System and method for coordinating the collection, analysis and storage of payroll information provided to government agencies by government contractors

• US 20040158512A1
• Filed: 04/02/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emars Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Emars Incorporated
• Inventors: DeHority, James Michael, DeHority, Richard Edwin, Chamberlain, Woodrow W., Dean, T. Phillip
• Granted Patent: US 8,036,960 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1091 Recording time for administrative or management purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/125 Finance or payroll

Abstract

A method for systematically coordinating the collection, analysis and storage of payroll information provided to government agencies by government contractors pursuant to applicable regulations is disclosed. The method includes collecting payroll information from contractors, performing an automated compliance check on the payroll information collected from contractors, storing verified payroll information in at least one database, and performing an automated fraud check on payroll information. The method also includes notifying auditors of instances of possible fraud, notifying auditors of instances of non-compliance, sorting payroll information in the at least one database according to geographic and skill categories, and providing reports to agencies.

Claims

1. A method for systematically coordinating the collection, analysis and storage of payroll information provided to government agencies by government contractors pursuant to applicable regulations, the method comprising:

collecting payroll information from contractors;

performing an automated compliance check on the payroll information collected from contractors;

storing verified payroll information in at least one database;

performing an automated fraud check on payroll information;

notifying auditors of instances of possible fraud;

notifying auditors of instances of non-compliance;

sorting payroll information in the at least one database according to geographic and skill categories;

providing reports to agencies.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the payroll information is wage and hour information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein payroll and hour information is collected from contractors by providing a web-based interface that allow contractors to input information online.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein information collected from contractors is verified in real-time and the contractor is prompted to correct errors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein payroll and hour information is collected from contractors by automatically extracting and uploading payroll information from a payroll-processing database.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein information uploaded from a payroll-processing database is verified in a batch process and the contractor is prompted to correct errors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated fraud check is performed using statistical analysis of payroll information collected from contractors.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the statistical analysis includes comparison of information collected from contractors to expected ranges.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the statistical analysis includes using information collected from contractors to calculate ratios and comparing the calculated ratios to expected ranges.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the reports provided to agencies are automatically generated according to a predetermined template.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reports provided to agencies are automatically generated by querying the at least one database.

12. A system for coordinating the collection, analysis and storage of payroll information provided to government agencies by government contractors pursuant to applicable regulations, the system comprising;

networked computers for collecting payroll information from contractors;

a compliance engine for performing an automated compliance check on the payroll information collected from contractors and reporting instances of non-compliance;

at least one database for storing verified payroll information according to geographic and skill categories; and

a

a fraud detection engine for performing an automated fraud check on payroll information and reporting instances of possible fraud.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a web-based interface that allow contractors to input information online.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a payroll-processing database interface facilitating automatic extraction and uploading of payroll information from a payroll-processing database.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the compliance engine is a software routine that compares payroll information collected from contractors to applicable regulations.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the fraud detection engine is a software routine that performs statistical analysis of payroll information collected from contractors.

17. The system of claim 12, further comprising a report-generating engine for automatically generating reports based upon information collected from contractors according to a predetermined template.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the report-generating engine is a software routine that retrieves information from the at least one database and generates reports based according to the predetermined template.

19. The system of claim 12, further comprising a database query tool that allows users to query the at least one database.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the database query tool is a software routine that formats user requests into database queries.

21. A system for payroll reporting and auditing, the system comprising:

a user interface for entry of payroll information;

at least one database for storing information entered by a user;

an automated error-checking routine to verify the accuracy of the payroll information entered by a user;

an automated auditing routine for verifying compliance of the payroll information with applicable labor laws and standards;

query capability for report generation based on the payroll information submitted by one or more users; and

an electronic signature entry for user verification of submitted payroll information.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising an interface between a remote device and the at least one database to verify the payroll information submitted by a user.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the remote device comprises a handheld computer.