Information processing systems, information processing methods, and programs

Abstract

To provide information processing systems, information processing methods, and programs to support employee welfare services. [Solution] An information processing system comprising: a pre-setting reception unit that generates burden ratio setting information indicating the burden ratio between the business operator and the employee for the unit price of goods or services in welfare services; a provision price output unit that presents the employee burden amount as the provision price of goods or services; a usage information acquisition unit that acquires usage amount information for each employee indicating the amount of goods or services consumed at the provision price; a taxable determination unit that determines for each employee whether the amount borne by the business operator for each employee's usage amount is subject to income tax; and a target employee list output unit that outputs an employee list for each business operator that identifies taxable employees whose business operator burden amount is subject to income tax.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program related to welfare services.

Background Art

[0002] As shown in Patent Document 1, there is known a welfare service in which a company bears part of the food expenses, accommodation expenses, entertainment facility usage fees, or education service usage fees of employees it employs.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such welfare services, if the company's burden amount for the usage fees of employees' welfare services exceeds the amount specified by tax law, the company's burden amount may be subject to salary taxation, and the processing related to tax accounting becomes complicated. Therefore, there is a need for welfare services that take into account the salary taxation procedure.

[0005] An object of an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure is to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program for supporting welfare services.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An information processing system according to an aspect of this disclosure a preset reception unit that receives, for each business operator, the designation of the burden ratio of the business operator and the employee with respect to the unit price of goods or services in welfare services, and generates burden ratio setting information indicating the designated burden ratio; A price output unit calculates the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service based on the aforementioned cost-sharing setting information and outputs the employee's share as the price of the product or service; A usage information acquisition unit acquires usage information for each employee, which shows the amount of the goods or services consumed at the aforementioned price. A taxable determination unit determines, for each employee, whether the amount borne by the business for each employee's usage is subject to income tax, based on the usage information for each employee and the burden ratio setting information for each business. The system includes an employee list output unit that outputs an employee list for each business operator, identifying the employees whose share of the business operator's burden is subject to income tax from among the aforementioned employees.

[0007] Because the information processing system possesses the above characteristics, it can manage the amount of welfare services each employee uses and provide businesses with the information necessary for tax accounting regarding welfare services. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the management server shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the software configuration of the management server shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of information processing related to employee welfare services. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of information processing related to determining whether an individual is subject to salary tax. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The information processing system, information processing method, and program disclosed herein have, for example, the following configuration. [Item 1] A pre-configuration receiving unit receives the designation of the burden ratio between the business operator and the employee for the unit price of goods or services in welfare services, for each business operator, and generates burden ratio setting information indicating the designated burden ratio, A price output unit calculates the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service based on the aforementioned cost-sharing setting information and outputs the employee's share as the price of the product or service; A usage information acquisition unit acquires usage information for each employee, which shows the amount of the goods or services consumed at the aforementioned price. A taxable determination unit determines, for each employee, whether the amount borne by the business for each employee's usage is subject to income tax, based on the usage information for each employee and the burden ratio setting information for each business. An information processing system comprising: an employee list output unit that outputs an employee list for each business operator, which identifies from among the aforementioned employees those whose employer contribution is subject to income tax. [Item 2] The information processing system described in item 1, wherein the taxable determination unit determines that, when the employee burden ratio identified by the burden ratio setting information corresponding to a single business operator is less than a first threshold, all employees belonging to that single business operator and who have used the welfare service are subject to taxation. [Item 3] The information processing system described in item 1 or 2, wherein the taxable determination unit determines, when the employee burden ratio identified by the burden ratio setting information corresponding to a single business operator is greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold, that employees belonging to a single business operator whose business operator burden amount corresponding to the amount of use exceeds a predetermined threshold are subject to taxation. [Item 4] When the amount borne by the employer corresponding to the usage amount of any one employee exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, a usage restriction unit that restricts the usage of the welfare service by the one employee, the information processing system according to item 1 or 2, further comprising the same. [Item 5] The pre-set acceptance unit accepts the selection for each employer as to whether to set an upper limit value for the amount borne by the employer or to permit the use of the welfare service by the employee even if the amount borne by the employer exceeds a predetermined threshold value without providing the upper limit value, the information processing system according to item 1 or 2. [Item 6] When a burden ratio such that the offered price is below a predetermined lower limit value is selected, the pre-set acceptance unit presents a warning indicating rejection of the setting of the burden ratio, the information processing system according to item 1 or 2. [Item 7] Accepting, for each employer, the designation of the burden ratios of the employer and the employee with respect to the unit price of the goods or services in the welfare service, and generating burden ratio setting information indicating the designated burden ratios; Calculating, based on the burden ratio setting information, the amount borne by the employee with respect to the unit price of the goods or services, and outputting the amount borne by the employee as the offered price of the goods or services; Obtaining, for each employee, usage amount information indicating the usage amount of the goods or services consumed at the offered price; Based on the usage amount information for each employee and the burden ratio setting information for each employer, determining, for each employee, whether the amount borne by the employer with respect to the usage amount of each employee is subject to salary taxation; Outputting, for each employer, an employee list identifying the taxable employees for whom the amount borne by the employer is subject to salary taxation, from among the employees, an information processing method executed by a computer. [Item 8] Accepting, for each employer, the designation of the burden ratios of the employer and the employee with respect to the unit price of the goods or services in the welfare service, and generating burden ratio setting information indicating the designated burden ratios; Based on the burden ratio setting information, calculate the employee's burden amount for the unit price of the product or service, and output the employee's burden amount as the offering price of the product or service. Obtain usage information indicating the usage amount of the product or service consumed at the offering price for each employee. Based on the usage information for each employee and the burden ratio setting information for each business operator, determine for each employee whether the business operator's burden amount for the employee's usage amount is subject to salary taxation. Output, for each business operator, an employee list that identifies the taxable employees among the employees for whom the business operator's burden amount is subject to salary taxation, for execution by a computer.

