Expense Report Generation From Confirmation Emails

• US 20080313063A1
• Filed: 08/05/2008
• Published: 12/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Websites By JOVE LLC
• Original Assignee: Websites By JOVE LLC
• Inventors: Testa, James, Holly, Nina
• Application Number:
  US12/186,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313063A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Inter alia, methods, and means for automatically generated travel expense reports. One embodiment identifies an email extractor that reads travel expense information from travel reservation booking emails. The extracted information is then displayed in electronic table format. The displayed information includes travel expense details such as vendor name, trip conveyance, date of reservation/expense, accommodation name, cost, currency, etc. The expense report can be accessed and edited by the user, if desired. The user can view and download the report in other formats, such as a spreadsheet.

Claims

1. In combination:

(a) an email extractor for extracting information from vendor'"'"'s confirmation emails, and

(b) a database of travel accommodations where the information extracted from the vendor'"'"'s confirmation emails is stored, and

(c) means for generating an expense report from the information extracted from the vendor'"'"'s confirmation emails that is stored in the accommodations.

2. The means for generating an expense report from confirmation emails according to claim 1, further including

(a) a vendor database, and

(b) an accommodations_vendors database, and

(c) a means for associating accommodations with vendors so that the vendor can be displayed in the row entries of the expense report.

3. The means for generating an expense report from confirmation emails according to claim 1, further including

(a) a trip database containing a user ID and a trip ID,

(b) an accommodations database containing a trip ID, and

(c) a means for selecting a trip with a corresponding user'"'"'s ID, and selecting all of the accommodations with that trip ID, and displaying the information in those accommodations in an expense report.

4. The means for generating an expense report from confirmation emails according to claim 1, further including a means for summing up the costs of each entry that is associated with a given currency and placing that sum per currency on a separate line.

5. The means for generating an expense report from confirmation emails according to claim 1, further including a means for converting an price entry in a non-preferred currency in the expense report into a preferred currency based on the historical currency conversion rate for those two currencies on the date that the expense was incurred.