Business support device, business support method, and business support program

Abstract

This reduces the workload for staff and managers regarding collection and payment approval. [Solution] The detection unit detects approval pattern categories set based on a storage unit that stores approval pattern categories indicating financial transactions that will have their status information for each approval category of the "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment" scheduled collection data or scheduled payment data updated all at once. The scheduled collection data generation unit and the scheduled payment data generation unit update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are specified to have their status information updated all at once in the detected approval pattern categories, using the status information entered by the operator, and individually update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are not specified to have their status information updated all at once, using the status information entered by the operator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a business support device, a business support method, and a business support program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-033654) discloses an information processing system that enables immediate and accurate issuance of estimates at a site such as a location of a construction candidate for a building.

[0003] In this information processing system, a person-in-charge processing control unit determines the construction details of a renovation work of a building, one or more products (such as building materials) required for the work, and the schedule of the construction of the work by appropriately communicating with a renovation person-in-charge terminal. Then, the person-in-charge processing control unit issues an estimate for the work based on the cost information pre-agreed with the candidates for the constructor of the work regarding the construction details and products determined for this work. Thereby, it is possible to immediately and accurately issue an estimate at a site such as a location of a construction candidate for a building.

[0004] In paragraphs 0022 and 0025 of this Patent Document 1, there are descriptions of obtaining prior approval for the cost of the work, in paragraph 0183, a description of performing payment management, and in paragraph 0194, a description of performing cost editing management.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In this case, if the intermediary is acting as a middleman between the client and the contractor, entrusting the work of a commercial transaction received from the client to the contractor, the intermediary generates collection schedule data for the client and payment schedule data for the contractor. Then, after obtaining approval from the administrator for the generated collection schedule data and payment schedule data, the intermediary makes an invoice to the client or a payment to the contractor.

[0007] Traditionally, the process of requesting approval from administrators for collection schedule data and payment schedule data by the person in charge, and the process of administrators granting approval, has been a burden for both parties.

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a business support device, a business support method, and a business support program that can reduce the burden on personnel and managers on tasks related to the approval of collection and payment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the business support device according to the present invention is a business support device that supports the approval of each financial transaction based on financial transaction data that includes approval classifications indicating whether or not each financial transaction has been approved, which arises when the work of a commercial transaction ordered by a client is outsourced to a subcontractor, and includes at least "sales" of the ordered commercial transaction, "invoice" to the client for the sales of the ordered commercial transaction, "cost" indicating the amount to be paid to the subcontractor that has been outsourced the work of the commercial transaction, and "payment" indicating the amount to be paid to the subcontractor, and generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data which includes client identification information for identifying the client and the billing recipient for the work of the commercial transaction, the amount to be collected, which is the payment for the commercial transaction and is scheduled to be collected from the client, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information that is entered in the approval classification of "sales" and the approval classification of "invoice", which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is being requested, and "approved" indicating that it has been approved, and subcontractor identification information for identifying the subcontractor that performs the work of the commercial transaction, and "cost" The system comprises a payment schedule data generation unit that generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes the payment schedule amount, accounting year and month, billing year and month, and status information entered in the approval category for "cost" and the approval category for "payment," and a detection unit that detects approval pattern categories set in the control master table based on an approval pattern master table that stores approval pattern categories indicating financial transactions for which the status information of each approval category of the collection schedule data or payment schedule data among the financial transactions of "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment" is updated at once. The collection schedule data generation unit and the payment schedule data generation unit update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions for which the status information is specified to be updated at once in the approval pattern categories detected from the control master table, with the status information entered by the operator, at once, and individually update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions for which the status information is not specified to be updated at once, with the status information entered by the operator.

[0010] Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the business support method according to the present invention provides a business support device comprising a collection schedule data generation unit, a payment schedule data generation unit, and a detection unit that supports the approval of each financial transaction based on financial transaction data that includes an approval classification indicating whether or not each financial transaction has been approved, which arises when the work of a commercial transaction ordered by a client is outsourced to a contractor, and includes at least "sales" of the ordered commercial transaction, "invoice" to the client for the sales of the ordered commercial transaction, "cost" indicating the amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work of the commercial transaction, and "payment" indicating the amount paid to the contractor. A support method comprising a collection schedule data generation step in which a collection schedule data generation unit generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes client identification information for identifying the client and billing recipient for the business transaction work, the amount to be collected from the client as payment for the business transaction, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category of "sales" and the approval category of "invoice," which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is being requested, and "approved" indicating that it has been approved, and payment schedule The data generation unit generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes vendor identification information for identifying the vendor of the work to be outsourced in a commercial transaction, the payment amount that will be the "cost" to be paid to the vendor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category for "cost" and the approval category for "payment". The detection unit detects the approval pattern categories set in the control master table based on the approval pattern master table which stores approval pattern categories indicating financial transactions that will have their status information updated all at once among the financial transactions of "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment". In the collection schedule data generation step and the payment schedule data generation step, the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are specified to have their status information updated all at once in the approval pattern categories detected from the control master table is updated all at once with the status information entered by the operator, and the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are not specified to have their status information updated all at once is updated all at once.The status information entered by the operator is updated individually.

