Expenditure management apparatus, expenditure management method, and expenditure management program

Abstract

To provide an expenditure management apparatus, method and program for evaluating expenditures in detail.SOLUTION: In an expenditure management system, a terminal device, a server, and a store terminal are connected over a network. The server 3 serving as an expenditure management apparatus includes: a transaction information acquisition unit 321 which acquires transaction information of a target user; an expenditure calculation unit 322 which calculates, based on the acquired transaction information, expenditures of the target user from a start point of a first period to a reference point in the first period; a benchmark calculation unit 323 which calculates a benchmark as a criterion of expenditure of the user from the start point to the reference point; a display content generation unit 324 which generates display content including a comparison result which is a result of comparing the calculated expenditures with the calculated benchmark; and an output unit 324 which outputs the generated display content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to expense management techniques. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for displaying information showing how much money is actually being spent relative to a target amount for a spending limit for a predetermined period (see Figures 4 and 7 of Patent Document 1, and paragraphs 0034 to 0046 of the specification). The target amount for the spending limit for a predetermined period, i.e., the budget, can be set by selecting a displayed icon (see paragraph 0042 of the specification of Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-64235 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that expenditures can only be evaluated in relation to a budget set for a predetermined period.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide an expense management technology that enables expenses to be evaluated in more detail than in the prior art. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An expenditure management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a transaction information acquisition unit that acquires transaction information of a target user; an expenditure calculation unit that calculates the target user's expenditure in a first period from the start of the first period to a reference time point based on the acquired transaction information; a benchmark calculation unit that calculates a benchmark as a standard for the target user's expenditure from the start of the first period to the reference time point; a display content generation unit that generates display content including a comparison result that is a result of comparing the calculated expenditure with the calculated benchmark; and an output unit that outputs the generated display content. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to an embodiment of the expenditure management device of the present disclosure, display content is output that includes a comparison result of expenditures in a first period from the start of the first period to a reference time point with a benchmark as a standard for expenditures from the start of the first period to the reference time point, thereby enabling expenditures to be evaluated in more detail than with conventional technology. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an expenditure management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a server. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of a terminal device; [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen. [Figure 12A] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an expenditure management device or a terminal device. [Figure 12B] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an expenditure management device or a terminal device. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing expenditures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or similar parts are designated by identical or similar reference numerals, and redundant explanations of such parts will be omitted. In addition, in this disclosure, the term "or" is used to mean an inclusive logical OR unless otherwise specified.

[0010] <System configuration> The configuration of an expenditure management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the expenditure management system 1 is, in one aspect, a system in which a terminal device 2, a server 3, and a store terminal 4 are connected via a network NW. The network NW is an existing telecommunications line such as the Internet. An external server 5 may be additionally connected to the network NW. The terminal device 2 includes a terminal device 2 used by a user A1. A1 and terminal device 2 used by user A2. A2In the present disclosure, user A1 or user A2 is an example of a target user. "Target" means a target for managing expenditures. User A1 and user A2 are both joint users linked to a joint account, and may be referred to as a first target user and a second target user, respectively, in the present disclosure. A joint account is an account shared by multiple people, and reflects each person's expenditures. Examples of joint users include a spouse, a couple, or business partners, but may also include people with other relationships. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between user A1 and user A2, they may be collectively referred to simply as user A. In the following description, a joint account will be used as an example, but the personal account of user A1 or user A2 may also be the target instead of a joint account.

[0011] The expenditure management system 1 is a system for managing expenditures in an account linked to user A's payment card B. Transaction information for user A's payment card B is linked to the account and stored. If user A is a joint user including user A1 and user A2, transaction information for user A1's payment card B1 and transaction information for user A2's payment card B2 are stored, and the expenditure management system 1 manages expenditures in the joint account linked to both payment card B1 and payment card B2. Examples of payment cards include any card that can be used to pay for purchases, such as prepaid cards, cash cards, debit cards, or credit cards. User A purchases a product or receives a service at a store equipped with a store terminal 4. When user A pays for the product with payment card B, the store terminal 4 transmits transaction information, such as the store name, product name, service name, payment date and time, and identification information for payment card B, to server 3 or an external server 5. The external server 5 is a server for providing external services different from those provided using server 3. For example, if server 3 is used in a prepaid card payment system, examples of external server 5 include a server used to provide banking services or a server used to provide credit card services. When transaction information is sent to external server 5, server 3 may acquire the transaction information from external server 5 by API integration with external server 5. The transaction information acquired from external server 5 is stored in the memory unit of server 3. In the present disclosure, transaction information acquired through API integration may be referred to as "integrated transaction information."