[0010] An information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described while referring to the drawings. In each of the attached drawings, the same or similar elements are given the same or similar reference numerals and names, and duplicate descriptions regarding the same or similar elements may be omitted in the description of the embodiment. Note that the content shown in each drawing is merely an example for explaining the present embodiment, and is merely a schematic example shown for ease of explaining the present embodiment. The content of each drawing may be modified or changed within a range where no technical problems occur.

[0011] <System Overview> An information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a system that provides a welfare service (hereinafter referred to as a welfare service) for supporting the welfare of employees 20 of a company 40 (a business operator who uses employees). Welfare is a system in which a company 40 provides compensation (that is, compensation other than wages) to employees 20 and their families in addition to basic labor compensation such as salaries and bonuses. For example, a system in which a company 40 bears at least a part of the price of a product or service purchased by an employee 20 can be cited as an example of welfare. In the present embodiment, as an example of the welfare system of the company 40, the case where the company 40 subsidizes the food expenses of the employees 20 will be illustrated.

[0012] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system may include a management server 1, one or more corporate terminals 4, and one or more employee terminals 2. The management server 1, employee terminals 2, and corporate terminals 4 are connected to each other via a network NW so that they can communicate with one another. The network NW may be, for example, the internet, and may also include elements of a public telephone network, a mobile phone network, a wireless communication channel, Ethernet (registered trademark), etc.

[0013] Management Server 1 is an information processing device used when operating and managing welfare services, and is deployed to the operator providing the welfare services. Management Server 1, as an information processing device, may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer, or it may be logically constructed using cloud computing technology.

[0014] The corporate terminal 4 is an information processing device deployed to companies 40 that have entered into a contract with the operating company for the use of welfare services, and is operated by a person in charge at said company 40. In the information processing system, one or more corporate terminals 4, each deployed to multiple companies 40, can be connected to the management server 1 via a network NW in a communicative manner. The corporate terminal 4 may be, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a personal computer.

[0015] Employee terminal 2 is an information processing device operated by each employee 20 belonging to company 40. In the information processing system, one or more employee terminals 2, each owned by multiple employees 20 of each company 40, can be connected to the management server 1 via a network NW so as to be able to communicate. Like company terminal 4, employee terminal 2 may be, for example, a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer.

[0016] In the welfare services provided by the information processing system, employees 20 belonging to company 40 can purchase prepared foods and other food items (products) at the office or online. The welfare services provided by the information processing system may also offer services in addition to products. That is, the welfare services supported by the information processing system in this embodiment are not necessarily limited to food expenses, but may also include accommodation expenses, subsidies for the use of entertainment facilities, or subsidies for the use of educational services.

[0017] Food items such as prepared meals provided as part of employee welfare services are stored, for example, in a refrigerator 50 installed in the office (location). One or more refrigerators 50 may be installed in a single company 40. Employees 20 can take and consume food from the refrigerator 50 in the office. Food is replenished in the refrigerator 50 regularly or irregularly, for example, by a delivery company. The company 40 bears at least a portion of the unit price of the food (the unit price is the cost related to the provision of the food and is the original price of the food), and the employee 20 bears the amount remaining after deducting the amount borne by the company 40 from the unit price of the food. A payment collection box 52 is placed near the refrigerator 50, for example, and employees 20 can pay the amount corresponding to their share in cash into the payment collection box 52.

[0018] Employee 20 may make payments online. For example, prior to payment, employee 20 reads code 51, which is a QR code (registered trademark) attached to refrigerator 50, using employee terminal 2. Code 51 encodes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to access management server 1. The URL has a storage location ID (e.g., refrigerator ID) as an argument that uniquely identifies the storage location (e.g., refrigerator 50). By employee terminal 2 accessing this URL, management server 1 can link employee 20 with refrigerator 50. Management server 1 authenticates employee 20 and can process the payment online using a known method (e.g., credit card payment, prepaid card payment, QR code payment, or electronic payment service such as electronic money payment).

[0019] The provision of prepared foods and other food items is not limited to being provided from a refrigerator 50 installed in the office (location); food may also be provided to employees 20 through online sales. In this case, employees 20 select the food items they wish to purchase on a service-specific application or website (for example, a site corresponding to the URL encoded in code 51), and settle the payment for the selected food items using a known online payment method such as an electronic payment service. Once the settlement is completed, the management server 1 generates usage information indicating the employee 20 who made the food purchase and the food items purchased. The online sales usage information is notified from the management server 1 to the delivery company, and the purchased food items may be delivered by the delivery company to the home of the employee 20 who made the purchase.

[0020] Furthermore, companies 40 that contract for employee benefits services may have access to both food provision via refrigerators 50 installed in their offices (locations) and online sales.

[0021] In the case of food subsidies as an employee benefit service as described above, if the amount borne by the company 40 for the purchase of food by each employee 20 (hereinafter referred to as the "company burden") meets certain conditions, the company burden is treated as non-taxable compensation in tax accounting. On the other hand, if the company burden does not meet the certain conditions, the company burden is treated as compensation subject to income tax in tax accounting. The "certain conditions" refer to conditions stipulated in tax law, for example. In Japan, the conditions for the company burden in food subsidies to be treated as non-taxable compensation are that the employee 20 bears more than half of the unit price of the food (hereinafter referred to as the first condition), and the company burden per month is 3,500 yen or less (hereinafter referred to as the second condition). If the burden ratio between the company 40 and the employee 20 in food subsidies as an employee benefit service can be freely set, the tax accounting treatment becomes complicated. Therefore, in this embodiment, the information processing system automatically determines whether the amount borne by the company for each employee 20 is tax-exempt or subject to salary taxation, based on the setting of the burden ratio and the usage amount of each employee 20, and provides each company 40 with information that identifies the taxable employees whose company burden amount is subject to salary taxation.

