Patent ID: 7478061
Filing Date: 2009-01-13
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of increasing profits for an enterprise by reducing overpayments for products purchased by medium and large companies that process tens of thousands of vendor invoices in a month from a multitude of vendors comprising: storing in memory prices for products and effective dates of such prices including one or more of the following price factors: volume discount, seasonal pricing, price protection, commodity pricing, competition pricing, and cash discount; inputting payment history data, accounts payable data, and invoice data into memory; automatically examining each invoice received from a vendor of the enterprise on a line-by-line item basis to determine a best system price for an item on the line being examined as a lowest price stored in the system that is valid for the appropriate base data of an item and comparing this best system price with an invoice price, the best system price being determined by reviewing the stored payment history data, accounts payable data, invoice data, and related price factors such that the best system price is based on a valid price for a determined base date of the item; and flagging the invoice as containing an exception where the invoice price differs from the best system price.