input from the input device 103 is output to the processor 101.

  The network interface 107 is an interface for inputting / outputting information to / from the network. The network interface 107 is connected to a wired network and a wireless network. The network interface 107 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card), a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) card, or the like. Data received by the network interface 107 is output to the processor 101.

  The main storage device 102 provides the processor 101 with a storage area and a work area for loading a program stored in the auxiliary storage device 105, and is used as a buffer. The main storage device 102 is a semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), for example.

  The auxiliary storage device 105 stores various programs and data used by the processor 101 when executing each program. The auxiliary storage device 105 is, for example, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM) or a hard disk drive. The auxiliary storage device 105 can include a removable medium, that is, a portable recording medium. The removable medium is a recording medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash memory, a CD (Compact Disc), or a DVD. The auxiliary storage device 105 holds, for example, an operating system (OS), an invoice data inspection program for inspecting invoice data, and other various application programs.

The processor 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The processor 101 executes various processes by loading the OS and various application programs held in the auxiliary storage device 105 into the main storage device 102 and executing them.

  The output device 104 outputs the processing result of the processor 101. The output device 104 includes a display and the like.

  For example, in the bill data inspection apparatus 1, the processor 101 loads a bill data inspection support program held in the auxiliary storage device 105 to the main storage device 102 and executes it. The bill data inspection device 1 generates bill amount definition information (master) from bill data input through the input device 103 or the network interface through execution of the bill data inspection support program, and uses this master. The invoice data is inspected and the inspection result is output to the output device.

  The information processing device functioning as the bill data inspection device is not limited to a dedicated computer such as a server machine, and can be a personal computer as long as the number of bill data to be inspected is about several hundred to several thousand. A general-purpose computer such as

  FIG. 3 shows a functional configuration example of the bill data inspection apparatus. The bill data inspection apparatus 1 loads the bill data inspection program stored in the auxiliary storage device 105 into the main storage device 102 and executes the bill data inspection unit 1, the bill information analysis unit 12, It functions as a device including a history reading unit 13, a master generation unit 14, a billing evaluation unit 15, an evaluation result output unit 16, a bill format information generation unit 17, and a line charge billing information generation unit 18. The invoice data inspection apparatus 1 includes a line charge request information database (line charge request information DB) 20, a line application information database (line application information DB) 30, and a charge amount definition information database (charge amount definition information DB) 40. Get input. The line charge billing information DB 20, line application information DB 30, and billing amount definition information DB 40 may be provided in the database server 300 or on the auxiliary storage device 105 in the network operation management system shown in FIG. May be. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the line fee billing information DB 20, the line application information DB 30, and the billing amount definition information DB 40 are provided in the database server 300.

  The invoice format information generation unit 17 generates invoice format information that is an editing rule for shaping invoice data of a different format for each communication carrier into a common format record group. The bill format information is information for associating each field of the record in the common format with the description position of each description item of the bill data of each communication carrier. The bill format information is generated for each communication carrier, for example. The bill format information generation unit 17 stores the bill format information in the line charge billing information DB 20. Hereinafter, the record group of the common format generated from the bill data is referred to as line charge billing information. The bill format information may be stored in advance in the line charge billing information DB 20. Details of the bill format information and the line charge billing information will be described later.

  The billing information reading unit 11 reads bill data of each communication carrier and bill format information of each communication carrier from the line fee billing information DB 20 and outputs them to the line billing information generation unit 18.

  When the invoice data of each communication carrier and the invoice format information of each communication carrier are input, the line charge invoice information generation unit 18 uses a record group of a common format based on the invoice format information of each communication carrier. Generate some line billing information. The line charge billing information generation unit 18 stores the generated line charge billing information in the line charge billing information DB 20. The processing for generating line charge billing information from bill data presented from a communication carrier will be described later.

  In addition, the billing information reading unit 11 performs billing for line charges from the line charge billing information DB 20 in the billing amount definition information (master) initial construction processing, bill data inspection processing, and billing amount definition information (master) update processing. Information is read out and output to the billing information analysis unit 12.

The billing information analysis unit 12 acquires the line charge billing information from the billing information reading unit 11 and the line application information that is the history information of the line application from the history reading unit 13. The billing information analysis unit 12 uses the line application information (history) to collate each record included in the line charge billing information with each record included in the temporary information (hereinafter referred to as tmp information). The tmp information is information that is a predecessor of the billing amount definition information (master) that defines the billing amount pattern, and includes a plurality of records.

The billing information analysis unit 12 instructs the master generation unit 14 to add a new record or update a record based on the collation result. Further, the billing information analysis unit 12 outputs the collation result to the billing evaluation unit 15 when the collation of all the records included in the line charge billing information with each record included in the tmp information is completed. Details of the tmp information and details of the collation process between the line charge billing information and the tmp information will be described later.

  The history reading unit 13 reads line application information, which is line application history information, from the line application information DB 30 in response to a line application information (history) acquisition request from the billing information analysis unit 12. The history reading unit 13 outputs the read line application information (history) to the request source billing information analysis unit 12.

  The master generation unit 14 generates and updates billing amount definition information (master). The master generation unit 14 generates and updates tmp information in response to an instruction to add a new record to the tmp information from the billing information analysis unit 12 or to update the record. The master generation unit 14 generates and updates billing amount definition information (master) in accordance with generation and update of tmp information. The master generation unit 14 stores the generated and updated tmp information and billing amount definition information (master) in the billing amount definition information DB 40. Details of tmp information and billing amount definition information (master), and details of generation and update of tmp information and billing amount definition information (master) will be described later.

  The billing evaluation unit 15 obtains, from the billing information analysis unit 12, a collation result between each record included in the line charge billing information and each record included in the tmp information as an input. The billing evaluation unit 15 generates error information including a line charge billing information record or a billing amount definition information (master) record with a possibility of error from the collation result. The claim evaluation unit 15 outputs the generated error information to the evaluation result output unit 16. Details of the error information will be described later.

  The evaluation result output unit 16 receives error information from the claim evaluation unit 15 as an input. The evaluation result output unit 16 is provided in the invoice data inspection apparatus 1, for example, outputs the input error information to a file, or transmits the file to the client terminal 50 connected via the network. Or output to a display.

  The line charge billing information generation unit 18 is an example of a first generation unit in one aspect of the present invention. The master generation unit 14 is an example of a second generation unit in one aspect of the present invention. The billing information analysis unit 12 is an example of a collation unit in one aspect of the present invention. The combination of the claim evaluation unit 15 and the evaluation result output unit 16 is an example of an output unit in one aspect of the present invention.

