U.S. patent application number 11/689958 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-16 for system and method for producing transaction level detail based on a card spend transaction.
This patent application is currently assigned to American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.. Invention is credited to Lawrence Mika, Andy Nicholls, Malinda Pittson.
Application Number | 20070192222 11/689958 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33423743 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070192222 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mika; Lawrence ; et
al. |
August 16, 2007 |
System and Method for Producing Transaction Level Detail Based on a
Card Spend Transaction
Abstract
A system is disclosed for providing charge transaction detail
comprising financial account spend transactions. Through a mapping
of a merchant's item codes with an issuer's item codes, the system
provides clients with a more descriptive report based on any one or
more transaction instruments associated with the financial account.
The charge transaction detail can include anything related to
charge or credit card transactions including hotel reservation
detail, corporate card detail and corporate purchasing card detail.
The transaction detail can be captured from many sources and can
include third party data. The clients can use a web application and
web page to access the account data and create report views of the
information. The system can also includes a create a report
capability, which allows users to add filters and data elements to
an existing report format and create a report specific to their
needs and data.
Inventors: |
Mika; Lawrence; (Wood Dale,
IL) ; Pittson; Malinda; (Plano, TX) ;
Nicholls; Andy; (Kingwood, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES CO., INC.;c/o SNELL & WILMER,
L.L.P.
ONE ARIZONA CENTER
400 E. VAN BUREN STREET
PHOENIX
AZ
85004-2202
US
|
Assignee: |
American Express Travel Related
Services Company, Inc.
New York
NY
|
Family ID: |
33423743 |
Appl. No.: |
11/689958 |
Filed: |
March 22, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10608764 |
Jun 27, 2003 |
|
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11689958 |
Mar 22, 2007 |
|
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60468495 |
May 6, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/35 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/02 20130101;
G06Q 20/10 20130101; G06Q 40/00 20130101; G06Q 40/12 20131203; G06Q
30/0235 20130101; G06Q 30/0238 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/035 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method for providing a user with on-line
financial account data based on folio data, said method including:
receiving, at said host computer, a folio file from an external
source, wherein said folio file comprises folio data items; and,
processing, at said host computer, said folio data items to map one
of said folio data items with an item code, wherein said item code
includes a corresponding item code description.
2. The method of claim 1, further including receiving from a user,
at said host computer, a request for financial account data.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving step includes
receiving said folio file from the multiple sources in disparate
formats.
4. The method of claim 1, further including formatting, at said
host computer, said folio data, wherein said formatting includes
converting a plurality of said folio files from disparate formats
into a single format.
5. The method of claim 1, further including filtering, at said host
computer, said folio data, wherein said filtering includes
analyzing said folio data to identify data errors.
6. The method of claim 1, further including scrubbing, at said host
computer, wherein said scrubbing includes removing a subset of said
folio data that is determined to be private.
7. The method of claim 1, further including conditioning, at said
host computer, wherein said conditioning includes consolidating
said folio data across properties within a hotel chain.
8. The method of claim 1, further including organizing said
financial account data into at least one of a billing statement and
a report.
9. The method of claim 2, further including: receiving from said
user a query associated with said request; invoking said query to
retrieve said financial account data in accordance with parameters
of said query; and, sending said retrieved financial account data
on-line to said user.
10. The method of claim 1, further including issuing reward points
based on at least one of: said folio data items and said item
code.
11. The method of claim 1, further including matching each of said
folio data items to a corresponding spend transaction according to
at least one of card number, transaction date, service
establishment number, and transaction amount.
12. The method of claim 1, further including moving said folio data
items from a first database to a second database when said item
code matches one of said folio data items.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said second database includes
tables for storing at least one of: folio record, folio tax
summary, folio item, and folio payment.
14. The method of claim 1, further including analyzing said folio
data to determine when a change is required to at least one of:
said item code and said item code description.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein said host computer includes
database tables for storing at least one of: said folio file, folio
record, folio tax summary, folio item, and folio payment
16. The method of claim 1, wherein folio data includes at least one
of: descriptors relating to hotel type, number of days in stay at
hotel, room type, services provided by hotel, and applicable
taxes.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein said folio data includes
accounting data comprising at least one of: item sequence number,
item reference number, item code, internal item descriptor, item
category code, item category descriptor, item descriptor, item
amount, item date, taxable amount, and tax exempt indicator.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein said folio data includes
third-party data relating to reference data that is at least one
of: obtained and purchased from a plurality of vendor sources.
19. The method of claim 2, wherein said request includes at least
one of: said item code, said item code description, range of item
codes, range of item code descriptions, merchant identifier, and
market identifier.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing step includes
mapping said one of said folio data items with an item code by
using previously established database records.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing step includes
mapping one of said folio data items with an item code by using
previously established database records in a look-up table.
22. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing step includes
matching by using previously established database records, wherein
said previously established database records were created by.
receiving, at a host computer, a merchant item code from a
merchant, wherein said merchant item code includes an item code
description; retrieving, at said host computer, an item code
corresponding to said merchant, wherein said item code includes an
item code description; mapping, at said host computer, said
merchant item code to said item code to create said database.
23. The method of claim 1, further including conditioning, at said
host computer, said folio data, wherein said conditioning includes
at least one of formatting, filtering, and scrubbing.
24. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving, at said
host computer, an on-line request from said user for financial
account data, wherein said financial account data includes a subset
of said folio data items; conditioning, at said host computer, said
financial account data to create said online financial account data
for transmission to said client computer; and, sending said online
financial account data to said user.
25. A computer implemented method for a user receiving on-line
financial account data based on folio data, said method including:
requesting, by said user, said on-line financial account data based
on said folio data; causing said host computer to obtain a folio
file from an external source, wherein said folio file comprises
folio data items; causing said host computer to process said folio
data items to map one of said folio data items with an item code to
obtain on-line financial account data, wherein said item code
includes a corresponding item code description; and, receiving, by
said user, said on-line financial account data from said host
computer.
26. A computer readable storage medium containing a set of
instructions for a general purpose computer for providing a user
with on-line financial account data based on hotel folio, said
instructions including: receiving, at said host computer, a folio
file from an external source, wherein said folio file comprises
folio data items; and, processing, at said host computer, said
folio data items to map one of said folio data items with an item
code, wherein said item code includes a corresponding item code
description.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims
priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/608,764, filed on
Jun. 27, 2003, which itself claim priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 60/468,495, filed on May 6, 2003, the
entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to providing data to
customers on-line, and more particularly, to a system and method to
enable charge card holders and others with a certain web
application to access charge card detail on-line via a network and
view transaction level detail relating to travel expenses, such as
hotel expenditures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Previous options for clients to view and receive certain
reports (e.g., Management Information Reports) were, for example,
to receive the reports on paper each month, receive the reports as
a data file, or receive data on diskette and/or a CD which was
loaded into PC based applications for viewing and reporting.
However, these delivery mechanisms were slow (in some cases 90-days
after the close of a quarter) and costly. As such, a need existed
for an on-line capability to replace or enhance the distribution
options. However, on-line tools, for example, were not able to be
sufficiently developed because of the complexity of data capture,
conditioning from multiple sources, the excessive volume of
transaction level detail needed to provide the full functionality
required and the lack of technology options to create
solutions.
[0004] Moreover, previous reports and/or transaction card billing
statements provided limited information regarding the nature of the
transaction card spend transaction. This limited information may
include, for example, an amount billed against a transaction card
on a given date for a specific hotel in a specific city. However,
clients were particularly unsatisfied with the amount of hotel
folio data classified in "Other" and "Miscellaneous" categories,
particularly because existing systems were unable to present hotel
folio data at a detailed level. For example, a hotel charge may
appear on a billing statement as a single line item in the amount
of $1,360. However, it was not clear how much of that sum is
attributed to room charges, applicable taxes, hotel restaurant and
room service charges, business services (e.g., faxing, computer
services, photocopying), parking, ground transportation, and the
like. Moreover, while some hotels may employ more descriptive item
codes, others are not so descriptive. As such, a need exists for a
capability to classify hotel folio line item data into
comprehensive and descriptive item types for the hotel spend.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An apparatus and method of the present invention provides
on-line financial account spend data to users. Through item code
mapping, the present invention enables an account issuer to compile
and present hotel spend transactions with descriptive item codes,
specifying previously unknown details regarding general spend
transactions. In response to an on-line request from a client for
hotel folio information, the method and apparatus retrieve data
from multiple sources and conditions the data according to
pre-configured item code to item code mappings to compile the hotel
folio data. The hotel folio data is then provided to the client via
any means known in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals
represent like elements, are incorporated in and constitute a part
of this specification and, together with the description, explain
the advantages and principles of the invention. In the
drawings,
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing
on-line account data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of components of computers and
servers used in the system in accordance with exemplary embodiments
of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method to provide
on-line account data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a web page for submitting an on-line
request for account data in accordance with exemplary embodiments
of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a web page for providing on-line
account data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the
present invention;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a web page for a user to
log into the system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a detailed web page for
submitting an on-line request for account data in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a web page for providing
on-line account data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a combination process flow chart and diagram
showing the application of predefined logic in order to map hotel
folio line items to more descriptive hotel folio line items
accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a combination process flow chart and system
diagram of data processing and data movement for matching folios
with transaction data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of
the present invention; and,
[0017] FIG. 11 is a combination process flow chart and system
diagram of a system and method for processing hotel folio line
items to ensure proper assignment if item codes and item code
descriptions in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Exemplary embodiments include a web application that enables
access to a client's specific account transaction detail for the
purposes of, for example, vendor negotiation and card program
management. The charge transaction detail includes, for example,
travel transaction detail, corporate card detail, loyalty
information detail and corporate purchasing card detail. In one
embodiment, the transaction detail is global in nature (e.g., data
captured from all regional systems) and can include third party
data regarding card, travel and hotel, as well as reference data
which can be purchased from multiple industry vendor sources.
[0019] The term "charge card" is intended to include transaction
cards, credit cards, debit cards, stored value cards, transponders,
and non-card based financial accounts.
[0020] The web application and web page access that clients use to
access the data and create report views of the information can be
implemented with, for example, a third party software package
called MicroStrategy from a company called MicroStrategy. The
product enables clients to manage their corporate program with a
host as the card provider, along with their own travel management
performance and policies. In addition, the product enables the
clients to negotiate purchase opportunities with key vendors
(airlines, hotels etc).
[0021] The system can also include a "create a report capability"
which allows users to add filters and data elements to an existing
report format and create a report specific to their needs and data.
The system includes access for the clients to individual market
level detail, along with LAC, EMEA, and JAPA (Latin
America/Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Japan, Asia,
Pacific, Australia) transaction detail. The system also allows
report generation wherein the reports include LID (line item
detail) data from the clients' Corporate Purchase Card (CPC)
purchases, thereby allowing the user to view specific detailed
transactions from their selected vendors. This feature includes
full hierarchy information and enhanced reporting capabilities. The
system also includes Corporate Purchasing card data in its
warehouse, which allows clients to view their total program with
the host. It also allows clients to combine the data sets and have
a single report generated on both CPC and Card spend. The
functionality and access allows faster delivery of information to
clients which results in, for example, increased client
loyalty.
[0022] In an exemplary embodiment, the web application eliminates
or reduces the need for any `helper` applications on the web
browser, provides a more scalable application and allows clients to
access certain data and create report views of the information.
Removal of the `helper apps` (e.g., Active-X or Java Applets), in
one embodiment, allows greater market penetration since these
applications have been shown in some instances to be security
risks. The invention also eliminates the need for a separate
security log-in function and allows implementation of a single
sign-on capability. As such, clients can log into a single portal
and are automatically logged into applications within the portal
without having to re-authenticate.
[0023] A product implementing an exemplary embodiment is a
combination of function, features, data and support service. More
particularly, in one embodiment, the product is accessed via a web
site which is specifically focused on corporate accounts, the
program administrator and the corporate card member. The database
is a combination of charge card information (transactions) from
every region and country that the host operates as a wholly owned
organization or as a franchise or partnership. The collection,
consolidation, data management and conditioning of that data are
unique in several areas. The database adds and conditions data with
proprietary information relating to the host supplier network. This
allows the clients using the product to view and report on their
corporate spend in key categories (e.g., industries). The data
conditioning process for the database captures and consolidates
multiple data sources from industry providers. There are also
multiple airline data feeds and computerized reservation system
(CRS) data feeds providing additional enriched data such as air
sectors (travel itinerary) fare basis codes, etc. Many of these
data feeds can be purchased by the host on behalf of the client and
the data is integrated with their account data.
[0024] The client can report on this data in multiple views, either
an individual country, a region, or on a global basis. The
reporting functionality is also a combination of unique products
and services. The tool provides a single sign on capability which
allows the client to sign on once at the central web site and then
access multiple services and functions, wherein one of these
functions is the enhanced reporting capability. The client has the
ability to view their spend via a web browser while no software is
required to be loaded on the client PC. The clients have access to
a set of standard reports or have the ability to develop a view of
the data (report) that they request and create on-line. The reports
can be viewed on-line, printed or exported into other software
formats such as Excel at the client site. The charge card
information is provided in, for example, two forms such as billed
and unbilled; and the client can view either through the reporting
tool. Additionally, the client can view their Corporate Purchase
Card data and their Corporate Card charges as separate sets of data
or on a combined report.
