Patent ID: 7865411

Claim:
A computer-implemented accounts payable process comprising: receiving by a computer transaction data including invoice data describing a first invoice, purchase order data, and vendor data; augmenting the transaction data with client-specified information; correcting discrepancies between the client-specified information and the transaction data; matching, by the computer, a first vendor identified by the first invoice to at least one vendor described by the vendor data, wherein the matching comprises applying a set of multi-dimensional criteria to the first vendor, wherein the set of multi-dimensional criteria comprise a portion of the client specified information and define a vendor profile containing information regarding a plurality of vendors, and wherein the matching comprises: performing a preliminary vendor match; and conditioned on the preliminary vendor match being unsuccessful: identifying a set of probable vendor matches based on the set of multi-dimensional criteria; and; simultaneously presenting the set of probable vendor matches selected from the at least one vendor described by the vendor data on a graphical user interface; matching by the computer a first purchase order identified by the first invoice to at least one purchase order identified by the purchase order data, wherein the matching comprises: performing a preliminary purchase order match by applying a second set of multi-dimensional criteria to the first purchase order, wherein the second set of multi-dimensional criteria comprise a portion of the client-specified information; conditioned on the preliminary purchase order match being unsuccessful, identifying a set of probable purchase order matches; and conditioned upon successfully matching the first vendor to at least one vendor described by the vendor data, and upon successfully matching the first purchase order identified by the first invoice to at least one purchase order identified by the purchase order data, transmitting payment of the invoice to the first vendor conditioned upon failing to successfully match at least one of the first vendor to at least one vendor described by the vendor data and the first purchase order identified by the first invoice to at least one purchase order identified by the purchase order data: displaying, by the computer, to an operator an identification of at least one of the probable purchase order matches and an identification of at least one of the probable vendor matches; and receiving, by the computer, from the operator at least one of a manual match of the first vendor to at least one vendor described by the vendor data selected from the probable vendor matches and a manual match of the first purchase order to at least one purchase order selected from the probable purchase order matches.