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Travel expense automation

  • US 9,704,110 B2
  • Filed: 04/25/2014
  • Issued: 07/11/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2011
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A portable electronic device carryable by a traveler, comprising:

  • a processor;

    an interactive user interface device;

    data storage, having stored therein;

    programming code that operates the portable electronic device upon execution by the processor, anda copy of an itinerary of the traveler held in a remote ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning system), the copy of the itinerary containing itinerary events, predicted itinerary expenses of itinerary events and expense cost centers for itinerary events, the portable electronic device being operationally configured to monitor itinerary events in the copy of the traveler'"'"'s itinerary;

    a data communications interface that communicates with the remote ERP; and

    a NFC (Near Field Communication) interface configured to detect the presence of a payment initiating NFC device when the portable electronic device is at or near a location specified for an itinerary event at or near a specified time of that itinerary event,wherein, during operational execution of the programming code, the portable electronic device;

    connects, via the NFC interface, to a detected payment initiating NFC device to initiate a transaction for the predicted itinerary expense, receives information from the detected payment initiating NFC device relating to the actual itinerary transaction amount;

    if the actual itinerary transaction amount substantially matches the predicted itinerary expense, the portable electronic device allocates the actual itinerary transaction amount to a cost center specified for that itinerary event;

    if the actual itinerary transaction amount does not substantially match the predicted itinerary expense, the portable electronic device queries the traveler, via the interactive user interface device, to confirm an actual itinerary expense and cost center for the itinerary event;

    receives, via the interactive user interface device, a confirmation of the actual itinerary expense and cost center for the itinerary event;

    thereupon authorizes ;

    via the NFC interface, the transaction with the detected payment initiating NFC device; and

    transmits, via the data communications interface, details of the actual itinerary transaction amount and the allocated cost center to the remote ERP storing the traveler'"'"'s itinerary.

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