Patent ID: 8583495

Claim:
A method for a house to charge a credit card of a customer on a single bill to credit a first credit-card merchant account of a first merchant for a good or service provided by the first merchant and a second credit-card merchant account of a second merchant for a good or service provided by the second merchant, which comprises: providing the house with first credit-card merchant account information of the first merchant account; providing the house with second credit-card merchant account information of the second merchant account; receiving a first invoice from the first merchant for a first good or service provided by the first merchant to be paid by the customer; receiving a second invoice from the second merchant for a second good or service provided by the second merchant to be paid by the customer; forming the bill by summing the first invoice and the second invoice, while storing the first invoice and the second invoice; providing the bill to the client; paying a payment of at least a portion of the bill with at least a first credit card of the customer by providing the house with credit card account information; inputting merchant apportionment information for dividing the payment between the first invoice and the second invoice by the house; calculating by the house, using a processing device, a first-merchant credit-card amount from the payment and the merchant apportionment information; calculating by the house, using the processing device, a second-merchant credit-card amount from the payment and the merchant apportionment information; providing by the house to a processor the credit card account information, the first-merchant credit-card amount, and the first credit-card merchant account information in a first transaction; and providing by the house to the processor the credit card account information, the second-merchant credit-card amount, and the second credit-card merchant account information in a second transaction.