System and method for intelligent data extraction for telecommunications invoices

• US 7,720,206 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2006
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TEOCO
• Original Assignee: TEOCO
• Inventors: Wyatt, John, Cybyk, Roman, Devolites, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US11/333,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20070165801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112.01, 379/114.01, 379/115.01, 379/116, 379/126, 379133-136, 379/114.03, 379/114.04, 455405-408, 705 52- 53, 705/34
• US Class Current: 379/126
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for extracting information from a telecommunications invoice is provided. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method may include: receiving a telecommunications invoice data stream in a first data format; analyzing the telecommunications invoice data stream to determine the first data format; modeling the telecommunications invoice data stream; and mapping the modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a normalized data format. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the method may include: where the modeling of the telecommunications invoice data stream may further include any of: creating a model for the first data format; modeling the telecommunications invoice data stream according to the model; and/or modeling the telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving by at least one computer a telecommunications invoice data stream in a first data format;

analyzing by the at least one computer said telecommunications invoice data stream to determine said first data format;

modeling by the at least one computer said telecommunications invoice data stream to generate a modeled telecommunications invoice data stream;

mapping by the at least one computer said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a normalized data format to generate a normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream; and

providing by the at least one computer said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream for auditing, by the at least one computer, for billing accuracy, comprising at least one of;

validating fields,

validating invoice data,

validating numerical accuracy,

validating expected field lengths,

validating contractual data,

validating billing access number,

validating phone number,

validating call data,

validating mileage characteristics,

validating rate charges, or

validating throughput characteristics.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said modeling of said telecommunications invoice data stream further comprises at least one of:

creating by the at least one computer a model for said first data format;

modeling by the at least one computer said telecommunications invoice data stream according to said model;

or

modeling by the at least one computer said telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

validating by the at least one computer said parsed data by comparing a first telecommunications invoice generated from said telecommunications invoice data stream in said first data format with a second telecommunications invoice generated from said mapped telecommunications invoice data stream.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

auditing said telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy comprising;

comparing, by the at least one computer, at least one calculated telecommunications invoice charge included in said telecommunications invoice data stream with a telecommunications invoice field included in said telecommunications invoice data stream; and

confirming field integrity by the at least one computer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving at least one of a non-industry standard data format or a captured electronic print data file.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said receiving comprises receiving said captured electronic print data file and comprising capturing at a remote site.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving a telephone electronic print data file of a telecommunications invoice.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving a telephone company telecommunications invoice data stream.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said analyzing to determine said first data format comprises analyzing to determine whether said first data format comprises at least one of a non-industry standard data file, a PDF file, a PRN file, an LPT file, or a TIFF file.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said mapping to said normalized data format comprises mapping to at least one of an XTrak interchange format (xif), an extensible markup language (xml) format, an industry standard format, or a proprietary format.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of mapping said modeled invoice data further comprises at least one of:

mapping by the at least one computer said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream according to mapping codes;

mapping by the at least one computer said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter;

blending by the at least one computer a record into a record comprising a superset of fields of an industry standard record;

or

mapping by the at least one computer said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream using fuzzy logic.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving at a centralized site from a remote site.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting by the at least one computer said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a centralized site from a remote site.

40. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first data format comprises at least one of:

usage records;

facilities records;

switched call records;

dedicated facilities records;

call detail records (CDRs);

facility cost records (FCRs);

voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) records;

packet records;

content records;

ringtone records;

audio records;

video records;

broadcast records;

wireless records;

CATV records;

satellite records;

other usage records;

other facility records;

or

other charge records.

42. The method according to claim 4, wherein the auditing said telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy further comprises at least one of:

confirming by the at least one computer numerical accuracy;

or

confirming by the at least one computer expected field lengths.

14. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a at least one computing platform, cause said at least one computing platform to perform operations comprising a method comprising:

receiving a telecommunications invoice data stream in a first data format;

analyzing said telecommunications invoice data stream to determine said first data format;

modeling said telecommunications invoice data stream to generate a modeled telecommunications invoice data stream;

mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a normalized data format to generate a normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream; and

providing by the at least one computer said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream for auditing, by the at least one computer, for billing accuracy, comprising at least one of;

validating fields,

validating invoice data,

validating numerical accuracy,

validating expected field lengths,

validating contractual data,

validating billing access number,

validating phone number,

validating call data,

validating mileage characteristics,

validating rate charges, or

validating throughput characteristics.

15. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said modeling of said telecommunications invoice data stream further comprises at least one of:

creating a model for said first data format;

blending a record into a record comprising a superset of fields of an industry standard record;

modeling said telecommunications invoice data stream according to said modeling model;

or

modeling with an intelligent adapter said telecommunications invoice data stream.

16. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

validating said parsed data by comparing a first telecommunications invoice generated from said telecommunications invoice data stream in said first data format with a second telecommunications invoice generated from said mapped telecommunications invoice data stream.

17. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

auditing said telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy comprising;

comparing at least one calculated telecommunications invoice charge included in said telecommunications invoice data stream with a telecommunications invoice field included in said telecommunications invoice data stream; and

confirming field integrity.

18. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving at least one of a non-industry standard data format or a captured electronic print file.

19. The machine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein said receiving comprises receiving said captured electronic print file and comprising capturing at a remote site.

20. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving a telephone electronic print file of a telecommunications invoice.

21. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said receiving said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises receiving a telephone company telecommunications invoice data stream.

22. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said analyzing to determine said first data format comprises analyzing to determine whether said first data format comprises at least one of a non-industry standard file, a PDF file, a PRN file, an LPT file, or a TIFF file.

23. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said mapping to said normalized data format comprises mapping to at least one of an XTrak interchange format (xif), an extensible markup language (xml) format, an industry standard format, or a proprietary format.

24. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said step of mapping said parsed invoice data further comprises at least one of:

mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream according to mapping codes;

mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter;

blending a record into a record comprising a superset of fields of an industry standard record;

or

mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream using fuzzy logic.

25. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said received telecommunications invoice data stream is received at a centralized site from a remote site.

26. The machine-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a centralized site from a remote site.

43. The machine-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the auditing said telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy further comprises at least one of:

confirming numerical accuracy;

or

confirming expected field lengths.

27. A system comprising:

receiving means for receiving a telecommunications invoice data stream in a first data format;

analyzing means for analyzing said telecommunications invoice data stream to determine said first data format;

modeling means for modeling said telecommunications invoice data stream to generate a modeled telecommunications invoice data stream;

mapping means for mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a normalized data format to generate a normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunication invoice data stream; and

providing means for providing said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a means for auditing for billing accuracy, the means for auditing comprising at least one of;

means for validating fields,

means for validating invoice data,

means for validating numerical accuracy,

means for validating expected field lengths,

means for validating contractual data,

means for validating billing access number,

means for validating phone number,

means for validating call data,

means for validating mileage characteristics,

means for validating rate charges, or

means for validating throughput characteristics.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein said modeling means further comprises at least one of:

means for creating a modeling model for said first data format;

means for modeling said telecommunications invoice data stream according to said modeling model;

means for blending a record into a record comprising a superset of fields of an industry standard record;

or

means for modeling said telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter.

29. The system according to claim 27, further comprising:

means for validating said parsed data by comparing a first telecommunications invoice generated from said telecommunications invoice data stream in said first data format with a second telecommunications invoice generated from said mapped telecommunications invoice data stream.

30. The system according to claim 27, further comprising:

means for auditing said telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy comprising;

means for comparing at least one calculated telecommunications invoice charge included in said telecommunications invoice data stream with a telecommunications invoice field included in said telecommunications invoice data stream; and

means for confirming field integrity.

31. The system according to claim 27, wherein said received telecommunications invoice data stream comprises at least one of a non-industry standard data format or a captured electronic print file.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein said captured electronic print file is captured at a remote site.

33. The system according to claim 27, wherein said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises a electronic print file of a telecommunications invoice.

34. The system according to claim 27, wherein said telecommunications invoice data stream comprises a company telecommunications invoice data stream.

35. The system according to claim 27, wherein said first data stream format comprises at least one of a non-industry standard format, a PDF file, a PRN file, an LPT file, or a TIFF file.

36. The system according to claim 27, wherein said second normalized data format comprises at least one of an XTrak interchange format (xif), an extensible markup language (xml) format, an industry standard format, or a proprietary format.

37. The system according to claim 27, wherein said mapping means further comprises at least one of:

means for mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream according to mapping codes;

means for mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream with an intelligent adapter;

or

means for mapping said modeled telecommunications invoice data stream using fuzzy logic.

38. The system according to claim 27, wherein said received telecommunications invoice data stream is received at a centralized site from a remote site.

39. The system according to claim 27, further comprising:

means for transmitting said normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream to a centralized site from a remote site.

44. The system according to claim 30, further comprising at least one of:

means for confirming numerical accuracy;

or

means for confirming expected field lengths.

41. A system comprising:

a computing device comprising at least one processor adapted to receive a telecommunications invoice data stream;

to generate a normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream from said telecommunications invoice data stream; and

to provide to at least one audit processor adapted to audit the normalized, mapped, and modeled telecommunications invoice data stream for billing accuracy, the audit processor adapted to validate at least one of;

fields,

invoice data,

numerical accuracy,

expected field lengths,

contractual data,

billing access number,

phone number,

call data,

mileage characteristics,

rate charges, or

throughput characteristics.