Patent ID: 7433878
Filing Date: 2008-10-07
Classification: G06Q,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating the translation of financial transaction files comprising: establishing, via said host computer, sorting criteria which include a date of a financial transaction, name of a financial account holder, and name of a merchant; establishing, via said host computer, filter criteria which identify financial transaction records belonging to a client of a financial services company; establishing, via said host computer, a date range which includes a start date and an end date for retrieving said financial transaction records; establishing, via said host computer, a file format which includes at least one of: comma delimited, space delimited, ASCII, Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN), and eXtensible Markup Language (XML); establishing, via said host computer, accounting codes which are used to categorize said financial transaction records in accordance with accounting systems owned by said client of said financial services company; establishing, via said host computer, financial transaction field properties which include at least one of: field name, description, status, length flag, length, minimum length, maximum length, format mask, justification, pad character, quote, delimiter flag, start position, end position, and counter increment flag; establishing, via said host computer, element properties which include at least one of: query field, static table entry, counter, fixed text, and character function; establishing, via said host computer, an expression, wherein said expression is evaluated during said translation; creating, via said host computer, an interface file including said sorting criteria, said filter criteria, said date range, said file format, said accounting codes, said field properties, said element properties, and said expression; reading, via said host computer, unusable financial transaction data from a first source, wherein said first source is at said financial services company; reading, via said host computer, said sorting criteria, said filter criteria, said date range, said file format, said accounting codes, said field properties, said element properties, and said expression contained in said interface file; retrieving said unusable financial transaction data from said first source based on said sorting criteria, said filtering criteria, and said date range; translating, via said host computer, using only a single translation of said unusable financial transaction data from said first source to create a first financial transaction data copy, wherein said first financial transaction data copy is in a format usable by a second source according to said file format, said accounting codes, said field properties, and said element properties contained in said interface file and, wherein said second source is associated with said client of said financial services company and, wherein said unusable financial transaction data from said first source is usable by said second source after said translating step; executing, via a host computer, said expression, wherein said expression performs a calculation and retrieves a second financial transaction data copy from a third source; formatting, via a host computer, said second financial transaction data copy in accordance with said file format, said accounting codes, said field properties, and said element properties; combining said first financial transaction data copy and said second financial transaction data copy; saving said combined data at said second source; and, saving, onto said host computer, said interface file.