WO2006092004A1 - Invoice management process - Google Patents
Invoice management process Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2006092004A1 WO2006092004A1 PCT/AU2006/000255 AU2006000255W WO2006092004A1 WO 2006092004 A1 WO2006092004 A1 WO 2006092004A1 AU 2006000255 W AU2006000255 W AU 2006000255W WO 2006092004 A1 WO2006092004 A1 WO 2006092004A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- purchaser
- credit
- amount
- payment
- extended
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/04—Billing or invoicing
Definitions
- the present invention broadly relates to a method for managing payment for the supply of goods or services, and a method for managing the supply and provision of credit to purchasers.
- a significant cost to many businesses which supply goods and services is debtor management.
- businesses provide goods and services and invoice the recipient of those goods and services for payment.
- invoices are rendered periodically to recipients of the utility services.
- Significant costs are incurred in processing unpaid invoices, re-issuing and tracking reminders, chasing debtors and sometimes halting and recommencing the supply of goods and services.
- a method for managing payment for the supply of goods or services to a purchaser by a supplier comprising the steps of: maintaining a credit arrangement with the purchaser for enabling credit to be extended to the purchaser; receiving a record including invoice details of the payment to be made for the supply of the goods or services to the purchaser; paying at least part of any outstanding amount indicated in the record on behalf of the purchaser before any time indicated in the record as the last day for payment, thereby increasing the credit extended to the purchaser by the amount paid.
- the step of paying at least part of any outstanding amount may involve paying the amount one (1) or more days before any time indicated in the record as the last day for payment. Preferably this step involves paying the amount one (1) day before any time indicated in the record as the last day for payment. Payment may also be made within 7 days of receiving the record. It is most preferred if the step of paying at least part of any outstanding amount involves automatically paying the amount upon receipt of the record.
- the step of maintaining a credit arrangement with the purchaser preferably involves assigning a credit limit to the purchaser. Where a credit limit is assigned to the purchaser, preferably the step of paying at least part of any outstanding amount occurs automatically only if increasing the credit extended to the purchaser by the amount paid will not cause the credit extended to the consumer to exceed the credit limit assigned to the purchaser.
- the purchaser is notified of the payment made on behalf of the purchaser.
- This notification may also involve notifying the purchaser of all of the payments made on behalf of the purchaser within a preceding time period.
- the purchaser is also notified of the total amount of credit extended to the purchaser.
- the step of notifying the purchaser of the payment preferably involves requesting payment of at least part of the total amount of credit extended to the purchaser.
- an estimate is made of the amount to be paid of the next record from previously received records. It is also preferable if an estimate is made of the credit that will be extended to the purchaser after increasing the credit extended to the purchaser by the estimated amount to be paid of the next record.
- the purchaser is contacted if the estimated credit that will be extended to the purchaser is greater than a predetermined amount.
- the predetermined amount is preferably the credit limit assigned to the purchaser.
- the purchaser may be contacted by letter, telephone, electronic mail, short messaging service or other electronic alert.
- a method for managing the provision of credit to a purchaser for the payment of a record including invoice details issued by a supplier of goods or services provided to the purchaser comprising the steps of: maintaining a credit arrangement with the purchaser for enabling credit to be extended to the purchaser, the credit arrangement including a credit limit assigned to the purchaser; estimating the amount to be paid of the next record from previously received records; estimating the credit that will be extended to the purchaser if the credit extended to the purchaser is increased by the estimated amount to be paid of the next record; and contacting the purchaser if the estimated credit that will be extended to the purchaser is greater than a predetermined percentage of the credit limit assigned to the consumer.
- the purchaser is contacted if the estimated credit exceeds the assigned credit limit.
- the consumer may be contacted by letter, telephone, electronic mail, short messaging service, or other electronic alert.
- Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a method for managing payment for the supply of goods or services according to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention.
- Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a method for managing the supply of credit to a purchaser according to an embodiment of a second aspect of the invention.
- an intermediary enters into arrangements with suppliers of goods or services and purchasers of those good or services.
- the intermediary enters into arrangements with suppliers of goods or services, for example utility service providers, whereby the suppliers send a record to the intermediary indicating details of a payment to be made for the supply of the goods or services to the purchaser or consumer.
- the record in this embodiment includes an extract of corresponding invoice details sent from the supplier to the purchaser or consumer.
- the invoice details include a last day for payment of the invoice by the purchaser or consumer. Subject to the purchaser not exceeding a credit limit with the intermediary, the intermediary pays the supplier at least a part of the amount stated in the invoice before the last day for payment, thereby increasing the credit provided by the intermediary to the purchaser by the amount paid.
- suppliers of goods or services are utility providers, providers of goods or services can be any supplier, for example a supplier of telecommunications services, local council services, education, healthcare services, pay TV, insurance etc.
- a supplier or utility company will issue their invoice to a purchaser or consumer for goods and services supplied to the purchaser, or consumer.