[0022] <Management Server> Figure 2 illustrates the hardware configuration of the management server 1. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and the management server 1 may have a configuration other than that shown in Figure 2. The management server 1 comprises a processor 10, memory 11, storage device 12, transceiver 13, input device 14, and output device 15. These elements of the management server 1 are electrically connected to each other via a bus (not shown).

[0023] The processor 10 is a computing device that controls the operation of the entire management server 1, controls the transmission and reception of data between each element, and performs various information processing necessary for application execution and authentication processing. For example, the processor 10 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and / or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Each functional unit of the management server 1, described later, is realized by the processor 10 reading programs stored in the storage device 12 into the memory 11 and executing them.

[0024] Memory 11 includes main memory composed of volatile storage devices such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and auxiliary memory composed of non-volatile storage devices such as flash memory and HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Memory 11 is used as a work area for the processor 10 and also stores the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) executed when the management server 1 starts up, as well as various configuration information.

[0025] The storage device 12 stores various programs, such as application programs. A database containing data used for each process may also be built on the storage device 12.

[0026] The transceiver unit 13 is a communication interface for connecting the management server 1 to a network NW and communicating with employee terminals 2 and corporate terminals 4, etc., via the network NW. For example, the transceiver unit 13 may include a short-range communication interface such as Bluetooth® and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), an adapter for connecting to Ethernet®, a modem for connecting to a public telephone network, a wireless communication device for wireless communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector for serial communication, an RS232C connector, etc.

[0027] The input device 14 is a device for inputting data, such as an information input device like a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, button, or microphone. The output device 15 is a device for outputting data, such as an output device like a display, printer, or speaker.

[0028] Furthermore, employee terminal 2 and corporate terminal 4 can have the same hardware configuration as management server 1, and therefore, the hardware configurations of employee terminal 2 and corporate terminal 4 will not be explained.

[0029] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the software configuration of the management server 1. As shown in Figure 3, the management server 1 may include, as functional units implemented by the processor 10, a pre-configuration reception unit 110, a service provision unit 120, a service price output unit 121, an order reception unit 122, a usage restriction unit 123, a usage information acquisition unit 130, a taxable determination unit 140, and a target user list output unit 150. The management server 1 may also include, as a database (storage unit 160) stored in the storage device 12, a configuration information storage unit 162, an employee information storage unit 164, and a usage information storage unit 166.

[0030] <Storage section of management server 1> The configuration information storage unit 162 stores, for each company 40, information relating to contracts concluded between the operating company and each company 40 (hereinafter referred to as contract information), and information relating to settings used for providing welfare services to each company 40 (hereinafter referred to as configuration information).

[0031] For example, the contract information may include the company 40 that has contracted with the operator, and information that identifies that contract (e.g., company ID and contract ID). The contract information may also include information (hereinafter referred to as storage location information) about the location (refrigerator 50 in this embodiment) where the goods (food in this embodiment) are stored, associated with the company ID and / or contract ID. The storage location information may include a storage location ID (e.g., refrigerator ID), which is identification information that identifies the storage location, and authentication information for authenticating the employee 20 associated with the corresponding storage location or company 40. The authentication information may be, for example, a password distributed to the employee 20. Multiple storage locations may be registered for a single company 40, in which case multiple storage location IDs will be associated with the contract information of that single company 40. The contract information may also include information indicating the type of contract (e.g., plan) and information determined according to the type of contract (e.g., service usage fee).

[0032] The configuration information stored in the configuration information storage unit 162 includes cost-sharing information indicating the cost-sharing ratio between the company 40 and the employee 20 for the unit price of goods or services in the welfare service. The cost-sharing ratio indicated by the cost-sharing information may be expressed as a percentage (unit: %) or an amount (unit: yen) of the unit price of food borne by the company 40, or as a percentage or an amount of the unit price of food borne by the employee 20. For example, if the unit price of food provided in the welfare service is a uniform 300 yen, the cost-sharing information may include information indicating that the company's share is 120 yen (company share 40%), and information indicating that the employee's share is 180 yen (employee share 60%). The cost-sharing information is generated for each company 40 when the pre-configuration reception unit 110, described later, receives the company's specification of the cost-sharing ratio via the company terminal 4, and is stored in the configuration information storage unit 162 in association with the company ID and / or contract ID. The cost-sharing information may include a single cost-sharing rate that applies uniformly to multiple types of food provided in the welfare service, a cost-sharing rate set for each food item, or a cost-sharing rate set for each food group classified at a predetermined level. When cost-sharing rates are set for each food item or food group, the cost-sharing information may include information that identifies the food item to which each cost-sharing rate applies.

[0033] Furthermore, the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 162 may include setting information related to the lower limit of the employee burden ratio. In the welfare services provided by the information processing system, the employee burden amount for the unit price of food may be set to less than 50% (or even 0%) of the unit price, as specified by the company 40. However, as mentioned above, under Japanese tax law, if the employee burden ratio is set to less than 50% of the unit price of food, the food subsidy provided by the company 40 based on that setting will be subject to income tax (i.e., the first condition under tax law mentioned above will not be met). Prior to setting the burden ratio for each food item, the information processing system may receive a selection from the company 40, in which case the pre-setting reception unit 110 described later may accept whether or not to allow the setting of a burden ratio that does not meet the first condition under tax law (in other words, whether or not to set a lower limit on the settable employee burden ratio). In this case, the setting information storage unit 162 stores the received selection result as setting information related to the lower limit of the employee burden ratio (in other words, setting information related to the first condition under tax law). If company 40 chooses not to allow setting a burden ratio that does not meet the first condition of the tax law, the setting information related to the lower limit of the employee burden ratio will include setting restriction information that limits the range (lower limit) of the settable employee burden ratio to 50% or more of the food unit price.

