System and method for online bill payment

• US 20090327108A1
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Swierz, N. Frank III, Baron, Jonathan A., Vroom, Brian D.
• Granted Patent: US 10,453,043 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/31
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/207 Tax processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission

Abstract

The present invention provides an accounting software application and related system and method for generating and presenting unfileable tax documents to clients for review and upon approval and payment converting the unfileable tax document into a final, fileable document for filing with a tax entity by either the service provider or the client. Watermarks, obscuring text, and other techniques may be employed to render draft tax documents unfileable so as to promote payment of services when presenting work product, such as tax returns, electronically to clients and confirming payment by the client prior to presenting or making accessible a fileable version of the document.

Claims

1. A web-based accounting software application adapted to be used by a tax service provider for transacting delivery of fileable tax documents in exchange for payment for services, the software application comprising:

means for generating a preliminary tax document;

means for presenting the preliminary tax document to a user via web-based communication;

means for the tax service provider receiving an approval message, the approval message indicating that the preliminary tax document is approved;

means for the tax service provider receiving an indication of payment; and

means for generating a final tax document upon receipt of the indication of payment, the final tax document being based at least in part upon data associated with the preliminary tax document.

2. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1, wherein the preliminary tax document is a draft tax return that is posted in an unfileable form to a web portal for review by a user, and wherein upon receiving the approval message and the indication of payment, the software application generates and posts to the web portal a final tax return accessible by the user.

3. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1, wherein the final tax document is a final tax return and is intended for filing with one or more of a federal taxing entity and a state taxing entity.

4. The web-based accounting software application of claim 3, wherein the tax service provider electronically files the final tax return on behalf of a taxpayer.

5. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1 further comprising:

means for receiving a set of tax related information;

means for generating the preliminary tax document based upon the set of tax related information; and

means for transmitting a notification that the preliminary tax document is ready for review.

6. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1 further comprising:

means for ensuring a payment for tax preparation services has been received;

means for transmitting a notification that the final tax document is available; and

means for permitting selective access to the final tax document.

7. The web-based accounting software application of claim 6, wherein the means for permitting selective access is responsive to information representing user identity, including one or more of the following:

user name;

social security number;

password;

previously assigned user identification number;

birth date;

address; and

response to prompt.

8. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1, wherein the preliminary tax document is presented to the user in an unfileable form.

9. The web-based accounting software application of claim 8, wherein the unfileable form includes one or more of the following:

a watermark;

a print defeat feature;

obscured text.

10. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1 further comprising:

means for generating an invoice related to the preliminary tax document;

means for notifying the user of the invoice for payment; and

means for confirming payment processing related to the invoice.

11. The web-based accounting software application of claim 10, wherein the means for notifying the user includes generating an email to an address associated with the user.

12. The web-based accounting software application of claim 11 wherein the email comprises one or more of an invoice document, an embedded link to a web page to access an invoice document, and an embedded link to a web page to facilitate payment.

13. The web-based accounting software application of claim 1, wherein the indication of payment is received from a third party and indicates receipt of payment from the user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the preliminary tax document is a draft tax return and further comprising posting the draft tax return in an unfileable form to a web portal for review by the associated user, and upon receiving the approval message and the indication of payment, generating and posting to the web portal a final tax return accessible by the user.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the final tax document is a final tax return and further comprising filing the final tax return with one or more of a federal taxing entity and a state taxing entity.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising electronically filing by the tax service provider the final tax return on behalf of a taxpayer.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a set of tax related information;

generating the preliminary tax document based upon the set of tax related information; and

transmitting a notification that the preliminary tax document is ready for review.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

ensuring a payment for tax preparation services has been received;

transmitting a notification that the final tax document is available; and

permitting selective access to the final tax document.

14. A method for delivering accounting related services in exchange for payment for such services using a web-based accounting software application, the method comprising:

generating a preliminary tax document associated with a user and based at least in part on user related tax data;

presenting the preliminary tax document to the associated user via web-based communication;

receiving by the tax service provider an approval message, the approval message indicating that the preliminary tax document is approved;

receiving by the tax service provider an indication of payment; and

generating a final tax document upon receipt of the indication of payment and based at least in part upon data associated with the preliminary tax document.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the preliminary tax document is presented to the user in an unfileable form.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the unfileable form includes one or more of the following:

a watermark;

a print defeat feature;

obscured text.

22. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

generating an invoice related to the preliminary tax document;

notifying the user of the invoice for payment; and

confirming payment processing related to the invoice.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein notifying the user includes generating an email to an address associated with the user.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the email comprises one or more of an invoice document, an embedded link to a web page to access an invoice document, and an embedded link to a web page to facilitate payment.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of payment is received from a third party and indicates receipt of payment from the user.

26. A computer-based system for providing tax return preparation services to clients over a network, the system comprising:

a central computer used by a tax service provider and adapted to execute an accounting software application adapted to generate and present fileable tax documents in exchange for payment, the central computer being further adapted to electronically communicate over a communications network with a plurality of client computers and to receive client tax data;

wherein the accounting software application comprises;

code adapted to generate a preliminary tax document based at least in part on the client tax data;

code adapted to deliver the preliminary tax document to a client computer for review by a user of the client computer;

code adapted to receive at the central computer an approval message from the client computer, the approval message indicating that the preliminary tax document is approved;

code adapted to receive at the central computer an indication of payment; and

code adapted to generate a final tax document upon receipt of the indication of payment, the final tax document being based at least in part upon client tax data.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the final tax document is a final tax return and is intended for filing with one or more of a federal taxing entity and a state taxing entity.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the tax service provider electronically files the final tax return on behalf of a taxpayer.

29. The system of claim 26 further comprising:

code adapted to generate an invoice related to the preliminary tax document;

code adapted to notify the user of the invoice; and

code adapted to confirm payment processing related to the invoice.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the code adapted to notify generates an email comprising one or more of an invoice document, an embedded link to a web page to access an invoice document, and an embedded link to a web page to facilitate payment.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the indication of payment is received from a third party and indicates receipt of payment.

32. An accounting software application embodied in computer-readable media and for generating and presenting fileable tax documents in exchange for payment, the application comprising;

code adapted to generate a preliminary tax document based at least in part on client tax data;

code adapted to present the preliminary tax document for review by a client;

code adapted to receive an approval message indicating that the preliminary tax document is approved;

code adapted to receive an indication of payment; and

code adapted to generate a final tax document upon receipt of the indication of payment, the final tax document being based at least in part upon client tax data.