Automatic billing event submission reconciliation for on demand systems

• US 7,603,314 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2004
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Siksa, Mary Ellen
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi; Hani
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shrestha; Bijendra K
• Application Number:
  US10/809,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20050216396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,028 Days
• Field of Search: 705/40
• US Class Current: 705/40
• 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 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Reconciliation subsystem for use with a system for recording, analyzing, verifying, and reporting of product used, sold, or transferred from multiple locations at various prices or costs to different customers in a business or in commerce, and generating consolidated billing notices. The reconciliation starts by logging the session start time and retrieving the last session start time, and retrieving the logs from the feeder and the interim control points. If there is an error at this point, the appropriate notification is issued, the session status is logged, and the reconciliation process ended. If there is no error, the records are compared, checked for unreconciled records, and the report prepared and published. Session status is logged, and the reconciliation process is ended.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of reconciling records of resource consumption at a plurality of resource consumption sites, the computer-implemented method comprising:

programming a specific processor with computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform the steps of;

a. collecting and recording resource consumption at multiple resource consumption sites, wherein the resource consumption is a consumption of electricity that is transmitted through resource consumption feeders that serve multiple types of electricity generation companies, and wherein the electricity generation companies supply electricity to the resource consumption sites;

b. retrieving records from the resource consumption sites and interim control points on the resource consumption feeders, wherein the resource consumption feeders are electric power lines coming from the multiple electricity generation companies;

c. comparing a total number of resource consumption records forwarded from the resource consumption feeders with a total number of resource consumption records aggregated at the resource consumption sites;

d. issuing a notification, if an error is discovered during the comparing step;

e. if no errors are detected during the comparing step, continuing comparing records until all records are reconciled;

f. aggregating the records of resource consumption into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the resource consumption sites; and

g. automatically reconciling resource consumption records at feeder sub systems, nodes, interim nodes and billing subsystems that are located between the resource consumption feeders and the resource consumption sites.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the records from the resource consumption sites and the interim control points comprise an audit scope identifier, wherein the audit scope identifier describes a time and date of a next scheduled reconciliation of the resource consumption records at the resource consumption feeders and the resource consumption sites.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the electricity generating companies each use a different billing structure, and wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

providing a reconciliation of records between the resource consumption sites and the interim control points to a specific billing structure that is used by a particular electricity generating company.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the records from the resource consumption sites and the interim control points comprise a unique key, wherein the unique key is composed of a SystemID, an AppInstanceID, and a RefRequest, wherein the SystemID identifies a transmission system of a particular electricity provider, wherein the AppInstanceID identifies a particular feeder line used by that particular electricity provider, and wherein the AppInstanceID identifies a set of resource records used on that particular feeder line for that particular electricity provider during a specifically defined period of time.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising reconciling resource consumption records in a reconciliation session by:

a. logging a reconciliation session start time of a reconciliation session,

b. retrieving a last reconciliation session start time,

c. issuing a notification of a logging session status,

d. ending the reconciliation session if an error is discovered, and

e. if no errors are detected, continuing comparing records until all records are reconciled, issuing a report, and logging session status.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the multiple types of electricity generation companies that are selected from a group that includes a coal fired company, a gas fired company, a hydroelectric company, and a wind turbine company.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the aggregate business records are chosen from a group consisting of transfer records, invoices, and units of resource consumption.

8. A processor system configured and controlled for reconciling resource consumption records, said processor system being between a plurality of resource consumption sites and a resource consumption record aggregation target site, said processor system designed for incorporating resource consumption at the resource consumption record aggregation target site into aggregate business records, said processor system comprising:

a. a collecting and recording subsystem for collecting and recording resource consumption at resource consumption sites, wherein the resource consumption is a consumption of gaseous hydrocarbons being transferred internally within an integrated petroleum refinery;

b. an automated reconciliation subsystem for reconciling records of resource consumption between the resource consumption sites and the resource consumption record aggregation target site by;

i. retrieving records from a resource consumption feeder and interim control points;

ii. comparing a total number of resource consumption records forwarded from the resource consumption feeders with a total number of resource consumption records aggregated at the resource consumption record aggregation target site;

iii. issuing a notification if an error is discovered; and

iv. if no errors are detected, continuing comparing records until all records of resource consumption between the resource consumption sites and the resource consumption record aggregation target site are reconciled;

c. a first interim system coupled to the resource consumption feeders;

d. a second interim system coupled to a set of billing systems used by multiple providers of the gaseous hydrocarbons being transferred within the integrated petroleum refinery; and

e. a firewall between the first interim system and the second interim system, wherein the firewall controls access between the resource consumption feeders and the set of billing systems used by the multiple providers.

9. The processor system of claim 8, wherein a reconciliation process comprises aggregating reconciled records of resource consumption into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the resource consumption record aggregation target site.

10. The processor system of claim 8, wherein a reconciliation process comprises aggregating the records of resource consumption into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the resource consumption record aggregation target site, and thereafter reconciling the aggregate business records at the resource consumption record aggregation target site.

11. The processor system of claim 8 wherein a reconciliation process comprises reconciling the records in a reconciliation session by:

a. logging a reconciliation session start time of a reconciliation session,

b. retrieving a last reconciliation session start time,

c. issuing a notification of a logging session status,

d. ending the reconciliation session if an error is discovered, and

e. if no errors are detected, continuing comparing records until all records are reconciled, issuing a report, and logging session status.

12. The processor system of claim 8, wherein the aggregate business records are chosen from the group consisting of transfer records, invoices, and units of resource consumption.

13. A storage medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions, wherein when the machine-readable instructions are executed by a digital processing system, cause the digital processing system to reconcile records of resource consumption at a plurality of resource consumption sites for incorporation into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at a target site, by a method comprising the steps of:

a. collecting and recording resource consumption at resource consumption sites, wherein the resource consumption is heavy hydrocarbon that is transferred internally within units of an integrated petroleum refinery;

b. retrieving records from a resource consumption feeder and interim control points;

c. comparing a total number of resource consumption records forwarded from resource consumption feeders with a total number of resource consumption records aggregated at a target site;

d. issuing a notification, if an error is discovered;

e. if no errors are detected, continuing comparing records until all records from the resource consumption feeder and interim control points are reconciled;

f. aggregating records of resource consumption of the heavy hydrocarbon into aggregate business records of the resource consumption of the heavy hydrocarbon at the target site; and

g. automatically reconciling resource consumption records for the heavy hydrocarbon at feeder sub systems, nodes, interim nodes and billing subsystems that are located between the resource consumption feeders and resource consumption sites.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the target site comprise billing records.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the method comprises aggregating reconciled records of resource consumption into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the target site.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the method comprises aggregating the records of resource consumption into aggregate business records of the resource consumption at the target site and thereafter reconciling the aggregated records at the target site.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the method comprises reconciling records of heavy hydrocarbon consumption in a reconciliation session by:

a. logging a reconciliation session start time of a reconciliation session,

b. retrieving a last reconciliation session start time,

c. issuing a notification of a logging session status,

d. ending the reconciliation session if an error is discovered, and

e. if no errors are detected, continuing comparing records until all records are reconciled, issuing a report, and logging session status.

18. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the aggregate business records are chosen from a group consisting of transfer records, invoices, and units of resource consumption.