[0011] Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the business support program according to the present invention is a business support program that causes the computer of a business support device to function in order to support the approval of each financial transaction based on financial transaction data that includes an approval classification indicating whether or not each of the following financial transactions has been approved: at least "sales" of the ordered commercial transaction, "invoice" to the ordering party for the sales of the ordered commercial transaction, "cost" indicating the amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work on the commercial transaction, and "payment" indicating the amount paid to the contractor, which arise when the work on the commercial transaction ordered by the client is outsourced to a contractor. The computer generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes client identification information to identify the client and billing recipient for the commercial transaction work, the payment for the commercial transaction and the expected collection amount to be collected from the client, the recording date, the billing date, and status information to be entered in the approval category for "sales" and the approval category for "invoice," which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that the "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is pending, or "approved" indicating that it has been approved. The computer also identifies the contractor for the commercial transaction work. The system generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes information identifying the contractor, the price that will be the "cost," the scheduled payment amount to be paid to the contractor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category for "cost" and the approval category for "payment." The system also functions as a detection unit that detects approval pattern categories set in the control master table based on an approval pattern master table that stores approval pattern categories indicating financial transactions that will have their status information updated all at once for each approval category of the "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment" financial transactions. The collection schedule data generation unit and the payment schedule data generation unit update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are specified to have their status information updated all at once in the approval pattern categories detected from the control master table, using the status information entered by the operator, and individually update the status information of the approval categories of financial transactions that are not specified to have their status information updated all at once, using the status information entered by the operator. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This invention can reduce the burden on staff and managers regarding the tasks of approving collections and payments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the business support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of an approval pattern master table. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of a control master table. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of a customer master table. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the general configuration of the business support program installed in the business support device. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of basic data for a fixed-term contract. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of data to be collected. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of payment schedule data. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of the input screen for the "Request" status of a sales transaction, and an example of the input screen for the "Approved" status of a requested sales transaction. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows the collection schedule data with the sales approval status entered as "request" by the person in charge of the field department, and the payment schedule data with the cost approval status entered as "request". [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows the collection schedule data with the "Request" status information entered in the billing approval category by the field department manager, and the payment schedule data with the "Request" status information entered in the payment approval category. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a diagram showing collection schedule data in a state where the status information of the billing approval classification has been updated from "request" to "approval" by a person in charge of the accounting department, and payment schedule data in a state where the status information of the payment approval classification has been updated from "request" to "approval". [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a manager of the field department approves sales and costs, and a modification operation of the accounting year and month and the billing year and month of the collection schedule data and the payment schedule data. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of journal entry data of the collection scheduled amount and the payment scheduled amount generated when manually modified so as to shift the accounting year and month and the payment year and month. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an approval operation of an approval pattern classification of "2" for collectively approving "sales" and "billing". [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of inputting status information of "approval" into the billing approval classification in order to issue a bill in advance. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an operation of updating only the status information of "unapproved", which is a status later than the status information of "request", without updating the status information of "approval", which is a status ahead of the input status information of "request", when collectively updating the status information of sales and billing. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which the status information of each of "sales", "billing" and "cost" is collectively updated to the status information of "request" when the approval pattern classification of "3" is set. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state in which the status information of each of "sales", "billing" and "cost" is collectively updated from the status information of "request" to the status information of "approval" when the approval pattern classification of "3" is set. [Figure 20]Figure 20 shows how, when approval pattern category "4" is set, the status information for "Cost" and "Payment" are updated together from "Unapproved" to "Requested," and then from "Requested" to "Approved." [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] The following describes in detail, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention applied to a terminal device of a so-called intermediary, which receives orders for building management services from customers (clients) and requests cleaning services and other tasks from subcontractors (outsourced companies). In other words, the terminal device of the intermediary is the business support device of the intermediary, which is the embodiment described below.

[0015] Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a variety of tasks other than building management, and is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0016] (overview) Businesses in the building maintenance industry (intermediaries) receive orders for building management services from clients and then outsource tasks such as cleaning to other contractors to perform maintenance work. The financial transaction data, such as sales, invoices, costs, and payments, generated by this type of business model can be generated at different times.

[0017] For example, costs are determined upon receipt of a work completion report from the client. Payments are made after receiving an invoice from the client. Sales can be recorded once costs are determined. Invoices are issued at the timing stipulated in the contract with the customer.

[0018] Furthermore, financial transaction data such as sales, invoices, costs, and payments require different documents for approval by the administrator.

[0019] Therefore, sales, invoices, costs, and payments needed to be prepared and approved at a time that allowed for monthly accounting.

[0020] In cases where the company is large or has a multi-layered organizational structure, consolidating approval processes can reduce the number of approvals processed. For example, if the same person receives the work completion report and invoice from the supplier, or if the contract stipulates that payment is made after the work completion report is received, consolidating cost approval processes can reduce the number of approvals processed. Also, if sales, costs, and invoices are recorded in the same month based on the work completion report from the supplier, and payment is made only after the invoice is received, consolidating the approval processes for sales, costs, and invoices can reduce the number of approvals processed.

[0021] Furthermore, even among intermediaries performing building maintenance services, the level of detail in approval processes varies depending on the size of the company or its organizational structure. For example, approval processes for sales and invoices may be handled collectively, while approval processes for costs and payments are handled individually; or, conversely, approval processes for sales, invoices, and costs may be handled collectively, while payment approval processes are handled individually. The level of detail in approval processes varies considerably.

[0022] Furthermore, if sales, invoices, costs, and payments are approved individually, discrepancies in the accounting months may occur due to the timing of the approval process, potentially leading to accounting discrepancies. Additionally, if sales, invoices, costs, and payments are approved individually, the person in charge and the approver must operate separate programs for sales, invoices, costs, and payments, which increases the operational burden.

[0023] For these reasons, the business support device of this embodiment has mastered approval patterns that can be flexibly configured in accordance with company operations. This prevents problems such as accounting debit / credit discrepancies that occur with individual approvals and reduces the operational burden.

[0024] Furthermore, the business support device of this embodiment allows users to select approval patterns for sales, invoices, costs, and payments through master settings, and enables approval processing at the granularity of the selected approval pattern.

[0025] Furthermore, in the business support device of this embodiment, if a customer requests the issuance of an invoice before the accounting month, and the invoice is approved before the accounting month, the device prohibits updating the "approved" status of the invoice when the approval process for other financial transactions such as sales is carried out together with the invoice later. This prevents the inconvenience of the "approved" status of the invoice being mistakenly updated to another status, such as "requested," when the approval process for other financial transactions such as sales is carried out together with the invoice after the invoice has been approved before the accounting month.

[0026] (Hardware configuration) As shown in Figure 1, the business support device 1 of this embodiment includes a storage unit 2, a control unit 3, a communication interface unit 4, and an input / output interface unit 5. An input device 6 and an output device 7 are connected to the input / output interface unit 5.

[0027] Output device 7 may include a display unit of a monitor device (including a home television), a printing device, or a speaker device. Input device 6 may include a keyboard device, a mouse device, a microphone device, or a monitor device that works in conjunction with a mouse device to provide a pointing device function.

[0028] The communication interface unit 4 is connected to a network 51, such as a wide-area network like the Internet or a private network like a LAN (Local Area Network). Field department terminal devices 52 and accounting department terminal devices 53 are connected to the network 51.

[0029] Personnel in the field departments and managers within those departments access the business support device 1 via the field department terminal device 52 to generate payment schedule data and collection schedule data (described later) and request approval from the accounting department. Personnel in the accounting department access the business support device 1 via the accounting department terminal device 53 and perform the approval process for the payment schedule data and collection schedule data submitted by the field departments.

[0030] For the memory unit 2, a storage device such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used. The memory unit 2 stores a business support program that reduces the burden on the person in charge and the manager regarding the approval of collection and payment.

[0031] Furthermore, this memory unit 2 is equipped with the following memory areas: Approval Pattern Master Table 11, Control Master Table 12, Customer Master Table 13, Periodic Contract Basic Data Storage Unit 14, Collection Schedule Data Storage Unit 15, Payment Schedule Data Storage Unit 16, and Journal Entry Data Storage Unit 17.

[0032] The approval pattern master table 11, as shown in Figure 2, is composed of type codes, category names, pattern numbers, and approval patterns. In the example in Figure 2, each pattern number represents the following category name and approval pattern.

