Global travel reporting system and method

• US 20030040987A1
• Filed: 03/16/2001
• Published: 02/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Inventors: Hudson, K. Dean, Polonus, Gail E.
• Application Number:
  US09/811,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20030040987A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A global travel reporting system and method is disclosed, which includes at least one traveler client system in communication with a central database server system, a mainframe gateway server system in communication with a mainframe system and the central database server system, a corporate charge card provider in communication with the mainframe system to provide traveler charge card transaction data, a corporate banking provider in communication with the mainframe system for receiving payment direction, and the central database server system provides general ledger transaction processing, reimbursement processing, and payment processing and directs payment from the corporate bank provider to the corporate charge card provider.

Claims

1. A global travel reporting system, comprising:

at least one traveler client system in communication with a central database server system;

a mainframe gateway server system in communication with a mainframe system and said central database server system;

a corporate charge card provider in communication with said mainframe system to provide traveler charge card transaction data;

a corporate banking provider in communication with said mainframe system for receiving payment direction and said central database server system provides general ledger transaction processing, reimbursement processing, and payment processing and directs payment from said corporate bank provider to said corporate charge card provider.

2. The global travel reporting system of claim 1, wherein said traveler client system downloads said traveler charge card transaction data from said central database server system to create an expense book.

3. The global travel reporting system of claim 2, wherein said expense book is created without a hypothecation of foreign exchange rates.

4. The global travel reporting system of claim 2, wherein a connection to said mainframe system via said central database server system and said mainframe gateway server system by said traveler client system provides submission of said expense book with an automatic review and editing of information entered into said expense book.

5. The global travel reporting system of claim 2, wherein said traveler client system submits said expense book to said central database server system for processing.

6. The global travel reporting system of claim 1, wherein said central database server system provides said payment direction to payroll and reimburses travelers'"'"' bank account for said traveler'"'"'s out-of-pocket expenses via said reimbursement processing and pays said corporate charge card provider for said traveler charge card transactions via said payment processing.

7. The global travel reporting system of claim 1, wherein said corporate charge card provider further provides valid cardholder information via said dedicated connection.

8. The global travel reporting system of claim 1, further comprising a corporate mailhub server system including at least one copy of a corporate email directory in communication with said central database server system.

9. The global travel reporting system of claim 8, wherein said corporate email directory is utilized by said central database server system to automatically send notifications regarding expense book incompleteness, approval, and rejection.

10. A method for global travel reporting, comprising:

communicating with a central database server system from at least one traveler client system, said central database server system in communication with a mainframe gateway server system, said mainframe gateway server system in communication with a mainframe system;

providing traveler charge card transaction data to said mainframe system in communication with a corporate charge card provider;

providing general ledger processing, reimbursement processing, and payment processing by said central database server system; and

providing payment direction from said corporate banking provider to said corporate charge card provider by said central database server system.

11. The global travel reporting method of claim 10, further comprising downloading said traveler charge card transaction data from said central database server system into said traveler client system to create an expense book.

12. The global travel reporting method of claim 11, further comprising creating said expense book without a hypothecation of foreign exchange rates.

13. The global travel reporting method of claim 11, further comprising reviewing and automatically editing information entered into said expense book through connection to said mainframe system via said central database server system and said mainframe gateway server system by said traveler client system for submission of said expense book.

14. The global travel reporting method of claim 11, further including submitting said expense book from said traveler client system to said central database server system for processing.

15. The global travel reporting method of claim 10, further including reimbursing a traveler'"'"'s bank account for traveler out-of-pocket expenses via said reimbursement processing and paying said corporate charge card provider for traveler charge card transactions via said payment processing by providing said payment direction to said corporate banking provider.

16. The global travel reporting method of claim 10, further including providing valid cardholder information via said dedicated connection from said corporate charge card provider.

17. The global travel reporting method of claim 10, further including receiving from a corporate mailhub server system in communication with said central database server system at least one copy of a corporate email directory.

18. The global travel reporting method of claim 17, further including notifying a traveler automatically regarding expense book incompleteness, approval, and rejection via said central database server system using said corporate email directory.

19. Computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform global travel reporting, the program of instructions embodied in computer-readable media performing the sequence, comprising:

downloading traveler charge card transaction data from a central database server system to create an expense book, said traveler charge card transaction data obtained by said central database server system directly from a corporate charge card provider and having currency data for application to the corresponding traveler charge card transaction; and

automatically reimbursing said corporate charge card provider from a corporate banking provider for said traveler charge card transaction.

20. A computer programmed to execute global travel reporting, the computer having the program performing the sequence, comprising:

downloading traveler charge card transaction data from a central database server system to create an expense book, said traveler charge card transaction data obtained by said central database server system directly from a corporate charge card provider and having currency data for application to the corresponding traveler charge card transaction; and

automatically reimbursing said corporate charge card provider from a corporate banking provider for said traveler charge card transaction.

21. Computer-readable media tangibly embodying an interface program of instructions executable by the machine to provide a graphical user interface to a computer program for global travel reporting, the interface program of instructions embodied in computer-readable media performing the sequence, comprising:

displaying icons and questions on the visual display unit at a traveler client system; and

obtaining data from the traveler, in response to said displaying, and providing the traveler data to the computer program, where the computer program, based on said traveler data, includes downloading traveler charge card transaction data from a central database server system to create an expense book, said traveler charge card transaction data obtained by said central database server system directly from a corporate charge card provider and having currency data for application to the corresponding traveler charge card transaction and reimbursing automatically said corporate charge card provider from a corporate banking provider for said traveler charge card transaction.