Portfolio Web Network
[0025] Practitioners will appreciate that the present invention may
use any combination of proprietary and/or commercially available
hardware and/or software products to carry out the process steps
described herein. However, for explanation and understanding, a
system diagram describing such components is disclosed. This
simplified diagram describes the invention according to one
embodiment where hotel folio data can be retrieved from multiple
data sources, processed (as will be described in greater detail
herein), and delivered to a client via the Internet.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 10 for providing
on-line classified hotel folio data. System 10 provides daily
transaction-level reports, as well as summary-level reports that
are broken out by spend categories. Such reports will strengthen
efforts by travel managers and Corporate Card program managers to
enhance the value of their hotel programs and ensure compliance
with established policies and procedures. Moreover, the reports can
help companies monitor employee compliance with corporate lodging
policies governing use of preferred hotels
[0027] In system 10, a user at a user computer 12 may submit an
on-line request to a server computer 16, via a network 14, for
charge card transaction details. Server computer 16, via a network
14, can access multiple data sources 20, 22, and 24 to obtain the
hotel folio detail for the user. Once it obtains the data, server
computer 16 processes, filters, and scrubs the data, as it often
will be retrieved from multiple disparate sources (including any
combination of internal or external data sources), and format the
data into a report and/or billing statement. As will be discussed
in greater detail herein, the processing of the data includes
retrieving a list of hotel item codes corresponding to the source
and mapping each hotel item code with a defined item code including
a detailed description. Server computer 16 then sends the report to
user computer 12 via network 14 in, for example, a web page or
other format. Networks 14 and 18 can include any wireline or
wireless network for data communication. The communication across
the network may be achieved using web services technology,
including but not limited to Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP),
Web Services Description Language (WSDL), or Universal Description,
Discovery and Integration (UDDI). Three data sources are shown for
illustrative purposes only; embodiments can include more or fewer
data sources depending upon a particular implementation. The data
sources 20, 22, and 24 represent any source of data such as, a
local or remote memory or database, possibly in conjunction with an
associated computer.
[0028] It will be appreciated, that many applications of the
present invention could be formulated. One skilled in the art will
appreciate that the network may include any system for exchanging
data or transacting business, such as the Internet, an intranet, an
extranet, WAN, LAN, satellite communications, and/or the like. It
is noted that the network may be implemented as other types of
networks, such as an interactive television (ITV) network. The
users may interact with the system via any input device such as a
keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personal digital assistant, handheld
computer (e.g., Palm Pilot.RTM.), cellular phone and/or the like.
Similarly, the invention could be used in conjunction with any type
of personal computer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer,
mainframe, or the like running any operating system such as any
version of Windows, Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows
95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, Solaris or the like. Moreover,
although the invention is frequently described herein as being
implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, it will be
readily understood that the invention could also be implemented
using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing
or future protocols. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,
sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over any
network having similar functionality described herein.
[0029] The computing units may be connected with each other via a
data communication network. The network may be a public network and
assumed to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. In the
illustrated implementation, the network may be embodied as the
internet. In this context, the computers may or may not be
connected to the internet at all times. For instance, the customer
computer may employ a modem to occasionally connect to the
internet, whereas the bank computing center might maintain a
permanent connection to the internet. Specific information related
to the protocols, standards, and application software utilized in
connection with the Internet may not be discussed herein. For
further information regarding such details, see, for example, DILIP
NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE,
various authors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING
HTML 4.0 (1997). LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997). All of
these texts are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0030] The systems may be suitably coupled to network via data
links. A variety of conventional communications media and protocols
may be used for data links. Such as, for example, a connection to
an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is
typically used in connection with standard modem communication,
cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or
various wireless communication methods. Merchant system might also
reside within a local area network (LAN) which interfaces to
network via a leased line (T1, D3, etc.). Such communication
methods are well known in the art, and are covered in a variety of
standard texts. See, e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA
COMMUNICATIONS (1996), hereby incorporated by reference.
[0031] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary computer 30
illustrating typical components of the computers and server shown
in FIG. 1 for the system. Computer 30 may include a connection with
a network 46 such as the Internet or communications networks
through any suitable network connection using, for example, TCP/IP
for data transmission. Computer 30 typically includes a memory 32,
a secondary storage device 40, a processor 42, an input device 36
for entering information into computer 30, a display device 38 for
providing a visual display of information, and an output device 44
for outputting information such as in hard copy or audio form.
[0032] Memory 32 may include random access memory (RAM) or similar
types of memory and it may store one or more applications 34 for
execution by processor 42. Applications 34 may include programming
to perform the methods discussed herein.
[0033] Secondary storage device 40 may include any hardware and/or
software for storing data such as, for example, a hard disk drive,
floppy disk drive, CD-ROM drive, or other types of non-volatile
data storage. Processor 42 may execute applications or programs
stored in memory 32 or secondary storage 40, or received from the
Internet or other network 46. Although computer 30 is depicted with
various components, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the
computer may contain different components.
[0034] Computer 30 may include local or remote databases for
storing and retrieving information for processing transactions. Any
databases discussed herein may be any type of database, such as
relational, graphical, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the
like.
[0035] Common database products that may be used to implement the
databases include UDB by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the
database products available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood
Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access or MSSQL by Microsoft Corporation
(Redmond, Wash.), or any other database product. The database may
be organized in any suitable manner, including as data tables or
lookup tables. Association of certain data may be accomplished
through any data association technique known and practiced in the
art. For example, the association may be accomplished either
manually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may
include, for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP,
AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. The association step may be
accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a
"key field" in each of the manufacturer and retailer data tables. A
"key field" partitions the database according to the high-level
class of objects defined by the key field. For example, a certain
class may be designated as a key field in both the first data table
and the second data table, and the two data tables may then be
merged on the basis of the class data in the key field. In this
embodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of the
merged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables
having similar, though not identical, data in the key fields may
also be merged by using AGREP, for example.