[0033] The pattern number "1" is the name of the first approval pattern category, indicating an approval pattern in which sales, invoices, costs, and payments are individually approved. The pattern number "2" refers to the category name of the second approval pattern, indicating an approval pattern where sales and invoice approval processes are handled collectively, while costs and payments are approved individually. The pattern number "3" refers to the third approval pattern category, which indicates an approval pattern where sales, invoices, and costs are approved together, while payments are approved individually. The pattern number "4" refers to the fourth approval pattern category, which indicates an approval pattern where sales and invoice approval processes are performed together, as well as cost and payment approval processes are performed together. The pattern number "5" refers to the name of the fifth approval pattern category, which indicates an approval pattern where sales and invoice approval processes are performed individually, while cost and payment approval processes are performed together. The pattern number "6" refers to the name of the sixth approval pattern category, indicating an approval pattern where sales and cost approval processes are performed separately, and invoice and payment approval processes are also performed separately. The pattern number "7" refers to the name of the seventh approval pattern category, which indicates an approval pattern where all approval processes for sales, invoices, costs, and payments are carried out together.

[0034] As shown in Figure 3, the control master table 12 stores setting pattern numbers that indicate approval patterns selected based on the approval pattern master table 11, for example, by the person in charge of the business support device 1 in the embodiment. The example in Figure 3 shows an example in which a first approval pattern category (pattern number "1" shown in Figure 2) is set to individually approve sales, invoices, costs, and payments.

[0035] The customer master table 13 stores the customer code, customer name, and customer category of the customers of the intermediary that owns the business support device 1 of the embodiment. In the example in Figure 4, the customer code "□□ Real Estate" of "TOR00001", which is the client (=contracting party) that requested building management services from the intermediary, and the customer code "×× Cleaning" of "HAC00001", which is the contractor (=ordering party) that the intermediary requested building cleaning services from, are both registered (stored) as customers.

[0036] The business support programs stored in memory unit 2 include, as an example, a contract processing program, a sales processing program, a cost processing program, an invoice processing program, and a payment processing program, as shown in Figure 5.

[0037] The contract processing program performs input processing of the contract details with the aforementioned business partners. The control unit 3 functions as a data generation unit 21 based on this contract processing program. Then, as shown in Figure 6, it generates basic periodic contract data including the contract number, project name, contractor code, contractor name, accounting office, and accounting department information of the building management business requester, and stores it in the basic periodic contract data storage unit 14 shown in Figure 1.

[0038] The example in Figure 6 shows an instance where basic recurring contract data is generated and stored, containing the contract number "T000001," the project name "Daily Cleaning of Kyobashi ○× Building," the client code "TOR00001," and the client name "□□ Real Estate." The example in Figure 6 also shows that this basic recurring contract data was created by the "Tokyo First Division" of the "Tokyo Head Office" of the company that owns the business support device of the embodiment, with the accounting business location and accounting department being the accounting office and accounting department.

[0039] The sales processing program and cost processing program handle the input of collection schedule data and payment schedule data created by the field departments. The billing processing program and payment processing program handle the input processing by the accounting department when approving the collection schedule data and payment schedule data created by the field departments. Further details will be provided later.

[0040] (Functional configuration of business support equipment) Next, the control unit 3 executes the business support program stored in the memory unit 2, and functions as a data generation unit 21, a detection unit 22, and an output control unit 23, as shown in Figure 1. The data generation unit 21 includes the functions of a collection schedule data generation unit 24, a payment schedule data generation unit 25, and a journal entry data generation unit 26.

[0041] In this example, the data generation unit 21 (including the data collection schedule generation unit 24 to the journal entry data generation unit 26) and the output control unit 23 are described as being implemented in software based on the business support program. However, all or part of the data generation unit 21 (including the data collection schedule generation unit 24 to the journal entry data generation unit 26) and the output control unit 23 may be implemented in hardware. In either case, the same effects as described later can be obtained.

[0042] The business support device 1 of this embodiment supports the approval process for each financial transaction based on financial transaction data, which includes an approval classification indicating whether or not each of the following financial transactions has been approved: at least the "sales" of the ordered business transaction, the "invoice" to the ordering company for the sales of the ordered business transaction, the "cost" amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work of the business transaction, and the "payment" amount paid to the contractor, which arises when the business outsources the work (building cleaning work) of the business transaction (building management work) ordered by the client (□□ Real Estate) to a contractor (×× Cleaning). This process is supported by software functions or hardware circuits based on a business support program.

[0043] In this example, financial transactions are assumed to be sales, invoices, costs, and payments. However, other financial transactions such as purchases and orders may also be included. In that case, the same effects as described later can be obtained.

[0044] The collection schedule data generation unit 24 generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data (see Figure 10(a)), which includes client identification information (name of billing party in Figure 10(a)) to identify the client who is the requester and the billing party for the business transaction work, the amount to be collected from the client as payment for the business transaction, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category for "sales" and the approval category for "invoice," which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is being requested, or "approved" indicating that it has been approved.

[0045] The payment schedule data generation unit 25 generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes contractor identification information (the name of the supplier in Figure 10(b)) for identifying the contractor for the work of the commercial transaction, the payment amount which will be the "cost" and is scheduled to be paid to the contractor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category of "cost" and the approval category of "payment" (see Figure 10(b)).

[0046] The detection unit 22 detects the approval pattern classification (certification pattern number in Figure 3) set in the control master table 12 based on the approval pattern master table 11, which stores approval pattern classifications indicating financial transactions that update the status information of each approval classification of collection data or payment data among the financial transactions of "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment" all at once.

[0047] The collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the status information of financial transaction approval categories that are specified to be updated at once for approval pattern categories (any of the 1st to 7th approval pattern categories shown in Figure 2) detected from the control master table 12, using the status information entered by the operator, all at once. For financial transaction approval categories that are not specified to be updated at once, they update the status information individually using the status information entered by the operator.

[0048] The journal entry data generation unit 26 generates journal entry data as exemplified in Figures 14(a) and 14(b) based on the collection schedule data and payment schedule data that include approved financial transactions. The output control unit 23 stores the generated journal entry data in the journal entry data storage unit 17.

[0049] The output control unit 23 stores the generated collection schedule data, payment schedule data, and journal entry data in the storage unit 2. The output control unit 23 also outputs the generated collection schedule data, payment schedule data, and journal entry data to the output target device. This output target device corresponds to, for example, the output device 7, and can be a display device, a printer, or a speaker. The output target device can be a display device, printer, or speaker provided on the field department terminal device 52 side. Furthermore, the output target device can be a display device, printer, or speaker provided on the accounting department terminal device 53 side.

[0050] The output control unit 23 converts the scheduled collection data, scheduled payment data, and journal entry data into display information, print information, or audio information and supplies it to the corresponding device. This makes it possible to obtain display output, print output, or audio output of the scheduled collection data, scheduled payment data, and journal entry data. In addition, the output target device can be the storage unit 2, an external storage device, or a server device on a network, and the scheduled collection data, scheduled payment data, and journal entry data may be output or transmitted to these devices for storage.