[0034] Furthermore, the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 162 may include setting information related to the upper limit of the amount borne by the company. In the welfare service provided by the information processing system, the company 40 may subsidize the amount exceeding a predetermined threshold (for example, the tax-exempt limit of 3,500 yen as defined in the second condition of the tax law) of the amount used by each employee 20 in the service. However, as mentioned above, under Japanese tax law, if the amount borne by the company per month exceeds the tax-exempt limit (3,500 yen under current law), the amount borne by the company is subject to income tax (i.e., the second condition of the tax law mentioned above is not met). In the information processing system, the pre-setting reception unit 110 described later may receive a selection by the company 40 to choose whether or not to allow company contributions exceeding the tax-exempt limit (in other words, whether or not to set an upper limit on the amount borne by the company for each predetermined period). In this case, the setting information storage unit 162 stores the received selection result as setting information related to the upper limit of the amount borne by the company (in other words, setting information related to the second condition of the tax law). If company 40 chooses not to allow corporate contributions exceeding the tax-exempt limit, the setting information related to the upper limit of corporate contributions will include information indicating that the upper limit of corporate contributions for a specified period (a settlement unit period, usually one month) is the tax-exempt limit.

[0035] In addition to the above, the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 162 may also include setting information related to the settlement timing, such as the length of the unit period for settlement (usually every month, etc.) and the closing date for settlement (the last day of each month, the 15th of each month, etc.), as well as information related to delivery, such as the number of goods to be delivered, the type of goods, and the number of times deliveries will be made during the unit period (for example, three times a month). Information related to delivery may be associated with each storage location.

[0036] The employee information storage unit 164 stores information relating to the employees 20 (hereinafter referred to as employee information). The employee information includes identification information (user ID) to uniquely identify each employee 20 belonging to each company 40. The employee information may also include information that identifies the company 40 to which each employee 20 belongs, and / or information that identifies the storage location (refrigerator 50) used by the employee 20, in association with the identification information (user ID). For example, when an employee 20 accesses a URL read from code 51 using the employee terminal 2, employee information including the employee 20's identification information (user ID) and the storage location identification information (storage location ID) included in the URL may be registered in the employee information storage unit 164.

[0037] The usage information storage unit 166 stores information (hereinafter referred to as usage information) regarding the amount of welfare services used by employees 20 (for example, the amount of goods or services consumed). The usage information is generated for each employee 20 belonging to each company 40, and the usage information storage unit 166 may manage the usage information corresponding to each employee 20 for each company 40 and each employee 20, associating it with a user ID and a company ID.

[0038] In an example where food is provided as an employee benefit service through a refrigerator 50 and / or online sales, the usage information may include, for each transaction unit in which an employee 20 purchased food, information indicating the date or time the purchase was made, information indicating the number of food items purchased, and information indicating the purchase price of the food. However, if multiple food items are provided at a uniform unit price or a uniform offering price (employee's contribution), the information indicating the purchase price of the food may be omitted from the usage information.

[0039] Furthermore, each employee's 20 usage information may be associated with cumulative subsidy amount information and / or available subsidy balance information. Cumulative subsidy amount information indicates the cumulative amount of the company's burden over a predetermined period (the unit period for settlement). The company's burden is the amount obtained by subtracting the amount paid by the employee 20 (i.e., the employee's burden) from the unit price of the food, and the cumulative company's burden is calculated as the sum of the company's burden from the start date of the predetermined period to the present. If the unit price of the food and the price at which it is provided are uniform, the cumulative company's burden may be calculated by multiplying the cumulative number of food items purchased over the predetermined period by the company's burden amount per food item. Available subsidy balance information indicates the balance that the company 40 can subsidize over a predetermined period, in cases where an upper limit on the company's burden amount over a predetermined period (for example, a non-taxable limit of 3,500 yen) is set. The initial value of the available subsidy balance corresponds to the set predetermined upper limit (non-taxable limit of 3,500 yen), and the available subsidy balance information is updated by subtracting the cumulative amount of the company's burden from the predetermined upper limit.

[0040] Furthermore, the usage information may include offline usage information collected through payments made using the payment collection box 52, and online usage information collected through online payments. The method of collecting offline and online usage information is not particularly limited. For example, offline usage information may be generated and collected by placing a ledger near the payment collection box 52. When an employee 20 purchases food from the refrigerator 50, they record information in the ledger that uniquely identifies the employee 20, such as their name or user ID, the date, the number of food items purchased, and the purchase amount (payment amount). The ledger containing this information is periodically collected by a designated person belonging to the operating company, company 40, or delivery company, and the recorded information is entered via a terminal held by the person in charge, generating offline usage information which is then stored in the usage information storage unit 166. Online usage information is generated and collected based on purchase information (information indicating the food items purchased, the number of items purchased, the purchase amount, etc.) when an employee 20 makes an online payment from the refrigerator 50 or through online sales. Online and offline usage information is managed for each company (40) and each employee (20), and may include information indicating the date or time the purchase was made, the number of food items purchased, and the amount spent on food items.

