Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To solve the problem that work for erasing the receipt of money entails a significant work load.SOLUTION: An information processing device 100 comprises: a payee information acquisition unit 143 for acquiring payee information by which a payee bank account prepared for a user and corresponding one to one to one trading partner is identifiable; a billing information output unit 145 for outputting billing information requesting payment at the payee bank account from the trading partner and accumulating billing information in a storage unit 110 in association with the payee information; a receipt of money information acquisition unit 151 for acquiring receipt of money information relating to receipt of money at the payee bank account; and an erasing related processing unit 153 for comparing billing information accumulated in the storage unit 110 and corresponding to the payee bank account with the receipt of money information corresponding to the payee bank account and performing erasing-related processing for erasing billing information. The information processing device 100 helps easily perform erasing receipts of money from two or more trading patterns.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program used when requesting payment of money from a business partner. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when collecting payments using a terminal used by the payer, an invoice linked to the payer's account is issued and information related to the invoice is notified to the terminal used by the payer along with the electronic payment method (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-184700 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, billing and payments made via bank accounts, mainly in business-to-business transactions, are generally carried out as follows. That is, an invoice listing the account information of the billing company is issued to the business partner, and the business partner transfers the invoiced amount to that account. The billing company then has to clarify which invoice and invoice amount the transferred amount corresponds to, whether the receivable has been resolved, and if there is still a receivable, how much it is. This type of clearing of payments requires manual checks, and must be done carefully to avoid errors, resulting in a significant burden.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and has as its object to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can easily cancel a customer's deposit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device of the first invention is an information processing device used when a user requests payment of money to each of two or more business partners, and is equipped with a transfer destination information acquisition unit that acquires transfer destination information that can identify a transfer destination account prepared for the user and that corresponds one-to-one to a business partner, a billing information output unit that outputs billing information requesting the business partner to make payment to the transfer destination account and stores the billing information in a storage unit in association with the transfer destination information, a deposit information acquisition unit that acquires deposit information regarding deposits to the transfer destination account, and a reconciliation-related processing unit that compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer destination account stored in the storage unit with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer destination account and performs reconciliation-related processing regarding the reconciliation of the billing information.

[0007] This configuration makes it easy to cancel payments from two or more business partners.

[0008] In addition, the information processing device of the second invention is an information processing device that, compared to the first invention, is equipped with an account management unit that prepares a transfer destination account associated with a main account that is the user's main account for use, and the account management unit is configured to determine whether specified new conditions for a new business partner are satisfied, and to prepare a transfer destination account corresponding to the business partner if it is determined that the new conditions are satisfied.

[0009] This configuration makes it easier to cancel payments from two or more business partners.

[0010] In addition, the information processing device of the third invention is an information processing device configured in comparison with the first or second invention, which is further equipped with a business partner identification unit that acquires transaction information including information regarding the other party to the transaction and identifies the business partner corresponding to the transaction information based on the transaction information, and the billing information output unit is configured to output billing information using transfer destination information corresponding to the business partner identified by the business partner identification unit.

[0011] With this configuration, it is possible to easily specify the business partner and output the billing information.

[0012] Furthermore, in comparison with the third invention, the information processing device of the fourth invention is an information processing device including a business partner information storage unit in which business partner information including information about each of two or more business partners is stored, and the business partner identification unit is configured to search for the business partner information using information about the other party and to identify the business partner corresponding to the information about the other party.

[0013] With this configuration, it is possible to easily specify the business partner and output the billing information.

[0014] In addition, the information processing device of the fifth invention is an information processing device in which, with respect to any one of the first to fourth inventions, the reconciliation-related processing unit is configured to perform reconciliation-related processing when the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a specified matching condition, and the reconciliation-related processing is to record in the storage unit that the billing information to be reconciled has been deposited, or to output a suggestion thereto to the user.

[0015] With this configuration, the payment can be cancelled easily and reliably.

[0016] In addition, the information processing device of the sixth invention is an information processing device which, relative to any one of the first to fifth inventions, when the reconciliation-related processing unit determines that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined first amount range condition, records in the storage unit that the billing information to be reconciled has been deposited, as reconciliation-related processing, and executes additional processing regarding the amount difference or outputs a proposal therefor to the user.

[0017] With this configuration, when a deposit that satisfies the amount range condition is made, it is possible to easily cancel the deposit and perform additional processing.

[0018] In addition, the information processing device of the seventh invention is an information processing device in which, with respect to any one of the first to sixth inventions, the reconciliation-related processing unit is configured to execute a reconciliation target determination process as a reconciliation-related process when it is determined that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer destination account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer destination account satisfies a specified second amount range condition, and the reconciliation target determination process is a process that determines, from the billing information corresponding to the transfer destination account recorded in the storage unit, the billing information that is to be recorded in the storage unit as having been deposited, based on the specified determination condition.

[0019] With this configuration, when a deposit is made that satisfies the amount range condition, it is possible to easily determine the target for the deposit write-off.

[0020] In addition, the information processing device of the eighth invention is an information processing device configured with respect to any one of the first to seventh inventions, in which the reconciliation-related processing unit is configured to perform reconciliation-related processing based on instructions from a user when it records in the storage unit that a payment has been made to one or more billing information based on one deposit information, and when there is a surplus in the deposit amount corresponding to the deposit information.

[0021] With this configuration, processing can be easily performed when there is a surplus deposit amount.

[0022] In addition, the information processing device of the ninth invention is an information processing device having a dunning unit that, when it is determined that the billing information stored in the storage unit satisfies specified dunning conditions, performs dunning-related processing related to dunning a business partner for payment corresponding to the billing information, with respect to any one of the first to eighth inventions.

[0023] With this configuration, it is possible to easily request payment for billing information that has not been settled. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the information processing device of the present invention, it is possible to easily cancel payments from two or more business partners. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing system using an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] Block diagram of the information processing system [Diagram 3] Block diagram of the information processing device [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of customer information used in the information processing device; [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 shows an example of a billing ledger used in the information processing device. [Figure 6] A flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device. [Figure 7] A flowchart showing an example of a name matching information registration process of the information processing device [Figure 8] A flowchart showing an example of an account management process of the information processing device. [Figure 9] A flowchart showing an example of an invoice issuing process of the information processing device. [Figure 10] A flowchart showing an example of a dunning-related process of the information processing device. [Figure 11] 1 is a first flowchart showing an example of a clearing-related process of the information processing device. [Figure 12] 2 is a second flowchart showing an example of a clearing-related process of the information processing device. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a payment cancellation operation of the information processing device. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a billing list screen used in the billing information management function of the information processing device. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 shows an example of a billing screen used in the billing information management function of the information processing device. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a first diagram showing another display mode of a clearing operation screen used in the billing information management function of the information processing device. [Figure 17]FIG. 2 is a second diagram showing another display mode of the clearing operation screen used in the billing information management function of the information processing device; [Figure 18] FIG. 13 shows an example of a display mode of a name matching information registration screen used in the billing information management function of the information processing device. [Figure 19] Overview of the computer system according to the above embodiment. [Figure 20] Block diagram of the computer system DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0027] The terms used below are generally defined as follows. The meanings of these terms should not always be interpreted as shown here, but rather, when they are explained individually below, they should be interpreted in light of that explanation.

[0028] In the following description, a user is a person who conducts a transaction with a business partner. A business partner is, for example, a corporation or an individual who conducts a transaction with the user, but is not limited to this. For example, the business partner may be any organization or the like.

[0029] An identifier for a certain item is a character or code that uniquely identifies that item. An identifier is, for example, an ID, but any type of information can be used as long as it can identify the corresponding item. In other words, an identifier may be the name of the thing it represents, or it may be a combination of codes that uniquely identify the thing.

[0030] The term "acquisition" may include acquiring items input by a user or the like, or may include acquiring information stored in another device. Acquiring information stored in another device may include acquiring information stored in another device via an API or the like, or may include acquiring information by performing scraping or the like on the contents of a document file (including the contents of a web page) provided by another device. It may also include acquiring information in a format different from that of the original information, such as acquiring information by performing optical character reading on an image file.

[0031] Also, the so-called machine learning technique may be used to acquire information. The machine learning technique can be used, for example, as follows. That is, a learning device (learning information) that receives a specific type of input information as an input and outputs a type of output information to be acquired is configured using the machine learning technique. For example, two or more pairs of input information and output information are prepared in advance, and the two or more pairs of information are provided to a module for configuring a machine learning learning device to configure the learning device, and the configured learning device is stored in a storage unit. The learning device can also be called a classifier. Note that the machine learning technique may be, for example, deep learning, random forest, SVM, or the like. For machine learning, functions in various machine learning frameworks such as fastText, tinySVM, random forest, and TensorFlow, or various existing libraries, can be used. Acquiring information using such a learning device is sometimes called acquisition by machine learning.

[0032] Moreover, the learning device is not limited to one obtained by machine learning. The learning device may be, for example, a table showing the correspondence between an input vector based on input information and output information. In this case, output information corresponding to a feature vector based on input information may be obtained from the table, or a vector approximating a feature vector based on input information may be generated using two or more input vectors in the table and parameters for weighting each input vector, and final output information may be obtained using output information and parameters corresponding to each input vector used in the generation. Obtaining information using such a learning device may be referred to as obtaining using a correspondence. Also, the learning device may be, for example, a function that represents the relationship between an input vector based on input information and information for generating output information. In this case, for example, information corresponding to a feature vector based on input information may be obtained by a function, and output information may be obtained using the obtained information. Obtaining information using such a learning device may be referred to as obtaining using a function.

[0033] Outputting information is a concept that includes displaying on a display, projecting using a projector, printing on a printer, outputting sound, transmitting to an external device, storing on a recording medium, passing the processing results to another processing device or another program, etc. Specifically, it includes, for example, enabling information to be displayed on a web page, transmitting as e-mail, etc., and outputting information to be printed.

[0034] The concept of accepting information includes the acceptance of information input from input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, the reception of information transmitted from other devices via wired or wireless communication lines, and the acceptance of information read from recording media such as optical disks, magnetic disks, and semiconductor memories.

[0035] (Embodiment)

[0036] The outline of this embodiment is as follows. The information processing device acquires transfer destination information capable of identifying a transfer destination account that corresponds one-to-one with a business partner, and outputs billing information to the business partner requesting payment to the transfer destination account. The information processing device is also configured to compare the deposit information to the transfer destination account with the billing information, and perform clearing-related processing related to the clearing of the billing information. When predetermined new conditions related to a new business partner are satisfied, the information processing device prepares a transfer destination account that corresponds to the business partner and is associated with the main account.

[0037] The information processing device may be configured to acquire transaction information including information on the counterparty, and include a business partner identification unit that identifies a business partner corresponding to the transaction information based on the information on the counterparty, and the billing information output unit may be configured to output the billing information using the transaction information and the transfer destination information. If the comparison result satisfies the matching condition, the information processing device may record that the billing information has been paid or suggest that it has been paid, as a clearing-related process. If the comparison result satisfies a predetermined amount range condition, the information processing device may record that the billing information has been paid and record that a fee has been charged or suggest that it has been paid, as a clearing-related process. If the comparison result with the total amount of the billing information satisfies a predetermined amount range condition, the information processing device may determine, based on a predetermined processing condition, the billing information to which the payment has been paid or the suggestion is made, as a clearing-related process. The information processing device may process the remaining amount of the payment after the clearing based on a user's instruction. If the output billing information satisfies a predetermined dunning condition, the information processing device may perform a dunning-related process for dunning the business partner for payment.

[0038] The operation of an information processing system including such an information processing device will be described below.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing system 1 using an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] The information processing device 100 is used when a user requests payment of money from each of two or more business partners. As described below, the information processing device 100 provides a billing information management function that can be used by the user. The information processing device 100 can be used when billing business partners for the provision of goods or services, and when managing whether or not the bill has been paid.

[0041] 1, in this embodiment, an information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 100 and a terminal device 600. The devices can communicate with each other via a network such as a local area network or the Internet. The configuration of the information processing system 1 is not limited to this. The number of devices included in the information processing system 1 is not important, and other devices may also be included in the information processing system 1.

[0042] 1, for example, a mobile information terminal device such as a smartphone, a tablet-type information terminal device, and a personal computer (PC) such as a laptop computer are shown as the terminal device 600, but any of these devices or other devices may be used as the terminal device 600. A user of the information processing system 1 can use the information processing system 1 by using the terminal device 600. In the following example, it is assumed that a so-called personal computer having a keyboard, display, etc. is used as the terminal device 600, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0043] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the information processing system 1. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the information processing device 100.

[0044] First, the configuration of the terminal device 600 will be described.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 600 includes a terminal storage unit 610, a terminal receiving unit 620, a terminal acceptance unit 630, a terminal processing unit 640, a terminal output unit 660, and a terminal transmission unit 670.

[0046] The terminal device 600 is, for example, a general personal computer, and has a display as an output device, an input device (for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, etc.) used for user input operations, etc., but is not limited to these. The terminal device 600 is connectable to a network, and is configured to be able to communicate with other devices connected to the network.

[0047] A non-volatile recording medium is preferable for the terminal storage unit 610, but a volatile recording medium may also be used. The terminal storage unit 610 stores various information, programs, and the like.

[0048] The terminal receiving unit 620 receives information transmitted from the information processing device 100 or other devices via the network. The terminal receiving unit 620 accumulates the received information, for example, in the terminal storage unit 610, so that the device processing unit 640 and the like can acquire the information.

[0049] The terminal reception unit 630 receives various input operations for the terminal device 600 by a user who uses the terminal device 600. The operations are performed, for example, using an input device (not shown), but are not limited to this. For example, the terminal reception unit 630 may receive an input operation by voice input through a microphone, or may receive an input operation performed using a reading device (for example, a code reader) connected to the terminal device 600.

[0050] The terminal processing unit 640 performs various information processing operations using each unit of the terminal device 600. The information processing operations are performed, for example, by executing a program stored in the terminal storage unit 610, but are not limited to this.

[0051] The terminal output unit 660 outputs information, for example, by displaying it on a display device. Note that the method of outputting information is not limited to this, and information may be output by outputting sound or the like from a speaker or the like.

[0052] The terminal transmitting unit 670 transmits, for example, information acquired by the terminal processing unit 640 or the like via the network.

[0053] In the information processing system 1, a user can utilize the billing information management function provided by the information processing device 100 by operating the terminal device 600 to transmit and receive information to and from the information processing device 100.

[0054] Next, the configuration of the information processing device 100 will be described.

[0055] The information processing device 100 includes a storage unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a accepting unit 130, a processing unit 140, an output unit 160, and a transmitting unit 170. The information processing device 100 is, for example, a server device.

[0056] In the information processing system 1, the information processing device 100 is configured to be able to identify the user who uses each terminal device 600 by various methods. For example, when a user who uses the terminal device 600 transmits information to the information processing device 100, the terminal device 600 can transmit an identifier that can identify the user to the information processing device 100 together with the information to be transmitted. In this case, the information processing device 100 is able to identify the user based on the transmitted identifier. This makes it possible to distinguish between two or more users and provide a billing information management function to each user. Note that, as the identifier, a user identifier that identifies the user, a terminal identifier that identifies the terminal device 600, or the like can be used, but is not limited thereto.

[0057] The storage unit 110 includes a customer information storage unit 112 and a ledger storage unit 114 .

[0058] The customer information storage unit 112 stores customer information including information about each of two or more customers of a user. The customer information may be called a customer ledger. The customer information includes attribute values ​​of various attributes of a customer, for example, by associating the customer with a customer identifier that can identify the customer. The customer information may include information such as the customer's address, contact information, domain name, payment site, etc.

[0059] In this embodiment, the customer information includes transfer destination information that can identify the transfer destination account set for each customer, as described below.

[0060] A transfer destination account is an account prepared for a user. A transfer destination account is an account that corresponds one-to-one with one business partner. In other words, a transfer destination account is an account prepared for each user and each business partner. In this embodiment, each transfer destination account is associated with a main account (which may be called a master account) that is the user's main account. Note that there may be only one main account per user, or there may be two or more main accounts. In the latter case, it is sufficient that a transfer destination account for one user is associated with any one of the two or more main accounts.

