Patent ID: 8145714

Claim:
A method for facilitating communication between parties to transactions, the method comprising: identifying, with one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, a user accessing a database as a first party to a transaction having transaction data stored in the database, the user identified as the first party to the transaction in response to the user accessing a portion of the transaction data stored in the database, wherein the transaction data includes instant messaging contact information for the first party to the transaction and one or more second parties to the transaction, the first party and the one or more second parties being at least one of a buyer or seller in the transaction; determining, with the one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, instant messaging contact information for the first party to the transaction based on the transaction data stored in the database; determining, with the one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, instant messaging contact information for at least one second party to the transaction based on the transaction data stored in the database; generating, with the one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, an invoice information page that directly integrates both invoice data details of the transaction and an instant message chat interface that supports instant message sessions between the first party to the transaction and the at least one second party to the transaction directly within the invoice information page while the first party to the transaction is viewing the invoice data details of the transaction on the invoice information page such that contents of the instant messaging sessions are added to the transaction data stored in the database for the transaction; initiating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, an instant messaging session between the first party to the transaction and the at least one second party to the transaction in response to the first party interacting with the instant message chat interface; and updating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, the transaction data stored in the database with content of the instant messaging session between the first party to the transaction and the at least one second party to the transaction.