[0041] In addition to the configuration information storage unit 162, employee information storage unit 164, and user information storage unit 166 described above, the storage unit 160 of the management server 1 may also have storage areas for storing various types of information used in welfare services. For example, the storage unit 160 may store information about products (e.g., food products) (hereinafter referred to as product information). Product information may include information that identifies the product (which may be the product name, product number, product ID, etc.), the unit price of the product (original price), and attribute information of the food product (type of food product, calories, raw material information, place of origin information, etc.).

[0042] <Functional section of Management Server 1> The pre-configuration reception unit 110 receives specifications for settings to provide welfare services from each company 40, and generates various configuration information for each company 40 according to the received specifications.

[0043] Specifically, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 receives a specification for the percentage of the cost to be borne by the company 40 and the employees 20 for the unit price of goods or services in the welfare service, for each company 40, and generates cost-sharing setting information indicating the accepted cost-sharing percentage. When receiving the specification of the cost-sharing percentage, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may send a UI (user interface) for setting the cost-sharing percentage to the company terminal 4 held by the person in charge at company 40. The person in charge at company 40 may then input an arbitrary numerical value corresponding to the cost-sharing percentage via the UI displayed on the company terminal 4 to execute the specification of the cost-sharing percentage.

[0044] In the welfare services provided by the information processing system, the company's share of the cost and / or the employee's share of the cost may be selected within a range of 0% to 100% of the unit price of the food. It may also be possible to set the employee's share of the cost to 100% or more of the unit price of the food. When introducing welfare services, the company 40 incurs costs for implementation, and to recoup these costs, an employee share of 100% or more of the unit price of the goods or services may be set for a specified period. The pre-configuration reception unit 110 may accept the designation of the share of the cost for each food item or for a specified group of food items, or it may accept the designation of a single share of the cost that applies uniformly to multiple food items provided. The lineup of food items to be provided, the unit price (original price) of the food items, and the range of the share of the cost that can be designated may vary depending on the content of the contract plan concluded between the operator and the company 40.

[0045] Prior to setting the burden ratio, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may accept a choice from each company 40 regarding whether or not to limit the company's burden of expenses for the consumption of goods or services by employees 20 to the scope of non-taxable items. For example, in the case of providing a food subsidy, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may accept a choice from the company 40 regarding whether or not to allow the setting of a burden ratio that does not satisfy the first condition of the tax law (employees bearing more than half of the unit price of food). If the company 40 chooses not to allow the setting of a burden ratio that does not satisfy the first condition of the tax law, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 generates setting restriction information that limits the range of possible employee burden ratios (especially the lower limit) to 50% or more of the unit price of food. On the other hand, if the company 40 chooses to allow the setting of a burden ratio that does not satisfy the first condition of the tax law, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may generate restriction removal information indicating that there is no restriction on the range of possible burden ratios.

[0046] In specifying the burden-sharing ratio, if a company representative specifies a burden-sharing ratio that results in an employee burden-sharing ratio of less than 50% (i.e., if a burden-sharing ratio is selected that results in a food provision price below a predetermined lower limit (50% of the food unit price)), the pre-configuration reception unit 110 checks for the existence of setting restriction information or restriction removal information and determines whether to permit the specification of the burden-sharing ratio. In other words, if setting restriction information is generated, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 displays a warning to the company terminal 4 indicating that the setting of the burden-sharing ratio will be rejected, and if restriction removal information is generated, it accepts the specification of the burden-sharing ratio and generates burden-sharing ratio setting information.

[0047] Furthermore, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may accept a selection from company 40 regarding whether or not to allow corporate contributions exceeding the tax-exempt limit (in other words, whether or not to set an upper limit on the amount of corporate contributions for each prescribed period). If company 40 selects not to allow corporate contributions exceeding the tax-exempt limit, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 generates corporate contribution limit information indicating that the tax-exempt limit (3,500 yen per month under current law) is the upper limit on the amount of corporate contributions. On the other hand, if company 40 selects to allow corporate contributions exceeding the tax-exempt limit, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may generate unrestricted information indicating that there is no limit on the amount of corporate contributions for each prescribed period (on a monthly basis).

[0048] In addition to the above, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 may also receive specifications from the corporate terminal 4 regarding the length of the settlement period and the closing date for settlement for each period, the type of goods to be delivered, the number of goods, and the number of deliveries per unit period, and generate configuration information corresponding to this information.

[0049] Various setting information, such as the burden-sharing ratio setting information, is determined before the company 40 starts using the welfare service, and it may be possible to change various setting information at any time during the usage period. The pre-setting reception unit 110 receives requests to change various setting information from the company terminal 4 and executes a process to update the various setting information based on the change request.

[0050] The service provision unit 120 executes processes related to the provision of goods or services to the employees 20 based on various setting information. For example, in the case of food expense subsidies in this embodiment, the service provision unit 120 executes processes related to the provision of food using the refrigerator 50 or online sales. The service provision unit 120 may also include a price output unit 121, an order acceptance unit 122, and a usage restriction unit 123.

[0051] The price output unit 121 calculates the employee's share of the cost relative to the unit price (original price) of the product or service based on the cost-sharing setting information, and outputs this employee share as the price of the product or service. The employee share is calculated, for example, by multiplying the unit price of the food by the employee's share, or by subtracting the company's share from the unit price of the food. The price output unit 121 may also output a food list showing the food items that the employee 20 can purchase and the price of each food item. The price information output by the price output unit 121 may be presented to the employee 20 before receiving a purchase request for the product or service from the employee 20.