[0061] The transfer destination account is different from an account conventionally managed by a bank or the like, and is a bank account prepared for performing processing using the information processing device 100 as described below. The transfer destination account is, for example, an account that can be used by others as a transfer destination of money, but money deposited into the transfer destination account is actually deposited into the corresponding main account. A user is able to collectively manage and use money deposited into two or more transfer destination accounts in the main account. Note that money deposited into the transfer destination account may be automatically transferred to the main account. The transfer destination account may be called a virtual account. Note that a person who manages the transfer destination account, such as a bank, may treat the transfer destination account as a normal account in the bank's internal business.

[0062] The transfer destination information may be referred to as a transfer destination identifier that can identify the transfer destination account. The transfer destination information may include, for example, an account number, a bank name, a branch name, and the like, but is not limited to this.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of business partner information used in the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0064] As shown in the figure, the customer information includes, for example, a record for each customer in which attribute values ​​such as the customer name, transfer information, address and contact information, domain name, payment site, etc. are associated with the customer identifier. Note that the transfer information indicates, for example, an account number at a bank and branch name.

[0065] Here, in the customer information shown in the figure, name matching information, which is information about the other party of the customer, is recorded in association with the customer identifier. For example, multiple pieces of name matching information may be recorded. The name matching information will be described later.

[0066] Returning to FIG. 3, ledger storage unit 114 stores a billing ledger for managing billing by users. The billing ledger is a database in which a record including billing information related to a bill is recorded each time a user makes a bill. Records that have been cleared are maintained as is in the billing ledger, but this is not limited to this, and records that have been cleared do not need to be managed. The configuration of the billing ledger is not important. It may be said that ledger storage unit 114 stores information related to accounts receivable.

[0067] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a billing ledger used in the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0068] As shown in the figure, the billing ledger records billing information such as the billing amount and deadline in association with the transfer destination information. In other words, the billing information is recorded in association with information that can identify the business partner. The billing ledger may also be capable of recording information indicating whether or not each bill has been cleared, as well as other record items. As other record items, for example, information regarding the breakdown of the bill, special arrangements, etc. may be capable of being recorded.

[0069] The receiving unit 120 receives information transmitted from another device. The receiving unit 120 stores the received information in, for example, the storage unit 110. When the receiving unit 120 receives such information from the terminal device 600, the receiving unit 120 can identify the user identifier of the user related to the transmission based on the transmitted information.

[0070] The reception unit 130 receives an input operation by a user. The reception unit 130 receives information input using an input means (not shown) connected to the information processing device 100. The reception unit 130 stores the received information in, for example, the storage unit 110. The input means may be any means, such as a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, or a menu screen. The reception unit 130 may receive information input by an input operation (including, for example, information read by a device) performed using a reading device (for example, a code reader, etc.) connected to the information processing device 100.

[0071] The accepting unit 130 may be regarded as accepting the information received by the receiving unit 120 as information input to the information processing device 100. In other words, the input of information to the information processing device 100 may be interpreted as meaning that the information is indirectly input to the information processing device 100 by the user via the terminal device 600 or the like, or may be interpreted as meaning that the information is directly input to the information processing device 100 by the user using an input means. In addition, the input of information to the information processing device 100 may be regarded as the user providing information to the information processing device 100 by executing a program that automatically generates information or by providing various information to a program to make it function.

[0072] In this embodiment, the user can perform various input operations, such as an operation for outputting billing information (which may be called an operation for issuing an invoice) and an operation related to canceling a payment, as described below, using the terminal device 600. When information based on these input operations is transmitted to the information processing device 100 and received by the receiving unit 120, the accepting unit 130 can accept the input operations.

[0073] The processing unit 140 includes a customer specification unit 141, a transfer destination information acquisition unit 143, a billing information output unit 145, an account management unit 149, a deposit information acquisition unit 151, a reconciliation related processing unit 153, and a dunning unit 157. The processing unit 140 performs various types of processing. The various types of processing are, for example, processing performed by each unit of the processing unit 140 as follows.

[0074] The business partner identification unit 141 acquires transaction information including information on the other party of a transaction, and identifies the business partner corresponding to the transaction information based on the transaction information.

[0075] Here, the counterparty of a transaction is, for example, a department of a business partner, or a related person who belongs to a business partner and conducts a transaction with a user. Information about the counterparty of a transaction is, for example, an email address used by the related person or department, information such as an address, title, or department name written on a business card, or other contact information, but is not limited to these.

[0076] The transaction information may be information itself about the other party in the transaction. For example, the transaction information may be, but is not limited to, e-mails related to the transaction, documents such as purchase orders and delivery notes, or electronic versions of such documents. For example, the transaction information may be data including information about the other party in the transaction output from a sales management system or the like used by the information processing device 100 or other devices. It may be said that the transaction information includes information that can identify the other party.

[0077] Identifying a business partner may be referred to as matching the counterparty with a business partner or matching the counterparty's name. In other words, identifying a business partner may be referred to as identifying which of two or more business partners targeted in the billing information management function the counterparty corresponds to. Identifying a business partner may be referred to as obtaining an identifier capable of identifying a business partner.

[0078] In this embodiment, the customer specification unit 141 searches for customer information using information about the other party included in the transaction information. Then, it is configured to specify a customer corresponding to the information about the other party. More specifically, for example, when an email address of a related party of the other party is acquired as information about the other party, the customer specification unit 141 acquires a customer identifier corresponding to the email address using a part or all of the domain name of the email address. Also, for example, when a part or abbreviation of the company name of the other party is acquired as information about the other party, the customer specification unit 141 acquires a customer identifier having the company name corresponding to the email address. Note that, when there are two or more candidates for the corresponding customer, the customer specification unit 141 may acquire all of the customer identifiers as candidates. In that case, for example, the customer specification unit 141 may be configured to output the candidates to the user by the output unit 160 or the like, and specify one candidate according to the user's selection operation as the customer.

[0079] In the present embodiment, the name matching information is included in, for example, the customer information. For example, frequently used abbreviations, typos, and other information may be used as the name matching information.

[0080] The name matching information is configured to be registered in each customer information by using, for example, a general-purpose name matching database configured for name matching and used in common by two or more users. The registration process of such name matching information can be performed, for example, by the processing unit 140, when it receives information to be matched, searching the name matching database for the information to be matched, and storing the information to be matched in the customer information in association with the customer that is the search result (updating the customer information). Note that, in cases where there are two or more search results in the database, the information on the counterparty may be associated with the customer information based on the search results and an instruction from the user. By including the name matching information in the customer information in advance in this way, the customer to be billed can be easily and reliably identified based on the information on the counterparty included in the transaction information.

[0081] The customer information is not limited to the name matching information associated with the transfer destination information for name matching performed by the customer specification unit 141 as described above. For example, the name matching information may be a general-purpose database configured for name matching and used in common by two or more users.

[0082] The transfer destination information acquisition unit 143 acquires transfer destination information that can identify a transfer destination account prepared for a user and corresponding to a business partner for a bill from a user to the business partner. The transfer destination information acquisition unit 143 is configured to acquire the transfer destination information corresponding to the business partner identified by the business partner identification unit 141, for example, by referring to the business partner information.

[0083] The billing information output unit 145 is configured to compose and output billing information for a bill from a user to one of the business partners. The billing information output unit 145 outputs billing information requesting the business partner to make payment to a transfer account, and stores the billing information in the storage unit 110 in association with the transfer information. Storing the billing information in the storage unit 110 may mean, for example, recording the billing amount, etc. in a ledger stored in the storage unit 110. The billing information is stored, for example, in the ledger storage unit 114, but is not limited to this.

[0084] In this embodiment, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit 141, the billing information output unit 145 is configured to output billing information using the transfer destination information corresponding to the identified customer.

[0085] Here, the billing information is, for example, information that constitutes an invoice to a business partner. The billing information may be called invoice information. The processing performed by the billing information output unit 145 in this manner may be called issuing an invoice.