[0012] <Configuration of the server (expense management device)> In one aspect, the server 3 is a device for managing expenditures by user A made using a payment card B. When application software capable of making payments is installed in user A's terminal device 2 instead of the payment card B, the server 3 also has an aspect as a device for managing expenditures by user A made using the terminal device 2. To achieve this purpose, as shown in FIG. 2, the server 3 includes a control unit 32, a communication unit 33, and a storage unit 35. The communication unit 33 is a communication device capable of communicating with the terminal device 2, the store terminal 4, or the external server 5 via the network NW. The storage unit 35 is a storage device that stores programs that realize the functions performed by the control unit 32 and data used in the processing performed by the control unit 32.

[0013] The control unit 32 includes, for example, a transaction information acquisition unit 321, an expenditure calculation unit 322, a benchmark calculation unit 323, a display content generation unit 324, and an output unit 325. The control unit 32 may also include a budget acquisition unit 326. The control unit 32 may also include a user input acquisition unit 327. Information acquired by the user input acquisition unit 327 may be used as appropriate by other functional units of the control unit 32. The configuration of the control unit 32 will be described in detail below.

[0014] (Transaction Information Acquisition Department) In one aspect, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 is a functional unit that acquires transaction information of user A. As an example, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 may acquire the transaction information of user A from the transaction history of a payment account linked to user A's payment card B. The transaction history is stored in, for example, the memory unit 35, and the transaction information acquisition unit 321 may access the memory unit 35 to acquire transaction information for a desired period of time for user A.

[0015] In another aspect, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 may acquire transaction information of similar persons who have attributes similar to the attributes of user A. Attributes refer to characteristics of a person, such as annual income, age, or hobbies. The transaction information of similar persons is also acquired from the storage unit 35 included in the server 3 or the external server 5.

[0016] When user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 acquires transaction information of the joint users including user A1 and user A2. The transaction information of the joint users is acquired from the storage unit 35 included in the server 3 or the external server 5. The transaction information acquisition unit 321 may acquire transaction information of similar persons who are similar to all or some of the joint users.

[0017] The transaction information acquisition unit 321 supplies the acquired transaction information to the expenditure calculation unit 322 and the benchmark calculation unit 323. As one example, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 supplies, of the acquired transaction information, transaction information for a first period, for example, this month, to the expenditure calculation unit 322, and supplies transaction information prior to the first period, for example, up to the previous month, to the benchmark calculation unit 323. As another example, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 supplies all of the acquired transaction information to both the expenditure calculation unit 322 and the benchmark calculation unit 323.

[0018] (Expenditure Calculation Department) The expenditure calculation unit 322 is a functional unit that calculates user A's expenditures in a first period from the start of the first period to the reference time based on the acquired transaction information. If user A includes user A1 and user A2, the expenditure calculation unit 322 calculates the expenditures of user A1 and user A2 in the first period from the start of the first period to the reference time. The first period is, for example, one month. The reference time is, for example, the current time, but may be any time after the start of the first period and before the current time. By referring to a time before the current time, it is possible to evaluate expenditures at past times. The expenditure calculation unit 322 calculates the expenditures from the start of the first period to the reference time based on the acquired transaction information by accumulating the amounts spent from the start of the first period to the reference time. Note that the transaction information includes linked transaction information.

[0019] The expenditure calculation unit 322 may use the current time acquired from a calendar function unit (not shown) or the day to which the current time belongs as the reference time. In addition, when data indicating the reference time is transmitted from the terminal device 2 to the server 3, the time indicated by the transmitted data may be used as the reference time.

[0020] If user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the expenditure calculation unit 322 calculates the expenditure from the start of the first period to the reference time by adding up the expenditure amount of user A1 from the start of the first period to the reference time and the expenditure amount of user A2 from the start of the first period to the reference time. If the joint users include users other than user A1 and user A2, the sum is calculated in the same manner.

[0021] The expenditure calculation unit 322 supplies the calculated expenditure to the display content generation unit 324.

[0022] (Budget Acquisition Department) The budget acquisition unit 326 is a functional unit that acquires a budget for a first period of time for user A. The first period typically corresponds to the budget period. The terminal device 2 transmits the budget entered by user A to the server 3, and the budget acquisition unit 326 of the server 3 acquires the budget entered by user A via the communication unit 33. The budget acquisition unit 326 supplies the acquired budget to the benchmark calculation unit 323.