(Line charge information)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of line charge billing information. The line charge billing information is a record group of a common format generated from bill data of each communication carrier having a different format. The line charge billing information is stored in the line charge billing information DB 20.

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that one invoice data presented from a communication carrier is issued for each communication carrier at each site of a company. Therefore, the bill data includes billing information for one or more contracted lines. The billing information for one contracted line includes a plurality of billing items such as a line usage fee, a modem usage fee, and an indoor wiring usage fee.

  In the first embodiment, one record of line charge billing information includes fields of “identifier”, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, and “billing amount”. including.

  The “identifier” field stores an identifier for identifying each record of the line billing information. The identifier is composed of alphanumeric characters and is given to each record by the line charge billing information generation unit 18 without duplication.

  The “communication carrier” field stores identification information such as a communication carrier name or an identification number for identifying the carrier. The “line number” field stores a number for identifying the line assigned to the contracted line by each communication carrier. The “line type” field stores the type of contracted line. The type of contract line is, for example, ADSL, dedicated line, FTTH, or the like. The “line speed” field stores the line speed of the contracted line.

  In the “Billing item” field, a billing item for the contracted line is stored. The billing items are, for example, a line usage fee for a contract line, a rental fee for equipment such as a modem, a discount fee for a line usage fee due to a large discount.

  In the “billing amount” field, a billing amount corresponding to each billing item is stored. When the billing item is a discount fee, it is displayed as minus.

  For example, the line charge billing information may be created in units such as every communication carrier, every bill issuance month, and the like.

  The line billing information field is not limited to that shown in FIG. 4, and is a field for storing information that can be specified for billing contents and billing amount, which is considered to be included in billing data of any communication carrier. If it is. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the fields that can specify the billing contents are the fields of “identifier”, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “billing item”. To do. The field in which the billing amount can be specified corresponds to the “billing amount” field in the example shown in FIG.

  The line billing information as shown in FIG. 4 is an example of a group of records having a common format in one aspect of the present invention. The line is an example of a billing object in one of the aspects of the present invention.

(Invoice format information)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of bill format information. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that invoice data is issued in a CSV (Comma Separate Values) format from a communication carrier A to one or a plurality of lines contracted by a certain base.

  Invoice data 500 is invoice data of a certain base of company A issued by communication carrier A. The invoice data 500 includes information on a line that the base of the company A contracts with the communication carrier A. The invoice data 500 is described in the CSV format, and is presented by being transmitted by e-mail or recorded on a portable recording medium, for example. The portable recording medium is, for example, a floppy (registered trademark), a CD, a DVD, or the like.

  In the invoice data 500 in CSV format, each invoice item forms one record. In the invoice data 500 in CSV format presented from the communication carrier A, fields included in each record are separated by commas, and each record is separated by a line feed. The fields of each record are arranged in the order of “trader”, “line number”, “line type”, “billing breakdown”, and “charge”. Note that “CRLF” in the invoice data 500 indicates a line feed.

  Which field of the bill data 500 corresponds to which field of the line billing information in FIG. 4 is determined by the administrator of the corporate network, and correspondence between both fields is input by the user from the operation terminal.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the “merchant” field in the invoice data 500 is shown in FIG.
Corresponds to the “communication carrier” field of the line billing information in FIG. The “line number” field in the invoice data 500 corresponds to the “line number” field of the line charge billing information in FIG. The “line type” field in the invoice data 500 corresponds to the “line type” field of the line charge billing information in FIG. The “Billing breakdown” field in the bill data 500 corresponds to the “Billing item” field of the line charge billing information in FIG. The “charge” field in the invoice data 500 corresponds to the “charge amount” field of the line charge request information in FIG.

  The bill format information is information for designating the reading position in the bill data of each field of the line charge billing information record. The line charge billing information generation unit 18 stores the value read from the position of the bill data specified in the bill format information in the record format of the line charge billing information specified by the bill format information.

  In FIG. 5, bill format information 510 of communication carrier A is generated from bill data 500. In the billing format information 510, the field “communication carrier” of the line charge billing information is associated with the field position “1” in the record of the bill data 500 in the CSV format. As a result, the line charge billing information generating unit 18 can read the value of the first field of each record of the bill data 500 and store it as the value of the “communication carrier” field of the line charge billing information. Similarly, in the bill format information 510 of the communication carrier A, the reading field position in the CSV bill data 500 of the other field of the line charge billing information is designated.

In addition, when the invoice data is presented in a form printed on paper, as the invoice format information, the reading position in the invoice data of each field of the line charge invoice information is set to each field name and coordinates in the invoice data. You may specify with. In this case, first, a bill is read by a scanner or the like by an operation of a company network manager, and stored in the line charge billing information DB 20 as bill data. The line charge billing information generation unit 18 uses the field name in the bill data specified in the bill format information using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or the like, and uses the field name in the bill data. Is detected. The circuit charge billing information generation unit 18 reads the detected value of the field from the coordinates specified in the bill format information using the OCR. The line charge billing information generation unit 18 stores the value of the read bill data field in the field of the line charge billing information record specified in the bill format information. When the bill data is provided on a paper medium, the line charge billing information that is a group of records in a common format is generated in this way.

(Line application information)
FIG. 6 is an example of line application information (history). The line application information (history) is information related to the application line described in the contract when a new line usage contract is applied, and one record is generated for each contracted line. The line application information (history) may be stored in the line application information DB 30 by extracting information related to the applied line from the line application data by the client terminal that created the line application data, for example. Alternatively, the line application information (history) may be input by a user from a client terminal on the network when a line application is made. The line application information (history) is stored in the line application information (history) DB 30.

  In the first embodiment, one record of line application information includes “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1”, “type 2”,. n "(n is a positive natural number) field. The fields of “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, and “line speed” are the same as those included in the line charge billing information.

  “Category 1”, “Category 2”,..., “Category n” are unique values of each line, and are included in the contract and the like referred to when applying for a line. This is information indicating the service details of the contracted line that is not included. For example, “type 1”,..., “Type 2” includes a distance range, a maintenance type, and a service contract. “Type 1”,... “Type n” is not essential information, and may be partially or completely missing.

  The line application information plays a role of supplementing information when the line charge billing information is insufficient when generating tmp information and billing amount definition information (master) described later. That is, the line application information is used as necessary. Line application information is an example of additional information in one aspect of the present invention.

(Tmp information and billing amount definition information)
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of tmp information. The tmp information is used to create and update billing amount definition information (master). The tmp information is generated by the master generation unit 14 by consolidating a plurality of records in which the values of the respective fields obtained from the line billing information and the line application information (history) completely match. Therefore, the tmp information is a record group. The tmp information is stored in the billing amount definition information (master) DB 40.