[0036] For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking,
application development and other functional aspects of the systems
(and components of the individual operating components of the
systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the
connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are
intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or
physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted
that many alternative or additional functional relationships or
physical connections may be present in a practical electronic
transaction system.
[0037] The system, as shown in FIG. 1, may include a host server or
other computing systems including a processor for processing
digital data, a memory coupled to said processor for storing
digital data, an input digitizer coupled to the processor for
inputting digital data, an application program stored in said
memory and accessible by said processor for directing processing of
digital data by said processor, a display coupled to the processor
and memory for displaying information derived from digital data
processed by said processor and a plurality of databases, said
databases including client data, merchant data, financial
institution data and/or like data that may be used in association
with the present invention. As those skilled in the art may
appreciate, user computer may typically include an operating system
(e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000, Linux, Solaris, etc.) as well as
various conventional support software and drivers typically
associated with computers. User computer may be in a home or
business environment with access to a network. In an exemplary
embodiment, access is through the Internet through a
commercially-available web-browser software package.
[0038] Communication between the parties to the transaction and the
system of the present invention may be accomplished through any
suitable communication means, such as, for example, a telephone
network, Intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point of
sale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk,
etc.), online communications, off-line communications, wireless
communications, transponder communications and/or the like. One
skilled in the art may also appreciate that, for security reasons,
any databases, systems, or components of the present invention may
include any combination of databases or components at a single
location or at multiple locations, wherein each database or system
includes any of various suitable security features, such as
firewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, and/or the
like.
[0039] The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable
website or other Internet-based graphical user interface which is
accessible by users. In one embodiment, the Internet Information
Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, and Microsoft SQL Server, are
used in conjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft
NT web server software, a Microsoft SQL database system, and a
Microsoft Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access
or SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may
be used to provide an ADO-compliant database management system.
[0040] The present invention may be described herein in terms of
functional block components, screen shots, optional selections and
various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such
functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or
software components configured to perform the specified functions.
For example, the present invention may employ various integrated
circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements,
logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a
variety of functions under the control of one or more
microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software
elements of the present invention may be implemented with any
programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL,
assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible
markup language (XML), with the various algorithms being
implemented with any combination of data structures, objects,
processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, it
should be noted that the present invention may employ any number of
conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, data
processing, network control, and the like. Still further, the
invention may be used to detect or prevent security issues with a
client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the
like. For a basic introduction of cryptography and network
security, the following may be helpful references: (1) "Applied
Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C," by
Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition,
1996); (2) "Java Cryptography" by Jonathan Knudson, published by
O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) "Cryptography & Network
Security: Principles & Practice" by William Stalling, published
by Prentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by
reference.
[0041] As may be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art,
the present invention may be embodied as a method, a data
processing system, a device for data processing, and/or a computer
program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the
form of an entirely software embodiment, an entirely hardware
embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of both software and
hardware. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a
computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium
having computer-readable program code means embodied in the storage
medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be
utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices,
magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.
[0042] The present invention is described herein with reference to
screen shots, block diagrams and flow chart illustrations of
methods, apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products
according to various aspects of the invention. It may be understood
that each functional block of the block diagrams and the flow chart
illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block
diagrams and flow chart illustrations, respectively, may be
implemented by computer program instructions. These computer
program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing
apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which
execute on the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in
the flow chart block or blocks.
[0043] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other
programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular
manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable
memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction
means which implement the function specified in the flow chart
block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be
loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on
the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a
computer-implemented process such that the instructions which
execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide
steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow chart
block or blocks.
[0044] Accordingly, fumctional blocks of the block diagrams and
flow chart illustrations support combinations of means for
performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for
performing the specified functions, and program instruction means
for performing the specified functions. It may also be understood
that each functional block of the block diagrams and flow chart
illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in the block
diagrams and flow chart illustrations, may be implemented by either
special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the
specified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of special
purpose hardware and computer instructions.
Hotel Folio Mapping
[0045] Hotel folio mapping, as described herein, has resulted in
about 20% of all folio line items being reclassified according to
this mapping logic. This reclassification is significant, as this
number represents a very large number of transactions that would
not have otherwise been precisely revealed to large corporate
clients. Of this 20%, the amount of hotel folio line items that
were previously classified as "miscellaneous" has been reduced by
about 74%. These hotel folio line items have been successfully
reclassified into more detailed item types. For example, the number
of line items previously classified as "hotel restaurant & bar"
that are reclassified to "room service" line items was up about 70%
with the present invention. Moreover, the number of hotel folio
line items classified as "other taxes" have been reduced by about
21%, which has resulted in the movement of these line items into
detailed tax categories such as, for example, GST tax, PST tax, and
occupancy tax.