[0086] The billing information includes detailed information such as the amount to be billed as compensation for the provision of goods or services, the name and address of the business partner or other party to be billed, the billing date (issue date), the payment deadline, detailed contents of the goods or services, taxes, discounts, etc. In this embodiment, the billing information includes transfer destination information indicating the transfer account as information indicating the payment method. The billing information is usually presented in the form of an invoice, and functions as a request to the business partner to receive payment. The billing information is also used for accounting and tax records. However, without being limited to this, the billing information may also include information such as the order number, special conditions based on the contract with the business partner, and the contact information of the issuer, depending on the characteristics of the transaction, industry norms, and national and regional laws and regulations.

[0087] The billing information includes, for each business partner, transfer destination information for the transfer account corresponding to that business partner. This allows the business partner who receives the billing information to make payment by depositing the billed amount into the transfer account. The user can manage and use the money deposited from two or more business partners into the transfer accounts corresponding to those business partners all together in the main account.

[0088] The account management unit 149 prepares the transfer destination account associated with the user's main account so that it can be used as a transfer destination by other parties such as business partners. It can be said that the account management unit 149 manages the transfer destination accounts corresponding to each business partner so that they can be used.

[0089] Preparing a transfer destination account (or managing it) here means, for example, outputting information to a financial institution to have the financial institution actually open a transfer destination account, and managing the transfer destination information of an opened transfer destination account in association with the corresponding business partner. For example, when a financial institution is able to accept a specific request to open a transfer destination account, account management unit 149 makes a request to open the transfer destination account. When a transfer destination account is opened at a financial institution, account management unit 149 associates the transfer destination account with a business partner identifier and accumulates it in business partner information storage unit 112 as business partner information.

[0090] In addition, preparing an account may involve storing one or more transfer destination accounts that have been opened in advance as candidates for transfer destination accounts corresponding to a user's main account in the transaction information storage unit 112 as transaction destination information in association with the transaction destination identifier to be prepared.

[0091] Here, the account management unit 149 is configured to determine whether or not predetermined new conditions for a new business partner are met, and if it is determined that the new conditions are met, to prepare a transfer account corresponding to the business partner.

[0092] The new condition is, for example, a condition including, but not limited to, that a user's operation to designate a new supplier as a party to start a transaction has been accepted. The new condition may include that the supplier specification unit 141 has received transaction information related to a new supplier. The new condition is not limited to these.

[0093] The deposit information acquisition unit 151 acquires deposit information regarding deposits to transfer accounts. The deposit information acquisition unit 151 acquires, for example, deposit information corresponding to each transfer account managed in the customer information accumulated in the storage unit 110. The deposit information can be acquired, for example, by using an online service provided by the bank or the like where the transfer account is located, but is not limited to this. The deposit information can include, for example, the deposit amount, the remitter's name entered by the person who made the transfer, and other information. The deposit information acquisition unit 151 accumulates the acquired deposit information in the storage unit 110 in association with the transfer destination information.

[0094] The clearing-related processing unit 153 compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer account stored in the storage unit 110 with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account, and performs clearing-related processing related to the clearing of the billing information according to the comparison result. Performing clearing-related processing according to the comparison result can also be said to perform clearing-related processing when the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0095] The comparison of billing information with payment information includes, for example, a comparison of the billing amount with the payment amount, or a comparison of the information indicating the business partner to be billed and the payment source, but may be either one of them. It may also include a comparison regarding a deadline, such as a comparison of the deadline corresponding to the billing information with the timing of payment.

[0096] In this embodiment, the remittance related processing unit 153 is configured to be able to perform remittance related processing in the following manner, for example.

[0097] The first aspect is, for example, as follows. That is, the clearing-related process is, for example, outputting a payment clearing or a proposal to clear the payment to the user. Clearing a payment can be said to be recording in the storage unit 110 that the billing information to be cleared has been cleared.

[0098] The proposal to cancel the deposit may be said to be a confirmation to the user to carry out the process. Various methods of confirmation are conceivable. For example, the proposal may be made by displaying a screen on a display device of a device used by the user to receive an instruction from the user to carry out or not carry out the process. The proposal may also be made by displaying on a display device or the like the record status of the ledger when the process is carried out, and then receiving an instruction from the user as to whether or not to maintain the status as it is.

[0099] The reconciliation-related processing unit 153 is configured to perform such a deposit reconciliation as a reconciliation-related processing, for example, when the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined matching condition.

[0100] The matching condition is, for example, but not limited to, that the billing destination (which may be called the invoice delivery destination) and the source of the transfer match, and that the billing amount and the deposit amount match. If the deposit amount exceeds the billing amount of one billing information (billing amount for one billing opportunity), and the total amount of billing amounts of two or more billing information corresponding to the business partner matches the deposit amount, it may be determined that each of these billing amounts and the deposit amount match. If the total amount of two or more deposit amounts matches one billing amount or the total amount of two or more billing amounts, it may be determined that each of these deposit amounts and each of these billing amounts match.

[0101] If such a matching condition is satisfied, it means that a payment corresponding to the billing information has been made. Therefore, in this case, the payment can be cancelled for the corresponding billing information.

[0102] The second aspect is, for example, as follows: When the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 determines that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined first amount range condition, the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 records in the storage unit 110 that the billing information to be cleared has been cleared, and executes additional processing related to the amount difference or outputs a proposal to the user. That is, in this case, the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 is configured to execute additional processing in addition to the above-mentioned clearing of the deposit, as the reconciliation-related processing.

[0103] Here, the first amount range condition is, for example, that the amount of the received amount is less than the amount invoiced, and the amount of the shortfall in the amount of the received amount is within a predetermined amount, etc. The predetermined amount can be set according to, for example, the level of the generally recognized operation costs and transfer costs required by the business partner when processing the payment, but is not limited to this.

[0104] The additional processing may be, for example, transferring the shortfall in the amount of the deposit to a specified item and recording it in the ledger, but is not limited to this. For example, the additional processing may be storing information indicating the shortfall in the amount of the deposit and the amount in association with the billing information, the deposit information, or the business partner.

[0105] By carrying out such additional processing, the deposit can be smoothly cancelled even in cases where the deposit amount is slightly less than the amount required due to factors such as transfer fees, or is less than the amount acceptable to the user.

[0106] The third aspect is, for example, as follows. When the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 determines that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined second amount range condition, the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 executes a reconciliation target determination process as the reconciliation-related processing. In this embodiment, the reconciliation-related processing unit 153 is configured to determine that the comparison result between two or more billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information satisfies a predetermined second amount range condition, but is not limited to this, and may determine that one or more billing information satisfies the second amount range condition.

[0107] Here, the second amount range condition is that the deposit amount is greater than the billing amount of each billing information but less than the total amount of the billing amounts of the billing information corresponding to the business partner, but is not limited to this. For example, the second amount range condition may be that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account does not satisfy the match condition and the first amount range condition.

[0108] In this embodiment, the clearing target determination process is a process that determines, based on a predetermined determination condition, the billing information corresponding to the transfer account recorded in storage unit 110 that is to be recorded in storage unit 110 as having been paid in. In other words, the clearing target determination process is a process that determines, based on whether or not a determination condition is met, one or more billing information corresponding to a single business partner that is to be cleared of the payment.

[0109] The determination condition is, for example, one or more pieces of billing information whose total amount is less than the amount of the deposit, and which are ranked higher than other pieces of billing information in a predetermined order. Here, the predetermined order may be, for example, in order of oldest issue date, oldest due date, or largest billing amount. However, the determination condition is not limited to this, and may be, for example, billing information specified by a user.

[0110] In addition, the clearing-related processing unit 153 may perform the following processing when clearing the deposit. For example, when recording in the storage unit 110 that one or more billing information items have been paid based on one deposit information item, the clearing-related processing unit 153 identifies whether or not there is a surplus in the deposit amount corresponding to the deposit information item. If there is a surplus in the deposit amount, the clearing-related processing unit 153 performs processing based on an instruction from the user as clearing-related processing. In other words, the clearing-related processing unit 153 is configured to execute processing according to the result of receiving an instruction from the user. The instruction from the user may be an instruction input by the user in response to the user being notified that there is a surplus in the deposit amount, or may be an instruction input by the user in advance as processing to be performed in such a case.

[0111] In this case, the process performed by the reconciliation processing unit 153 as the reconciliation process based on the instruction from the user is, for example, a process of recording the surplus in a ledger as a specific item such as a loan. However, the process is not limited to this. For example, the reconciliation processing unit 153 may perform a process of notifying the business partner that a surplus has occurred.

[0112] By carrying out clearing-related processing for such surplus, the workload of the user can be reduced when a surplus occurs.

[0113] When it is determined that the billing information stored in the storage unit 110 satisfies a predetermined dunning condition, the dunning unit 157 performs dunning-related processing related to dunning the business partner for payment corresponding to the billing information.

[0114] The dunning condition may be, for example, that a certain delay has occurred from the output date (issue date) of the billing information or from the payment deadline. It may also be, for example, that the result of the clearing-related processing is a certain state. The certain state may be, for example, that the amount of the payment is insufficient but clearing has been performed, or that there is a surplus, and various other states can be set.

[0115] The dunning process may be, for example, but not limited to, sending an e-mail to a business partner or a destination of transaction information to notify the business partner of the matters to be dunned. In addition, the dunning process may be to suggest to the user that a dunning should be performed, or to ask the user whether or not to perform a dunning.

[0116] By carrying out such a dunning-related process, the workload of the user for carrying out dunning related to billing information can be reduced.

[0117] The output unit 160 outputs information by transmitting the information to another device using the transmission unit 170 or the like, but is not limited to this, and may output the information by, for example, displaying the information on a display device provided in the information processing device 100.

[0118] The transmitting unit 170 transmits information via a network to other devices constituting the information processing device 100. The transmitting unit 170 transmits information to be output to, for example, the terminal device 600 or other devices.

[0119] The above-mentioned processing unit 140 and device processing unit 640 can usually be realized by an MPU, memory, etc. The processing procedures of the processing unit 140 and device processing unit 640 are usually realized by software, and the software is recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM. However, they may also be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

[0120] Furthermore, the input means that can be used to input information that can be accepted by the acceptance unit 130 or the terminal acceptance unit 630 may be anything, such as a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, a menu screen, etc. The acceptance unit 130 or the terminal acceptance unit 630 may be realized by a device driver for an input means such as a numeric keypad or a keyboard, or control software for a menu screen, etc.

[0121] Furthermore, the receiving unit 120 and the terminal receiving unit 620 are usually realized by wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by means for receiving broadcasts.

[0122] Furthermore, the transmitting unit 170 and the terminal transmitting unit 670 are usually realized by wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by broadcasting means.

[0123] Furthermore, the output unit 160 and the terminal output unit 660 may or may not include an output device such as a display, a speaker, etc. The output unit 160 and the terminal output unit 660 may be realized by driver software for an output device, or a combination of driver software for an output device and an output device, etc.

[0124] It should be noted that there is no restriction on the process by which information and the like are stored in the storage unit 110 or the terminal storage unit 610. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 110 or the terminal storage unit 610 via a recording medium, information transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 110 or the terminal storage unit 610, or information inputted via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 110 or the terminal storage unit 610.

[0125] The information processing device 100 may be configured by one server, may be configured by multiple servers operating in cooperation with each other, or may be a computer or the like built into other devices. It goes without saying that the server may be a so-called cloud server, an ASP server, or the like, and the type is not important.

[0126] Next, an example of the operation of the information processing device 100 performed when a user uses a billing information management function provided by using the information processing device 100 will be described. In this embodiment, the user can use the billing information management function by operating a predetermined application on the terminal device 600 while, for example, accessing the information processing device 100 via the terminal device 600 or receiving information transmitted from the information processing device 100. Note that the predetermined application may be, for example, a dedicated application that operates using information transmitted from the information processing device 100, or a web browser that displays web applications provided in the information processing device 100 in a usable manner.

[0127] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100.

[0128] The information processing device 100 performs various operations, for example, as follows. The following processes are mainly performed by the processing unit 140 operating based on a predetermined program or the like, or by controlling the operation of each unit of the information processing device 100. Note that the following processes may be performed, for example, periodically and repeatedly, or appropriately when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0129] (Step S101) The processing unit 140 judges whether or not to execute the name matching information registration process. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, such as when a predetermined instruction from a user is accepted, when a predetermined time condition is satisfied, or when new information about the other party is accepted, the processing unit 140 can judge to execute the name matching information registration process. If the processing unit 140 judges to execute the name matching information registration process, the process proceeds to step S102, and if not, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0130] (Step S102) The processor 140 performs a name matching information registration process. When the name matching information registration process ends, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0131] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the name matching information registration process of the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0132] (Step S121) The processing unit 140 acquires information on the name matching target. The information on the name matching target can be, for example, information that is often used as information on the other party of a transaction, but is not limited to this. The information on the name matching target can be, for example, information recorded as a trading partner in a sales management system used by the user, but is not limited to this.

[0133] (Step S122) The processing unit 140 searches the name matching database for the information to be matched, and acquires the corresponding supplier identifier. That is, the processing unit 140 uses the name matching database to identify candidates for suppliers. The processing unit 140 may acquire the results of a search performed by the user as candidates for suppliers.

[0134] (Step S123) The processing unit 140 outputs the search results to the user and accepts the selection operation by the user. If there are no candidates for business partners or if the business partner information does not include a record for a corresponding business partner, the processing unit 140 may output information to that effect to the user, for example. In this case, the processing unit 140 may request the user to perform an operation to register a new business partner or start an account management process.

[0135] (Step S124) The processing unit 140, in response to the received selection operation, i.e., an instruction from the user, records the information to be matched in the storage unit 110 in association with the supplier identifier corresponding to the selection operation. In other words, the processing unit 140 updates the supplier information so that the information to be matched is recorded. Then, the processing returns to the upper level processing.

[0136] (Step S103) Returning to FIG. 6, the processing unit 140 judges whether the account management timing has arrived. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, the processing unit 140 can judge that the account management timing has arrived. The start condition for this process can include, for example, a predetermined instruction from the user being accepted, a predetermined time condition being satisfied, or new information about the other party being accepted, but is not limited to these. Note that the predetermined start condition here may be a new condition. If the processing unit 140 judges that the account management timing has arrived, the process proceeds to step S104, and if not, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0137] (Step S104) Processing unit 140 performs an account management process. When the account management process ends, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0138] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an account management process of the information processing device 100.

[0139] (Step S131) ​​The processor 140 judges whether or not a predetermined new condition for a new customer is satisfied. If it is judged that the new condition is satisfied, that is, if a new customer exists, the process proceeds to step S132. If not, the account management process is terminated.

[0140] (Step S132) The processing unit 140 prepares a transfer account corresponding to the new business partner.

[0141] (Step S133) Processing unit 140 associates the transfer destination information of the prepared transfer destination account with the customer identifier of the new customer and records it in the customer information. This adds a record for the new customer to the customer information. That is, processing unit 140 updates the customer information so that the transfer destination information associated with the customer can be identified. Thereafter, the account management process ends and returns to the upper level process.

[0142] (Step S105) Returning to FIG. 6, the processing unit 140 judges whether or not to issue an invoice. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, the processing unit 140 can judge to issue an invoice. The start condition for this process can include, for example, but is not limited to, acceptance of a predetermined instruction from a user, satisfaction of a predetermined time condition, acceptance of new transaction information, and the like. Note that the predetermined start condition may be a new condition. If the processing unit 140 judges to issue an invoice, the process proceeds to step S106, and if not, the process proceeds to step S107.

[0143] (Step S106) The processor 140 performs an invoice issuing process. When the invoice issuing process is completed, the process proceeds to step S107.

[0144] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an invoice issuing process of the information processing device 100.

[0145] (Step S141) The processing unit 140 identifies a transaction for which an invoice is to be issued, and acquires the transaction information.

[0146] (Step S142) The processor 140 searches the transaction information using the information on the counterparty included in the transaction information, and identifies candidates for the counterparty to be billed.

[0147] (Step S143) The processing unit 140 outputs candidates for business partners based on the search results to the user, and accepts a selection operation by the user.

[0148] (Step S144) Processing unit 140 uses the transfer destination information according to the received selection operation, that is, the instruction from the user, to construct and output billing information requesting payment to the transfer destination account.

[0149] (Step S145) Processing unit 140 associates the billing information with the transfer destination information and stores it in storage unit 110. Thereafter, the bill issuing process ends and the process returns to the upper level process.

[0150] (Step S107) Returning to FIG. 6, the processing unit 140 judges whether the timing to obtain the deposit information has arrived. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, the processing unit 140 can judge that the timing to obtain the deposit information has arrived. The start condition for this process can include, for example, the acceptance of a predetermined instruction by the user, the satisfaction of a predetermined time condition, the acceptance of a notification from a bank or the like, but is not limited to these. If the processing unit 140 judges that the timing to obtain the deposit information has arrived, the process proceeds to step S108, and if not, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0151] (Step S108) Processing unit 140 acquires the deposit information of the transfer account, and stores it in storage unit 110. After that, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0152] (Step S109) Returning to FIG. 6, the processing unit 140 judges whether or not the reminder timing has arrived. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, the processing unit 140 can judge that the reminder timing has arrived. The start condition for this process can include, for example, a predetermined instruction by the user being accepted, a predetermined time condition being satisfied, and the like, but is not limited to these. If the processing unit 140 judges that the reminder timing has arrived, the process proceeds to step S110, and if not, the process proceeds to step S111.

[0153] (Step S110) The processor 140 performs a dunning-related process. When the dunning-related process is completed, the process proceeds to step S111.

[0154] FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a dunning-related process of the information processing device 100. In FIG.

[0155] (Step S151) The processor 140 judges whether or not the dunning conditions are satisfied for each billing information for which the clearing has not been completed. If it is judged that the dunning conditions are satisfied, that is, if there is billing information that is a cause for dunning, the process proceeds to step S152. If not, the dunning-related process is terminated.

[0156] (Step S152) The processing unit 140 outputs information on the billing information that is the cause of the dunning to the user, and accepts a selection operation by the user regarding the dunning.

[0157] (Step S153) The processing unit 140 urges the business partner to make a payment corresponding to the billing information that is the cause of the urging in response to the received selection operation, i.e., the instruction from the user, and then ends the urging-related processing.

[0158] (Step S111) Returning to FIG. 6, the processing unit 140 judges whether the erase timing has arrived. For example, when a predetermined start condition for this process is satisfied, the processing unit 140 can judge that the erase timing has arrived. The start condition for this process can include, for example, a predetermined instruction from the user being accepted, a predetermined time condition being satisfied, or new deposit information being acquired, but is not limited to these. If the processing unit 140 judges that the erase timing has arrived, the process proceeds to step S112, and if not, the process ends.

[0159] (Step S112) The processor 140 compares each billing information corresponding to the transfer account with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account. The billing information to be compared may be information for which no cancellation has been performed. The comparison may be performed in relation to the items that are the predetermined judgment conditions in the cancellation-related processing.

[0160] (Step S113) The processor 140 performs a clearing-related process. When the clearing-related process ends, the series of processes ends.

[0161] Fig. 11 is a first flowchart showing an example of a reversal-related process of the information processing device 100. Fig. 12 is a second flowchart showing an example of a reversal-related process of the information processing device 100.

[0162] (Step S161) The processing unit 140 judges whether or not there is one or more billing information that satisfies the matching condition in the comparison result. If the processing unit 140 judges that there is billing information that satisfies the matching condition, the process proceeds to step S162. If not, the process proceeds to step S164.

[0163] (Step S162) The processing unit 140 identifies one or more pieces of billing information that satisfy the matching condition as targets for erasure.

[0164] (Step S163) The processing unit 140 performs payment cancellation for the billing information identified as the cancellation target. That is, the processing unit 140 records in the storage unit 110 that the payment has been made for the billing information to be cancelled. Then, the process proceeds to step S164.

[0165] In addition, the processing unit 140 may be configured to, when performing a payment cancellation, first output a payment cancellation proposal for the billing information to be cancelled to the user, and then execute the payment cancellation based on the result of the user's instruction received in response to the proposal. The same applies to the payment cancellation described below.

[0166] (Step S164) The processing unit 140 judges whether or not there is one or more billing information that satisfies the first amount range condition in the comparison result. If the processing unit 140 judges that there is billing information that satisfies the first amount range condition, the process proceeds to step S165. If not, the process proceeds to step S168.

[0167] (Step S165) The processing unit 140 identifies one or more pieces of billing information that satisfy the first amount range condition as targets for cancellation.

[0168] (Step S166) The processing unit 140 performs payment cancellation for the billing information identified as the cancellation target. That is, the processing unit 140 records in the storage unit 110 that the payment has been made for the billing information to be cancelled.

[0169] (Step S167) The processor 140 executes an additional process for the difference between the billing amount of the billing information for which the payment has been cancelled and the paid amount, and then proceeds to step S168.

[0170] In this embodiment, for example, the following process is performed as the additional process. That is, the processing unit 140 records the shortfall amount in a predetermined account item (for example, commission, etc.) and records it as an expense in the storage unit 110. It can be said that the processing unit 140 records the amount difference in the accounting ledger as a predetermined item.

[0171] The additional processing is not limited to this. For example, the processing unit 140 may be configured to output a proposal regarding the above-mentioned expense recording to the user, and to determine whether or not to record the expense or to record the expense as a specified item based on the result of the user's instruction received in response to the proposal. In addition, as an additional processing, the existence of a shortfall in the storage unit 110 or the like may be recorded, and processing regarding the shortfall in a later timing may be performed.

[0172] (Step S168) The processing unit 140 judges whether or not there is any billing information that satisfies the second amount range condition in the comparison result. If the processing unit 140 judges that there is any billing information that satisfies the second amount range condition, the process proceeds to step S169. If not, the clearing-related process is terminated and the process returns to the upper level process.

[0173] (Step S169) The processing unit 140 performs a process for determining the reconciliation target. That is, the processing unit 140 specifies one or more billing information items that satisfy the determination condition as targets for which the payment is to be cleared. The billing information items that satisfy the determination condition may be, for example, one or more billing information items whose total amount of each billing amount is less than the amount of the payment, and at least one of the billing information items may have an issue date older than that of the other billing information items. In addition, as the process for determining the reconciliation target, the processing unit 140 may display all uncleared billing information items issued to the billing destination as candidates for the reconciliation target, and may accept a selection operation of the reconciliation target from the user. In this case, the processing unit 140 may specify one or more billing information items selected by the selection operation as targets for which the payment is to be cleared.

[0174] (Step S170) The processing unit 140 performs a payment cancellation for the billing information identified as the target for payment cancellation. That is, the processing unit 140 records in the storage unit 110 that the payment has been made for the billing information to be cancelled.

[0175] (Step S171) The processor 140 judges whether or not there is a surplus in the amount of the deposit after the deposit is cancelled. If it is judged that there is a surplus, the process proceeds to step S172. If not, the process ends the cancellation-related process and returns to the upper level process.

[0176] (Step S172) The processing unit 140 receives an instruction from the user regarding the surplus of the deposited amount.

[0177] (Step S173) The processing unit 140 executes processing based on the received user instruction. For example, the processing unit 140 executes processing to record the surplus in a ledger as a specific item such as borrowings. After that, the clearing-related processing is terminated, and the processing returns to the upper level processing.

[0178] A user can cancel payments against invoices using the following general process. The process of cancelling payments includes the following: When a payment is received, the related invoice is identified (invoice identification). The amount of the payment is also obtained from the bank payment details or electronic payment service (payment amount acquisition). Once it is confirmed that the invoice and the amount of the payment match, the invoice status is updated to "paid" or similar, and the status is recorded in the ledger (payment cancellation).

[0179] In this embodiment, when performing such a payment cancellation operation, by utilizing the information processing device 100, the invoice can be specified, the payment amount can be acquired, and the payment can be cancelled automatically or by a simple operation in which the user essentially performs an approval operation. In this embodiment, billing information requesting a transfer to a specific transfer account for each business partner is output, and the business partner normally deposits the money into the transfer account. Therefore, when there are payments from two or more business partners, the processing unit 140 can easily distinguish which business partner the payment came from based on the transfer account. Therefore, the processing unit 140 can reliably compare the billing information with the payment information.

[0180] A specific example of the payment cancellation of the billing information management function provided by the information processing device 100 will be described below.

[0181] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of erasing a deposit in the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0182] In Figure 13, roughly speaking, three types of payment cancellation modes are illustrated. Here, it is assumed that the user has a main account with the account number "1" and three transfer destination accounts corresponding to the main account.

[0183] The transfer account "6" with the transfer information "6" is the transfer account corresponding to the client "ROKROK". For the client "ROKROK", billing information with a billing amount of "1 million yen" has been output, and the transfer account "6" corresponding to the client is specified as the transfer account. Meanwhile, it has been determined that the transfer account "6" has a deposit amount of "1 million yen".

[0184] In this case, the processor 140 determines that the matching condition is met because the billing amount and the deposited amount corresponding to the transfer account "6" match, and then executes a cancellation of the deposit for the corresponding billing information (S11).

[0185] The transfer account with the transfer information "4" is the transfer account corresponding to the client "YONYON." For the client "YONYON," billing information with a billing amount of "200,000 yen" has been output, and the transfer account "4" corresponding to that client has been specified as the transfer account. Meanwhile, it has been determined that the deposit amount in the transfer account "4" is "199,800 yen."

[0186] In this case, the processing unit 140 determines that the deposited amount is less than the billing amount corresponding to the transfer account "4", the difference is 200 yen, and the first amount range condition is satisfied. Then, the processing unit 140 cancels the deposit for the corresponding billing information and executes the addition process (S12).

[0187] The transfer account with the transfer information "5" is the transfer account corresponding to the client "GOGO." For the client "GOGO," billing information with a billing amount of "1000 yen" has been output, and the transfer account "5" corresponding to that client has been specified as the transfer account. Meanwhile, it has been determined that two deposits of "500 yen" have been made to transfer account "5" (one deposit amount of "500 yen" and another deposit amount of "500 yen").

[0188] In this case, the processor 140 determines that the match condition is met because the billing amount corresponding to the transfer account "5" matches the total amount of the two deposits. The processor 140 then executes a cancellation of the deposit for the corresponding billing information (S13).

[0189] In these cases, it may be understood that the second amount range condition is satisfied.

[0190] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a billing list screen 910 used in the billing information management function of the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0191] In the figure, a billing list screen 910 that can be displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 600 or the like when the user performs a payment cancellation process is shown.

[0192] In the billing list screen 910, for example, each piece of issued billing information can be listed. The billing information includes, for example, information such as the client name, issue date, billing amount, and payment due date. In addition, for each piece of billing information that is determined by the processing unit 140 to be eligible for payment cancellation, information such as the payment date, payment amount, and the difference between the payment amount and the payment amount based on the corresponding payment information is displayed. In the example shown in the figure, for billing information that is determined by the processing unit 140 to be eligible for payment cancellation, payment cancellation has been provisionally performed (here, referred to as "automatic cancellation"), and a confirmation button 915 is displayed to accept an instruction from the user to confirm the information as is. In addition, for billing information that is determined to satisfy the first amount range condition, "automatic cancellation" has been performed, and the confirmation button 915 is displayed, and a selection acceptance section 916 for a processing method for the difference is also displayed. The user can easily instruct payment cancellation or process the difference by operating each confirmation button 915 or the selection acceptance section 916.

[0193] Here, as a result of comparing the billing information with the amount of the deposit, if the processing unit 140 is unable to automatically match the billing information, a display 918 indicating this (here, called an unallocated deposit display) is displayed. The user can move to a bill-specific screen including a clearing operation screen for the billing information in question and perform an operation to allocate the amount of the deposit.

[0194] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a billing-specific screen 920 used in the billing information management function of the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0195] For example, the billing information to be displayed and related information are displayed on the billing screen 920. The billing screen 920 includes a detail display section 921 that displays detailed information about the billing information, a history information display section 922 that shows the history of dunning-related processing and communication, and a bill display section 923 that displays a bill image so that the image can be confirmed.

[0196] The billing screen 920 also includes a clearing operation screen 930. The clearing operation screen 930 includes the payment information allocated in correspondence with this billing information, and unallocated payment information from this supplier.

[0197] In the example shown in the figure, there is no deposit information assigned to the billing information, and information regarding unallocated deposit information from this business partner is displayed. On the clearing operation screen 930, the operation of assigning a selected one or more unallocated deposit information to this billing information can be performed while checking the difference with the billing information. The total amount of the deposit amounts of the selected deposit information and the difference with the billing amount are displayed, making it easy to determine whether or not it is okay to make the assignment and clear the deposit as is. The assignment operation can be performed, for example, by operating the assignment button 935.

[0198] Fig. 16 is a first diagram showing another display mode of the deleting operation screen 930 used in the billing information management function of the information processing device 100. Fig. 17 is a second diagram showing another display mode of the deleting operation screen 930 used in the billing information management function of the information processing device 100.

[0199] The clearing operation screen 930 shown in FIG. 16 is for accepting instructions from the user on how to handle the surplus when, for example, there is a deposit amount that exceeds the billing amount. That is, the clearing operation screen 930 displays that there is a deposit amount corresponding to the billing information and clearing is possible, but a surplus will occur. The clearing operation screen 930 also has a processing method selection section 936 for selecting whether to treat the surplus as a loan or to handle it by another processing method. By pressing the confirm button 937, the user can instruct the user to execute the clearing of the deposit and to perform the processing selected in the processing method selection section 936 for the surplus.

[0200] When the Confirm button 937 is pressed in the state shown in Fig. 16, the payment is cancelled for the billing information, and the surplus is processed as a loan. The clearing operation screen 930 then becomes, for example, as shown in Fig. 17. That is, as shown in Fig. 17, the surplus that has been processed as a loan is displayed as unallocated payment information. This unallocated payment information can be allocated to other billing information for the same business partner.

[0201] In this way, by using the information processing device 100, the user can efficiently perform processing related to the cancellation of a deposit.

[0202] In this embodiment, the name matching information registration process can be performed using a name matching information registration screen such as the one shown below.

[0203] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a display aspect of a name matching information registration screen 940 used in the billing information management function of the information processing device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0204] The name matching information registration screen 940 is, for example, a screen displayed in step S123 described above. The name matching information registration screen 940 includes, for example, a target display section 941, a candidate selection section 942, and a candidate decision button 945. The target display section 941 displays information on the name matching target. The candidate selection section 942 displays a search result of the name matching database for each name matching target. When there are multiple candidate business partners, the user can select one of them. With a candidate business partner for each name matching target selected in the candidate selection section 942, the user can associate the information on the name matching target with the corresponding business partner and update the business partner information.

[0205] By using such name matching information registration screen 940, it becomes easier to identify the business partner corresponding to the other party.

[0206] The processing in this embodiment may be realized by software. This software may be distributed by software download or the like. This software may be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk and distributed. The software for realizing the information processing device 100 in this embodiment is a program as follows. That is, this program is executed by a computer that is the computer of the information processing device 100 and can access a storage unit, and causes the computer to function as a transfer destination information acquisition unit that acquires transfer destination information that can identify a transfer destination account that is prepared for a user and corresponds one-to-one to a business partner, a billing information output unit that outputs billing information requesting the business partner to make a payment to the transfer destination account and stores the billing information in the storage unit in association with the transfer destination information, a deposit information acquisition unit that acquires deposit information regarding deposits to the transfer destination account, and a clearing-related processing unit that compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer destination account stored in the storage unit with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer destination account and performs clearing-related processing regarding clearing of the billing information.

[0207] (others)

[0208] Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 800 in the above embodiment, and Fig. 20 is a block diagram of the computer system 800.