[0023] When user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the budget acquisition unit 326 acquires the budget for all of the joint users including user A1 and user A2. The budget for all of the joint users may be the sum of the budgets set by each of the joint users for themselves, or may be a budget set by any one of the joint users for all of the joint users.

[0024] (Benchmark calculation section) In one aspect, the benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates a benchmark as a standard for user A's expenditures from the start of the first period to the reference time point based on the acquired transaction information. If the first period is one month, the transaction information used as the basis for the calculation includes user A's actual expenditures from the previous month or the average expenditures up to the previous month, or the actual expenditures from a similar person from the previous month or the average expenditures up to the previous month. Examples of the "average expenditures up to the previous month" include the average for the most recent three months, the average for the most recent six months, or the average compared to the same month of the previous year. These results may be time-series data. The benchmark calculation unit 323 acquires the reference time point in the same manner as the expenditure calculation unit 322.

[0025] The benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates the benchmark in units of a second period shorter than the first period. Specifically, the benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates the benchmark in units of a period shorter than the first period, which is the period for setting the budget. If the first period is one month, examples of periods shorter than one month include two weeks, one week, or one day. In this way, by calculating the benchmark in units of a second period shorter than the first period, it becomes possible to compare expenditures with the benchmark in detail in units of the second period.

[0026] As an example, if the previous month had 31 days and the current month also has 31 days, the actual expenditures for the previous month are used as is, and the expenditures from the first day of the previous month (e.g., July 1st) to the corresponding point in the previous month (e.g., July 21st) that corresponds to the reference point in this month (e.g., August 21st) are used as the benchmark.

[0027] As an example, if the previous month has 31 days and the current month has 28 days (when there is a date that does not exist in the month being aggregated), the previous month's actual expenditures are corrected to calculate the benchmark. For example, the total expenditures up to the last day of the previous month may be used as the basis for calculating the benchmark for the last day of this month. More specifically, if the current month is February (February), the total expenditures from January 1 to January 31 are used as the benchmark for February 28, and the total expenditures from January 28 to January 30 are not used. The correction method is not limited to this example, and other correction methods may also be used. For example, the amount obtained by multiplying the actual expenditures from the first day of the previous month (e.g., January 1) to the corresponding point in time in the previous month (e.g., January 15) that corresponds to the reference point in this month (e.g., February 15) by 28 / 31 may be used as the benchmark.

[0028] For example, if the previous month had 28 days and the current month has 31 days (which means there is a date that does not exist in the previous month), the actual expenditure for the previous month is corrected to calculate the benchmark. For example, expenditure on February 28th may be used as the basis for calculating the benchmark for each day from March 29th to March 31st.

[0029] The calculated benchmark does not have to be linear over time. For example, if user A's actual expenditures for the previous month are used as a benchmark, it is not necessary to calculate the average daily expenditure by dividing the previous month's expenditures by the total number of days in the previous month. This is because people do not spend the same amount every day, and expenditures are likely to have some kind of trend, such as spending more on weekends than on weekdays. Therefore, the calculated benchmark does not have to have a constant slope over time, as shown by the upward-sloping dashed line in Figure 5.

[0030] In one aspect, the benchmark calculation unit 323 may calculate the benchmark based on the budget of user A supplied from the budget acquisition unit 326 in addition to the transaction information. For example, if the actual expenditure last month was 200,000 yen and the budget for this month is 150,000 yen, the benchmark may be calculated by multiplying the actual expenditure as time-series data for the previous month by 0.75 (150,000 / 200,000). In this way, the benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates the benchmark based on user A's past expenditure and the acquired budget of user A. Instead of user A's past expenditure, the past expenditure of a similar person may be used.

[0031] When transaction information of similar persons is supplied from the transaction information acquisition unit 321, the benchmark calculation unit 323 may calculate a benchmark for user A based on the acquired transaction information of similar persons in the same manner as described above. The transaction information of similar persons includes past transaction information of similar persons prior to the first period.

[0032] If user A1 and user A2 are joint users, benchmarks for user A1 and user A2 are calculated in the same manner as described above based on the acquired transaction information of user A1 and transaction information of user A2. Collaborative transaction information may be included not only in the transaction information of user A1 but also in the transaction information of user A2.