[0046] In general, system 1000 uses programming logic to
standardize item code categorization of item details across hotel
chains and remaps items that are misclassified such as, for
example, miscellaneous charges and tax types. The programming logic
maps folio line items to the correct item code and item code
description through, for example, key words/phrases in the
associated merchant's item description. The logic is flexible to
allow for the application of specific requirements relating to
certain transactions, identified for an item code or range of item
codes, for specific merchants, or for a particular market (e.g.,
merchant location). If, for any reason, system 1000 is not able to
map line items to the correct item code, then the line item may be
assigned to a "miscellaneous" category. Practitioner will
appreciate that the system may report such line items to an
administrator in order to attempt to manually assign a correct item
code and/or modify the programming logic in order to correctly
process such, line items in the future.
[0047] With reference to FIG. 9, an example is provided showing how
logic is applied to map a hotel's item description and item code to
a predefined new item code and item code description when
reclassification of a folio item is required. When such logic is
applied, the system is capable of providing a more precise item
code and item code description as will be appreciated from the
example provided by the figure. Practitioners will appreciate that
the following description is very basic and that any number of
variables may be considered according to the defined logic in order
to produce the desired results.
[0048] As system 1000 processes folio data, determination is made
as to whether any of the folio line items include an inaccurate or
vague item code and item code description. When such folio line
items are found, system 1000 processes each to reclassify them to
the proper item code and item code description through mapping. To
map a folio line item to an appropriate predefined item code and
item code description, the system may perform an analysis of the
item code applied to the folio line item by the merchant. Through
such analysis, the system may determine by way of a lookup table,
or any other means known in the art, the appropriate item code and
corresponding item code description to apply to the folio line
item.
[0049] In one embodiment, the system uses predefined logic to
retrieve line items corresponding to the determined logic rules
(step 900). The system may further use the predefined logic to
construct a SQL query to retrieve compliant transaction records
(step 905). In this example, a SQL query may be constructed as
follows:
[0050] SELECT item_desc, item_code, item_code_desc FROM
staging_table
[0051] WHERE item_desc="rm serv" AND item_code="3001" OR
item_code="5008"
[0052] Thus, execution of the above SQL query against a staging
database may return one or more records with an item description of
"rm serv" 915 and an item code of either "2001" or "5008" 920. Note
that the retrieved item code description 925 states that the charge
was for the "hotel restaurant & bar." This description would be
of little use to an accounting department of a corporation when
determining compliance with company policy. For example, a
corporation may issue traveling employees a per diem for meals at a
hotel restaurant. However, because ordering meals by room service
is generally more expensive than dining in a hotel restaurant, the
corporation may not cover such expenses.
[0053] The system applies a new item code and item code description
to any records that are retrieved by the SQL query (step 930).
Therefore, according to this example, the new item code is "3001"
and the new item code description is "room service." With this new
item code description, an organization is now able to precisely
classify the expense into an appropriate category. Moreover, the
new item code is in a format and value that can be used by the
organization's accounting systems to properly chart the expense.
Finally, mapped folio transaction items are stored in a staging
database (step 950) where they may subsequently be matched with
transaction information stored by the card provider (step 955).
[0054] FIG. 10 provides a high level view of the folio data
retrieval and processing steps according to an embodiment of the
present invention. At various intervals, a hotel folio parser 1010
receives folio data from various merchants in the form of folio
data files 1005. Folio parser 1010 filters and scrubs the folio
data before loading it to the folio database 1015. At regular
and/or defined time intervals, the system 1000 queries folio
database 1015 to detect newly added folio data. When new folio data
is detected, system 1000 loads the data into a staging database
(step 1020). If necessary, system 1000 further analyzes folio data
to map property specific item codes and item code descriptions to
more descriptive item codes and item code descriptions (step 1025)
prior to loading the folio data into staging database 1030. For
example, most merchants currently classify all room taxes under a
very general description (e.g., "taxes"). However, most room
charges include taxes at various levels (e.g., Federal, state,
city, etc.). To provide the client with a more descriptive summary
of room charges, system 1000 analyzes the item codes and item code
descriptions and maps each of the taxes to more descriptive item
codes and item code descriptions.
[0055] System 1000 further retrieves data from staging database and
uses a matching algorithm to match folio data with individual
financial transactions stored by the card provider (step 1035). As
matches are identified, the matched folio data is moved into
matched items database 1040 while matched folios are deleted from
the staging database 1030. Practitioners will appreciate that the
disclosed data flow and physical database structures may be
supplemented with any number of databases, database tables, and
configurations without departing from the scope of the
invention.
