Patent ID: 8332868

Claim:
A method of generating time periods and due dates, the method comprising: providing a period toolset that is accessible by a calling program to perform a plurality of functions, the functions being performed during runtime of the calling program, the period toolset and the calling program being implemented via instructions that are executable by one or more processors and stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the functions including defining, using a period generation module, a plurality of period types based on a period duration selected by the calling program, the period generation module being implemented via instructions that are executable by the one or more processors and stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media; generating, using the period generation module, a first period stream based on one of the period types, wherein the first period stream is based on a beginning date and an ending date selected by the calling program, wherein the first period stream is a group of periods occurring between the beginning date and the ending date of the first period stream; mapping, using a period mapping module, the first period stream to a second period stream based on one or more mapping rules selected by the calling program, wherein mapping the first period stream to the second period stream comprises mapping each period of the first period stream to at least one period of the second period stream, wherein at least one of the one or more mapping rules determines a period of the second period stream to which an overlapping period of the first period stream should be mapped when the overlapping period overlaps two periods of the second period stream, the period mapping module being implemented via instructions that are executable by the one or more processors and stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media; and determining, using a due date generation module, a due date for one or more periods of at least one of the first period stream and the second period stream based on one or more due date rules selected by the calling program, wherein the one or more due date rules are configured to determine a date on which a due date will occur for each period to which the due date rule is applied, the due date generation module being implemented via instructions that are executable by the one or more processors and stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media.