[0052] For example, when the order receiving unit 122 accepts the sale and / or payment of food online, it displays the price output by the price output unit 121 to each employee 20. When an employee 20 purchases food, they first log in to a service-specific application or website using their employee terminal 2. The service provision unit 120 identifies the logged-in employee 20 by referring to the employee information stored in the employee information storage unit 164. The order receiving unit 122 generates an order receiving UI that displays the food items available for purchase by the identified employee 20 and their prices, and displays this order receiving UI on the employee terminal 2. The employee 20 selects the food items they wish to purchase from those displayed on the order receiving UI, and the order information based on this selection is sent from the employee terminal 2 to the order receiving unit 122. The order information may include information that identifies the employee 20 who placed the order (user ID), information indicating the date and time of the order, information that identifies the food items that employee 20 wishes to purchase (product ID), information indicating the quantity of food items to be purchased, and information indicating the planned payment amount.

[0053] After receiving order information by the order receiving unit 122, the unit executes processing related to online payment according to the order information. The service provision unit 120 may also include a payment processing unit that accepts online payments. For example, the payment processing unit may perform payments using a well-known electronic payment service such as QR code payment.

[0054] The payment processing unit may authenticate employee 20 when accepting online payments. Employee terminal 2 can send a user ID, a storage location ID (e.g., refrigerator ID), and authentication information to the management server 1 when making an online payment. The refrigerator ID can be obtained by employee terminal 2 reading code 51. Alternatively, employee terminal 2 may store the refrigerator ID contained in the URL initially read from code 51 and retrieve the stored refrigerator ID. Authentication information may be communicated to employee 20 in advance by company 40, for example. The payment processing unit may, for example, receive the employee ID, refrigerator ID, and authentication information from employee terminal 2 of employee 20, identify the refrigerator ID corresponding to the employee ID from employee information storage unit 164, read the contract information corresponding to the identified refrigerator ID from setting information storage unit 162, and authenticate employee 20 based on the authentication information contained in the retrieved contract information (first authentication information) and the authentication information received from employee terminal 2 (second authentication information) (for example, by comparing the first and second authentication information). The payment processing unit may accept payments using the electronic payment service only if authentication is successful. For example, if there are both regular employees and contract employees among the employees 20, only regular employees can be informed of the authentication code, so that only those who successfully authenticate can make payments (i.e., use the service), thereby allowing regular employees to use the service and contract employees to not. Also, for example, employees 20 at a location where welfare services have been introduced can use the refrigerator 50 installed at that location, while employees 20 at a location where welfare services have not been introduced cannot use the refrigerator 50 installed at other locations.

[0055] After completing payment processing for an order received from an employee 20, the service provision unit 120 generates purchase information corresponding to the order information. The purchase information may include, similar to the order information, information identifying the employee 20 who made the purchase, information indicating the date and time of purchase, information identifying the purchased food items, information identifying the quantity of food items purchased, and information indicating the amount paid by the employee 20 for the purchase. Based on this purchase information, the service provision unit 120 generates and / or updates usage amount information stored in the usage information storage unit 166. At this time, the service provision unit 120 may calculate the amount of the company's burden corresponding to the purchase information. For example, the service provision unit 120 may read the product information corresponding to the food items identified in the purchase information and calculate the amount of the company's burden as the unit price of the food items minus the provision price. The service provision unit 120 may also perform processing to generate and / or update cumulative subsidy amount information and / or available subsidy balance information based on the purchase information.

[0056] When food ordered through online sales is delivered to the homes of employees 20, the service provision unit 120 may generate delivery instruction information corresponding to the orders received from employees 20 and notify the delivery company. Furthermore, when food is provided using a refrigerator 50 located in an office or similar location, a price card displaying the price output by the price output unit 121 may be placed on the refrigerator 50.

[0057] As described above, in this embodiment of the information processing system, when providing goods or services to an employee 20, the system presents the employee 20 with the price corresponding to the amount they will have to pay. In other words, the employee 20 can make a decision to select and purchase goods or services after being aware of the amount they will actually have to pay, which is expected to improve the usability of welfare services.

[0058] The usage restriction unit 123 executes a process to control the use of welfare services by each employee 20 so that the amount of the company's burden does not exceed the upper limit when an upper limit is set for the amount of the company's burden during a predetermined period. For example, when an employee 20 selects one or more food items that they wish to purchase via the order acceptance UI displayed on the employee terminal 2, the service provision unit 120 calculates the planned payment amount corresponding to the food items selected by the employee 20, and the planned company burden amount corresponding to that planned payment amount. The planned payment amount is the sum of the prices of the one or more food items selected by the employee 20, and corresponds to the planned employee burden amount required to purchase the selected food items. The planned company burden amount is calculated, for example, by subtracting the sum of the prices from the sum of the unit prices of the one or more food items selected.

[0059] The usage restriction unit 123 compares the planned company contribution amount with the available balance information and determines whether the planned company contribution amount is within the range of the available balance. If the planned company contribution amount is less than the available balance, the usage restriction unit 123 permits the employee 20's purchase request. On the other hand, if the planned company contribution amount exceeds the available balance, that is, if the company contribution amount corresponding to the employee 20's usage exceeds a predetermined upper limit (tax-exempt limit of 3,500 yen), the usage restriction unit 123 notifies the employee terminal 2 that the employee 20's purchase request cannot be accepted and restricts the employee 20's use of the welfare service. In this case, the usage restriction unit 123 may also notify the employee terminal 2 of the amount the employee 20 can purchase corresponding to the available balance. The purchase amount can be calculated, for example, as: available balance × (employee contribution rate / company contribution rate).