- the supplier also provides to the intermediary the record indicating details of the payment to be made for the supply of goods and services to the purchaser.
- the record may be in the form of a paper invoice, but is preferably an electronic record provided as part of a data feed from the supplier to the intermediary.
- the intermediary Upon receipt of the record, the intermediary checks to see whether payment of any part of any outstanding amount indicated in the record on behalf of the purchaser to whom the goods or services were supplied, thereby increasing the credit extended to the purchaser by the amount paid, will cause the credit extended to the purchaser to exceed a credit limit assigned to the purchaser. If the credit limit will not be exceeded, the intermediary automatically pays at least part of any outstanding amount indicated in the record on behalf of the purchaser and increases the credit extended to the purchaser by the amount paid.
- the process of checking the credit limit and paying at least part of an amount indicated in the record takes place automatically and shortly, typically less than 7 days, after the intermediary receives the record.
- payment by the intermediary to the supplier is effected before a time indicated in the purchaser's invoice as the last day for payment , preferably one (1) day before the last day for payment. It is preferable that the full amount indicated as outstanding in the record is paid by the intermediary. This has the advantage of providing the supplier with certainty of payment, and generally accelerated payments, reducing the supplier's outstanding debtors and debt collection costs.
- the intermediary enters into the credit arrangement with the purchaser or consumer, extending credit to the purchaser on specified terms and conditions.
- the line of credit provided to the purchaser is, in the preferred embodiment, for a specific purpose, that is the payment for utility goods or services from utility companies (water, gas, electricity providers etc.), although it may of course be provided for the supply of other goods or services.
- the purchaser or consumer may repay the intermediary via their bank account which is directly linked to the purchaser's account with the intermediary.
- the purchaser can nominate to pay a minimum amount payable under the credit facility, the full balance of their account, or any amount between those amounts.
- the purchaser may set up an automatic payment instruction with the intermediary.
- the intermediary periodically sends a statement to the purchaser notifying the purchaser or consumer of payments made on behalf of the purchaser since the previous statement or within a preceding time period.
- the statement also indicates the total amount of credit extended to the purchaser, and requests the purchaser to repay to the intermediary at least a proportion of that credit.
- the following activity and purchaser statements are examples of statements which the intermediary provides to the purchaser.
- the supplier such as an insurance company
- the customer may elect to make periodic payment which the intermediary makes on their behalf.
- the intermediary may effect monthly payment to the supplier on behalf of the customer who may repay a portion of their credit by utilising a monthly direct debit facility.
- the second aspect of the invention can be used in conjunction with the first aspect, and relates to managing the credit account with the purchaser or consumer.
- the steps in this embodiment of the process are illustrated in figure 2. It should be appreciated that this second aspect of managing the provision of credit need not be dependent on the preceding first aspect of managing payment for the supply of goods or services.
- the intermediary From the purchaser's billing history (or spending history), the intermediary estimates the outstanding amount that will be indicated in future records to be sent from the supplier to the intermediary. If payment by the intermediary of the estimated outstanding amount on behalf of the purchaser or consumer (thereby increasing the credit extended to the purchaser by the amount paid) will cause the credit extended to the purchaser to exceed the credit limit assigned to the purchaser, the intermediary contacts the purchaser to inform the purchaser that it may not be able to make any further payments for goods or services on behalf of the purchaser. The intermediary invites the purchaser to make a payment to it to reduce the amount of credit extended to the purchaser (thereby enabling the intermediary to pay the amounts indicated in records it receives from suppliers in the future).
- the intermediary may agree to increase the credit limit assigned to the purchaser so as to meet the increase in supplier billings.
- the purchaser may also be contacted if payment by the intermediary will exceed a predetermined amount being the maximum exposure limit for purchasers with whom the intermediary has a credit arrangement.
- This predetermined amount is generally a percentage of the assigned credit limit, such as 80 to 90%.
- the purchaser or consumer may be contacted by any means including by letter or electronic alert.
- the purchaser is contacted by rapid means such as telephone, email or Short Messaging Service (SMS).