  One record of tmp information includes “item number”, “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “billing amount”, “type 1”,. The fields of “type n”, “OK counter”, and “NG counter” are included. “Communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “billing amount”, “type 1”,..., “Type n” fields are line charge billing information and line application information. This is the same as the field described in (History).

  The “item number” and “detail item number” fields are assigned to identify each record of the tmp information. For example, the same item number is assigned to the record group in which the values of the fields of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1”,. . Detailed item numbers are assigned so that there is no overlap between records with the same item number.

  As a result of the comparison between the line charge billing information and the tmp information, the “OK counter” indicates “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “billing” for the record of the tmp information. This is a counter that counts the number of line charge billing information records in which the values in the fields of “Amount” and “Type 1” to “Type n” match.

  As a result of the comparison between the line charge billing information and the tmp information, the “NG counter” indicates “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type” for the record of the tmp information. This is a counter that counts the number of line charge billing records in which the values of the fields “1”,..., “Type n” all match and the value of the “billing amount” field is different.

  Based on the values of the “OK counter” and the “NG counter”, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to update the record of the tmp information. Details of the verification process between the line charge billing information and the tmp information will be described later.

The “item number” and “detail item number” fields of the tmp information are fields for storing identification information of each record of the tmp information. “Communication carrier” and “line number” are fields for storing information for identifying billing targets of billing data. The fields of “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1”,..., “Type n” are information for specifying the billing item of the product or service for which billing data is billed. It is. The tmp information is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 7, but includes identification information for each record, information for identifying a billing target of billing data, and information for specifying a billing item of a product or service that is billing target of billing data. It only has to be included.

  Note that the data structure of the tmp information is not limited to the example shown in FIG. The tmp information is an example of a bill master in one aspect of the present invention.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of billing amount definition information (master). The billing amount definition information (master) indicates definition information that defines a contract line, a billing item, a billing amount, and the like, which is billed by billing data from a communication carrier.

  The billing amount definition information (master) is generated from the tmp information by the master generation unit 14. For example, the billing amount definition information (master) is created by removing the “item number”, “detailed item number”, “OK counter”, and “NG counter” fields of the tmp information. Therefore, the billing amount definition information (master) is a record group, and one record includes “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “billing amount”, “type 1”,. .. includes a field of “type n”. The data structure of the billing amount definition information (master) is not limited to the example shown in FIG. The billing amount definition information is an example of a bill master in one aspect of the present invention.

  The fields of “type 1” to “type n” of each record of the tmp information and the billing amount definition information (master) may be used as necessary. The tmp information and the billing amount definition information (master) It may be generated only with billing information.

(Error information)
9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating examples of error information. The error information includes a record included in the tmp information and a record that may cause an error in the line charge billing information in the verification process between the tmp information and the line charge billing information.

  The error information is roughly divided into a billing amount definition information error and a line charge billing information error. FIG. 9A shows an example of the billing amount definition information error. The billing amount definition information error includes a record of billing amount definition information (master) that may be an error as a result of the collation process between the tmp information and the line charge billing information.

  FIG. 9B shows an example of a line charge billing information error. The line charge billing information error includes a record of line charge billing information that may be an error as a result of collation between the tmp information and the line charge billing information. Note that the error information is not limited to the example illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, and may include information that can identify a record that may have an error. Information that can identify a record that may cause an error includes, for example, the value of the “identifier” field of a record that may cause an error in line billing information, and the “item number” of a record that may cause an error in tmp information. ”And“ detail item number ”field values.

  The administrator of the corporate network confirming the error information can confirm the line charge billing information and the tmp information record indicated by the error information, and confirm whether there is an error.

<< Generation of line billing information >>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing for generating line charge billing information. The line fee billing information is performed by the cooperation of the bill format information generation unit 17, the billing information reading unit 11, and the line fee billing information generation unit 18.

  The invoice format information generation unit 17 generates invoice format information for each communication carrier in response to, for example, input of information from the operation terminal by the administrator of the corporate network (OP1). The bill format information generation unit 17 stores the bill format in the line charge billing information DB 20.

  The billing information reading unit 11 reads bill data held in the line charge billing information DB 20 and outputs it to the line charge billing information generation unit 18. The line charge billing information generating unit 18 generates line charge billing information from the read bill data (OP2). For example, when the bill data is electronic data in CSV format and stored in the line charge billing information DB 20, the bill information reading unit 11 reads the bill data from the line charge bill information DB 20 one file at a time. . For example, when the invoice data is a paper medium, the invoice information reading unit 11 reads invoice data one by one via the scanner and the OCR.

  The line charge billing information generation unit 18 collates bill format information of each communication carrier with the bill data read, and determines bill format information to be used. For example, the line charge billing information generation unit 18 attempts to read bill data using the bill format information of each communication carrier, thereby collating the bill data with the bill format of each communication carrier. For example, the line charge billing information generation unit 18 first reads the value of the field corresponding to “communication carrier” included in the bill data to determine the communication carrier, and determines the corresponding bill format.

  The line charge billing information generation unit 18 extracts a value from the position of the bill data specified in the determined bill format information, and the value extracted in the field of the line charge billing information record specified in the bill format information The information line charge billing information is generated from the bill data read and stored. The bill format information to be used may be specified by the user.

  When a reading error occurs (OP3: Yes), the line charge billing information generation unit 18 outputs information such as invoice format information used when the reading error occurs as reading error information (OP4). ). For example, a read error is an error in the invoice format information created based on the input of information from the operation terminal, and the data structure does not match when the invoice format information corresponding to the invoice data is used. Occurs when invoice data cannot be read. In this case, the read bill data does not match any bill format information, and the line charge billing information generation unit 18 detects a reading error. For example, the billing information reading unit 11 may transmit the reading error information to the operation terminal of the administrator of the corporate network and display it on the display of the operation terminal, or may output it to a file. The administrator can correct the bill format information by checking the reading error.

  When the reading of the invoice data is completed without reading error (OP3: No) and when the output of the reading error is completed (OP4), the billing information reading unit 11 determines whether there is unprocessed bill data. It is determined whether or not (OP5). If there is unprocessed bill data (OP5: Yes), the billing information reading unit 11 returns to OP2 and repeats the processing from OP2 to OP4 until there is no unprocessed bill data.

  When there is no unprocessed bill data (OP5: No), the line charge billing information generation unit 18 stores the generated line charge billing information in the line charge billing information DB 20.

