Revenue recognition system and method for efficiently performing business-related processing and storing of event information related to a transaction
First Claim
1. A method for recognizing revenue arising from at least one transaction for services based upon the use of the services, wherein at least one transaction-related event can occur between the time of the transaction and the use of the services that can potentially affect the amount of revenue recognized for the transaction, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving event information for a selected one of the events associated with the transaction;
(b) if business-related processing is to be performed for the selected event, performing business-related processing of the event information to generate at least one derived business result that supplements the event information;
completing steps (a) and (b) for each event of the transaction; and
recognizing revenue for the transaction in response to processing the event information for each event of the transaction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a system for recognizing revenue for the sale of services, where the amount of revenue recognized is based upon the use of the services and upon events that can occur before the services are used that can potentially affect the amount of revenue recognized for the sale, a master ticket record processor can receive and process information related to an event, which is associated with a sale of services and which occurs at some time after the sale. A business-related processor can perform additional business-related processing of the event information to derive a business result that can supplement the event information. The master ticket record processor can then store both the business result and the event information related to a sale in a storage device.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for recognizing revenue arising from at least one transaction for services based upon the use of the services, wherein at least one transaction-related event can occur between the time of the transaction and the use of the services that can potentially affect the amount of revenue recognized for the transaction, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving event information for a selected one of the events associated with the transaction;
(b) if business-related processing is to be performed for the selected event, performing business-related processing of the event information to generate at least one derived business result that supplements the event information;
completing steps (a) and (b) for each event of the transaction; and
recognizing revenue for the transaction in response to processing the event information for each event of the transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for performing business-related processing of event information related to one of a plurality of pre-defined events upon receipt of the event information, comprising the steps of:
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creating a work routing slip based upon the event information, the work routing slip defining at least one business service to be used to process the event information; and
for each business service identified by the work routing slip, routing the event information to the business service identified by the work routing slip, and applying at least one rule of the business service to the event information to generate at least one business result. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for recognizing revenue from the sale of an airline ticket to a passenger upon the passenger'"'"'s use of the airline ticket, wherein at least one event relating to the passenger'"'"'s use of the ticket can occur between the time of the sale of the airline ticket and the time of the use of the airline ticket, and wherein information related to the at least one event is maintained in a storage device, comprising the steps of:
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receiving information related to the event from at least one source, wherein the event is associated with the sale by a transaction identifier;
processing the information related to the event, by completing the steps of;
storing the received information related to the event and the transaction identifier in the storage device in the event that content associated with the received information is not already maintained in the storage device for the transaction identifier, and if the content associated with the received information is maintained in the storage device for the transaction identifier, determining if the content associated with the received information maintained in the storage device should be replaced with the received information;
performing business-related processing of the received information related to the event and the information related to the at least one event that is maintained in the storage device to derive at least one business result; and
storing the at least one business result in the storage device in connection with the transaction identifier, whereby revenue is recognized for the sale of the airline ticket in response to processing the information related to the event for each event associated with the sale by the transaction identifier. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method for performing business-related processing of passenger usage information of an airline ticket, wherein the usage information and the airline ticket are associated with a transaction identifier, and wherein the usage information relates to an event that occurs after the sales transaction is complete and before or when the passenger uses the airline ticket, comprising the steps of:
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receiving the usage information about the airline ticket, wherein the usage information comprises the transaction identifier and details about the airline ticket;
storing the transaction identifier and the received usage information in a storage device, in the event that content associated with the received usage information is not already maintained in the storage device for the transaction identifier;
if the content associated with the received usage information is maintained in the storage device for the transaction identifier, determining if the content maintained in the storage device should be replaced with the received usage information; and
if required for the event, performing business-related processing of the received usage information and information maintained in the storage device that is associated with the transaction identifier to derive at least one business result, and supplementing the information maintained in the storage device that is associated with the transaction identifier with the at least one derived business result.
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17. A system for recognizing revenue arising from a plurality of sales transactions for services, wherein revenue is recognized at a point in time after the actual sales transaction upon the rendering of services, wherein a plurality of events can occur between the time of the sales transaction and the time of the rendering of services, and wherein the events can affect the amount of revenue recognized for a sales transaction, comprising:
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a first storage device, operative to store event information received from at least one source, wherein the event information is associated with the sales transaction;
at least one master record processor, coupled to the first storage device, operative to process and store the event information; and
at least one business processor, coupled to the at least one master record processor, operative to perform business-related processing of the event information for at least one pre-defined event, each business processor further comprising a work flow manager, operative to define what business-related processing must be performed based upon the event information received by the business processor. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification