Construction payment management systems and methods with specified billing features

• US 8,306,883 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2008
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Textura LLC (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Textura LLC (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Allin, Patrick J., Eichhorn, William H., Smith, John W., Cherry, Charles C
• Primary Examiner(s): Glass, Russell S
• Application Number:
  US12/112,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20090012886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 705/34
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing payments. One construction of the system includes a software enabled user interface accessible by a first party and a second party, at least one computer readable memory, and a processor. The processor is configured to selectively operate in a specified billing mode in response to an input received from the first party. The processor is configured to receiving invoice details from the first party when operating in the specified billing mode and from the second party when not operating in the specified billing mode. The processor is further configured to generate an invoice based on the invoice details, display the invoice to the first party and the second party, and request an approval or a rejection of the invoice from the first party or the second party.

Claims

1. A construction payment management system comprising:

a software enabled user interface accessible by a first participant associated with a construction project and a payee associated with the construction project;

a computer readable memory; and

a processor configured to

selectively operate in either a specified billing mode or a normal mode in response to an input received from the first participant,

wherein operating in the specified billing mode includes

receiving invoice details from the first party,

generating an invoice based on the invoice details received from the first participant,

displaying the invoice to the payee,

requesting an approval or a rejection of the invoice from the payee, and

initiating a payment to the payee after receiving the approval of the invoice from the payee, and

wherein operating in the normal mode includes

receiving invoice details from the payee,

generating the invoice based on the invoice details received from the payee,

displaying the invoice to the first participant,

requesting an approval or a rejection of the invoice from the first participant, and

initiating a payment to the payee after receiving the approval of the invoice from the first participant.

2. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to notify the payee when the specified billing mode has been turned on or off.

3. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to initiate the payment to the payee after receiving the approval of the invoice from both the first participant and the payee.

4. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to prevent the payee from entering invoice details when operating in the specified billing mode.

5. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to prevent the first participant from entering invoice details when operating in the normal mode.

6. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn the specified billing mode on or off for a particular invoice in response to the input from the first participant.

7. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn the specified billing mode off after receiving the rejection of the invoice from the payee and the input from the first participant.

8. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn the specified billing mode on after receiving the rejection of the invoice from the first participant and the input from the first participant.

9. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn the specified billing mode on for new invoices by default.

10. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn off the specified billing mode at any time in response to the input from the first participant.

11. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to

receive a comment from one of the first participant and the payee, and

display the comment to the other of the first participant and the payee.

12. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to display the comment and a plurality of other comments received from the first participant and the payee in a chronologically ordered list.

13. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to associate the comment with a change made to the invoice details.

14. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to associate the comment with an approval or a rejection of the invoice.

15. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to store the comment to the computer readable memory.

16. The construction payment management system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to store the comment and a plurality of other comments received from the first participant and the payee to the computer readable memory in a chronologically ordered list.

17. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the comment includes a textual comment.

18. The construction payment management system of claim 17, wherein the textual comment includes a link to a photograph.

19. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the comment includes a photograph.

20. The construction payment management system of claim 11, wherein the comment includes at least one of a video recording and an audio recording.

21. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the first participant is a quantity surveyor.

22. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the first participant is a general contractor and the payee is a subcontractor.

23. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the invoice details include

a total value for materials and services that a contractor is obligated to provide for the construction project, and

a percentage of completion associated with the materials and services.

24. The construction payment management system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive an electronic signature verifying the approval of the invoice from the first participant or the payee.