Note that the line charge billing information generated by the process shown in FIG. 10 includes records of all bill data read in one line charge billing information generation process. Not limited to this, for example, one line charge billing information may be generated for one bill data (CSV file unit, paper-based bill unit, etc.), or a plurality of information classified for each communication carrier. One line charge billing information may be generated per bill data.

<< Generation of billing amount definition information (master) >>
(Invoice amount definition information (master) initial construction process flow)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of initial construction processing of billing amount definition information (master). The initial construction processing of the billing amount definition information (master) is performed by the cooperation of the billing information reading unit 11, the billing information analysis unit 12, the history reading unit 13, and the master generation unit 14. Further, in FIG. 11, from the line charge billing information shown in FIG. 4 and the line application information (history) shown in FIG. 6, the tmp information shown in FIG. 7 and the billing amount definition information (master) shown in FIG. ) Is generated as an example. The invoice data inspection device 1 executes, for example, billing amount definition information (master) generation processing according to an instruction from the user.

  The billing information reading unit 11 fetches one of the records included in the line charge billing information from the line charge billing information DB 20 (OP11). For example, the billing information reading unit 11 fetches one record in order from the first record of the line charge billing information shown in FIG. The billing information reading unit 11 outputs one record of the captured line charge billing information to the billing information analysis unit 12.

  When one record of line charge billing information is input from the billing information reading unit 11, the billing information analyzing unit 12 applies a line application in which the values of both the “communication carrier” and “line number” fields of the record match. From the record of information (history), the value of the field of “type 1” to “type n” is acquired (OP12). The billing information analysis unit 12 obtains the field values of “type 1” to “type n” corresponding to one record of the fetched line charge billing information from the line application information (history) DB 30 through the history reading unit 13. To do. Thereafter, a record including a field included in one record of the captured line charge billing information and a field of “type 1” to “type n” corresponding to one record of the captured line charge billing information is used for determination. This is called a record.

  The billing information analysis unit 12 reads a registration record of tmp information (OP13). The billing information analysis unit 12 compares the determination record with the tmp information registration record. The billing information analysis unit 12 matches all the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” in the tmp information registration record group. It is determined whether there is a record to be executed (OP14).

  When there is no record in the registration record group of tmp information that matches all the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” (OP14: No), it is indicated that the record for determination is a new pattern. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the determination record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the determination record. For example, since no record is registered in the tmp information in the initial state, there is no record of tmp information in which the value of “communication carrier” matches the determination record, and the determination record is registered in the tmp information. .

Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires the field values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of the determination record in the tmp information (OP15). Since there is no registration record of tmp information in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match, the obtained “item number” The value “” is a new value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of the “item number” of the record group registered in the tmp information. Further, the value of the “detail item number” acquired at this time is 1.

  Next, the master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, “billing amount” in the determination record. , “Type 1” to “type n”, and values of “type 1” to “type n” obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP18).

  The billing information reading unit 11 determines whether or not one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is the last record of the line charge billing information (OP19). That is, the billing information reading unit 11 determines whether or not processing has been completed for all records included in the line charge billing information.

  If one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is not the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP19: No), the process returns to OP11, and the billing information reading unit 11 The next record is taken from the billing information.

  If one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP19: Yes), the billing information reading unit 11 is included in the line charge billing information. The master generation unit 14 is notified of the end of processing of all records. Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 reflects the tmp information in the billing amount definition information (master) (OP20). The master generation unit 14 stores the generated billing amount definition information (master) and tmp information in the billing amount definition information DB 40.

  In OP14, when there is a record in which all of the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” match in the registration record group of tmp information (OP14: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 determines whether or not there is a record in which the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” also match (OP16).

  Registration record of tmp information in which the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” also match in addition to the judgment record and “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” If there is (OP16: Yes), it is indicated that the same billing pattern as the determination record is already registered in the tmp information. Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP19.

  Although there are tmp information registration records in which the determination record and “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match, “billing item” and “billing amount” If there is no tmp information registration record that matches even the value of (OP16: No), it is indicated that the determination record is a new billing pattern. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the determination record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the determination record.

Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of one record of the captured line charge billing information in the tmp information ( OP17). In OP14, the tmp information indicates that a record in which all the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” are already registered is registered. Yes. Therefore, the master generation unit 14 registers tmp information in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match as the value of “item number”. Acquires the value of “item number” of the record group. In addition, the master generation unit 14 sets the “detailed item number” as the value of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” that all match. A value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of the “detail item number” of the registered record group is acquired.

  The master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, “billing amount”, and “Type 1” to “Type n” and the values of “Type 1” to “Type n” obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP18). Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP19.

  As described above, the processing from OP11 to OP19 is repeated until there is no unprocessed record included in the line charge billing information. For example, tmp information shown in FIG. 7 and billing charge definition information shown in FIG. (Master) is generated.

(Operation example)
Processing in a case where the tmp information shown in FIG. 7 is generated from the line charge information shown in FIG. 4 in the initial state will be described.

  In the initial state, the record of “0001” in the line charge billing information matches the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n”. No record exists in the tmp information. Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to add a record whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0001” to the tmp information (FIG. 11, OP14: No). In this case, the master generation unit 14 acquires “1” as the “item number” and “1” as the “detailed item number” (FIG. 11, OP15), and registers it in the tmp information (FIG. 11, OP18).

  When a record whose “identification code” is “0002” in the line billing information is read, the record has a “item number” value of “1” and a “detail item number” value of 1 in the tmp information. The values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” match, and the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” differ ( FIG. 11, OP14: Yes, OP16: No). Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to add a record whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0002” to the tmp information. In this case, since there is a record in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” match, the master generation unit 14 selects “item number”. "1" is acquired. In addition, there is no record in which the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” match the “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” in addition to the record. Therefore, “2” is acquired as the “detailed item number” (OP17 in FIG. 11). That is, a record whose “identification code” is “0002” in the line charge billing information is registered in the tmp information with “item number” being “1” and “detail item number” being “2” (FIG. 11, OP18). .

  Similarly to the record with the “identification code” of the line charge billing information “0002”, the records with the “identification code” “0003” and “0004” of the line charge billing information are also added to the tmp information.

  When a record whose “identification code” in the line charge billing information is “0005” is read, the record, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” There is no record of tmp information that matches the value of "" (FIG. 11, OP14: No). Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to add a record whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0005” to the tmp information (FIG. 11, OP14: No). In this case, since the “item number” 1 is used, the master generation unit 14 acquires “2” as the “item number” and “1” as the “detailed item number” (OP15 in FIG. 11), and tmp The information is registered (FIG. 11, OP18).