[0033] The benchmark calculation unit 323 supplies the calculated benchmark to the display content generation unit 324. Furthermore, the benchmark calculation unit 323 supplies the budget acquired from the budget acquisition unit 326 to the display content generation unit 324. Note that the budget may be supplied from the budget acquisition unit 326 to the display content generation unit 324.

[0034] (Display content generation unit) In one aspect, the display content generation unit 324 is a functional unit that generates display content including a comparison result obtained by comparing the expenses acquired from the expense calculation unit 322 with the benchmark acquired from the benchmark calculation unit 323. The display content generation unit 324 may also generate display content including a comparison result obtained by comparing the expenses acquired from the expense calculation unit 322, the benchmark acquired from the benchmark calculation unit 323, and the budget acquired from the budget acquisition unit 326 or the benchmark calculation unit 323. Examples of display content generated by the display content generation unit 324 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 and 11. The generation of display content includes not only the generation of content such as graphs and text as a display screen, but also the generation of information required to display content such as graphs and text on the display screen. The server 3 may generate information required to display content such as graphs and text on the display screen, and transmit the generated information to another device such as the terminal device 2, so that the other device generates a display screen based on the information generated by the server 3.

[0035] As an example, the display content generation unit 324 generates display content as shown in the example display screen of Fig. 5. The example display screen of Fig. 5 is an example assuming that the budget for January 2024 is 180,000 yen, the expenditure for January up to January 16, 2024, which is the reference point in time, is 82,000 yen, and the remaining budget amount obtained by subtracting the expenditure from the budget is 98,000 yen.

[0036] In the graph of the example display screen of Figure 5, the thick horizontal solid line represents the budget. This solid line representing the budget is located immediately below the horizontal line of 200,000 yen, visually indicating that the set budget is slightly less than 200,000 yen. The reference point is represented by a circle at the right end of the solid line that rises to the right. This solid line that rises to the right represents expenditures up to the reference point. In addition, the dashed line that rises to the right represents the benchmark. In the example display screen of Figure 5, expenditures at the reference point are the same as the benchmark, and expenditures that are below the benchmark are represented by a first grayscale density on the graph.

[0037] The area just above the graph displays the same information as in the graph above, either as text or as numbers. It shows that the budget for January 2024 is 180,000 yen, the expenditures from January 1 to 16, 2024 are 82,000 yen, and the remaining budget, calculated by subtracting the expenditures from the budget, is 98,000 yen.

[0038] As an example, the display content generation unit 324 generates display content as shown in the example display screen of Fig. 6. The example display screen of Fig. 6 is an example assuming that the budget for January 2024 is 180,000 yen, the expenditure for January up to January 16, 2024, which is the reference point in time, is 102,000 yen, and the remaining budget amount obtained by subtracting the expenditure from the budget is 78,000 yen.

[0039] In the example display screen of FIG. 6, the solid line representing expenditures visually indicates that the expenditures exceed the benchmark on January 16, 2024. Note that as of January 16, 2024, the expenditure of 102,000 yen is less than the January budget of 180,000 yen. This fact that expenditures exceed the benchmark and are below the budget is represented on the graph by a grayscale of a second density different from the grayscale of the first density. Note that the value of 102,000 yen in the upper region of the graph may be displayed in a different color than the value of 82,000 yen in the example of FIG. 5.

[0040] As an example, the display content generation unit 324 generates display content as shown in the example display screen of Fig. 7. The example display screen of Fig. 7 is an example assuming that the budget for January 2024 is 180,000 yen, the expenditure for January up to January 16, 2024, which is the reference point in time, is 190,000 yen, and the remaining budget amount obtained by subtracting the expenditure from the budget is -10,000 yen.

[0041] In the example display screen of FIG. 7, the graph visually indicates that the solid line representing expenditures exceeds not only the benchmark but also the budget on January 16, 2024. This expenditure exceeding the budget is represented in the graph by a third grayscale density that is different from both the first grayscale density and the second grayscale density. Note that the figure of 190,000 yen in the upper region of the graph may be displayed in a color different from both the 82,000 yen in the example of FIG. 5 and the 102,000 yen in the example of FIG. 5.

[0042] As can be seen by comparing Figures 5 to 7, the areas between the horizontal axis representing the dates of the graph and the solid line rising to the right are drawn in different grayscales from the first day of January 2024 to the reference point. Instead of the grayscale, they may be drawn in different colors.