[0051] Furthermore, when an operator inputs status information for the approval category of a financial transaction, either "invoice" or "payment", the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update only the approval category of the financial transaction, either "invoice" or "payment", that was input by the operator to reflect the status information entered by the operator.

[0052] In other words, even if an approval pattern is set to update "invoices" or "payments" together with other financial transactions, each transaction undergoes a separate status update process (see Figures 16 and 17).

[0053] Specifically, the data collection generation unit 24 updates the status information for the approval category of a financial transaction labeled "Invoice" to "Approved" based on the operator's input. If the approval pattern category detected from the control master table 12 includes an update process for the status information of the approval category of a financial transaction labeled "Invoice," the unit maintains the "Approved" status information for the approval category of the financial transaction labeled "Invoice" and updates the status information of the approval categories of other financial transactions to the status information entered by the operator.

[0054] Furthermore, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the accounting month and billing month of the collection schedule data or payment schedule data to the accounting month and billing month and billing month entered later by the operator, respectively (see Figures 13(c) and 13(d)).

[0055] (Approval action) Next, the approval operation of the scheduled collection data and scheduled payment data in the business support device 1 of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

[0056] (Regular contract input processing) First, as explained using Figure 6, when a request for daily cleaning of the Kyobashi ○× Building is received from □□ Real Estate, the basic data for the regular contract is generated. Next, the person in charge inputs the collection schedule data shown in Figure 7 and the payment schedule data shown in Figure 8 via the input device 6.

[0057] The collection schedule data generation unit 24 generates collection schedule data, including the collection schedule number, billing code, accounting year and month, billing year and month, collection schedule amount, contract number, contract line number, sales approval category, and billing approval category, in response to the input operation of the person in charge, as shown in Figure 7.

[0058] The scheduled collection number is automatically assigned by the scheduled collection data generation unit 24. The billing code is the contract code of the contracting party shown in Figure 6. The accounting year and month is entered as the month in which the accounting is scheduled. The billing year and month is entered as the same month as the month in which the accounting is scheduled, for example. The scheduled collection amount is the amount determined in the contract with the contracting party, and is the amount scheduled to be collected each month. The contract number is the contract number of the contracting party shown in Figure 6.

[0059] The sales approval category and billing approval category fields receive status information for the sales and billing approval categories, respectively. When generating this collection schedule data, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 defaults to entering the status information "unapproved" into the sales approval category and billing approval category fields.

[0060] In response to this, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 generates payment schedule data, including payment schedule number, supplier code, supplier name, accounting year and month, payment year and month, payment schedule amount, contract number, contract line number, cost approval category, and payment approval category, as shown in Figure 8, in accordance with the input operation of the person in charge.

[0061] The payment schedule number is automatically assigned by the payment schedule data generation unit 25. The supplier code and supplier name are entered as the supplier code and supplier name uniquely assigned to the supplier to whom the daily cleaning of Kyobashi ○× Building is outsourced. The accounting year and month are entered as the month in which the accounting is scheduled to take place. The billing year and month are entered as the same month as the month in which the accounting is scheduled to take place, for example. The payment schedule amount is the amount determined in the contract with the supplier to whom the daily cleaning of Kyobashi ○× Building is outsourced, and is the amount scheduled to be paid each month.

[0062] The cost approval category and payment approval category fields receive status information for the cost and payment approval categories. When generating this payment schedule data, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 defaults to entering "unapproved" status information into the sales approval category and invoice approval category fields, respectively.

[0063] The output control unit 23 stores the generated collection schedule data in the collection schedule data storage unit 15 and the payment schedule data in the payment schedule data storage unit 16.

[0064] Here, the status information indicates the following state:

[0065] "Unapproved" → This is the initial value when data is registered. It indicates that the approval process is pending. "Request" → Can be updated through the request input operation. Indicates that the requester has submitted an approval request to the approver. "Approved" → Indicates that the approver has completed the approval process. Only items with the "Approved" status can proceed to the next step, such as journal entry or invoice issuance.

[0066] Furthermore, if it is not necessary to separate "request" and "approver" in operation (e.g., the requester is the approver), it is possible to directly input "approval" without using the "request" input. In this case, the state transition will be "unapproved" → "approved," and the approval status information (category value) does not necessarily have to go through the "request" status information. Also, exceptionally, it is possible to change the status information back to "unapproved" after initially setting it to "approved." For this reason, in the business support device 1 of this embodiment, the approval status information is entered and updated on the sales approval input screen, etc., as explained using Figure 9(b).

[0067] (Overview of the sales approval status update process) Next, the sales approval category of the scheduled collection data is updated with the status information entered by the person in charge via the sales request input screen, which will be described later, using Figure 9(a). Specifically, if the approval pattern category set in the control master table 12 is the first approval pattern category or the fifth approval pattern category, the scheduled collection data generation unit 24 updates the sales approval category with the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0068] Furthermore, if the approval pattern category set in the control master table 12 is the second approval pattern category or the fourth approval pattern category, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 updates the sales approval category and billing approval category of the collection schedule data collectively with the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0069] In this case, the data generation unit 24 performs a status information update process if the currently entered status information is behind the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0070] In other words, the status information is updated in the order of "0: Unapproved" → "1: Requested" → "2: Approved". If the already set status information is "0: Unapproved" and the status information entered by the person in charge is "1: Requested" or "2: Approved" (i.e., the status information is delayed), the data collection generation unit 24 updates the status information.

[0071] In contrast, if the already set status information is "2: Approved" and the status information entered by the person in charge is "1: Requested" (i.e., the status information is advanced), the data collection generation unit 24 does not perform the status information update process. This allows for handling exceptional "approval" cases, as will be described later.

[0072] Next, if the approval pattern category set in the control master table 12 is the third approval pattern category, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the sales approval category of the collection schedule data, the billing approval category, and the cost approval category of the payment schedule data together with the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0073] In this case, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the existing status information to the status information entered by the person in charge if the status information entered by the person in charge is behind the existing status information in the billing approval category and cost approval category. If the status information entered by the person in charge is ahead of the existing status information, the existing status information is maintained and no status information update process is performed.

[0074] Next, if the approval pattern category set in the control master table 12 is the sixth approval pattern category, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the sales approval category of the collection schedule data and the cost approval category of the payment schedule data together with the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0075] In this case, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 updates the existing status information in the cost approval category to the status information entered by the person in charge if the status information entered by the person in charge is behind the existing status information. If the status information entered by the person in charge is ahead of the existing status information, the existing status information is maintained and no status information update process is performed.

