Patent ID: 7440909
Filing Date: 2008-10-21
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer implemented actual costing method for collecting and presenting an actual cost of manufacturing an item or performing a service, comprising the steps of: collecting actual costs of performing a job, manufacturing an item and/or purchasing an item, creating a unique cost source identifier data structure for each collected actual cost, each created cost source identifier data structure including a plurality of attribute fields; populating one the plurality of attribute fields of the created cost source identifier data structure with the collected actual cost; storing the populated cost source identifier data structure in a memory of a computer; associating each unique cost source identifier data structure to a step carried out while manufacturing the item or while performing the service; and organizing and storing the cost source identifier data structures within the computer as a hierarchical structure that is modeled on; a structure of the item manufactured or a sequence of operations carried out while performing the service; implementing a selected accounting casting method for actual cost collection and a selected accounting costing method for actual cost presentation by accessing and selectively traversing the hierarchical structure, the selected accounting costing method for actual cost collection being independent of the selected accounting costing method for cost presentation.