  When a record having “0006” as the “identification code” of the line billing information is read, the record has the value of “item number” of tmp information as “2” and the value of “detailed item number” as “ “1” and the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” match, and the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” are Different (FIG. 11, OP14: Yes, OP16: No). Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to add a record whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0006” to the tmp information. In this case, a record whose “charge code” “identification code” is “0006”, a record whose “item number” is “2” and a detailed item number is “1”, “communication carrier”, “line” Since the values of “type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” match, the master generation unit 14 acquires “2” as “item number” and “2” as “detail item number”. (FIG. 11, OP17), and is registered in the tmp information (FIG. 11, OP18).

  Similarly to the record with the “identification code” of the line charge billing information “0006”, the records with the “identification code” “0007” and “0008” of the line charge billing information are also added to the tmp information.

  The record with the “identification code” “0009” in the line charge billing information is registered in the tmp information in the same manner as the record with the “identification code” in the line charge billing information “0005”. Also, records with “identification code” from “0010” to “0012” in the line charge billing information are converted into tmp information in the same manner as records with “identification code” from “0006” to “0008” in the line charge billing information. be registered.

  When a record having “0013” as the “identification code” of the line billing information is read, the record is a record whose “item number” is “1” and “detailed item number” is “1” in the tmp information. , “Communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “billing fee”, “type 1” to “type n” match (FIG. 11, OP14: Yes, OP16). : Yes). Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 does not add the record whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0013” to the tmp information.

  Records with “identification code” “0014” to “0016” in the line charge billing information have values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n”, respectively. A matching record exists in the tmp information (FIG. 11, OP14: Yes, OP16: Yes). Therefore, the billing information analysis unit 12 does not add the records whose “identification code” of the line charge billing information is “0014” to “0016” to the tmp information.

  As described above, the processing is performed for all the records of the line charge billing information shown in FIG. 4, and the tmp information shown in FIG. 7 is generated.

<< Invoice data inspection process and billing amount definition information (master) update process >>
12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating an example of a flow of invoice data inspection processing and billing amount definition information (master) update processing. The invoice data inspection process and the bill amount definition information (master) update process include a billing information reading unit 11, a billing information analysis unit 12, a history reading unit 13, a master generation unit 14, a billing evaluation unit 15, and an evaluation result output unit. This is done by 16 collaborations. 12A and 12B, the bill data inspection process for the line charge billing information shown in FIG. 4, the tmp information shown in FIG. 7, and the billing amount definition information (master) update process shown in FIG. As an example.

The billing information reading unit 11 fetches one of the records included in the line charge billing information from the line charge billing information DB 20 (OP31). For example, the billing information reading unit 11 fetches one record in order from the first record of the line charge billing information shown in FIG. The billing information reading unit 11 outputs one record of the captured line charge billing information to the billing information analysis unit 12.

  When one record of line charge billing information is input from the billing information reading unit 11, the billing information analyzing unit 12 records a line application information (history) in which the record, “communication carrier”, and “line number” match. From “Type 1” to “Type n” field values are acquired (OP32). The billing information analysis unit 12 obtains the field values of “type 1” to “type n” corresponding to one record of the fetched line charge billing information from the line application information (history) DB 30 through the history reading unit 13. To do. Hereinafter, a record including each field included in one captured line charge billing record and fields of “type 1” to “type n” from the record of line application information (history) is referred to as an inspection record. .

  The billing information analysis unit 12 reads a registration record of tmp information (OP33). The billing information analysis unit 12 compares the inspection record with the tmp information registration record. The billing information analysis unit 12 includes the inspection record, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1” to “type n” in the tmp information registration record group. It is determined whether or not there is a record that matches all the values of (OP34).

  Among the registered records of tmp information, a record in which all the values of “recording carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, and “type 1” to “type n” match with the inspection record When there is no (OP34: No), it is indicated that the inspection record is a new pattern. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the inspection record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the inspection record.

  Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of the inspection record in the tmp information (OP36). If there is no registration record for tmp information in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match, the acquired record “ The value of “item number” is a new value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of “item number” of the record group registered in the tmp information. Further, the value of the “detail item number” acquired at this time is 1. If a record in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match is already registered in the tmp information, the “item number” is acquired. The values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” are all the values of “item number” in the registration record group of tmp information that matches all the values. . Further, the value of the “detailed item number” acquired is a registered record group of tmp information in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match. This is a value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of the “detail item number”.

  Next, the master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, “billing amount” of the inspection record. , “Type 1” to “type n”, and values of “type 1” to “type n” obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP37). Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP42.

  In OP34, all the values of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, and “type 1” to “type n” match the registered record group of tmp information. When there is a record (OP34: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 determines whether or not there is a record that also has the same “billing amount” value (OP38).

Inspection record and “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “
When there is a registration record of tmp information that matches the value of “billing amount” in addition to “type 1” to “type n” (OP38: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 displays “ 1 is added to the “OK counter” (OP41). In this case, it is indicated that there is no error in the line charge billing information record and the corresponding tmp information registration record corresponding to the inspection record. Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP42.

  The test record and the value of “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1” to “type n” all match, but the value of “billing amount” does not match When there is a registration record of tmp information (OP38: No), the billing information analysis unit 12 adds 1 to the “NG counter” of the corresponding record of tmp information (OP39). In this case, there is a possibility of an error in either the “billing amount” value of the line charge billing information record corresponding to the inspection record or the “billing amount” value of the registration record of the corresponding tmp information. Is shown. The billing information analysis unit 12 registers one record of line charge billing information corresponding to the inspection record in the error information (OP40). Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP42.

  The billing information reading unit 11 determines whether or not the line charge billing information record corresponding to the inspection record is the last record of the line charge billing information (OP42). That is, the billing information reading unit 11 determines whether or not processing has been completed for all records included in the line charge billing information.

  When the line charge billing information record corresponding to the inspection record is not the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP42: No), the process returns to OP31, and the billing information reading unit 11 Take the next record from the information. Thereafter, the processing from OP31 to OP42 is repeated until the processing of all the records included in the line charge billing information is completed.

  When the line charge billing information record corresponding to the inspection record is the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP42: Yes), the billing information reading unit 11 includes all the line charge billing information. The billing evaluation unit 15 is notified of the end of processing of the record.

  Upon receiving the notification, the billing evaluation unit 15 reads one record from the tmp information (OP43). For example, the claim evaluation unit 15 reads one record in order from the top of the tmp information.