[0060] The usage information acquisition unit 130 acquires usage information for each employee, indicating the amount of goods or services consumed at the provided price. As described above, the usage information is stored in the usage information storage unit 166 based on the ledger attached to the refrigerator 50 and / or purchase information generated by online payment. The usage information acquisition unit 130 may, for example, aggregate the usage amount (number of food items purchased, payment amount) for each employee 20 at the closing date of the settlement unit period and acquire usage information for each employee 20. The acquisition of usage information by the usage information acquisition unit 130 may be performed at any time when a request for outputting a list of usage information or a settlement request is received from the corporate terminal 4.

[0061] The taxable determination unit 140 determines, for each employee 20, whether the amount borne by the company for each employee's usage is subject to salary tax, based on the usage amount information for each employee 20 and the burden ratio setting information for each company 40 obtained by the usage information acquisition unit 130. For example, the taxable determination unit 140 compares the amount borne by the company for each employee 20 according to their usage over a predetermined period (1 month) with a predetermined determination threshold to identify employees whose company burden is subject to salary tax (hereinafter referred to as "taxable employees"). Here, the "predetermined determination threshold" is the non-taxable limit (3,500 yen) stipulated in the second condition of the tax law. If the amount borne by the company for each employee 20's usage over the predetermined period is less than or equal to the non-taxable limit, the taxable determination unit 140 determines that the amount borne by the company for that employee 20 is a non-taxable item that can be recognized as welfare expenses. On the other hand, if the amount borne by the company for the usage of employee 20 during a specified period exceeds the non-taxable limit, the taxable determination unit 140 determines that the employee is subject to taxation.

[0062] In the information processing system of this embodiment, since the company 40 can arbitrarily set the burden ratio between the company 40 and the employees 20 for the unit price of goods, the taxable determination unit 140 may perform determination processing according to the arbitrarily set burden ratio setting information.

[0063] Specifically, the taxable determination unit 140 determines that all employees 20 belonging to a company 40 and who have used the welfare services are subject to taxation if the employee contribution rate identified by the contribution rate setting information corresponding to a company 40 is less than the first threshold. The "first threshold" is the lower limit of the employee contribution rate that is deemed tax-exempt as stipulated in the first condition of the tax law (i.e., 50% of the unit price of the goods). If the employee contribution rate set by company 40 is less than the lower limit of tax exemption, the company's contribution to each employee 20 is subject to income tax, regardless of the amount of use by the employee 20 during the specified period.

[0064] Furthermore, the taxable employee determination unit 140 determines that employees belonging to a company 40 whose company contribution amount, based on usage, exceeds a predetermined determination threshold are subject to taxation if the employee contribution rate, as specified by the burden ratio setting information corresponding to a company 40, is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold. Here, the "second threshold" is, for example, the unit price (original price) of the product, i.e., 100%, and the "predetermined determination threshold" is, for example, the monthly non-taxable limit (3,500 yen). In other words, if the employee contribution rate indicated by the burden ratio setting information is 50% or more and less than 100%, the taxable employee determination unit 140 determines that employees whose monthly company contribution amount exceeds the non-taxable limit are subject to taxation.

[0065] In this embodiment of the information processing system, it is also possible to set the employee burden ratio to 100% or more of the product unit price (food unit price). However, in this case, company 40 does not bear part of the cost of purchasing the products, and therefore it does not qualify as an employee benefit (food subsidy). For this reason, the taxable determination unit 140 determines that all employees 20 of company 40 who have set the employee burden ratio, if the employee burden ratio identified by the burden ratio setting information is above the second threshold (100% or more of the product unit price), are "not subject to taxation."

[0066] The target employee list output unit 150 outputs an employee list for each company 40, identifying the taxable employees whose company contribution is subject to salary tax from among the employees 20. The employee list output by the target employee list output unit 150 may be a list that displays only taxable employees, or it may be a list that presents all employees 20 of the target company in a manner that distinguishes between taxable employees and non-taxable employees (i.e., employees whose company contribution is tax-exempt). The latter employee list may have functions to filter and extract and display only taxable employees from among all employees 20 when displayed on the company terminal 4, and functions to sort the employees 20 according to predetermined conditions such as in descending order of usage.

[0067] The employee list output unit 150 outputs an employee list at predetermined intervals (usually one month) at the end of the settlement period. The employee list may include information such as the amount of welfare services used by each employee 20 (quantity of food purchased, purchase amount, etc., during the predetermined period), and the amount borne by the company according to said usage, as well as other information that can be used for the tax accounting processing of company 40. The employee list output unit 150 may also output an invoice for the period corresponding to the employee list along with the employee list. This invoice is a document that requests company 40 to pay the total amount borne by the company for each employee 20, and the invoice may include monthly system usage fees according to the contract plan. The employee list and invoices output by the employee list output unit 150 are sent to the company terminal 4 and made available for viewing by the person in charge at company 40.

[0068] <An example of an information processing method> Referring to Figure 4, an example of an information processing method by the information processing system according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the flow from setting the burden ratio to outputting the employee list.

[0069] First, the pre-configuration reception unit 110 of the management server 1 receives a specification from the corporate terminal 4 for each corporate 40 regarding the percentage of the cost of goods or services in the welfare service that will be borne by the corporate 40 and the employees 20, and generates cost-sharing setting information that indicates the specified cost-sharing percentage (step SQ101).

[0070] Next, the price output unit 121 of the management server 1 calculates the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service based on the cost-sharing setting information, and outputs the employee's share as the price of the product or service (step SQ102). The service provision unit 120 displays the price output by the price output unit 121 in the refrigerator 50 and / or online, accepts the employee 20's selection of a product or service, purchase request, etc., and performs information processing to provide the product or service to the employee 20.