[0056] With reference to FIG. 11, and according to an exemplary
embodiment, the invention enables hotel folio data (folio data)
capture and matching to a client's specific account transaction
detail for the purposes of, for example, more efficient client
accounting, spend analysis, policy enforcement, vendor negotiation,
and card program management. The folio data is received in a
specific file format from the merchants/hotels (step 1102), which
is, in one embodiment, separate from the financial capture data. As
used herein, the merchants may include a specific hotel property, a
hotel chain, or any grouping or subset of hotels. As folio data is
received, in one embodiment, it is consolidated across properties
within a hotel chain and subjected to a series of processing (step
1104), filtering (step 1106), and scrubbing (step 1108) steps to
ensure that there are no errors within the data file. Processing,
filtering, and scrubbing further serves to standardize folio data
across merchants, and to scrub for any data due to personal privacy
concerns. Scrubbed folio data is stored in a folio database, which
is an initial point of capture (step 1110). Practitioners will
appreciate that the folio database may include any number of tables
for storing folio data within various defined categories. Moreover,
the invention contemplates the use of any number of databases,
files, formats, and configurations for storing folio data retrieved
from merchants.
[0057] In one embodiment, hotel folio data includes information
used by the system to process the folio data such that, when
required, hotel folio items may be mapped to accurate and/or more
descriptive folio items. This information includes, for example,
descriptors relating to the hotel type, number of days in stay,
room type, various services provided by the hotel, various
applicable taxes, and the like. Folio data may further include
information that can be used by accounting systems to properly
record folio data within the appropriate systems of an enterprise.
Such data may include, for example, a reference number, item codes,
item amount, as well as any other information useful in ensuring
compliance with an organization's accounting systems and
policies.
[0058] According to one embodiment, folio data from various
merchants may be captured throughout a defined time period. At a
predetermined time, data captured during the previous time period
is moved to a staging database (step 1112). However, if it is
determined that one or more folio line items does not include an
accurate item code and item code description (step 1112), then the
system maps the one or more items (step 1114) as described in
reference to FIG. 9. Folio line items that have been mapped along
with folio line items not requiring mapping are moved to a staging
database (step 1116).
[0059] The system processes data in the staging database to attempt
to match each hotel folio data record against an original charge
transmission. The system 1000 establishes matches by analyzing, for
example, the card number and transaction information (step 1118).
The process may continue to attempt to match the folio data to an
original charge transmission for a pre-determined amount of time.
If the folio data is matched, then the matching transaction
identifiers are captured and the data is loaded to a matched items
database for client reporting (step 1120).
[0060] In one embodiment, the system 1000 facilitates the
collection of transactional data from various sources,
conditioning, and combining the information into a meaningful
report and/or billing statement, and issuing the report/statement
to a corporate client through an online interface. In addition to
reporting spends, the system reports on information from various
other sources such as a hotel. Because spend transactions (card
side) are matched up and reported with vendor information (supplier
side); a user is able to determine the volume of spend based on
some very specific parameters. For example, a user could use the
system to determine how much spend resulted from cancellation fees
for rooms that were reserved in New York City over a given period
of time. The system architecture collects this data from many
different sources and in many different forms, conditions the data
so that it is all in the same format, and matches hotel folios with
specific spend transactions.
[0061] Practitioners will appreciate that the system may capture
folio data by any means known in the art including, for example,
real-time and batch mode. According to one embodiment, each hotel
property is responsible for transmitting the folio data file to the
system at regular time periods, defined time periods, upon the
occurrence of an event, after a certain number of transactions
and/or the like.
[0062] In an exemplary embodiment, the hotel folio data is global
in nature (e.g. data captured from all regional systems) and can
include third party data regarding both card and reservation, as
well as reference data which can be purchased from multiple
industry vendor sources. The web application and webpage access
that clients use to access the data and create report views of the
information is, for example, a third party software package. The
product enables clients to manage their corporate program with a
host as the card provider, along with their own travel management
performance and policies. In addition, the product enables the
clients to negotiate purchase opportunities with key vendors
(airlines, hotels etc).
[0063] According to one embodiment, the system may calculate and
issue reward or loyalty points based on the processing steps
described above. In performing an analysis of a merchant's item
codes, the system may determine, for example, that the cardholder's
spend on meals fell bellow the allowed per diem, and issue a number
of reward points to the card holder based on the summed savings.
Such points may be applied to a card holder account according to
rules defined by the master account holder (e.g., corporation). For
example, in order to encourage employees to stay in economy hotels,
a corporation may award a number of reward points to the card
holder for personal use. The transaction card issuer, the hotel, or
any other merchant may also award loyalty points to the customer,
employer, hotel or any other entity or person.
Portfolio Reporting
[0064] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 50 to provide
on-line account data, which may include card data. Method 50 may be
implemented in, for example, software modules for execution by user
computer 12 and server computer 16. Although the steps of method 50
are shown in a particular order, they may alternatively be executed
in other orders and more steps may be added or steps removed, if
necessary or desired.
