Patent ID: 7296217

Claim:
An electronic business transaction method for conducting a business transaction over a computer network, comprising: creating on a first computer an electronic business transaction document that is compatible with a business management software program that automatically populates and extracts information from the electronic business transaction document; determining at the first computer whether the second computer to which the electronic business transaction document is to be transmitted has a software program that views the electronic business transaction document, wherein the determination is performed by the first computer; if the first computer determines that the second computer has the software program that views the electronic business transaction document, transmitting from the first computer the electronic business transaction document over the computer network to the second computer; and if the first computer determines that the second computer does not have the software program that views the electronic business transaction document, transmitting from the first computer a viewer application, which does not automatically populate or extract information from the electronic business transaction document, to the second computer with the electronic business transaction document.