  The claim evaluation unit 15 determines whether or not the value of the “NG counter” in the read tmp information record is 0 (OP44).

When the value of the “NG counter” in the read record of tmp information is 0 (OP44: Yes), the billing evaluation unit 15 determines that there is no error in the record of tmp information. The claim evaluation unit 15 reads the next record of the tmp information (OP43).

  When the “NG counter” value of the read tmp information record is not 0 (OP44: No), the billing evaluation unit 15 determines whether the “OK counter” value of the read tmp information record is 0 or not. Is determined (OP45).

If the “NG counter” value of the read tmp information record is not 0 and the “OK counter” value is 0 (OP45: Yes), the read tmp information record and the “communication carrier” ”,“ Line type ”,“ Line speed ”,“ Billing item ”, and“ Type 1 ”to“ Type n ”all have the same line charge billing information record, but the“ Billing amount ”value is It indicates that there was no matching line billing information record. In this case, it is indicated that the value of the “billing amount” in the read record of tmp information is likely to be an error, and the billing evaluation unit 15 updates the value of “billing information” in the record of tmp information. (OP46). For example, the billing evaluation unit 15 sets the read tmp information and the values of “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1” to “type n”. The value of “charge amount” in the line charge information record that matches all is overwritten with the value of “charge amount” in the read record of tmp information, and the record in tmp information is updated. Further, the claim evaluation unit 15 registers the record of the tmp information in the error information in the error information (OP47). Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP48.

When the value of the “NG counter” in the read tmp information record is not 0 and the value of the “OK counter” is not 0 (OP45: No), the billing evaluation unit 15 reads the record of tmp information. It adds to error information (OP47). In this case, it is indicated that there is a possibility of an error in both the read tmp information record and the line fee billing information record. At this time, the error information includes the record of tmp information, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1” to “type n”. ”Values all match, and“ charged amount ”values do not match.

  When the process of OP47 ends, the claim evaluation unit 15 determines whether or not the read record of tmp information is the last record (OP48). That is, the billing evaluation unit 15 determines whether or not the processing from OP43 to OP47 has been performed for all the records of tmp information.

When the read record of tmp information is not the last record (OP48: No)
The billing evaluation unit 15 reads the next record of tmp information (OP43). The processing from OP43 to OP47 is repeated until the processing is completed for all the records included in the tmp information.

  When the read record of tmp information is the last record (OP48: Yes), the master generation unit 14 reflects the tmp information in the circuit charge definition information (master) (OP49). The evaluation result output unit 16 outputs error information (OP50). For example, the evaluation result output unit 16 may transmit error information to a client terminal used by the user and display the error information on a display, or may output the error information to a file.

  Since the error information includes a record of tmp information that may cause an error and a record of line billing information that may cause an error, the user can refer to the error information to determine the possibility of an error. A record can be identified and confirmed or modified. For example, when the user corrects an error in the billing fee definition information (master), if the item number and the detailed item number indicated in the error information are specified, the bill data inspection device 1 Outputs definition information (master) records. When the record is corrected, the invoice data inspection apparatus 1 reflects the correction contents in the record of the tmp information corresponding to the corresponding record of the charge fee definition information (master), and the charge amount charge definition information (master) Maintains consistency with tmp information.

<< Effects of First Embodiment >>
The bill data inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment generates bill amount definition information (master) (tmp information) from bill data for a line usage contract sent from a communication carrier. As a result, if the administrator or operator of the corporate network inputs the invoice format information and the invoice data to the invoice data inspection device, the invoice data definition information (master) is generated. (1) Billing amount definition information (master) Initial construction work can be automated. In addition, (1) the billing amount definition information (master) initial construction work can reduce the processing load on the administrator or operator of the corporate network such as inputting bill data. In addition, it is possible to prevent an input error of bill data by the user.

  In addition, the bill data inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment performs bill data inspection presented from a communication carrier using bill amount definition information (master) (or tmp information). At this time, the administrator or operator of the corporate network only needs to input the bill data presented from the communication carrier to the bill data inspection device. (3) Line charge inspection in the bill data management business The business can be automated, the convenience of checking the invoice can be improved, and the check error of the invoice data, check omission, etc. can be reduced.

  The invoice data inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment checks the values of “OK counter” and “NG counter” of each record of the tmp information after the inspection of the invoice data is completed. When the value of the “OK counter” is 0 and the value of the “NG counter” is 1 or more, the invoice data inspection device updates the corresponding tmp information record, and thereby the billing amount definition information (master ) Is also updated. This makes it possible to automate a part of (4) billing amount definition information (master) update business of the bill data management business, and reduce the frequency of maintenance of the billing amount definition information (master) by the user. .

In addition, the invoice data inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment records a record of tmp information that may be an error as error information when both the values of “OK counter” and “NG counter” are 1 or more. And a line billing information record is output. As a result, the user who has confirmed the error information can be prompted to confirm the record of the tmp information and the line billing information record that may cause an error, and the error can be easily detected. According to the invoice data inspection device of the embodiment, part of the invoice data management work can be automated, and human error can be reduced. In addition, the operation cost of billing data management work can be reduced.

<Modification>
In the first embodiment, a record in which the values of fields other than “billing amount” match in the tmp information and the line charge billing information and only the value of the field of “billing amount” does not match may cause an error. As output in error information. As a result, according to the bill data inspection process described in the first embodiment, errors such as incorrect description of the bill amount included in the bill data can be detected.

  In the modified example, by adding the value of “line number” to the tmp information, the invoice data inspection apparatus uses the “line number” value of the record of the line charge billing information in the invoice data inspection process. It is also determined whether or not the record matches. Normally, it is unlikely that the values of other fields do not match while the communication carrier and the line number match the record of the line billing information and the record of the tmp information. In the modification, for example, a description error other than the charge amount in the communication carrier invoice data is detected such that the invoice content corresponding to the line number described in the invoice data is different from the actual invoice content of the contract. .

  FIG. 13 shows an example of tmp information in the modification. In the modification, unlike the first embodiment, the “line number” field is included in the tmp information.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of initial construction processing of billing amount definition information (master) in a modification.

The processing from OP61 to OP63 is the same as the processing from OP11 to OP13 in FIG. 11 in the initial construction processing of the billing amount definition information (master) of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  The billing information analysis unit 12 compares the determination record with the tmp information registration record in OP61. The billing information analysis unit 12 includes all the values of “line number” in addition to the determination record, “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” in the tmp information. It is determined whether there is a matching record (OP64).

  In the tmp information registration record group, all the values of “line number” in addition to the record for determination match “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” When there is no record to be performed (OP64: No), it is indicated that the determination record is a new pattern. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the determination record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the determination record.

  Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of the determination record in the tmp information (OP65). Since there is no registration record of tmp information in which the values of judgment record and “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match The value of “item number” is a new value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of “item number” of the record group registered in the tmp information. Further, the value of the “detail item number” acquired at this time is 1.

  Next, the master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item” in the determination record. ”,“ Billing amount ”,“ type 1 ”to“ type n ”, and values of“ type 1 ”to“ type n ”obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP68). ).

  When there is a record in which all the values of “line number” are matched in addition to the determination record and “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” in the tmp information (OP64: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 determines whether or not there is a record in which the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” also match (OP66).

  In addition to the record for determination, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n”, the values of “billing item” and “billing amount” also match. When there is a registration record for tmp information (OP66: Yes), it is indicated that the same billing pattern as that for the determination record is already registered in the tmp information. Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP69.

  Although there is a registration record of tmp information that matches the record for determination and “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n”, If there is no tmp information registration record that matches even the value of “billing amount” (OP66: No), it is indicated that the determination record is a new billing pattern. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the determination record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the determination record.

Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of the determination record in the tmp information (OP67). In OP64, in the tmp information, a record in which the values of “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match is already registered. It has been shown. Therefore, the master generation unit 14 matches the values of “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, and “type 1” to “type n” as “item number” values. The value of “item number” of the registered record group of tmp information to be acquired is acquired. Further, the master generation unit 14 uses the determination record, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “type 1” to “type n” as the value of “detail item number”. A value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of the “detailed item number” of the registered record group of tmp information in which all the values of tmp information match is acquired.

  The master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number” and “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, “line item”, and “ The “billing amount”, “type 1” to “type n”, and the values of “type 1” to “type n” obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP68). Thereafter, the process proceeds to OP69.

  In OP69, similarly to the process in OP19 of FIG. 11, the billing information reading unit 11 determines whether or not one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is the last record of the line charge billing information. (OP69).

  When one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is not the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP69: No), the process returns to OP61, and the billing information reading unit 11 The next record is taken from the billing information.

  If one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the determination record is the last record included in the line charge billing information (OP69: Yes), the billing information reading unit 11 is included in the line charge billing information. The master generation unit 14 is notified of the end of processing of all records. Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 reflects the tmp information in the billing amount definition information (master) (OP70). For example, the master generation unit 14 deletes “item number”, “detailed item number”, and “line number” in the tmp information, and sets “communication carrier”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, All the values of “type 1” to “type n” are aggregated into one record, and the tmp information is reflected in the billing amount definition information (master). The billing fee definition information (master) generated in this way is the same as the billing fee definition information (master) (FIG. 8) described in the first embodiment. The master generation unit 14 stores the generated billing amount definition information (master) and tmp information in the billing amount definition information DB 40.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of invoice data inspection processing and billing amount definition information (master) update processing in the modification.

  Since the processing from OP81 to OP83 is the same as the processing from OP31 to OP33 in FIG. 12A in the bill data inspection processing and billing amount definition information (master) update processing of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  The billing information analysis unit 12 determines whether or not there is a record for which both the values of the “communication carrier” and “line number” match in the inspection record (OP82) in the tmp information registration record group. (OP84).

  If there is no record in the registration record group of tmp information that matches both the “communication carrier” and “line number” values (OP84: No), the test record has a new pattern. It is shown that there is. In this case, the billing information analysis unit 12 determines to register the inspection record in the tmp information, and notifies the master generation unit 14 of the inspection record.

Upon receiving the notification, the master generation unit 14 acquires values of “item number” and “detailed item number” in order to register the billing pattern of the inspection record in the tmp information (OP85). When there is no tmp information registration record in which both the “communication carrier” and “line number” values match, the acquired “item number” value is registered in the tmp information. This is a new value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value of the “item number” of the record group. Further, the value of the “detail item number” acquired at this time is 1.

  Next, the master generation unit 14 acquires the acquired “item number” and “detailed item number”, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item” of the inspection record. ”,“ Billing amount ”,“ type 1 ”to“ type n ”, and values of“ type 1 ”to“ type n ”obtained from the line application information (history) are registered in the tmp information (OP86). ).

  If there is a record in the registration record group of tmp information in which the values of both the “communication carrier” and “line number” match (OP84: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 In addition to “communication carrier” and “line number”, whether or not there is a record in which the values of “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match. Is determined (OP87).

  In addition to the inspection record, “communication carrier”, and “line number”, the “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, and “type 1” to “type” are included in the tmp information registration record group. If there is no record in which all the values of “n” match (OP87: No), the billing information analysis unit 12 registers a line billing information record corresponding to the inspection record in the error information (OP90). Despite the fact that the record for inspection matches the record of tmp information, “communication carrier” and “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “line item” and “type 1” to “type” If some or all of the values of “n” do not match, it is indicated that there is an error in the record of line charge information corresponding to the inspection record. When the values of “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, and “type 1” to “type n” are changed on the communication carrier side, the service itself is changed. A new contract will be made with the carrier. In this case, since the “line number” is also new, the “line type”, “line speed”, “line”, even though the inspection record and the tmp information match “communication carrier” and “line number”. If some or all of the values of “item” and “type 1” to “type n” do not match, it is indicated that there is an error in the invoice data.

  In addition to the inspection record, “communication carrier”, and “line number”, the “line type”, “line speed”, “line item”, and “type 1” to “type” are included in the tmp information registration record group. If there is a record that matches all the values of “n” (OP87: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 further determines whether or not there is a record that also matches the “billing amount” (OP88).

  In addition to the record for inspection, “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, “type 1” to “type n”, the value of “billing amount” also matches. When there is a registration record of tmp information (OP88: Yes), the billing information analysis unit 12 adds 1 to the “OK counter” of the corresponding record of tmp information (OP91). In this case, it is indicated that there is no error in one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the inspection record and the registration record of the corresponding tmp information.

Although the inspection record and “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, and “type 1” to “type n” all match, “billing amount” If there is a registered record of tmp information that does not match the value of (no at OP88), the billing information analysis unit 12 adds 1 to the “NG counter” of the corresponding record of the tmp information (OP89). In this case, there is a possibility of an error in either the “billing amount” value of one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the inspection record or the “billing amount” value of the registration record of the corresponding tmp information. Is shown. The billing information analysis unit 12 registers one record of the line charge billing information corresponding to the inspection record in the error information (OP90).

  After OP86, OP90, OP91, the processing from OP42 to OP50 shown in FIG. 12B is performed.

