Telecommunications access cost management system
First Claim
1. A system for use in the handling of billed charges between different communication carrier service providers, comprising the steps of:
- receiving, at a first communication carrier service provider, billed charges in a first digital file format from a second communication carrier service provider, wherein said billed charges include a plurality of entries and each of said entries includes a billed charge rate component;
automatically retrieving from a database, for each of said plurality of entries, a reference charge rate corresponding in type with said billed charge rate;
automatically comparing, for each of said plurality of entries, said billed charge rate with said corresponding reference charge rate to identify discrepancies therebetween.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A Telecom Access Cost Management System provides the capability for a communication carrier service provider to substantially automate the payment to other communication carrier service providers for the use of their services and equipment. Billed charges are received in a variety of forms from the communication carrier service providers. The cost processor receives this information, checks its integrity, and converts it to a format in which it can be further processed. Once this information has been uploaded and converted, a validation process is performed in which the individual items of the bill are checked as to whether the rate information charged by the communication carrier service providers matches the rates which have been either negotiated or established by a third party. Any discrepancies noted in this comparison process are included in a report that is included with the item in the billed charges. The user of the system can then review the billed charges in conjunction with any discrepancy amounts that have been noted. An automated payment module then provides for the generation of an electronic file for transmittal to Accounts Payable for payment to the communication carrier service provider who has provided the service and also provides any dispute reports that may then be later negotiated between the parties.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A system for use in the handling of billed charges between different communication carrier service providers, comprising the steps of:
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receiving, at a first communication carrier service provider, billed charges in a first digital file format from a second communication carrier service provider, wherein said billed charges include a plurality of entries and each of said entries includes a billed charge rate component; automatically retrieving from a database, for each of said plurality of entries, a reference charge rate corresponding in type with said billed charge rate; automatically comparing, for each of said plurality of entries, said billed charge rate with said corresponding reference charge rate to identify discrepancies therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for processing billed charges between service providers comprising:
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means, at a first service provider, for uploading the billed charges in a first format from a second service provider, wherein the billed charges includes a plurality of entries with a billed rate component; database means which includes reference billing rate information; and validation means which receives the billed charges from said means for receiving billed charges and automatically compares the billed rate component of the plurality of entries with the reference billing rate information to identify discrepancies. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for processing billed charges from a vendor, comprising:
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at least one graphical user interface comprising; an upload module which uploads the billed charges from the vendor in a first format, wherein the billed charges include a plurality of entries with a billed rate component; and a validation module which receives the billed charges and automatically compares the billed rate component of the plurality of entries with reference billing rate information to identify discrepancies; a display which displays information relating to the billed charges; and a database in connection with the at least one graphical user interface which provides the reference billing rate information. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification