System and method for standardizing accounting of consumables

• US 8,364,563 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2008
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Car Parts Incorporated Color Systems
• Original Assignee: Car Parts Incorporated Color Systems
• Inventors: Choiniere, Michael A. Sr.
• Primary Examiner(s): AN, IG TAI
• Application Number:
  US12/248,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 705 22- 30
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

According to one aspect, the system for standardizing accounting of consumables provides material lists of consumables used in particular repairs. The development of the material lists takes place through tracking of consumables used during the repair of various parts of different types of automotive vehicles. The size, shape, time, and material for repair may vary by make and model of vehicle, as well as the characteristics associated with each make and model. Once a materials list for a reasonable repair is assembled, the process is repeated for each vehicle make, model, and part to be repaired. The end result is a material list template for each part that a body shop repairs. In one embodiment, a wholesaler maintains and provides access to a system for standardizing accounting to body shops. The interface is customized for each body shop, so that specific materials will be provided on the material list for a repair. In another embodiment, user selectable options provide brand selection for the materials used in a particular repair. Providing brand selections and/or restricting selection of brand may provide an incentive for material purchases into specific brands. According to another aspect, maintaining material lists for each any every part of each model and make of vehicle represents significant overhead for any service provider. Creating standardized automobile objects for use in conjunction with a system for standardizing accounting of consumables provides for easier maintenance and greater flexibility to updates.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for standardizing accounting of disposables, the method comprising the acts of:

providing, by a computer system, at least one disposable material template for a project, wherein the act of providing at least one disposable material template for the project includes an act of providing at least one predefined quantity for a disposable item used in the project, wherein the disposable item is associated with an automobile part undergoing repair;

providing an interface configured to generate an invoice associated with the project, wherein the user interface is further configured to accept user input associated with a repair project;

receiving, by the computer system, input information associated with the project, including an automobile part to repair;

selecting the at least one disposable material template in response to user input to identify at least one automobile part to be repaired, wherein the at least one disposable material template defines a plurality of disposable items and a quantity associated with each of the plurality of disposable items, wherein the plurality of disposable items are used to effect the repair of a vehicle with the at least one automobile part, and wherein the plurality of disposable items are disposed during the course of one or more repairs of the at least one automobile part for one or more vehicles;

restricting access to the at least one disposable material template, wherein the act of restricting access to the at least one disposable material template includes an act of limiting, by the computer system, alteration of the quantities associated with the plurality of disposable items;

calculating, automatically, cost of the repair, based, at least in part, on the selected disposable items to be used for the repair from the selected disposable material templates; and

displaying a repair cost to the user and displaying the selected disposable items to be used for the repair.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of generating the at least one disposable material template from direct measurements of quantities of each of the plurality of disposable items used in the repair of the automobile part.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising an act of deriving at least one additional disposable material template and quantities for the plurality of disposable items from recorded measurements.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising acts of:

comparing characteristics of project targets, wherein the act of comparing includes comparing at least physical characteristics of a first automobile part and physical characteristics of a second automobile part;

deriving a modification factor for at least one known quantity for a disposable item; and

generating at least one additional disposable material template using the modification factor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein restricting access to the at least one disposable material template further comprises limiting variation of the at least one disposable material template by a predefined threshold, wherein limiting variation includes limiting variation of any pre-defined quantities for the disposable items to the predefined threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein restricting access to the at least one disposable material template further comprises preventing alteration of the at least one disposable material template.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of limiting disposable material selection by a user to at least one predetermined brand.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of providing a plurality of automobile objects, wherein the act of providing the plurality of automobile objects includes an act of defining for an automobile object a set of disposable items used in repair of an automobile part and at least one of at least one modification factor to derive a quantity of each one of the set of disposable items and a quantity for each one of the set of disposable items.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising an act of generating disposable material templates using the plurality of automobile objects.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the project comprises work associated with an automobile.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

providing for submission of at least one variation to the disposable material templates including at least one of modification of a quantity for a disposable item, removal of a disposable item, and additional of a disposable item; and

determining the requested at least one variation meets a predetermined threshold.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of generating an invoice for the project based on the selected at least one disposable material template.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the act of generating an invoice for the project based on the selected at least one disposable material template occurs in response to the act of determining the requested variations meets a predetermined threshold.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein the act of limiting disposable material selection by a user to at least one predetermined brand, further includes an act of providing a subset of available brands.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable signals stored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method for standardizing accounting of disposables, the method comprising acts of:

providing at least one disposable material template for a project, wherein the act of providing at least one disposable material template for the project includes an act of providing at least one predefined quantity for a disposable item used in the project, wherein the disposable item is associated with an automobile part undergoing repair;