[0043] Furthermore, when a time earlier than the current time is acquired as a reference time by user input, the display content generation unit 324 generates display content based on that earlier time as a reference, as shown in Fig. 11. The example in Fig. 11 shows an example of a display screen when the current date is January 16, 2024, and January 14 is accepted as a reference time by user input.

[0044] Such a display allows user A to understand whether the expenditure for the month is appropriate.

[0045] The display content generation unit 224 may generate the display content so as to display an alert display that warns the user that the expenditure exceeds the benchmark. Examples of the alert display include a display in a different color as in the example of Fig. 6 or Fig. 7, as well as an alert display 81 shown in Fig. 8 (described later) or an alert display 91 shown in Fig. 9 (described later).

[0046] The display content generator 224 may generate display content including such an alert display, and may also generate audio content indicating that the expenditure exceeds the benchmark. An example of the audio content may be a voice saying, "Your expenditure is too fast."

[0047] The display content generation unit 224 supplies the generated display content to the output unit 325. When the display content generation unit 224 generates audio content, it supplies the audio content to the output unit 325 together with the generated display content.

[0048] (output section) The output unit 325 supplies the display content acquired from the display content generation unit 324 to the communication unit 33, and the communication unit 33 transmits the display content acquired from the output unit 325 to the terminal device 2. If the output unit 325 acquires audio content, the audio content is transmitted together with the display content to the terminal device 2. If the target user is a co-user, the alert display may be transmitted to all of the co-users.

[0049] The output unit 325 may notify the terminal device 2 by push notification when the display content acquired from the display content generation unit 324 includes the alert display 81 or the alert display 91. That is, the server 3 may send a push notification of the alert display 81 or the alert display 91, which notifies that the second case applies. A push notification is not a notification that the server 3 sends in response to a request from the terminal device 2, but a notification method that the server 3 sends voluntarily when predetermined conditions are met. By sending a push notification from the server 3, user A can quickly know that he is overspending, i.e., that his expenses have exceeded the benchmark. By receiving such a push notification, user A can take measures to curb his expenses, making it possible to keep his expenses for the entire first period within his budget.

[0050] <Variation 1> (User input acquisition section) The control unit 32 may further include a user input acquisition unit 327 that acquires user input entered by the user A into the terminal device 2 via the communication unit 33, and may perform various processes based on the acquired user input.

[0051] An example will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10. The user input acquisition unit 327 may acquire, as a user input, management category information indicating a management category for which expenditures are to be managed, and supply the acquired management category information to the expenditure calculation unit 322, the benchmark calculation unit 323, and the display content generation unit 324. In this case, the user input acquisition unit 327 has an aspect as a management category acquisition unit.

[0052] The expenditure calculation unit 322 calculates expenditures for the management category indicated by the management category information acquired from the user input acquisition unit 327, among the transaction information acquired from the transaction information acquisition unit 321. Fig. 8 shows that the expenditure is 80,000 yen when the management category information is "food". Fig. 9 shows that the expenditure is 80,000 yen when the management category information is "food / eating out" (food or eating out).

[0053] The benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates the benchmark for the management category indicated by the management category information acquired from the user input acquisition unit 327 from the acquired transaction information. The calculation method is as described above. Figure 8 shows that the benchmark when the management category information is "food" is as indicated by the dashed line. Figure 9 shows that the benchmark when the management category information is "food / eating out" is as indicated by the dashed line.

[0054] 8 or 9, the display content generation unit 324 generates content that displays the expenditure received from the expenditure calculation unit 322 and the benchmark received from the benchmark calculation unit 323. Furthermore, the display content generation unit 324 may generate the display content to include an alert display 81 or an alert display 91 that indicates that the expenditure exceeds the benchmark.

[0055] In this way, for each management category, the expenditure calculation unit 322 calculates the expenditure, the benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates the benchmark, and the display content generation unit 324 generates the display content.

[0056] User A's user input to the terminal device 2 is performed, for example, by displaying a touch-operable user interface such as that shown in Figure 10 on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2, and having User A select at least one management category from among multiple management categories displayed as "categories to notify."

