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System and method for integrated travel and expense management

  • US 7,720,702 B2
  • Filed: 02/26/2003
  • Issued: 05/18/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A computerized method for integrating travel and expense information, comprising:

  • receiving, by at least one server module, travel request data and/or travel reservation data corresponding to at least one travel event type, said request and/or reservation data further including travel request and/or reservation attributes comprising at least one of;

    a travel event time, a travel event type, an identifier for a travel vendor, a frequent traveler affinity program code, cost information for the at least one travel event, ticket number information for the at least one travel event, confirmation number information for the at least one travel event, an identifier representing the traveler, or any combination thereof;

    generating, by the at least one server module, at least one travel request record, wherein at least one travel record includes said travel request and/or travel reservation information and storing said at least one travel request record in a travel request database;

    receiving from a plurality of sources, by the at least one server module, travel expense transaction data, said travel expense transaction data further comprising at least one expense transaction attribute;

    generating, by the at least one server module, at least one travel expense transaction record, wherein said at least one travel expense transaction record includes said expense transaction data;

    storing said at least one expense transaction record in an expense transaction database;

    designating, by at least one matching module, at least one attribute included in the at least one expense transaction record for comparison to a corresponding at least one attribute included in the at least one travel request record;

    retrieving, by said at least one matching module, pre-determined matching criteria corresponding to the at least one travel event type and to the designated at least one expense transaction attribute;

    comparing, by the at least one matching module, the at least one expense transaction attribute to any corresponding at least one travel request attribute using said pre-determined matching criteria and determining an initial matching score based on said comparison;

    iteratively repeating said comparisons for each attribute included in the at least one expense transaction record and the at least one travel request record to produce an adjusted matching score, said matching score adjustment being determined as follows;

    for an expense transaction attribute that is an exact match to an attribute in the at least one travel request record, increasing the matching score;

    for an expense transaction attribute that is not an exact match to an attribute in the at least one travel request record, but falls within pre-determined criteria, assigning a lesser adjustment or no adjustment to said matching score;

    for an expense transaction attribute that is not an exact match to an attribute in the at least one travel request record, and does not fall within the pre-determined criteria, lowering said matching score;

    wherein the at least one matching module sums up the matching scores for all attributes in each expense transaction record to obtain the total matching score for any possible matches for the in-progress expense report;

    storing said in-progress expense report including said scores in an expense report database;

    determining, by said at least one matching module, whether said total matching score exceeds a pre-determined threshold defined by the pre-determined matching criteria for the travel event type and the at least one travel request attribute;

    designating, by the at least one matching module, the at least one expense transaction record and the at least one travel request record as a positive match when the total matching score is equal to or above said threshold;

    responsive to determining a positive match, generating, by the at least one matching module, an in-progress expense report, wherein said in-progress expense report includes positive matches between said expense transaction record and said travel request record based on said total matching score;

    transmitting via a computer network, by at least one client module, said in-progress expense report to a user terminal and presenting said in-progress expense report on a user interface to said user, wherein said presentation includes any positive matches and wherein said presentation further includes selectable options to designate the in-progress expense report as finalized expense report or to designate the in-progress expense report as partially completed;

    receiving, by said client module, a user selection designating the in-progress expense report as either partially completed or finalized;

    retaining in-progress expense reports, designated by said user as either partially completed or finalized, in the expense report database for further comparison to subsequently received expense transaction data.

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