Billing data interface for conferencing customers

• US 8,059,802 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2008
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: American Teleconferencing Services Limited (Premiere Global Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: American Teleconferencing Services Limited (Premiere Global Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mathew, Boban, Evans, Dagny Boyd, Bingaman, Anne K.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US12/314,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20090129572A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 379/114.01, 379/114.03, 379/114.21, 379/114.22, 379/114.26, 379/114.28, 379/115.01, 379/121.03, 379/126, 379/127.03, 379/127.05, 705/51, 705/52
• US Class Current: 379/114.22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0176 Billing arrangements using internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/018 On-line real-time billing, able to see billing information while in communication, e.g. via the internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2073 Multipoint, e.g. messaging, broadcast or group SMS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

A billing data interface provides billing data to customers in an accurate and efficient manner. Billing data is processed to preserve client billing information and to meet a customer'"'"'s individual data requirements. The billing data may be presented in such a way that the customer may input the billing data directly into its client billing system. The billing data may be processed according to client billing specifications corresponding to a client billing system used by the customer. The processed data may preserve leading zeros, separate client code and matter code into two fields, etc. The resulting data file may be delivered to the customer for entry into the customer'"'"'s client billing system.

Claims

1. A billing data interface for managing billing data for a customer of conferencing services, the billing data interface comprising:

a memory storing client billing specifications based on a client billing system used by the customer to bill conferencing charges to its clients;

a conference detail processor configured to;

receive, from a conference facility, cost data and client billing information for a conference conducted by participants related to the customer, and

process the cost data and the client billing information according to the client billing specifications to produce a billing data file; and

a bill presenter configured to;

provide the billing data file to the customer such that the billing data file may be input into the client billing system used by the customer without modification of the billing data file by the customer.

2. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the client billing specifications specify formatting of the billing data file.

3. The billing data interface of claim 2, wherein the formatting of the billing data file includes a delimiter type, a set of billing data fields, and corresponding data field widths.

4. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the client billing specifications specify a non-billable data field for conferencing charges not chargeable to a client of the customer.

5. The billing data interface of claim 2, wherein the formatting of the billing data file maintains a user-defined field unique to billing needs of the customer.

6. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the conference detail processor is further configured to:

process the cost data to remove extraneous fields from a call data record in the cost data.

7. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the cost data received from the conference facility includes call data records.

8. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the conference detail processor is further configured to:

calculate charges for the conference conducted by participants related to the customer.

9. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the bill presenter is further configured to:

store the billing data file in the memory, and

notify the customer when the billing data file has been stored in the memory.

10. The billing data interface of claim 1, wherein the bill presenter is further configured to:

send the billing data file to the customer in an electronic format.

11. A method for managing billing data for a customer of conferencing services using a computerized billing data interface with a memory and a billing data processor, the method comprising:

storing, in the memory, client billing specifications based on a client billing system used by the customer to bill conferencing charges to its clients;

receiving by the computerized billing data interface, from a conference facility, cost data and client billing information for a conference conducted by participants related to the customer;

processing, by the billing data processor, the cost data and the client billing information according to the client billing specifications to generate a billing data file; and

providing the billing data file to the customer such that the billing data file may be input into the client billing system used by the customer without modification of the billing data file by the customer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein processing further includes:

formatting the billing data file according to the client billing specifications.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein formatting the billing data file includes:

applying a delimiter type, a set of billing data fields, and corresponding data field widths specified by the client billing specifications.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the client billing specifications specify a non-billable data field for conferencing charges not chargeable to a client of the customer.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein formatting the billing data file further includes:

maintaining a user-defined field unique to billing needs of the customer.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein processing further includes:

processing the cost data to remove extraneous fields from a call data record in the cost data.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the cost data received from the conference facility includes call data records.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein processing further includes:

calculating charges for the conference conducted by participants related to the customer.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein providing further includes:

storing the billing data file in the memory; and

notifying the customer when the billing data file has been stored in the memory.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein providing further includes:

sending the billing data file to the customer in an electronic format.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions which, when executed, perform a method for managing billing data for a customer of conferencing services, the method comprising:

storing client billing specifications based on a client billing system used by the customer to bill conferencing charges to its clients;

receiving, from a conference facility, cost data and client billing information for a conference conducted by participants related to the customer;

processing the cost data and the client billing information according to the client billing specifications to generate a billing data file; and

providing the billing data file to the customer such that the billing data file may be input into the client billing system used by the customer without modification of the billing data file by the customer.