[0076] Next, if the approval pattern category set in the control master table 12 is the seventh approval pattern category, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the sales approval category and invoice approval category of the collection schedule data, and the cost approval category and payment approval category of the payment schedule data, collectively with the status information entered by the person in charge.

[0077] In this case, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 update the existing status information to the status information entered by the person in charge if the status information entered by the person in charge is behind the existing status information in the billing approval category, cost approval category, or payment approval category. If the status information entered by the person in charge is ahead of the existing status information, the existing status information is maintained and no status information update process is performed.

[0078] (Specific update patterns for each approval category) The specific renewal patterns for each approval category are as follows:

[0079] Sales Approval Category → Updated with status information entered by the person in charge.

[0080] The billing approval category is referenced in Control Master Table 12, and the update value is determined. The update process is performed if the target approval category is set to be updated simultaneously in the Control Master, and the value of the approval category entered on the screen is equal to or greater than the billing approval category. An example of the setting is shown below.

[0081] Second approval pattern category → [Sales / Invoice][Cost][Payment] Third approval pattern category → [Sales, Invoice, Cost of Goods Sold] [Payment] Fourth approval pattern category → [Sales / Invoice] [Cost / Payment] 7th Approval Pattern Category → [Sales, Invoice, Cost, Payment]

[0082] Other than these, the status information of the original claim approval category is retained.

[0083] The update value for the cost approval category is determined by the approval pattern category in Control Master Table 12. If the approval category to be updated is set to be updated simultaneously in Control Master Table 12, the value of the approval category entered on the screen will be updated. Otherwise, the original cost approval category value will be retained.

[0084] The following patterns are set in the control master table 12 when the approval category to be updated is set to be updated simultaneously. Third approval pattern category → [Sales, Invoice, Cost of Goods Sold] [Payment] Sixth approval pattern category → [Sales / Cost of Goods Sold][Invoice][Payment]

[0085] The update value is determined based on the approval pattern category in Control Master Table 12 for the payment approval category. If the target approval category is an approval pattern indicating simultaneous updates, the value of the approval category entered on the screen is updated; otherwise, the original cost approval category value is retained.

[0086] The following are the approval patterns that indicate simultaneous renewal when the renewal destination approval category is set. 7th Approval Pattern Category → [Sales, Invoice, Cost, Payment]

[0087] Similarly, when updating from cost approval input, the system will refer to the approval pattern for the payment approval category and decide whether to update it simultaneously. Also, in the case of invoice approval input and payment approval input, categories other than the corresponding approval category will not be updated. The approval category entered from the screen will be updated.

[0088] (Approval process by approval pattern category) The following explains the approval process for each approval pattern category.

[0089] (Approval behavior when approval pattern category is "1") First, we will explain the approval process when the approval pattern is "1," which involves individually approving "Sales," "Invoices," "Costs," and "Payments." As described above, once the planned collection data and planned payment data are generated, the person in charge of the field department specifies to the business support device 1, via the field department terminal device 52, that the sales request input screen be displayed.

[0090] As a result, the output control unit 23 of the business support device 1 transmits and displays the sales request input screen, as illustrated in Figure 9(a), to the field department terminal device 52. The person in charge enters the billing code and contract number of the billing party for whom they are requesting approval of "sales" into this sales request input screen and transmits it to the business support device 1. As a result, the output control unit 23 of the business support device 1 retrieves the collection schedule data for the specified billing party from the collection schedule data storage unit 15 and transmits and displays the sales request input screen, which is displayed in a list along with input fields for "unapproved," "requested," and "approved" status information, to the field department terminal device 52.

[0091] Furthermore, since this stage involves the input of "requests" by the person in charge of the field department, the output control unit 23 displays only the "unapproved" and "request" input fields in an operable state, while the "approved" input field is displayed in an operable state.

[0092] Next, the person in charge of the field department checks the "Request" input field for the desired month for which they want to request approval, as shown in Figure 9(a), and then operates the execute button (not shown). The example in Figure 9(a) shows that the "Request" input field for "July 2024" has been checked and selected, with both the accounting month and billing month being "July 2024".

[0093] As a result, the data collection generation unit 24 of the business support device 1 updates the sales approval status of the data collection for the selected accounting month and billing month from "unapproved" to "requested," as shown in Figure 10(a).

[0094] Next, the person in charge of the field department specifies to the business support device 1, via the field department terminal device 52, that the cost request input screen be displayed.

[0095] As a result, the output control unit 23 of the business support device 1 transmits and displays a cost request input screen, which has the same screen configuration as the sales request input screen illustrated in Figure 9(a), to the field department terminal device 52. The person in charge then inputs the supplier code and contract number of the supplier for whom they are requesting approval of the "cost" into this cost request input screen and transmits it to the business support device 1.

[0096] The output control unit 23 of the business support device 1 retrieves the payment schedule data of the specified billing party from the payment schedule data storage unit 16 and transmits a cost request input screen, which displays the data along with input fields for status information such as "unapproved," "requested," and "approved," to the field department terminal device 52 for display.

[0097] Furthermore, since this stage involves the input of "requests" by the person in charge of the field department, the output control unit 23 displays only the "unapproved" and "request" input fields in an operable state, while the "approved" input field is displayed in an operable state, as described above.

[0098] Next, the person in charge of the field department checks the box in the "Request" input field for the desired month for which they want to request approval, and then operates the execute button (not shown). In this example, the box is checked and selected in the "Request" input field for "July 2024" for both the accounting month and billing month.

[0099] As a result, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 of the business support device 1 updates the cost approval status of the payment schedule data for the selected accounting month and billing month from "unapproved" to "requested," as shown in Figure 10(b).

[0100] Next, the manager of the field department accesses the business support device 1 via the field department terminal device 52 and confirms the collection schedule data shown in Figure 10(a) and the payment schedule data shown in Figure 10(b) generated by the person in charge of the field department. The manager of the field department then enters the status information of "Request" in the billing approval category of the collection schedule data via the billing approval input screen provided by the business support device 1. As a result, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 updates the status information of the billing approval category of the collection schedule data from "Unapproved" to "Request," as shown in Figure 11(a).

[0101] Furthermore, the manager of the field department enters the status information "Request" into the billing approval category of the payment schedule data via the payment approval input screen provided by the business support device 1. As a result, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 updates the status information of the payment approval category of the payment schedule data from "Unapproved" to "Request," as shown in Figure 11(b).

[0102] Thus, "sales" and "costs" are the responsibility of the field departments, who handle requests and approvals within their respective departments. The timing of approvals for sales and costs differs. "Invoicing" and "payments" are handled by management departments such as the accounting department. For "invoicing," the field department requests payment along with evidence of work completion (such as work sheets indicating work completion), and the accounting department approves it. For "payments," the field department requests payment based on invoices from partner companies, and the accounting department approves it.

