System integrating credit card transactions into a financial management system

• US 6,343,279 B1
• Filed: 08/26/1998
• Issued: 01/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CGI Technologies and Solutions Incorporated (CGI Group)
• Original Assignee: American Management Systems, Incorporated (CGI, Inc.)
• Inventors: Corrie, Christopher Royal, Bissonette, Richard, Wingate, William Lee III
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kyle, Charles R.
• Application Number:
  US09/140,795
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 705/40, 705/41, 705/44, 705/16, 705/17, 705/35, 705/39, 235/380, 235/440
• US Class Current: 705/41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system integrates credit card transactions into a financial management system used by a company to track and control budgets, etc. The system provides the controls and accounting for credit card transactions found for other types of transactions within the financial management system. The invention limits the card transactions using various limits not available to a credit card issuer and ensures that the transactions comply the financial system controls. The transactions can be obligated prior to or during the actual transaction with the bank and thereby subjected to the controls of the financial management system. Obligated transactions can be authorized for immediate payment. The invention provides for the complete reconciliation of the credit card transactions with bank records after the transactions occur using the obligation function to capture the transaction before it occurs, even the transactions that are immediately paid. The system reconciles the transactions recorded by the bank with those recorded in the financial system and updates budget, plan, project, and ledger entries accordingly. The system also allows cardholders to identify disputes and track the correspondence with the card issuer over the dispute.

Claims

1. An integration system associable with a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization with each of the cards having issuer limits and said integration system comprising:

an organization financial management system providing control and accounting for financial transactions of the multiple users within the management system, and providing financial system limits; and

a credit card management system associated with the financial management system and the credit card issuing system, and providing spending control for credit card transactions using the financial system limits imposed by the organization and providing accounting for the credit card transactions within a general ledger of the financial management system.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said credit card system checks the transactions against financial system employee limits imposed by the organization.

3. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein the financial system limits include one of single purchase limits, billing cycle limits, budget limits, organization account code limits, product type limits.

4. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein said credit card system subjects a purchase to the limits at a time of the purchase.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said credit card system automatically reconciles the transactions.

6. A system as recited in claim 5, wherein reconciliation searches for an obligation created in the financial management system at a time of a purchase.

7. A system as recited in claim 5, wherein reconciliation searches for an obligation created in the financial management system prior to a purchase.

8. A system as recited in claim 5, wherein reconciliation updates budget, planning, project and ledger entries of the financial management system of the organization.

11. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said credit card system validates credit card information on credit card statements.

28. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the limits comprise non-financial limits.

29. A system as recited in claim 28, wherein the non-financial limits comprise one of vendor restrictions, product restrictions, service restrictions and time period restrictions.

9. An integration system associable with a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization with each of the cards having issuer limits and said integration system comprising:

a financial management system providing control and accounting for financial transactions, and providing financial system limits; and

a credit card management system associated with the financial management system and the credit card issuing system, and providing spending control and accounting for credit card transactions with the credit card issuer within the financial management system using the financial system limits imposed by the organization and where said credit card system authorizes immediate payment to the credit card issuer of pre-obligated transactions.

10. An integration system associable with a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization with each of the cards having issuer limits and said integration system comprising:

a financial management system providing spending control and accounting for financial transactions, and providing financial system limits; and

a credit card management system associated with the financial management system and the credit card issuing system, and providing spending control and accounting for credit card transactions with the credit card issuer within the financial management system using the financial system limits imposed by the organization and where said credit card system authorizes immediate payment to the credit card issuer of purchases approved by the credit card system at the time of purchase.

