System and method for expense management

• US 20050289025A1
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concur Technologies Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Concur Technologies Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Fredericks, Michael, Gorodnichev, Valery, Dunnick, Joseph, Armstrong, Jeannine
• Granted Patent: US 7,974,892 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method for expense management. An expense data record is retrieved from a trusted source and two or more sub-transactions are identified. The expense data record is then added to an expense report as two or more expense items corresponding to the two or more sub-transactions.

Claims

1. A method for expense management, comprising:

retrieving an expense data record from a trusted source;

detecting that the expense data record is comprised of two or more sub-transactions; and

adding expense data from the expense data record to an expense report as two or more expense items corresponding to the two or more sub-transactions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the expense report shows the at least two sub-transactions associated with expense types.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the expense report for approval;

providing the expense report for reimbursement;

or

providing the expense report so that it can be integrated with other documents;

or

any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising searching the expense data for pre-defined criteria.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating at least one company accounting code to the at least one expense type.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the expense type comprises program-recognizable information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allowing a user to edit the expense report;

or

allowing a user to approve the expense report;

or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

flagging where the user edits the expense report; and

allowing the user to attach an explanation to each edit of the expense report.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a second user audits a flagged edit to the expense report.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the two or more sub-transactions correspond to goods or services that are combined in the expense data record.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the two or more sub-transactions correspond to one good or service that is chargeable to at least one accounting identifier.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one accounting identifier is:

a department identifier;

a project identifier;

an accounting identifier;

or

any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the expense data record is added to the expense report as an expense item which is marked as being comprised of the two or more expense items corresponding to the two or more sub-transactions.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one trusted source includes:

credit card data;

or

transaction data obtained directly from a vendor;

or

any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein each expense item is assigned to an expense type associated with an attribute selected from the group consisting of:

an identifier;

a description;

a general ledger or other accounting code;

a list of data fields to be supplied on the expense report; and

corporate policy information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the expense type is additionally comprised of semantic information describing the type of expense.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the semantic information is an identifier of the expense type.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the sub-transactions contain information identifying the expense, where possible expense identifications are determined by the vendor producing the expense data record.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising associating the expense identification determined by the vendor producing the expense data record to the master expense identification on the master expense type list.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein at an expense item corresponding to the two or more sub-transactions is automatically assigned to an expense type based on associating the expense type determined by the vendor producing the expense data record to the master expense types on the master expense type list.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising auditing the expense report by comparing the two or more sub-transactions with the two or more expense items on the expense report.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

allowing a user to edit the expense report; and

auditing the expense report by comparing edits of the user to the expense data record from a trusted source.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the trusted source is:

a hotel entity;

a car rental entity;

or

both.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein each expense item added from the expense data record to the expense report corresponds to exactly one of the two or more sub-transactions.