[0103] Next, the accounting department processes the "invoice" and "payment" approvals based on the evidence provided by the field departments. They process payment approvals based on the invoices provided by the suppliers and approve the "invoices" in order to send invoices to the contracting parties.

[0104] Specifically, the accounting department staff member accesses the business support device 1 via the accounting department terminal device 53 and specifies the display of the sales approval input screen. As a result, the sales approval input screen, as illustrated in Figure 9(b), is transmitted from the business support device 1 to the accounting department terminal device 53.

[0105] The accounting department terminal device 53 inputs the customer code and contract number of the desired customer, such as "□□ Real Estate," into the sales approval input screen and sends it to the business support device 1. The business support device 1 sends the sales approval input screen, which displays a list of the collected payment data for the received customers along with input fields for "Unapproved," "Requested," and "Approved," to the accounting department terminal device 53. Figure 9(b) shows this sales approval input screen.

[0106] In this example, approval is requested for the planned collection amount for "July 2024," with both the accounting month and billing month being "July 2024." Therefore, the accounting department staff member checks the box in the "Approval" input field for "July 2024" to approve the planned collection amount. As a result, the planned collection data generation unit 24 updates the status information of the billing approval category for the planned collection data from "Requested" to "Approved," as shown in Figure 12(a).

[0107] Once the planned recovery amount for the data to be recovered is approved, the accounting department staff issues an invoice with the approved recovery amount and sends it to the client.

[0108] Furthermore, the accounting department staff access the business support device 1 via the accounting department terminal device 53 and specify the display of the payment approval input screen. As a result, the payment approval input screen is transmitted from the business support device 1 to the accounting department terminal device 53.

[0109] The accounting department terminal device 53 inputs the supplier code and contract number of the desired supplier, such as "XX Cleaning," into the payment approval input screen and sends it to the business support device 1. The business support device 1 sends the payment approval input screen, which displays a list of the transmitted supplier payment schedule data along with input fields for "Unapproved," "Requested," and "Approved," to the accounting department terminal device 53.

[0110] In this example, approval is requested for a payment scheduled for "July 2024," with both the accounting month and billing month being "July 2024." Therefore, the accounting department staff member checks the box in the "Approval" input field for "July 2024" to approve the payment scheduled amount. As a result, the payment scheduled data generation unit 25 updates the status information of the payment approval category in the payment scheduled data from "Requested" to "Approved," as shown in Figure 12(b).

[0111] In the example above, the accounting department staff performed cost approval and payment approval, but these tasks could also be performed by the on-site department manager. In this case, when the work requested from the supplier is completed, the on-site department manager presents a work completion report to the supplier and, upon receiving the supplier's acceptance report, enters the "Approved" status information into the sales approval category of the collection schedule data. As a result, as shown in Figure 13(a), the collection schedule data generation unit 24 generates collection schedule data with the "Approved" status information entered into the sales approval category, making it possible to record the sales.

[0112] Furthermore, upon receiving a work completion report from the supplier, the manager of the field department enters the "Approved" status information into the cost approval category of the payment schedule data. As a result, as shown in Figure 13(b), the payment schedule data generation unit 25 generates payment schedule data with the "Approved" status information entered into the cost approval category, enabling cost accounting.

[0113] Furthermore, when approving each financial transaction—sales, invoices, costs, and payments—individually, it is possible to stagger the processing of accounting entries and invoices and payments. The examples in Figures 13(c) and 13(d) show cases where only payments are approved as scheduled in "July 2024," while the accounting entries for sales, invoices, and costs are manually adjusted to "August 2024."

[0114] In other words, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 generate collection schedule data or payment schedule data based on the accounting year and / or billing year and month that were modified and entered in each request / approval input.

[0115] This is effective, for example, in cases where work is requested from a supplier, but the work is performed behind schedule, delaying the report of work completion and request for acceptance from the customer, but payment to the supplier is made as scheduled. Figure 14(a) shows the journal entry data for July 2024 generated by the journal entry data generation unit 26. In July 2024, only the journal entry data for the payment amount to the supplier (6,000 yen) is generated. That is, journal entry data is generated with a debit account of prepaid expenses and a debit amount of 6,000 yen, and a credit account of cash and deposits and a credit amount of 6,000 yen.

[0116] Furthermore, Figure 14(b) shows the journal entry data for August 2024, generated by the journal entry data generation unit 26, for the expected amount to be collected from the contracting party (10,000 yen) and the amount to be paid to the supplier (6,000 yen). In this case, along with journal entry data where the debit account is Cash and Deposits with a debit amount of 10,000 yen and the credit account is Sales with a credit amount of 10,000 yen, journal entry data is generated where the debit account is Outsourcing Expenses with a debit amount of 6,000 yen and the credit account is Prepaid Expenses with a credit amount of 6,000 yen.

[0117] The output control unit 23 stores the generated journal entry data in the journal entry data storage unit 17.

[0118] (Approval procedure when approval pattern category is "2") Next, we will explain the approval process when approval pattern category is "2," where "sales" and "invoices" are approved together, while "costs" and "payments" are approved individually. This approval pattern category "2" is set, for example, when sales and invoices are approved together when the customer has inspected the goods, in order to avoid any monthly discrepancies between sales and invoices.

[0119] When this "2" approval pattern category is set, as shown in Figure 15(a), when the field department enters a sales request, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 enters the "Request" status information into the sales approval category of the sales, and at the same time, collection schedule data is generated with the "Request" status information entered into the billing approval category (the "Request" status information is entered into both sales and billing together).

[0120] Furthermore, if approval pattern category "2" is set, as shown in Figure 15(b), when the accounting department enters the approval for sales, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 enters the "Approved" status information into the sales approval category of the sales, and at the same time, collection schedule data is generated with the "Approved" status information entered into the invoice approval category (the "Approved" status information is entered into both sales and invoices together).

[0121] Thus, when the business support device 1 of this embodiment performs data update processing, it refers to the approval pattern classification in the control master table 12 and performs updates corresponding to the approval granularity. Regarding costs and payments, requests and approvals are performed individually as described above.

[0122] However, exceptionally, there are cases where a customer requests an invoice before the accounting month. In such cases, by using only the invoice approval input as described above and updating the invoice approval category as shown in Figure 16, it becomes possible to issue an invoice.

[0123] However, if the sales approval status is subsequently changed to "request," the approval statuses for both sales and invoices are updated together. This can lead to the misconception that an unapproved invoice has been issued, as both the sales and invoice approval statuses are updated to "request."

[0124] Therefore, when the collection schedule data generation unit 24 updates the approval categories for sales and invoices together, it compares the status information entered by the person in charge with the existing status information. For example, as shown in Figure 17, if the existing status information is "approved" but the status information entered by the person in charge is "requested" or something similar, and the status information is later than the existing status information, the collection schedule data generation unit 24 does not update the existing status information, but instead updates the status information that is later than the entered status information.