  As described above, by adding the “line number” field to the tmp information, the “communication carrier”, “line number”, “line type”, “line speed”, “billing item”, When there is an error in part or all of the values of “type 1” to “type n” and “billing amount”, a corresponding line charge billing record is registered in the error information. Therefore, even when an error such as a description mistake other than the charge amount is included in the bill data, the error can be detected, and the accuracy of the bill data inspection process is improved.

<Others>
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which a company that concludes use contracts for a plurality of communication carriers with a plurality of communication carriers manages bill data for the use contract for the line. Without being limited thereto, the invoice data inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment is, for example, a regular contract such as a rental contract for real estate, a contract for a periodic subscription for a magazine, or a contract for a housekeeping service performed continuously, etc. The present invention can also be applied to the inspection of invoice data of contracts in which invoices are issued.

  The bill data inspection device is an example of a bill data inspection support device according to one aspect of the present invention. In addition, the billing fee definition information (master) initial construction processing, bill data inspection processing, and billing amount definition information (master) update processing of the first embodiment may be executed by different devices.

  Regarding the above embodiment, the following additional notes are disclosed.

(Appendix 1)
A first generation unit that generates a record group having a common format including a predetermined field group from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule;
Second generation for generating an invoice master including one or more records to be collated with the inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records having the same contents in the record group into one And
Invoice data inspection support device including
(Appendix 2)
A collation unit that collates the inspection record with one or more records of the invoice master;
And an output unit that outputs the inspection record when the content of the inspection record does not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of the verification by the verification unit. The bill data inspection support device according to claim 1.
(Appendix 3)
If the contents of the inspection record do not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of the collation by the collation section, the output section and the predetermined field The invoice data inspection support device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein a record of the invoice master in which a predetermined one field of the group does not match and a field other than the predetermined one field matches is output.
(Appendix 4)
The record group includes at least an identifier field in which an identifier unique to a billing object of bill data is stored and the predetermined one field,
As a result of the collation by the collation unit, the output unit matches the record for inspection with the value of the identifier field, and at least one of the fields other than the identifier field and the predetermined one field. 4. The invoice data inspection support apparatus according to appendix 3, which outputs the inspection record when there is a record of the invoice master having a different value.
(Appendix 5)
When the content of the inspection record does not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of collation by the collation unit, the second generation unit determines the inspection record as the The invoice data inspection support device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, which is added to the invoice master.
(Appendix 6)
In the case where one or more inspection records exist, the collating unit determines whether or not there is a first inspection record whose contents completely match for each of the one or more records of the invoice master, and the predetermined field. 6. The invoice data inspection support device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein the presence or absence of a second inspection record in which a predetermined one field of the group does not match and a field other than the predetermined one field matches is recorded.
(Appendix 7)
As a result of the collation by the collation unit, the second generation unit obtains the record of the invoice master in which the first inspection record does not exist and the second inspection record exists. The bill data inspection support device according to appendix 6, wherein one field is updated with a value of the predetermined one field of the second inspection record.
(Appendix 8)
The invoice data according to appendix 6 or 7, wherein the output unit outputs a record of the invoice master in which the first inspection record and the second inspection record exist as a result of collation by the output unit. Inspection support device.
(Appendix 9)
The second generation unit acquires additional information including at least one field of each record of the record group, and aggregates a plurality of records in which the contents in the record group completely match the additional information. The bill data inspection support device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the bill master is generated by:
(Appendix 10)
Computer
A record group having a common format including a predetermined group of fields is generated from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule,
Invoice data inspection support for generating an invoice master including one or more records that are collated with an inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records whose contents in the record group completely match to one Method.
(Appendix 11)
A program for inspecting bill data, the computer executing the program,
A record group having a common format including a predetermined group of fields is generated from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule,
Invoice data inspection support for generating an invoice master including one or more records that are collated with an inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records whose contents in the record group completely match to one program.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Invoice data inspection apparatus 11 Claim information reading part 12 Claim information analysis part 13 History reading part 14 Master production | generation part 15 Claim evaluation part 16 Evaluation result output part 17 Claim format information generation part 18 Line charge charge information generation part 20 Line charge charge Information database 30 Line application information database 40 Billing amount definition information database

Claims (10)

A first generation unit that generates a record group having a common format including a predetermined field group from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule;
Second generation for generating an invoice master including one or more records to be collated with the inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records having the same contents in the record group into one And
Invoice data inspection support device including A collation unit that collates the inspection record with one or more records of the invoice master;
An output unit that outputs the inspection record when the content of the inspection record does not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of the verification by the verification unit. The invoice data inspection support device according to Item 1. If the contents of the inspection record do not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of the collation by the collation section, the output section and the predetermined field 3. The bill data inspection support device according to claim 1, wherein a record of the bill master in which a predetermined one field of a group does not match and a field other than the predetermined one field matches is output. The record group includes at least an identifier field in which an identifier unique to a billing object of bill data is stored and the predetermined one field,
As a result of the collation by the collation unit, the output unit matches the record for inspection with the value of the identifier field, and at least one of the fields other than the identifier field and the predetermined one field. 4. The invoice data inspection support apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when there is a record of the invoice master having a different value, the inspection record is output. When the content of the inspection record does not completely match any of the one or more records of the invoice master as a result of collation by the collation unit, the second generation unit determines the inspection record as the The bill data inspection support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is added to a bill master. In the case where one or more inspection records exist, the collating unit determines whether or not there is a first inspection record whose contents completely match for each of the one or more records of the invoice master, and the predetermined field. 6. The invoice data inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein presence / absence of a second inspection record in which a predetermined one field of the group does not match and a field other than the predetermined one matches is recorded. As a result of the collation by the collation unit, the second generation unit obtains the record of the invoice master in which the first inspection record does not exist and the second inspection record exists. 7. The bill data inspection support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein one field is updated with a value of the predetermined one field of the second inspection record. 8. The invoice according to claim 6, wherein the output unit outputs a record of the invoice master in which the first inspection record and the second inspection record exist as a result of the collation by the output unit. Data inspection support device. Computer
A record group having a common format including a predetermined group of fields is generated from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule,
Invoice data inspection support for generating an invoice master including one or more records that are collated with an inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records whose contents in the record group completely match to one Method. A program for inspecting bill data, the computer executing the program,
A record group having a common format including a predetermined group of fields is generated from a plurality of invoice data according to an editing rule,
Invoice data inspection support for generating an invoice master including one or more records that are collated with an inspection record having the common format by aggregating a plurality of records whose contents in the record group completely match to one program.

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