[0065] In method 50, server computer 16 receives a request from a
user at user computer 12 for account data (step 52). The "account
data" can include any data related to transactions involving credit
cards, charge cards, or other financial cards. In one embodiment,
account data may include, for example, hotel folio data. User
computer 12 may include, for example, a software application to
help facilitate the user's communication with server computer 16.
The request may be received from a user or other person, for
example, at the requesting entity. As used herein, the term "end
user", "consumer", "customer", "supplier", "cardmember", "business"
or "merchant" may be used interchangeably with each other, and each
shall mean any person, entity, machine, hardware, software or
business. The card issuing institutions may include credit card
companies, card sponsoring companies, or third party issuers under
contract with financial institutions. It is further noted that
other participants may be involved in some phases of the
transaction, such as an intermediary settlement institution, but
these participants are not shown.
[0066] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exemplary screen 70 for a user to
enter a request for account data and submit it to server computer
16. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate examples of more detailed screens for
a user to log into the system and submit an on-line request for
account data.
[0067] Screen 70 can be implemented in, for example, a web page for
network transmission. The term "web page" as it is used herein is
not meant to limit the type of documents and applications that
might be used to interact with the user. For example, a typical
website might include, in addition to standard HTML documents,
various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, active server pages (ASP),
common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensible markup language
(XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), helper
applications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a
webservice which receives a request from a browser which includes a
URL and an IP address (e.g., 127.0.0.1). The webservice retrieves
the appropriate web pages and sends the web pages to the IP
address.
[0068] In screen 70, a user can enter a user name or other
identifier in a section 72 and a password in a section 74. A
section 76 allows a user to enter a particular query, which can
include a request for account data within certain parameters,
examples of which are provided above. The user can select a section
78 to submit the request or select a section 80. to cancel the
request.
[0069] The request may optionally include an account number. An
"account number", as used herein, may include any device, code,
number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip, digital
signal, analog signal, biometric or other identifier/indicia
suitably configured to allow the consumer to interact or
communicate with the system, such as, for example,
authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),
Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like which is
optionally located on a rewards card, charge card, credit card,
debit card, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic
stripe card, bar code card, transponder, radio frequency card
and/or the like. The account number may be distributed and stored
in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency,
wireless, audio and/or optical device capable of transmitting or
downloading data from itself to a second device. A customer account
number may be, for example, a sixteen-digit credit card number,
although each credit provider has its own numbering system, such as
the fifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express. Each
company's credit card numbers comply with that company's
standardized format such that the company using a sixteen-digit
format may generally use four spaced sets of numbers, as
represented by the number "0000 0000 0000 0000". The first five to
seven digits are reserved for processing purposes and identify the
issuing bank, card type and etc. In this example, the last
sixteenth digit is used as a sum check for the sixteen-digit
number. The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquely
identify the customer.
[0070] After receiving the request, server computer 16 polls or
otherwise contacts data sources 20, 22, and 24 to obtain the
account data for the user's request (step 54). Server computer 16
conditions the data and can store it (step 56). Server computer 16
can use, for example, metadata in order to determine how to locate
and retrieve the account data. In particular, a relationship can be
defined between the query (request) attributes and metrics, and
target data sources to assure the integrity of the account data
report returned to the user.
[0071] Server computer 16 also determines if the user's request
includes a query, as represented in section 76 of screen 70 (step
58). If the request does not include a query, server computer 16
can format the conditioned data into a standard or default report
(step 60). If the request included a query (step 58), server
computer 16 processes the query to extract the relevant data
satisfying the query parameters (step 62). A query, as submitted by
a user, can include a request for account data satisfying certain
parameters. Processing the query can include parsing the natural
language submitted query to generate search parameters. Those
parameters can be used to obtain the relevant data using, for
example, the metadata. Server computer 16 can format the extracted
data into a custom report (step 64). Once the report is compiled
and formatted, server computer 16 can send the standard or custom
report to user computer 12 via network 14 (step 66).
[0072] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary screen 82 for providing
on-line account data. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a more
detailed screen for providing on-line account data. Screen 82 can
be implemented, for example, in a web page for network
transmission. Screen 82 can include a section 84 for providing the
report details and can optionally include a section 86 to repeat
the user's query, if one was submitted.
[0073] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have
been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. However,
the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s)
that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or
become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical,
required, or essential features or elements of any or all the
claims or the invention. As used herein, the terms "comprises",
"comprising", or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover
a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or
apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only
those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed
or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
Further, no element described herein is required for the practice
of the invention unless expressly described as "essential" or
"critical".
[0074] The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the
invention herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings and
pictures, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of
illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments
are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the
art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other
embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes
may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for
purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example,
the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may
be executed in any order and are not limited to the order
presented.
* * * * *