[0057] Furthermore, the user input acquisition unit 327 may acquire, as user input, exclusion target information indicating exclusion targets that are not to be included in the basis for calculation when calculating expenses and benchmarks, and supply the acquired exclusion target information to the expense calculation unit 322 and the benchmark calculation unit 323. In this case, the user input acquisition unit 327 functions as an exclusion target acquisition unit. The expense calculation unit 322 calculates expenses from the start of the first period to the reference point without including the acquired exclusion targets. The benchmark calculation unit 323 calculates a benchmark from the user's past transaction information without including the acquired exclusion targets.

[0058] It may be appropriate not to include expenses for irregular events, such as birthday dinners, expensive home appliances, or travel expenses, in the benchmark for managing expenditures. Therefore, expenses for irregular events may be excluded. To perform such processing, the terminal device 2, for example, displays an expense statement including multiple expenditure items of user A on the display unit 24, and displays an icon for each expenditure item that allows the user to select whether to exclude the expenditure item from the benchmark calculation. The operation unit 21 of the terminal device 2 receives exclusion target information indicating exclusion targets selected to be excluded from the benchmark calculation, and the terminal device 2 transmits the received exclusion target information to the server 3.

[0059] <Configuration of terminal device> Next, the configuration of the terminal device 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal device 2 includes an operation unit 21, a control unit 22, a communication unit 23, and a display unit 24.

[0060] (Operation unit) The operation unit 21 is realized by an input device such as a touch screen, and accepts user input from user A. Examples of user input by user A include an input specifying a reference point, an input of a budget for a certain month, an input of a category to be managed for overspending, and an input of an object to be excluded. The operation unit 21 supplies the accepted user input to the control unit 22.

[0061] The control unit 22 controls the overall operation of the terminal device 2, and transmits user input received from the operation unit 21 to the server 3 via the communication unit 23. The control unit 22 also receives display content from the server 3 via the communication unit 23 and performs display control so as to display the received display content on the display unit 24.

[0062] (Communications Department) The communication unit 23 is a communication device capable of communicating with the terminal device 2, the store terminal 4, or the external server 5 via the network NW. The communication unit 23 may also have a communication function that enables payment by short-range wireless communication (NFC payment) at the store terminal 4.

[0063] (Display) The display unit 24 is realized by an output device such as a touch screen, and displays display content.

[0064] <Variation 2> In the above explanation, many processes such as the generation of display content are realized by the server 3 as an expenditure management device, but these processes may also be executed by the terminal device 2. That is, the terminal device 2 may download an application program that performs the processes described below from the server 3 and locally execute the processes realized by the server 32. In the embodiment according to this modification 2, the terminal device 2 corresponds to the expenditure management device.

[0065] In order to perform this processing locally, as shown in Figure 4, the terminal device 2 is equipped with an operation unit 21, a control unit 22, a communication unit 23, and a display unit 24, as in the case of Figure 3, and further equipped with a memory unit 25 for storing various data such as transaction information.

[0066] 4, the control unit 22 of the terminal device 2 includes a transaction information acquisition unit 221, an expense calculation unit 222, a budget acquisition unit 226, a benchmark calculation unit 223, a display content generation unit 224, and an output unit 225. The control unit 22 may also include a user input acquisition unit 227. The functions performed by these functional units are similar to those of the transaction information acquisition unit 321, the expense calculation unit 322, the budget acquisition unit 326, the benchmark calculation unit 323, the display content generation unit 324, the output unit 325, and the user input acquisition unit 327 of the server 3, and therefore redundant description will be omitted. In the second modification, the display content output from the output unit 325 is supplied to the display unit 24, and the display content is displayed on the display unit 24.

[0067] <Hardware configuration> Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the server 3 and the terminal device 2 will be described with reference to Figures 12A and 12B. The control unit 32 of the server 3 and the control unit 22 of the terminal device 2 are realized by processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may be a dedicated processing circuit 100a as shown in Figure 12A, or a processor 100b that executes a program stored in a memory 100c as shown in Figure 12B.

[0068] When the processing circuitry is a dedicated processing circuit 100a, the dedicated processing circuit 100a includes, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0069] When the processing circuitry is a processor 100b serving as a computer, the functions realized by the control unit 32 of the server 3 and the control unit 22 of the terminal device 2 are written as programs, and the programs are stored in the memory 100c. The processor 100b realizes the functions of the control unit 32 or the control unit 22 by reading and executing the programs stored in the memory 100c. Examples of the memory 100c include non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memories such as RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), flash memory, EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), and EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0070] <Operation> Next, the operation of the server 3 or the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0071] (Step ST1) In step ST1, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221 acquires transaction information of user A. The transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221 may acquire transaction information of a similar person who has attributes similar to those of user A. If user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221 may acquire transaction information of all joint users.

