Patent Document ID: 8392298
Application ID: 10688094

Base Claim:
1. A method comprising: receiving invoice adjustment information in a first application-specific data object format from a first processing system of a plurality of processing systems, wherein each processing system of the plurality of processing systems comprises an application, the invoice adjustment information is received at a communications transport layer, and the invoice adjustment information comprises an identification data element, an invoice adjustment base data element, a billing data element, a status data element, and a list of invoice adjustment line item details data element; receiving, at the communications transport layer, configuration information relating to the processing systems, wherein the configuration information is received via a communications protocol adapter; and translating the invoice adjustment information into a common invoice adjustment data object format, wherein the translating is performed by a processor, and the translating comprises: accessing a first storing unit configured to store transformation information, wherein the first storing unit is coupled to the processor, accessing a second storing unit, wherein the second storing unit stores at least one business process, and the second storing unit is coupled to the processor, executing the at least one business process in response to a predefined event, and the common invoice adjustment data object format comprises at least one relationship data element, wherein the relationship data element specifies at least one relationship between a plurality of entities, the relationship data element comprises a plurality of elements, a first element of the plurality of elements corresponds to a first entity of the plurality of entities, a second element of the plurality of elements corresponds to a second entity of the plurality of entities, and at least one custom data element, wherein the custom data element facilitates customization of the common invoice adjustment data object format.

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Claim 2:
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: inter-exchanging invoice adjustment information in the common invoice adjustment data object format between two or more of the plurality of processing systems.