[0125] The example in Figure 17 shows an instance where, after the person in charge entered the "Request" status information, an attempt was made to update the approval status of sales and invoices together. However, the "Invoice" status information was "Approved," which was a more advanced status than the "Request" status information. Therefore, only the "Unapproved" status information for sales, which was a later status than the "Request" status information, was updated to the "Request" status information.

[0126] This allows for a collectively updated approval status for both sales and invoices, ensuring that each approval status is updated to "requested," thus preventing the misconception that unapproved invoices have been issued.

[0127] (Approval procedure when approval pattern category is "3") Next, we will explain the approval process when approval pattern category is "3," where "sales," "invoices," and "costs" are approved together, while "payments" are approved individually. For example, due to industry characteristics, it is common for customers to inspect the goods immediately after the supplier's work is completed in the same month, and to record both sales and costs at this time. In such cases, with approval pattern category "3," "sales," "invoices," and "costs" are processed simultaneously in the system, while "payments" are processed as soon as the invoice from the supplier is received.

[0128] In this case, in the field department, when the status information for the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 is entered as "Request" for the sales approval category, they update the status information for billing and cost together with the status information for "Sales" as shown in Figures 18(a) and 18(b). The approval category for "Payment" is updated individually.

[0129] Furthermore, in the accounting department, when the collection schedule data generation unit 24 and the payment schedule data generation unit 25 receive "Approved" status information for the sales approval category, they update the status information for billing and cost, along with the "Sales" status information, to "Approved" status information, as shown in Figures 19(a) and 19(b). Note that the "Payment" approval category is approved individually.

[0130] (Approval behavior when approval pattern category is "4") Next, we will explain the approval process when approval pattern category is "4," in which "sales" and "invoices" are approved together, and "costs" and "payments" are approved together. In this case, "sales" and "invoices" are processed simultaneously as they occur upon completion of work (customer acceptance). "Costs" and "payments" are recorded after the invoices are issued by the supplier.

[0131] In this case, in the field department, when the payment schedule data generation unit 25 receives the status information "Request" for the cost approval category, it updates the status information of the "Payment" category together with the "Cost" status information to "Request," as shown in Figure 20(a). The approval categories for "Sales" and "Invoice" are also updated in a similar manner.

[0132] Furthermore, in the accounting department, the payment schedule data generation unit 25 generates payment schedule data in which the approval categories for "cost" and "payment" are grouped together and updated to the status information of "approved," as shown in Figure 20(b). Similarly, "sales" and "invoices" are also grouped together and updated to the status information of "approved."

[0133] (Effects of the embodiment) As is clear from the above description, the business support device 1 of the embodiment can obtain the following effects.

[0134] 1. Approval patterns are standardized and can be flexibly configured to match company operations. This prevents problems such as accounting discrepancies that can occur with individual approvals, and reduces the operational burden.

[0135] 2. Master settings allow for the selection of approval patterns for sales, invoices, costs, and payments, enabling approval processing at the granularity of the selected approval pattern.

[0136] 3. When a customer requests an invoice to be issued before the accounting month, and the invoice is approved before the accounting month, the system prohibits updating the "approved" status of the invoice when later approving other financial transactions such as sales together with the invoice. This prevents the inconvenience of the "approved" status of an invoice being mistakenly updated to another status, such as "requested," when other financial transactions such as sales are approved together with the invoice after the invoice has been approved before the accounting month.

[0137] [Contribution to the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)] This invention can contribute to improving operational efficiency and promoting appropriate management decisions by companies, and therefore can contribute to SDGs Goals 8 and 9.

[0138] Furthermore, this invention can contribute to reducing waste and promoting paperless and digital processes, thereby contributing to SDGs Goals 12, 13, and 15.

[0139] Furthermore, this invention can contribute to strengthening control and governance, and therefore can contribute to achieving the 16 goals of the SDGs.

[0140] [Other embodiments] The present invention can be implemented in various different forms within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, even in embodiments other than those described above.

[0141] For example, among the processes described in the embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically may be performed manually. Alternatively, all or part of the processes described as being performed manually may be performed automatically by known methods or the like.

[0142] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, registration data for each process, information including search conditions and other parameters, screen examples, and database configuration shown in the specification or drawings can be changed at will.

[0143] Furthermore, with respect to the business support device 1, each component shown in the diagram is a functional concept and does not necessarily have to have the physical configuration shown. For example, the processing functions of the business support device 1, particularly the processing functions performed by the control unit 3, may be implemented in whole or in any part by a program interpreted and executed by the control unit 3 (CPU: Central Processing Unit), or by hardware using wired logic.

[0144] The program is recorded on a non-temporary, computer-readable recording medium containing programmed instructions for the information processing device to execute the processes described in the embodiment, and is mechanically read by the business support device 1 as needed. In other words, the storage unit 2, such as ROM or HDD, records a computer program that works in cooperation with the OS (Operating System) to give instructions to the control unit 3 (CPU) and perform various processes. This computer program is loaded into RAM, unpacked, and executed by the control unit 3 as appropriate.

[0145] Furthermore, the business support program for this business support device 1 may be stored on another server device connected to the business support device 1 via any network, and all or part of it may be downloaded and executed as needed.

[0146] Furthermore, the business support program for executing the processes described in the embodiment may be stored on a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium, or it may be configured as a program product.

[0147] Here, any "portable physical medium" can be used as the "recording medium," such as memory cards, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, SD (Secure Digital) cards, flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, EPROMs (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROMs (Registered Trademark) (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), CD-ROMs (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), MOs (Magneto-Optical Disks), DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks), and Blu-ray (Registered Trademark) Discs.

[0148] Furthermore, "program" refers to a data processing method written in any language or writing method, regardless of whether it is source code or binary code.

[0149] Furthermore, the term "program" is not necessarily limited to a single, monolithic entity, but also includes those that are distributed as multiple modules or libraries, and those that work in cooperation with other programs, such as an operating system, to achieve their functions.

[0150] Furthermore, for the specific configuration, reading procedure, and post-reading installation procedure for the business support device 1 of the embodiment, well-known configurations or procedures can be used.

[0151] The storage unit 2 is a storage means such as a memory device like RAM or ROM, a fixed disk device like a hard disk, a flexible disk, and an optical disk, and stores various programs, tables, databases, and web page files used for various processing or website provision.

[0152] Furthermore, the business support device 1 may be composed of a known personal computer device or an information processing device such as a workstation, or it may be composed of an information processing device to which any peripheral device is connected. In addition, the information processing device may be implemented by implementing software (including programs or data, etc.) that realizes the processing described in the embodiment.