[0209] These figures show examples of computer configurations that execute the programs described in this specification to realize the information processing device and the like of the above-mentioned embodiments. The above-mentioned embodiments can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0210] Computer system 800 includes a computer 801 that includes an optical disk drive, a keyboard 802 , a mouse 803 , and a monitor 804 .

[0211] In addition to an optical disk drive (ODD) 8012, the computer 801 includes an MPU 8013, a bus 8014 connected to the optical disk drive 8012 etc., a ROM 8015 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM 8016 connected to the MPU 8013 for temporarily storing instructions of application programs and providing a temporary storage space, and a hard disk (HDD) 8017 for storing application programs, system programs, and data. Although not shown here, the computer 801 may further include a network card for providing a connection to a LAN.

[0212] A program that causes computer system 800 to execute the functions of the information processing device or the like of the above-mentioned embodiments may be stored on optical disk 8101, inserted into optical disk drive 8012, and further transferred to hard disk 8017. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to computer 801 via a network (not shown) and stored on hard disk 8017. The program is loaded into RAM 8016 at the time of execution. The program may be loaded directly from optical disk 8101 or the network.

[0213] The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third party program that causes the computer 801 to execute the functions of the information processing device of the above-mentioned embodiment. The program only needs to include an instruction portion that calls appropriate functions (modules) in a controlled manner to obtain a desired result. How the computer system 800 operates is well known, and a detailed description will be omitted.

[0214] In addition, in the above program, the transmitting step of transmitting information and the receiving step of receiving information do not include processing performed by hardware, such as processing performed by a modem or interface card in the transmitting step (processing that is performed only by hardware).

[0215] The program may be executed by a single computer or a plurality of computers. That is, the program may be executed by a centralized processing or a distributed processing.

[0216] In the above-described embodiments, two or more components present in one device may be physically realized on one medium.

[0217] In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit or a recording medium. The program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or may be executed by reading a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, etc.). The program may be used as a program constituting a program product. The computer that executes the program may be single or multiple. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

[0218] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing by multiple devices (in this case, the entire system made up of multiple devices performing distributed processing can be considered as a single "device").

[0219] In addition, in the above embodiments, the transfer of information between each component may be performed, for example, by one component outputting information and the other component receiving information if the two components transferring the information are physically different, or, if the two components transferring the information are physically the same, by shifting from a processing phase corresponding to one component to a processing phase corresponding to the other component.

[0220] In the above embodiment, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information accepted, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, and information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or long-term stored in a recording medium (not shown) even if not specified in the above description. Furthermore, each component or a storage unit (not shown) may store information in the recording medium (not shown). Furthermore, each component or a reading unit (not shown) may read information from the recording medium (not shown).

[0221] In the above embodiment, if the information used by each component, such as the thresholds, addresses, and various setting values ​​used by each component in processing, may be changed by the user, the user may or may not be able to change the information as appropriate, even if not specified in the above description. If the information is changeable by the user, the change may be realized, for example, by a reception unit (not shown) that receives a change instruction from the user, and a change unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to the change instruction. The reception unit (not shown) may receive the change instruction from an input device, may receive information transmitted via a communication line, or may receive information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0222] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, which are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0223] An embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the components of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications. For example, the configuration is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and each component of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be appropriately replaced or combined with components of other embodiments, etc. In addition, some components or functions of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be omitted. [Industrial Applicability]

[0224] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the information processing device according to the present invention has an effect of being able to easily cancel payments from two or more business partners, and is useful as an information processing device, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0225] 1. Information Processing Systems 100 Information processing device 110 Storage area 112 Customer information storage section 114 Ledger Storage Unit 120 Receiving unit 130 Reception 140 Processing section 141 Business Partner Identification Department 143 Transfer Information Acquisition Department 145 Billing Information Output Section 149 Account Management Department 151 Deposit Information Acquisition Department 153 Clearing related processing section 157 Dunning Department 160 Output section 170 Transmitter 600 Terminal Equipment

Claims

1. An information processing device used when a user requests payment of money to each of two or more business partners, a transfer information acquisition unit that acquires transfer information that can identify a transfer account prepared for the user and that corresponds one-to-one to one of the business partners; a billing information output unit that outputs billing information requesting payment to the transfer account to the business partner and stores the billing information in a storage unit in association with the transfer account information; A deposit information acquisition unit that acquires deposit information regarding deposits to the transfer account; An information processing device comprising: a reconciliation-related processing unit that compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer account stored in the storage unit with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account, and performs reconciliation-related processing regarding the reconciliation of the billing information.

2. an account management unit that prepares a transfer destination account associated with a main account that is a main account of the user for use; The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the account management unit is configured to determine whether or not predetermined new conditions for a new business partner are met, and to prepare the transfer account corresponding to the business partner if it is determined that the new conditions are met.

3. a trading partner identification unit that acquires trading information including information on a trading partner and identifies a trading partner corresponding to the trading information based on the trading information; The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the billing information output unit is configured to output the billing information using the transfer destination information corresponding to the business partner identified by the business partner identification unit.

4. a supplier information storage unit for storing supplier information including information on each of two or more suppliers, The information processing device according to claim 3 , wherein the supplier specification unit is configured to search the supplier information by using information about the counterparty, and specify the supplier corresponding to the information about the counterparty.

5. the clearing-related processing unit is configured to perform the clearing-related processing when a comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined matching condition; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the clearing-related process is to record in the storage unit that the billing information to be cleared has already been paid, or to output a suggestion thereto to the user.

6. An information processing device as described in claim 1, wherein when the reconciliation-related processing unit determines that the comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined first amount range condition, as the reconciliation-related processing, it records in the storage unit that the billing information to be reconciled has been deposited, and performs additional processing regarding the amount difference or outputs a proposal therefor to the user.

7. the clearing-related processing unit is configured to execute a clearing target determination process as the clearing-related process when it is determined that a comparison result between the billing information corresponding to the transfer account and the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account satisfies a predetermined second amount range condition, The information processing device described in claim 1, wherein the reconciliation target determination process is a process for determining, based on predetermined determination conditions, the billing information corresponding to the transfer destination account recorded in the storage unit, which is to be recorded in the storage unit as having been deposited.

8. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the reconciliation-related processing unit is configured to perform the reconciliation-related processing based on instructions from the user when recording in the storage unit that a payment has been made to one or more of the billing information based on one of the deposit information and there is a surplus in the deposit amount corresponding to the deposit information.

9. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a dunning unit that performs dunning-related processing related to dunning the business partner for payment corresponding to the billing information when it is determined that the billing information stored in the storage unit satisfies a predetermined dunning condition.

10. An information processing method for use when a user requests payment of money to each of two or more business partners, using a storage unit, a transfer destination information acquisition unit, a billing information output unit, a deposit information acquisition unit, and a reconciliation related processing unit, comprising: a transfer information acquisition step in which the transfer information acquisition unit acquires transfer information capable of identifying a transfer account prepared for the user and corresponding one-to-one to a business partner; a billing information output step of outputting billing information to the business partner requesting payment to the transfer account, and the billing information output unit storing the billing information in the storage unit in association with the transfer account information; a deposit information acquisition step in which the deposit information acquisition unit acquires deposit information regarding a deposit into the transfer account; The information processing method includes a reconciliation related processing step in which the reconciliation related processing unit compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer account stored in the storage unit with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account, and performs reconciliation related processing regarding the reconciliation of the billing information.

11. a computer of an information processing device used when a user requests payment of money to each of two or more business partners, the computer being capable of accessing a storage unit; a transfer information acquisition unit that acquires transfer information that can identify a transfer account prepared for the user and that corresponds one-to-one to a business partner; a billing information output unit that outputs billing information requesting payment to the transfer account to the business partner and stores the billing information in the storage unit in association with the transfer account information; A deposit information acquisition unit that acquires deposit information regarding deposits to the transfer account; A program for functioning as a settlement-related processing unit that compares the billing information corresponding to the transfer account stored in the storage unit with the deposit information corresponding to the transfer account, and performs settlement-related processing regarding the cancellation of the billing information.

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