Abstract:
A method and apparatus for generating a machine-readable invoice is recited. In one embodiment, a method for generating such a machine-readable invoice includes the steps of establishing an invoicing party account including an invoicing party identifier and a financial institution identifier; receiving an invoiced party identifier, the invoiced party identifier associated with an invoiced party; receiving an amount due for the invoice; forming an indication of a computer-readable indicia, the indication of the computer-readable indicia incorporating the invoicing party identifier, the financial institution identifier, the invoiced party identifier, and the amount due for the invoice; and printing the computer-readable indicia corresponding to the indication of the computer-readable indicia on the invoice.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to data management systems and in particular, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methods for managing data to thereby create computer-readable invoices.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Problem and Related Art  
           [0004]    For many individuals such as those without checking accounts, paying bills is often a cumbersome process. Because it is typically not recommended to send cash through the mail, these individuals usually pay their household bills by delivering cash to some sort of stand-alone collection facility. Often these collection facilities are inconveniently located for the billed party, and moreover, these collection facilities result in significantly increased collection costs for the billing/invoicing party. Accordingly, a method and apparatus are needed for allowing individuals to conveniently and securely pay bills with any type of tender—including cash.  
           [0005]    Additionally, it has been recognized that invoicing parties often incur great expense in processing payments sent through the mail. For example, invoicing parties must maintain sizable staffs and facilities to collect, sort and manage incoming payments. Furthermore, invoicing parties lose potential revenue in that they do not have access to the payment funds until they are actually received at the processing facility. That is, the invoicing parties lose the ability to use the payment funds for the three or so days that the payments are in the mail. Accordingly, a method and apparatus are needed that reduce the expense in processing payments and that allow invoicing parties quicker access to payment funds. The present invention addresses these and other problems in an innovative system and method.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    To remedy the deficiencies of existing systems and methods, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for data management and the subsequent creation of computer-readable invoices that can allow for more efficient and convenient bill/invoice processing.  
           [0007]    In one embodiment, for example, the present invention includes the steps of establishing an invoicing party account including an invoicing party identifier and a financial institution identifier, the invoicing party identifier being associated with the invoice and the financial institution identifier being associated with the invoicing party; receiving an invoiced party identifier, the invoiced party identifier associated with an invoiced party; receiving an amount due for the invoice; forming an indication of a computer-readable indicia, the indication of the computer-readable indicia incorporating the invoicing party identifier, the financial institution identifier, the invoiced party identifier, and the amount due for the invoice; and printing the computer-readable indicia corresponding to the indication of the computer-readable indicia on the invoice. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 a  illustrates a point-of-sale system constructed according to the principles of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 b  illustrates a point-of-sale system incorporated into a retail establishment;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 illustrates a bar-coded bill usable by the point-of-sale system of FIG. 1; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 illustrates a bar-coded invoice management system constructed according to the principles of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    Although the present invention is open to various modifications and alternative constructions, a preferred exemplary embodiment that is shown in the drawings is described herein in detail. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. One skilled in the art can recognize that there are numerous modifications, equivalences and alternative constructions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.  
         [0014]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 a  and  1   b , there is illustrated a point-of-sale system  100  constructed according to the principles of the present invention and a point-of-sale system  100  incorporated into a retail establishment  155 . In one embodiment, portions of the point-of-sale system  100  are incorporated into a merchant&#39;s existing bar-code-reading hardware. For example, the point-of-sale system  100  could be incorporated into a retail establishment&#39;s  155  (e.g. a grocery store&#39;s) existing bar code reader system. Thus, a customer could buy groceries and pay bills at the same time. A customer would merely present the bill to the cashier as he would any other consumer item, e.g., grocery item.  
         [0015]    In operation, a bill/invoice with a computer-readable indicia, such as the bar-coded bill  200  illustrated in FIG. 2, is read by the bar code reader  105 , which is driven by the processor  110  and software stored on the memory device  115 . (Together, the bar code reader  105 , the processor  110 , the memory device  115 , and the display  120  form the bar code system  125 .) The bar code system  125  separates the information contained in the bar code on the bar-coded bill into data items such as invoiced-party information, invoicing party information, account information, routing number, invoice number, amount due, etc. The invoiced party paying the bill can be given the option to pay the entire amount due on the bill or to pay only a portion thereof. If the individual chooses to pay only a portion of the total amount of the bill, then that partial amount should be keyed into the bar code system  125 .  
         [0016]    Once all items—including, for example, grocery items—have been entered into the bar code system  125 , the total amount due is calculated and can be displayed on the display  120 . The total amount due reflects not only the amount of the bar-coded bill  200  but also the amount of the other items purchased. The invoiced party can then pay the total amount due by any means accepted by the merchant—including cash, debit or credit card, check, etc. Additionally, the bar code system  125  can generate a transaction record that includes, among other things, the invoicing party information, the amount paid, the date, and a tracking number that can be used to verify payment.  
         [0017]    After the customer has paid the total amount due, the bar code system  125  transfers information relating to the bar-coded bill  200  through the network  130  to an electronic funds transfer (EFT) processor  135 . This transferred information can include an invoicing party identifier, an invoiced party identifier, any information read from the bar code on the bar-coded bill  200 , a time stamp, the amount actually paid on the invoice and other useful information. If required, this information can be assembled to form a standard electronic fund transaction record. moreover, in one embodiment, the transferred information can be encrypted for security reasons.  