- SMS Short Messaging Service
- the supplier such as the utility company will receive certain and accelerated payment from the intermediary on behalf of the purchaser improving cash flow for the supplier;
- the supplier has reduced collection costs as a result of the intermediary providing certainty of payment of their record
- the intermediary proactively manages the supply of credit to their customer by forecasting expenditure based on historical spending.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA002599972A CA2599972A1 (en) | 2005-03-04 | 2006-02-28 | Invoice management process |
AU2006220225A AU2006220225A1 (en) | 2005-03-04 | 2006-02-28 | Invoice management process |
AU2006100388A AU2006100388A4 (en) | 2005-03-04 | 2006-05-10 | Invoice management process |
GB0719154A GB2439499A (en) | 2005-03-04 | 2007-10-01 | Invoice management process |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2005901049 | 2005-03-04 | ||
AU2005901049A AU2005901049A0 (en) | 2005-03-04 | Invoice management process |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2006092004A1 true WO2006092004A1 (en) | 2006-09-08 |
Family
ID=36940772
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/AU2006/000255 WO2006092004A1 (en) | 2005-03-04 | 2006-02-28 | Invoice management process |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU2006220225A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2599972A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2439499A (en) |
SG (1) | SG144926A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2006092004A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8229807B2 (en) | 2007-08-12 | 2012-07-24 | Elbizri Samer | System and method of offsetting invoice obligations |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5483445A (en) * | 1992-10-22 | 1996-01-09 | American Express Trs | Automated billing consolidation system and method |
US5699528A (en) * | 1995-10-31 | 1997-12-16 | Mastercard International, Inc. | System and method for bill delivery and payment over a communications network |
US5956700A (en) * | 1994-06-03 | 1999-09-21 | Midwest Payment Systems | System and method for paying bills and other obligations including selective payor and payee controls |
-
2006
- 2006-02-28 AU AU2006220225A patent/AU2006220225A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2006-02-28 CA CA002599972A patent/CA2599972A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2006-02-28 SG SG200805219-3A patent/SG144926A1/en unknown
- 2006-02-28 WO PCT/AU2006/000255 patent/WO2006092004A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
-
2007
- 2007-10-01 GB GB0719154A patent/GB2439499A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5483445A (en) * | 1992-10-22 | 1996-01-09 | American Express Trs | Automated billing consolidation system and method |
US5956700A (en) * | 1994-06-03 | 1999-09-21 | Midwest Payment Systems | System and method for paying bills and other obligations including selective payor and payee controls |
US5699528A (en) * | 1995-10-31 | 1997-12-16 | Mastercard International, Inc. | System and method for bill delivery and payment over a communications network |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8229807B2 (en) | 2007-08-12 | 2012-07-24 | Elbizri Samer | System and method of offsetting invoice obligations |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2006220225A1 (en) | 2006-09-08 |
GB2439499A (en) | 2007-12-27 |
CA2599972A1 (en) | 2006-09-08 |
SG144926A1 (en) | 2008-08-28 |
GB0719154D0 (en) | 2007-11-07 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20200364781A1 (en) | System and method for providing time to cure negative balances in financial accounts while encouraging rapid curing of those balances to a positive net position | |
US8380591B1 (en) | System and method for providing warning and protection for bill payments | |
US8442917B1 (en) | Energy distribution and marketing backoffice system and method | |
US20070288373A1 (en) | Transaction alert messages associated with financial transactions | |
WO2008009052A1 (en) | System and method of organising and operating an electronic account | |
US10650359B2 (en) | Energy distribution and marketing backoffice system and method | |
US20040148200A1 (en) | Method for offering insurance protection for a consumer item as an inducement for opening a credit card account | |
AU2006100388B4 (en) | Invoice management process | |
WO2006092004A1 (en) | Invoice management process | |
AU2006100389A4 (en) | Invoice management process | |
Energy | for your business | |
US20130311384A1 (en) | Lease deposit exemption policy | |
JP7341535B1 (en) | Data processing device, data processing method and program | |
KR102019067B1 (en) | Method managing roan guarantee and server performing the same | |
CN114943609A (en) | Risk monitoring and early warning method and device and electronic equipment | |
JP2004178458A (en) | Collection agency/recovery guarantee system | |
Berhad | Product Disclosure Sheet | |
Cooperative | Integrated Resource Plan | |
US11610275B1 (en) | System and methods for customer relationship management for an energy provider | |
CN116629873A (en) | Transaction risk assessment method, device, equipment and storage medium | |
CN115018605A (en) | Withholding payment method and system for non-resident enterprise deposit interest tax | |
JP2021047559A (en) | Temporary payment system, temporary payment method, temporary payment program, and storage medium | |
JP2008204473A (en) | Card adjustment system | |
KR20070053686A (en) | Payment server for processing complex payment of check card and credit card | |
JP2002207933A (en) | Charge collection system |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
DPE2 | Request for preliminary examination filed before expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed from 20040101) | ||
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2599972 Country of ref document: CA |
|
NENP | Non-entry into the national phase |
Ref country code: DE |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 561586 Country of ref document: NZ Ref document number: 2006220225 Country of ref document: AU |
|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 0719154 Country of ref document: GB Kind code of ref document: A Free format text: PCT FILING DATE = 20060228 |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 0719154.7 Country of ref document: GB |
|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 2006220225 Country of ref document: AU Date of ref document: 20060228 Kind code of ref document: A |
|
NENP | Non-entry into the national phase |
Ref country code: RU |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 2006220225 Country of ref document: AU |
|
WWW | Wipo information: withdrawn in national office |
Ref document number: RU |
|
121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application |
Ref document number: 06704930 Country of ref document: EP Kind code of ref document: A1 |
|
122 | Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase |
Ref document number: 06704930 Country of ref document: EP Kind code of ref document: A1 |
|
WWW | Wipo information: withdrawn in national office |
Ref document number: 6704930 Country of ref document: EP |