TRAVEL EXPENSE AUTOMATION

• US 20140143105A1
• Filed: 01/28/2014
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Serko Limited
• Original Assignee: Serko Limited
• Inventors: SHAW, Robert James, GRAFTON, Darrin
• Granted Patent: US 8,762,185 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method of monitoring the expenses of a traveller during the progress of an itinerary utilises NFC for carrying out the financial transactions associated with the itinerary and updates a corporate ERP or similar financial database with the financial transactions as they occur allowing rapid allocation to cost centres. The itinerary may be laid out in terms of itinerary events, each of which may be tracked by an NFC connection with an NFC device at an expected location and date for the itinerary event.

Claims

1. A first mobile device capable of remote communication and equipped to carry out a financial transaction through an NFC connection, the first device including storage capable of carrying an itinerary of a user of the first mobile device, the itinerary including expected itinerary events and expected expenditure for the expected itinerary event versus the expenditure cost center, the first mobile device being capable of contacting a remote Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) also carrying itinerary details whereby on completion of a financial transaction through an NFC connection the detail of the financial transaction is communicated to the remote ERP with the expenditure cost center by the first mobile device and the transaction allocated against at least one cost center at the ERP.

2. A first mobile device as claimed in claim 1 wherein before an NFC connection financial transaction is commenced the transaction amount is identified against a stored itinerary event and compared with the expected financial expenditure for that event and if differing the user is queried for the cost center of the difference, and where the cost center differs from the stored itinerary event cost center the communication to the remote ERP includes details of the amount allocated against differing cost centers.

3. A first mobile device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the amounts allocated to different cost centres before the NFC connection transaction are carried out as separate NFC connection transactions.

5. A method of carrying out a financial transaction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second device carries a replicate of the itinerary and itinerary events in the remote ERP.

6. A method of carrying out a financial transaction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the itinerary events are identifiable events occurring during the progress of the itinerary and preferably at least some of the itinerary events are predicted to occur within a specific time frame.

7. A method of carrying out a financial transaction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second device has sufficient itinerary details to query expected item cost centres with the traveller.

8. A method of carrying out a financial transaction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second device may allocate items to cost centres.

4. A method of initiating a financial transaction with a first NFC equipped device using a second device associated with a traveller which device is NFC equipped, the second device receiving from or supplying to the first NFC device an invoice or receipt relating to one or more items, authorising a payment to or receiving a payment authorisation from the first device via the NFC connection, thereby initiating a financial transaction, conveying from the second device to a remote ERP system information relating to the financial transaction including the cost centre or cost centres for the transaction, the remote ERP including the capability to allocate costs and payments against cost centres and having an itinerary for the traveller carrying the second device, the itinerary having one or more itinerary events in the itinerary, characterised in that at the remote ERP system the financial transaction is allocated against an itinerary event stored in the ERP system and the items of the financial transaction are allocated against cost centres in the ERP system.

9. A system for the initiating of a financial transaction by a traveller travelling on an itinerary which itinerary has itinerary events,

the traveller travelling with a first device which is NFC equipped and remote communication capable and capable of initiating financial transactions with a second NFC equipped device;

the first device interacting with a second NFC equipped device to carry out a financial transaction related to an itinerary event and to receive an invoice or receipt relating to items within that financial transaction;

a remote ERP system storing the traveller itinerary and the expected itinerary events;

the first device communicating with the remote ERP system upon completion of the transaction with details of the transaction including the proposed cost centres;

wherein the remote ERP system allocates the financial transaction against an itinerary event and allocates against cost centres in the ERP system.