         [0018]    Because the EFT processor  135  can receive numerous records daily that relate to the bar-coded bill  200 , the EFT collects all bill payment information for that day (or some other time period) and forms a batch that can be transmitted in bulk through the network  140  to the invoicing party computer  145  or to some intermediary (not illustrated in FIG. 1) that is responsible for handling the invoicing party&#39;s financial matters. If the information is transmitted to the intermediary, the intermediary would then be responsible for organizing the received information and presenting it to the invoicing party in an agreed upon format.  
         [0019]    Furthermore, the merchant&#39;s financial institution  150  is informed of the collections performed on behalf of the invoicing party. The financial institution can be informed directly by the merchant—such as by the bar code system  125 , or alternatively, the financial institution can be informed by the intermediary (not illustrated) or the EFT processor  135 . Once informed that the merchant collected a bar-coded bill for the billing party, the financial institution  150  forwards the appropriate funds to the invoicing party in accordance with accepted banking practices.  
         [0020]    In one embodiment, the merchant retains a copy of at least some of the information relating to the bar-coded bill  200 . The merchant can use this retained information to update customer loyalty accounts. For example, the merchant could give the invoiced party some type of credit for future grocery purchases, make certain specials available to the invoiced party, etc. Furthermore, if the invoiced party is paying by check, that party&#39;s customer loyalty account can be electronically examined to determine whether the check should be accepted, rejected or reviewed by a supervisor.  
         [0021]    Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an invoice management system  300  constructed according to the principles of the present invention. The invoice management system  300  includes an invoicing party computer  305  (which can correspond to the invoicing party computer  145  shown in FIG. 1) connected through a network  310 , such as the Internet, to a management computer  315 . In one embodiment, the invoice management system  300  can be used by the invoicing party to create bar-coded bills such as the one shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0022]    To create bar-coded bills or otherwise manage an account, the invoicing party (through the invoicing party computer  305 ) should initially establish an account with the management computer  315 . To establish such an account, the invoicing party should provide the management computer  315  with bank account information, business address, tax identifiers, etc. Next, the invoicing party should provide the management computer  315  with invoiced party information such as customer address, customer account number, amount owed, itemizations, or any other information to appear on the invoiced party&#39;s invoice. This information can be stored directly at the storage device  320  (associated with the management computer  315 ) for retrieval at a later time, or the information can be stored at the storage device  325  (associated with the invoicing party computer  305 ) and transmitted to the management computer  315  as needed. Alternatively, portions of the information may be distributed between each of the management computer  315  and the invoicing party computer  305 .  
         [0023]    Regardless of which computer the data is stored at, in one embodiment, the management computer  315  has access to all necessary information—either through its own storage device  320  or through the billing party&#39;s storage device  325 . The management computer can use this information to generate the special bar-coded bills  200 . These bar-coded bills  200  can be printed at a printer  330  associated with the management computer  315  or they can be directly e-mailed to the appropriate customers. When the bills are e-mailed, the customers (invoiced party) would be responsible for printing out the bills if necessary. The bill, if printed, could include the special bar code so that the bill could be processed by the point-of-sale system  100  illustrated in FIG. 1. Additionally, the email-received bill could be printed and paid by regular mail or merely paid through an on-line transaction.  
         [0024]    In another embodiment, the management computer  315  would transmit the bar code information back to the invoicing party computer  305 . The invoicing party computer  305  could then associate the bar code information with the individual customers and print out bar-coded bills at the associated printer  330 . The invoicing party then would be responsible for distributing the bills.  
         [0025]    In yet another embodiment, the software responsible for generating the bar-coded bills is available directly at the invoicing party computer  305 . Thus, the invoicing party computer  305  could generate the bar-coded bills without accessing the management computer  315 . In one variation of this embodiment, the invoicing party computer  305  would transfer certain information about any generated bar-coded bills to the management computer  315 . The management computer  315  could use this information for collection purposes, statistical purposes, account management purposes, etc.  
         [0026]    Still referring to FIG. 3, the management computer  315  also can provide account management features. That is, the management computer  315  can act as the intermediary referred to with relation to FIG. 1. For example, the management computer  315  can receive batch information from the EFT processor  135  (shown in FIG. 1) or any other appropriate source. The management computer  315  would then be responsible for processing the received information and providing any reports to the billing party. For example, the management computer  315  could transfer billing reports to the billing party computer  305  through the network  310 .  
         [0027]    Moreover, the management computer  315  could be responsible for arranging the transfer of money from the merchant&#39;s financial institution either to itself for later distribution to the merchant or to the merchant directly. Also, the management computer  315  can calculate service fees based upon the number of bar-coded bills processed or the total amount collected through the point-of-sale system  100  (shown in FIG. 1).  
         [0028]    In conclusion, the various embodiments of the present invention provide a system and apparatus for total bill management. For example, the system allows bar-coded bills to be created and distributed. Furthermore, the system allows for the bar-coded bills to be payed and processed by a convenient point-of-sale system. Accordingly, the present invention can make bill payment easier for those without checking accounts, and it also can make bill collection less costly for the billing party. Therefore, the present invention results in a net gain for consumers in that the consumer will benefit from passed on cost-savings and convenience.  
         [0029]    Those skilled in the art, however, can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made in the invention, its use, and its configuration to achieve substantially the same results as achieved by the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms. Many variations, modifications and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention as expressed in the claims.