Generating and Categorizing Transaction Records

• US 20140006198A1
• Filed: 06/30/2012
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Daly, Brian Kevin, Hu, Qingmin, Mullis, Karen, Toren, Jamie, Causey, Mark Edward
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/36 using electronic wallets or electronic money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/10 with dictation recording and playback systems

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed for tracking financial transactions at their source, generating transaction records, categorizing and storing the records, and providing services related to the records. Transactions performed between a mobile device and a point-of-sale may automatically generate transaction records including electronic receipts that may be categorized and stored on a database. More traditional transactions such as those involving cash, paper receipts, etc. may be captured via a scanner on the mobile device for inclusion within a transaction record and subsequent categorization and storage. Notifications such as alerts, offers, and recommendations may be provided in real-time or close-in-time to the transaction being performed, thereby enabling services such as budgeting, inventory management, rewards, offers, etc.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a server on a network, the server including a memory, a processor, and a logic stored on the memory, the logic including computer-readable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations including;

receiving a transaction record from at least one of a mobile device associated with a user or a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, the transaction record being generated as a result of a transaction involving at least the POS terminal, the transaction record including a plurality of attributes, and

determining a category for the transaction record based in part on the plurality of attributes,

wherein the transaction record is stored according to the determined category within a profile associated with the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction is performed between the mobile device and the POS terminal.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction record includes an image of a physical receipt generated by the POS terminal.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the logic further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

recognizing a string of characters from the image, and

adding the string to the plurality of attributes.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of attributes includes at least one of a merchant name, a POS terminal identifier, an item name, a user-defined category, an item description, an item amount, a total amount, a location, a time, a date, or a payment method.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the payment method includes an account identifier.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including generating and transmitting an alert to the mobile device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the alert is a spending alert determined by comparing the transaction record with a budget of the user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the logic further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including transmitting at least one attribute of the transaction record to an inventory management system for updating an inventory of the user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the alert is at least one of an offer or a reminder determined by comparing the transaction record with the inventory.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the alert is an offer associated with a merchant having access to a portion of the transaction record.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the merchant is an accountant, and wherein the offer is for an accounting service.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including receiving a plurality of transaction records from a corresponding plurality of mobile devices.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer program product stored thereon, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

receiving a transaction record from at least one of a mobile device associated with a user or a point-of-sale (POS) terminal involved in a transaction associated with the transaction record, the transaction record including a plurality of attributes; and

determining a category for the transaction record based in part on the plurality of attributes;

wherein the transaction record is stored according to the determined category within a profile associated with the user.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer program product stored thereon, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

generating a transaction record upon detecting a purchase;

appending a plurality of attributes to the transaction record; and

transmitting the transaction record to a server;

wherein the transaction record is assigned to a category based upon the plurality of attributes, and

wherein the transaction record includes a receipt image.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

recognizing a string of characters in the receipt image; and

adding the string to the plurality of attributes.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform an operation including receiving the receipt image from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform an operation including receiving the receipt image from a camera.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of attributes includes at least one of a merchant name, a POS terminal identifier, an item name, a user-defined category, an item description, an item amount, a total amount, a location, a time, a date, or a payment method.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a further operation including receiving the user-defined category from a user via a user interface.