Prioritizing email based on financial management data

• US 8,738,611 B1
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Zarmer, Craig Lee, Matthews, Lindsay Gordon, Weydt, Kramer Chapman, DaRosa, Louis Francisco Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CAM LINH T
• Application Number:
  US13/013,605
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 707/723, 707/732, 707/748
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method to prioritize emails based on financial management data configured to analyze an email to determine an identity of a sender of the email, to compare the identity of the sender to contact information contained within business data of a financial management application to identify a portion of the business data as being associated with the sender, to analyze the portion of the business data to generate a score representing a level of importance of the sender to the email recipient based on a pre-determined criterion, to generate a priority ranking of the email among a number of emails based on the score, and to display the email among the number of emails to the recipient with a priority indication based on the priority ranking.

Claims

1. A method to prioritize a plurality of emails received by a recipient, comprising:

analyzing, using a processor of a computer system, a first email of the plurality of emails to determine an identity of a sender of the first email among a plurality of senders corresponding to the plurality of emails, wherein the sender is a customer of the recipient;

comparing, using the processor, the identity of the sender to contact information of a financial management application to identify customer account information managed by the recipient and for the sender as the customer of the recipient;

computing, using the financial management application and in response to analyzing the first email, an account receivable and due date attribute of the sender from the customer account information;

generating, using the processor, a first priority ranking of the first email among the plurality of emails based on the account receivable and due date attribute; and

displaying the plurality of emails to the recipient with a priority indication for the first email based on the first priority ranking.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an adjustment to the business data subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email;

adjusting the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjusting the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining user preferences representing an importance measure of the account receivable and due date attribute of the business data,

wherein the pre-determined criterion comprises an evaluation of the account receivable and due date attribute with respect to the portion of the business data.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an adjustment to the user preferences subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email;

adjusting the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjusting the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a type of the contact information contained within the business data as required by the financial management application,

wherein analyzing the first email comprises analyzing at least one item selected from a group consisting of a header of the first email, an email address of the first email, a domain name of the email address of the first email, and a signature block of the first email to extract a data item consistent with the type, and

wherein the identity of the sender comprises the data item.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein the identity of the sender comprises at least one item of the sender selected from a group consisting of a name, an email alias, a telephone number, and a fax number, and

wherein the portion of the business data comprise the at least one item.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the business data comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of profit, sales, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and task due dates associated with the plurality of senders.

8. A system to prioritize a plurality of emails received by a recipient, comprising:

a financial management application executing on a processor of a computer system and used by the recipient to manage business activities conducted by the recipient with a plurality of senders corresponding to the plurality of emails;

a repository storing business data of the financial management application;

a correlation module executing on the processor and configured to;

analyze a first email of the plurality of emails to determine an identity of a sender of the first email among the plurality of the senders, wherein the sender is a customer of the recipient; and

compare the identity to contact information contained within the business data to identify customer account information managed by the recipient and for the sender as the customer of the recipient,

wherein the financial management application is configured to;

compute, in response to analyzing the first email, an account receivable and due date attribute of the sender from the customer account information;

a prioritization module executing on the processor and configured to;

generate a first priority ranking of the first email among the plurality of emails based on the account receivable and due date attribute; and

a display device configured to display the plurality of emails to the recipient with a priority indication of the first email based on the first priority ranking.

9. The system of claim 8,

wherein the prioritization module is further configured to:

receive an adjustment to the business data subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjust the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email, and

wherein the display device is further configured to adjust the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

10. The system of claim 8, the prioritization module further configured to:

obtain user preferences representing an importance measure of the account receivable and due date attribute of the business data,

wherein the pre-determined criterion comprises an evaluation of the account receivable and due date attribute with respect to the portion of the business data.

11. The system of claim 10,

wherein the prioritization module is further configured to:

receive an adjustment to the user preferences subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjust the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email, and

wherein the display device is further configured to;

adjust the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

12. The system of claim 8, the correlation module further configured to:

identify a type of the contact information contained within the business data as required by the financial management application,

wherein analyzing the first email comprises analyzing at least one item selected from a group consisting of a header of the first email, an email address of the first email, a domain name of the email address of the first email, and a signature block of the first email to extract a data item consistent with the type, and

wherein the identity of the sender comprises the data item.

13. The system of claim 8,

wherein the identity of the sender comprises at least one item of the sender selected from a group consisting of a name, an email alias, a telephone number, and a fax number, and

wherein the portion of the business data comprise the at least one item.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the business data comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of profit, sales, account payable, account receivable, and task due date associated with the plurality of senders.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodying instructions executable by a computer to prioritize a plurality of emails received by a recipient, the instructions, when executed by the computer, comprising functionality for:

analyzing a first email of the plurality of emails to determine an identity of a sender of the first email among a plurality of senders corresponding to the plurality of emails, wherein the sender is a customer of the recipient;

comparing the identity of the sender to contact information of a financial management application to identify customer account information managed by the recipient and for the sender as the customer of the recipient;

computing, using the financial management application and in response to analyzing the first email, an account receivable and due date attribute of the sender from the customer account information;

generating a first priority ranking of the first email among the plurality of emails based on the account receivable and due date attribute; and

displaying the plurality of emails to the recipient with a priority indication for the first email based on the first priority ranking.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the instructions, when executed by the computer, further comprising functionality for:

receiving an adjustment to the business data subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email;

adjusting the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjusting the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the instructions, when executed by the computer, further comprising functionality for:

obtaining user preferences representing an importance measure of the account receivable and due date attribute of the business data,

wherein the pre-determined criterion comprises an evaluation of the account receivable and due date attribute with respect to the portion of the business data.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, the instructions, when executed by the computer, further comprising functionality for:

receiving an adjustment to the user preferences subsequent to generating the first priority ranking of the first email;

adjusting the first priority ranking based on the adjustment to generate an adjusted first priority ranking of the first email; and

adjusting the priority indication of the first email based on the adjusted first priority ranking.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the instructions, when executed by the computer, further comprising functionality for:

identifying a type of the contact information contained within the business data as required by the financial management application,

wherein analyzing the first email comprises analyzing at least one item selected from a group consisting of a header of the first email, an email address of the first email, a domain name of the email address of the first email, and a signature block of the first email to extract a data item consistent with the type, and

wherein the identity of the sender comprises the data item.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15,

wherein the identity of the sender comprises at least one item of the sender selected from a group consisting of a name, an email alias, a telephone number, and a fax number, and

wherein the portion of the business data comprise the at least one item.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the business data comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of profit, sales, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and task due dates associated with the plurality of senders.