[0072] Note that a step (not shown) may be provided in parallel with step ST1, in which the budget acquisition unit 326 or the budget acquisition unit 226 acquires the budget for the first period of user A. If users A1 and A2 are joint users, the budget acquisition unit 326 or the budget acquisition unit 226 acquires the budgets for all joint users including users A1 and A2.

[0073] (Step ST2) In step ST2, the expenditure calculation unit 322 or the expenditure calculation unit 222 calculates the expenditure of user A in the first period from the start of the first period to the reference time point, based on the transaction information acquired by the transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221. When user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the expenditure calculation unit 322 or the expenditure calculation unit 222 calculates the expenditure from the start of the first period to the reference time point by adding up the expenditure amount of user A1 from the start of the first period to the reference time point and the expenditure amount of user A2 from the start of the first period to the reference time point.

[0074] (Step ST3) In step ST3, which is performed in parallel with step ST2, the benchmark calculation unit 323 or the benchmark calculation unit 223 calculates a benchmark as a standard of expenditures of user A from the start of the first period to the reference time point, based on the transaction information acquired by the transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221. When transaction information of similar persons is supplied from the transaction information acquisition unit 321 or the transaction information acquisition unit 221, the benchmark calculation unit 323 or the benchmark calculation unit 223 may calculate a benchmark for user A based on the acquired transaction information of similar persons. When user A1 and user A2 are joint users, the benchmark calculation unit 323 or the benchmark calculation unit 223 calculates benchmarks for user A1 and user A2 based on the acquired transaction information of user A1 and transaction information of user A2.

[0075] (Step ST4) In step ST4, the display content generation unit 324 or the display content generation unit 224 generates display content including a comparison result that is a result of comparing the expenses calculated by the expense calculation unit 322 or the expense calculation unit 222 with the benchmark calculated by the benchmark calculation unit 323 or the benchmark calculation unit 223. Furthermore, when the budget of user A is acquired, the display content generation unit 324 or the display content generation unit 224 may generate display content including a comparison result that is a result of comparing the expenses calculated by the expense calculation unit 322 or the expense calculation unit 222, the benchmark calculated by the benchmark calculation unit 323 or the benchmark calculation unit 223, and the budget acquired by the budget acquisition unit 326 or the budget acquisition unit 226.

[0076] (Step ST5) In step ST5, the output unit 325 supplies the display content generated by the display content generation unit 324 to the communication unit 33, and the communication unit 33 transmits the display content acquired from the output unit 325 to the terminal device 2. The display content received by the terminal device 2 is displayed on the display unit 24.

[0077] In step ST5, the output unit 225 may output the display content generated by the display content generation unit 224 to the display unit 24. The display unit 24 generates the display content generated by the display content generation unit 224.

[0078] It is possible to combine the embodiments, and to modify or omit each embodiment as appropriate. [Industrial Applicability]

[0079] The server 3, which is an example of an expenditure management device in the present disclosure, can be used as a device for managing the expenditures of a user who receives an expenditure management service. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1 expenditure management system, 2 (2A1, 2A2) terminal device (expenditure management device), 3 server (expenditure management device), 4 store terminal, 5 external server, 21 operation unit, 22 control unit, 23 communication unit, 24 display unit, 25 memory unit, 32 control unit, 33 communication unit, 35 memory unit, 81 alert display, 91 alert display, 100a processing circuit, 100b processor, 100c memory, 221 transaction information acquisition unit, 222 expenditure calculation unit, 223 benchmark calculation unit, 224 display content generation unit, 225 output unit, 226 budget acquisition unit, 227 user input acquisition unit, 321 transaction information acquisition unit, 322 expenditure calculation unit, 323 benchmark calculation unit, 324 display content generation unit, 325 output unit, 326 budget acquisition unit, 327 user input acquisition unit.

Claims

1. a transaction information acquisition unit that acquires transaction information of a target user; an expenditure calculation unit that calculates expenditures of the target user in a first period from a start point of the first period to a reference point based on the acquired transaction information; a benchmark calculation unit that calculates a benchmark as a standard of expenditures of the target user from the start time point to the reference time point; a display content generator that generates display content including a comparison result that is a result of comparing the calculated expenditure with the calculated benchmark; an output unit that outputs the generated display content; An expenditure management device comprising:

2. the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark in units of a second period shorter than the first period; 2. The expenditure management device according to claim 1.