12. An integration system associable with a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization with each of the cards having issuer limits and said integration system comprising:

a financial management system providing control and accounting for financial transactions within an organization; and

a credit card management system associated with the financial management system and the credit card issuing system, and providing spending control and accounting, at a time of purchase, for credit card transactions of the financial management system of the organization using the financial system limits imposed by the organization and comprising checking the transactions against the organization financial system limits including single purchase limits, billing cycle limits, budget limits, organization account code limits, product type limits, validating credit card information on credit card statements, automatically reconciling the transactions by searching for an obligation created in the financial management system at a time of a purchase, updating budget, planning, project and ledger entries of the financial management system, authorizing immediate payment of purchases approved by the credit card system at the time of purchase and setting up disputes for unapproved purchases.

13. A method of processing credit card transactions, comprising:

receiving a credit card transaction from a card issuer; and

automatically reconciling the transaction within a financial management system of an organization against a financial system record showing an intent to purchase.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving a credit card transaction from a card issuer for a vendor at a time of purchase to which issuer limits are applied by the issuer of a credit card; and

providing, by an organization separate from the issuer and at a time of transaction processing, control and accounting for the credit card transaction within a financial management system of an organization to which organization limits are applied and thereby approving/denying the transaction.

15. A method of processing credit card transactions, comprising:

receiving a credit card transaction from a vendor and subjecting the transaction to card issuer limits by an issuer of a credit card; and

subjecting the transaction, by an organization separate from the issuer and at a time of transaction processing, to financial system limits of the organization and thereby approving/denying transaction.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said financial system limits comprise one of single purchase limits, billing cycle limits, group limits, budget limits, planning limits, funds availability limits, organization account code limits, product type limits.

17. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein said subjecting converts the transaction into an obligation when the limits are satisfied.

18. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein an intent to perform the transaction is captured by the financial management system before the transaction occurs.

19. A credit card system, comprising:

a credit card issuer system providing for approval of credit card transactions using issuer limits; and

a financial management system of an organization separate from and communicating with said issuer, accepting the credit card transactions and providing, at a time of transaction processing, approval of the transactions using organization limits and thereby approving/denying the transaction.

20. A system as recited in claim 19, wherein said management system provides pre-purchase approval of the transactions.

21. A system as recited in claim 19, wherein said management system authorizes immediate payments prior to approval, creates a discount transaction for the issuer in proportion to the payment and updates a discount income organization account in the financial management system.

22. A system as recited in claim 19, wherein said management system allows initiation and tracking of disputes with respect to the credit card transactions.

23. A credit card system, comprising:

a credit card issuer; and

a financial management system of an organization communicating with said issuer, accepting credit card transactions and providing automated handling of disputes over credit card purchases including tracking each of the disputes through resolution.

24. A system, comprising:

a packet-switched communication system;

a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization each card having issuer limits and coupled to said communication system;

an organization financial management system coupled to said communication system, storing credit card information related to financial system organization account codes and accounting for financial transactions of multiple users comprising limits imposed by the organization with the transactions intermingling within the system; and

a user terminal coupled to said communication system and allowing a user access to the credit card information of the multiple users.

25. A system as recited in claim 24, wherein the system organization account codes relate to user credit card budgets.

26. A computer readable storage medium including a process receiving a credit card transaction from a card issuer and automatically reconciling the transaction within a financial management system of an organization against a financial system record showing an intent to purchase.

27. An integration system associable with a credit card issuing system issuing credit cards to multiple users of an organization with each of the cards having and imposing issuer limits and said integration system comprising:

a financial management system of an organization providing control and accounting for financial transactions of organization employees and providing financial system limits, and comprising a credit card system of the organization separate from the financial management system and providing, at a time of transaction processing, spending control and accounting for credit card transactions of the employees within the financial management system using the financial system limits imposed by the organization and thereby approving/denying the transaction.

30. A financial system of an organization coupleable to a credit card system issuing credit cards to multiple users in an organization and the credit card system controlling spending by the users responsive to issuer limits set via the credit card system and said financial system of the organization comprising a financial management system, separate from the credit card system, providing control and accounting for financial transactions by the users and approving spending via the credit cards, at a time of the financial transactions, through the credit card system responsive to financial system limits set by the organization.