providing an interface configured to generate an invoice associated with the project, wherein the user interface is further configured to accept user input associated with a repair project;

receiving, by the computer system, input information associated with the project, including an automobile part to repair;

selecting the at least one disposable material template in response to user input to identify at least one automobile part to be repaired, wherein the at least one disposable material template defines a plurality of disposable items and a quantity associated with each of the plurality of disposable items, wherein the plurality of consumable disposable items are used to effect the repair of a vehicle with the at least one automobile part, and wherein the plurality of disposable items are disposed during the course of one or more repairs of the at least one automobile part for one or more vehicles;

restricting access to the at least one disposable material template, wherein the act of restricting access to the at least one disposable material template includes an act of limiting, by the computer system, alteration of the quantities associated with the plurality of disposable items;

calculating, automatically, cost of the repair, based, at least in part, on the selected disposable items to be used for the repair from the selected disposable material templates; and

displaying a repair cost to the user and displaying the selected disposable items to be used for the repair.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises an act of generating an invoice for the project based on the selected at least one disposable material template.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein restricting access to the at least one disposable material template further comprises limiting variation of the at least one disposable material template by a predefined threshold, wherein the act of limiting variation includes limiting variation of any pre-defined quantities for the disposable items to the predefined threshold.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein restricting access to the at least one disposable material template further comprises preventing alteration of the at least one disposable material template.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

providing for submission of variations to the disposable material templates, including at least one of modification of a quantity for a disposable item, removal of a disposable item, and additional of a disposable item; and

determining the requested variations meet a predetermined threshold.

20. A system for standardizing accounting of disposables and capturing indirect costs, the system comprising:

at least one processor operatively connected to a memory, the processor when executing provides;

a user interface configured to accept user input associated with a repair project;

a storage component configured to store and retrieve at least one disposable material template associated with a project, wherein the storage component is further configured to retrieve at least one the disposable material template associated with a project including retrieval of at least one predefined quantity for a disposable item used in the project, wherein the disposable item is associated with an automobile part undergoing repair, wherein the disposable item is used to effect the repair of a vehicle with the associated automobile part, and wherein the disposable item is disposed during the course of one or more repairs of the associated automobile part for one or more vehicles, and wherein the storage component is further configured to retrieve the at least one disposable material template responsive to the identification of at least one automobile part to be repaired;

an analysis engine configured to select the at least one disposable material template in response to user input, wherein the at least one disposable material template defines a plurality of disposable items and a quantity associated with each of the plurality of disposable items;

an administration component configured to define user roles, wherein the administration component is further configured to;

restrict access to the at least one disposable material template, and

limit alteration of the quantities associated with the plurality of disposable items;

an account component configured to automatically calculate cost of the repair, based, at least in part, on the selected disposable items to be used for the repair from the selected disposable material templates; and

a display component configured to display a repair cost to the user and display the selected disposable items to be used for the repair.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the storage component is further configured to store at least one disposable material template generated from direct measurements of quantities of each of the plurality of disposable items used in the repair of the automobile part.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the analysis engine is further configured to derive at least one additional disposable material template and quantities for the plurality of disposable items from recorded measurements.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the analysis engine is further configured to:

compare characteristics of project targets including at least physical characteristics of a first automobile part and physical characteristics of a second automobile part,

derive a modification factor for at least one known quantity for a disposable item used to repair the first automobile part;

apply the modification factor to the at least one known quantity for the disposable item used to repair the first automobile part, to derive a quantity for the disposable item used to repair the second automobile part, and

generate at least one additional disposable material template including the derived quantity for the disposable item used to repair the second automobile part using the modification factor.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the administration component is further configured to limit variation of the at least one disposable material template by a predefined threshold, wherein limiting variation includes limiting variation of any pre-defined quantities for the disposable items to the predefined threshold.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the administration component is further configured to prevent alteration of the at least one disposable material template.

26. The system of claim 20, further comprising a brand selection component configured to limit disposable material selection by a user to at least one predetermined brand.

27. The system of claim 20, further comprising an automobile object defining a set of disposable items used in repair of an automobile part and at least one of at least one modification factor to derive a quantity of each one of the set of disposable items and a quantity for each one of the set of disposable items.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the analysis engine is further configured to generate at least one additional disposable material template using the automobile object.

29. The system of claim 20, wherein the project comprises work associated with an automobile.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the user interface is further configured to:

accept submission of variations to the at least one disposable material template, including at least one of modification of a quantity for a disposable item, removal of a disposable item, and additional of a disposable item; and

wherein the analysis engine is further configured to determine whether the requested variations meet a predetermined threshold.