3. the transaction information acquisition unit is configured to further acquire transaction information of a similar person having attributes similar to attributes of the target user; The transaction information of the target user includes past transaction information of the target user prior to the first period; The transaction information of the similar person includes past transaction information of the similar person prior to the first period; The benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark based on past transaction information of the target user or past transaction information of the similar person.

2. The expenditure management device according to claim 1.

4. a budget acquisition unit that acquires a budget for the first period of the target user; the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark based on the target user's past expenditures or the similar person's past expenditures and the acquired budget; 4. An expenditure management device according to claim 3.

5. the display content generation unit generates the display content such that the comparison result includes a comparison result of comparing the acquired budget, the calculated expenditure, and the calculated benchmark.

5. An expenditure management device according to claim 4.

6. the display content generation unit generates the display content so as to display the comparison result in a graph.

6. An expenditure management device according to claim 5.

7. the display content generation unit generates the display content so that the display content is displayed differently depending on whether the calculated expenditure exceeds the calculated benchmark.

2. The expenditure management device according to claim 1.

8. the display content generation unit generates display content so that different displays are produced for a first case in which the calculated expenditure is equal to or less than the calculated benchmark, a second case in which the calculated expenditure exceeds the calculated benchmark and is equal to or less than the acquired budget, and a third case in which the calculated expenditure exceeds the acquired budget.

5. An expenditure management device according to claim 4.

9. the display content generation unit generates the display content in the second case to include an alert display that the calculated expenditure exceeds the acquired benchmark.

9. An expenditure management device according to claim 8.

10. the target users include a first target user and a second target user associated with a joint account; the expenditure calculation unit calculates expenditures of the first target user and the second target user from the start time point to the reference time point; 2. The expenditure management device according to claim 1.

11. the transaction information of the target user includes past transaction information of the first target user and past transaction information of the second target user prior to the first period; the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark based on past transaction information of the first target user and past transaction information of the second target user; 11. The expenditure management device according to claim 10.

12. a budget acquisition unit that acquires budgets for the first period of the first target user and the second target user; the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark based on the past expenditures of the first target user and the past expenditures of the second target user and the acquired budgets; the display content generation unit generates display content so that different displays are produced for a first case in which the calculated expenditure is equal to or less than the calculated benchmark, a second case in which the calculated expenditure exceeds the calculated benchmark and is equal to or less than the acquired budget, and a third case in which the calculated expenditure exceeds the acquired budget; the display content generation unit generates the display content in the second case to include an alert display that the calculated expenditure exceeds the acquired benchmark.

12. An expenditure management device according to claim 11.

13. The past transaction information of the target user includes linked transaction information obtained from an external server used to provide an external service linked via API.

4. An expenditure management device according to claim 3.

14. Further, an excluded object acquisition unit is provided to acquire excluded objects that are not to be included in the basis of the calculation when calculating the benchmark, the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark from the past transaction information of the target user, excluding the acquired exclusion target; 4. An expenditure management device according to claim 3.

15. a management category acquisition unit that acquires at least one management category designated by the target user; For each management category acquired, The expenditure calculation unit calculates the expenditure, the benchmark calculation unit calculates the benchmark, The display content generation unit generates the display content. An expenditure management device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. An expenditure management method performed by a device including a transaction information acquisition unit, an expenditure calculation unit, a benchmark calculation unit, a display content generation unit, and an output unit, a step in which the transaction information acquisition unit acquires transaction information of the target user; the expenditure calculation unit calculating expenditures of the target user in a first time period from a start point of the first time period to a reference time point based on the acquired transaction information; a step in which the benchmark calculation unit calculates a benchmark as a standard of expenditures of the target user from the start time point to the reference time point; generating display content including a comparison result obtained by comparing the calculated expenditure with the calculated benchmark by the display content generation unit; a step of outputting the generated display content by the output unit; 1. An expense management method comprising:

17. On the computer, acquiring transaction information of a target user; the expenditure calculation unit calculating expenditures of the target user in a first time period from a start point of the first time period to a reference time point based on the acquired transaction information; calculating a benchmark as a measure of expenditures of the target user from the start time to the reference time; generating display content including a comparison result that is a result of comparing the calculated expenditure with the calculated benchmark; outputting the generated display content; Expense management program that allows you to:

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