[0153] Furthermore, the specific forms of distribution and integration of the devices are not limited to those shown in the figures, and all or part of them can be configured by functionally or physically distributing or integrating them in any unit according to various additions or functional loads. In other words, the embodiments described above can be selectively implemented by arbitrarily combining the embodiments described above. [Industrial applicability]

[0154] This invention is particularly suitable for accounting operations in intermediaries that outsource the work of commercial transactions received from clients to subcontractors. [Explanation of symbols]

[0155] 1 Business support equipment 2 Storage section 3. Control Unit 4. Communication Interface Section 5 Input / Output Interface Section 6 Input devices 7 Output device 11 Approval Pattern Master Table 12 Control Master Table 13. Customer Master Table 14. Basic data storage unit for regular contracts 15 Data storage unit scheduled for retrieval 16 Payment Schedule Data Storage Unit 17. Journal entry data storage unit 21 Data Generation Unit 22 Detection unit 23 Output Control Unit 24 Data generation unit for data to be collected 25 Payment Schedule Data Generation Unit 26. Journal Entry Data Generation Unit 51 Network 52 Field Department Terminal Devices 53 Accounting Department Terminal Device

Claims

1. The following are the consequences of outsourcing the work of a commercial transaction received from a client to a third party: "Sales" of received orders, "Invoice" to the aforementioned client for the sales of the received commercial transaction, "Cost" indicates the amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work in the aforementioned commercial transaction, and "Payment" of the aforementioned payment amount to the aforementioned contractor, A business support device that assists in the approval process for each financial transaction based on financial transaction data, including an approval classification indicating whether or not each financial transaction has been approved, A collection schedule data generation unit generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes client identification information for identifying the client and the billing recipient for the work of the commercial transaction, the payment for the commercial transaction, the expected collection amount to be collected from the client, the recording year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category of the "sales" and the approval category of the "invoice," which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that the "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is pending, or "approved" indicating that it has been approved. A payment schedule data generation unit generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes information for identifying the contractor for the work of the aforementioned commercial transaction, the amount to be paid to the contractor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and the status information entered in the approval category of the "cost" and the approval category of the "payment". The system includes a detection unit that detects the approval pattern classification set in the control master table based on an approval pattern master table that stores approval pattern classifications indicating the financial transactions for which the status information of each approval classification of the planned collection data or planned payment data is updated at once, among the financial transactions of "sales," "invoices," "costs," and "payments," The collection schedule data generation unit and the payment schedule data generation unit update the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is specified to be updated at once in the approval pattern category detected from the control master table, with the status information entered by the operator, all at once, and update the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is not specified to be updated at once, individually with the status information entered by the operator. A business support device characterized by the following.

2. When the operator inputs the status information for the approval category of the "invoice" or "payment" financial transaction, the aforementioned collection schedule data generation unit and the aforementioned payment schedule data generation unit update only the approval category of the "invoice" or "payment" financial transaction input by the operator with the status information input by the operator. The business support device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The aforementioned data generation unit, upon operator input, updates the status information for the approval category of the "invoice" financial transaction to the "approved" status information. If, in the approval pattern category detected from the control master table, the status information specified for update processing at once includes updating the status information for the approval category of the "invoice" financial transaction, the unit maintains the "approved" status information for the approval category of the "invoice" financial transaction and updates the status information for the approval categories of other financial transactions to the status information entered by the operator. The business support device according to claim 2, characterized by the following:

4. The collection schedule data generation unit and the payment schedule data generation unit update the accounting year and billing year of the collection schedule data or the payment schedule data to the accounting year and billing year and billing year entered later by the operator, respectively. A business support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the above.

5. The following are the consequences of outsourcing the work of a commercial transaction received from a client to a third party: "Sales" of received orders, "Invoice" to the aforementioned client for the sales of the received commercial transaction, "Cost" indicates the amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work in the aforementioned commercial transaction, and "Payment" of the aforementioned payment amount to the aforementioned contractor, A business support method for a business support device comprising a collection schedule data generation unit, a payment schedule data generation unit, and a detection unit, which support the approval process for each financial transaction based on financial transaction data including an approval classification indicating whether or not each financial transaction has been approved, The collection schedule data generation step generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes: a collection schedule data generation unit that generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data that includes: a collection schedule data generation unit The payment schedule data generation unit generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes contractor identification information for identifying the contractor for the work of the commercial transaction, the payment amount which is the "cost" and is scheduled to be paid to the contractor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and the status information which is entered into the approval category of the "cost" and the approval category of the "payment". The detection unit includes a detection step in which it detects the approval pattern classification set in the control master table based on an approval pattern master table that stores approval pattern classifications indicating the financial transactions for which the status information of each approval classification of the planned collection data or planned payment data is updated at once, among the financial transactions of "sales," "invoice," "cost," and "payment," In the steps for generating the collection schedule data and generating the payment schedule data, the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is specified to be updated at once in the approval pattern category detected from the control master table is updated at once with the status information entered by the operator, and the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is not specified to be updated at once is updated individually with the status information entered by the operator. A business support method characterized by the following.

6. The following are the consequences of outsourcing the work of a commercial transaction received from a client to a third party: "Sales" of received orders, "Invoice" to the aforementioned client for the sales of the received commercial transaction, "Cost" indicates the amount paid to the contractor who was commissioned to perform the work in the aforementioned commercial transaction, and "Payment" of the aforementioned payment amount to the aforementioned contractor, A business support program that causes the computer of a business support device to function in order to support the approval process for each financial transaction based on financial transaction data, including an approval classification that indicates whether or not each financial transaction has been approved, The aforementioned computer, A collection schedule data generation unit generates collection schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes client identification information for identifying the client and the billing recipient for the work of the commercial transaction, the payment for the commercial transaction, the expected collection amount to be collected from the client, the recording year and month, the billing year and month, and status information to be entered in the approval category of the "sales" and the approval category of the "invoice," which is one of the following: "unapproved" indicating that the "sales" or "invoice" has not been approved, "requested" indicating that approval is pending, or "approved" indicating that it has been approved. A payment schedule data generation unit generates payment schedule data as financial transaction data, which includes information for identifying the contractor for the work of the aforementioned commercial transaction, the amount to be paid to the contractor, the accounting year and month, the billing year and month, and the status information entered in the approval category of the "cost" and the approval category of the "payment". The unit functions as a detection unit that detects the approval pattern classification set in the control master table based on the approval pattern master table, which stores the approval pattern classifications indicating the financial transactions to be updated at once, for each approval classification of the planned collection data or planned payment data among the aforementioned financial transactions of "sales," "invoices," "costs," and "payments." The collection schedule data generation unit and the payment schedule data generation unit update the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is specified to be updated at once in the approval pattern category detected from the control master table, with the status information entered by the operator, all at once, and update the status information of the approval category of the financial transaction that is not specified to be updated at once, individually with the status information entered by the operator. A business support program characterized by the following:

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