[0071] Next, the usage information acquisition unit 130 of the management server 1 acquires usage information for each employee, indicating the amount of goods or services consumed at the provided price, at predetermined timings such as the closing date of the settlement unit period (step SQ103). After acquiring the usage information, the taxable determination unit 140 of the management server 1 determines for each employee 20 whether the amount of the company's burden for each employee's usage is subject to salary tax, based on the usage information for each employee 20 and the burden ratio setting information for each company 40 (step SQ104). Then, the target person list output unit 150 of the management server 1 outputs an employee list for each company 40, identifying the taxable employees whose company's burden amount according to their usage is subject to salary tax from among the employees 20 belonging to the company 40 (step SQ105).

[0072] By executing the information processing method shown in Figure 4, the information processing system can manage the amount of welfare services used by each employee 20 and provide the company 40 with the information necessary for tax accounting regarding welfare services. In particular, it is possible to ensure a degree of freedom in various settings, such as the burden ratio between the company 40 and the employee 20 for the price of goods or services, while making it possible for the person in charge at the company 40 to visually recognize what is subject to payroll tax. As a result, even if flexible settings are allowed, the complexity of tax accounting processing related to welfare services can be suppressed (payroll tax procedures become easier).

[0073] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating step S104, which relates to the determination of taxable persons as shown in Figure 4, in more detail. In the flowchart of Figure 5, the flow up to step SQ103, which acquires usage information, is the same as in Figure 4, and therefore the explanation is omitted.

[0074] After obtaining usage information for each employee 20 during a predetermined period, the taxable determination unit 140 determines the employee burden ratio R identified by the burden ratio setting information. E However, determine which of the following three categories it belongs to (Step SQ401). Employee contribution ratio R to the unit price of the goods or services E However, if it is below the first threshold, which is the lower limit of the employee contribution rate that is recognized as tax-exempt (i.e., 50% of the unit price of the product) (Type 1: Employee contribution rate R E (First threshold), proceed to step SQ402, where the taxable determination unit 140 determines that all employees 20 who used the welfare services are subject to taxation.

[0075] In step SQ401, the employee contribution ratio R E However, if it is determined that the value is above the first threshold and below the second threshold corresponding to the unit price of the goods or services (Type 2: First threshold ≤ Employee burden ratio R E (Second threshold), proceed to step SQ403. The taxable determination unit 140 determines that employees 20 belonging to company 40 whose company burden amount corresponding to usage exceeds a predetermined threshold (non-taxable limit of 3,500 yen) are subject to taxation.

[0076] In step SQ401, the employee contribution ratio R E However, if it is determined to be above the second threshold (Third type: Second threshold ≤ Employee burden ratio R) E ), the process moves to step SQ404, where the taxable determination unit 140 determines that all employees 20 belonging to the company 40 where the setting is registered are not subject to taxation.

[0077] After it is determined whether each employee 20 is subject to salary tax, the employee list output unit 150 outputs an employee list showing the usage amount of each employee 20 in a manner that allows for the identification of taxable employees.

[0078] As described above, determining taxpayers based on multiple categories corresponding to freely set burden ratios can be expected to improve the efficiency of information processing and the usability of the system.

[0079] Although these embodiments have been described above, they are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit its interpretation. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents thereof are also included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1. Management Server 2. Employee terminals 4. Enterprise terminals

Claims

1. A pre-configuration reception unit receives the designation of the burden ratio between the business operator and the employee for the unit price of goods or services in welfare services, for each business operator, and generates burden ratio setting information indicating the designated burden ratio, A price output unit calculates the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service based on the aforementioned cost-sharing setting information and outputs the employee's share as the price of the product or service; A usage information acquisition unit acquires usage information for each employee, which shows the amount of the goods or services consumed at the aforementioned price. A taxable determination unit determines, for each employee, whether the amount borne by the business for each employee's usage is subject to income tax, based on the usage information for each employee and the burden ratio setting information for each business. An information processing system comprising: an employee list output unit that outputs an employee list for each business operator, which identifies from among the aforementioned employees those whose employer contribution is subject to income tax.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the taxable determination unit determines that, when the employee burden ratio identified by the burden ratio setting information corresponding to a single business operator is less than a first threshold, all employees belonging to a single business operator and who have used the welfare service are subject to taxation.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the taxable determination unit determines, when the employee burden ratio identified by the burden ratio setting information corresponding to a single business operator is greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold, that employees belonging to a single business operator whose business operator burden amount corresponding to the amount of use exceeds a predetermined threshold are subject to taxation.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a usage restriction unit that restricts the use of the welfare service by any one employee if the amount of the employer's contribution corresponding to the amount of use by that employee exceeds a predetermined upper limit.

5. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pre-configuration receiving unit accepts selections from each business operator, such as whether to set an upper limit on the amount borne by the business operator, or to allow the use of the welfare service by the employee even if the amount borne by the business operator exceeds a predetermined threshold without setting such an upper limit.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pre-setting acceptance unit presents a warning indicating that it will refuse to set a burden ratio if a burden ratio is selected such that the price to be offered falls below a predetermined lower limit.

7. The system accepts requests from each business operator to specify the percentage of the cost of goods or services in welfare services that should be borne by the business operator and the employee, and generates cost-sharing setting information indicating the specified cost-sharing percentage. Based on the aforementioned burden ratio setting information, the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service is calculated, and this employee share is output as the price of the product or service. To obtain usage information for each employee showing the amount of the goods or services consumed at the aforementioned price, Based on the usage information for each employee and the burden-sharing ratio setting information for each business operator, it is determined for each employee whether the amount borne by the business operator for each employee's usage is subject to income tax. An information processing method performed by a computer, which involves outputting an employee list for each business operator, identifying from among the aforementioned employees those whose employer contribution is subject to income tax.

8. The system accepts requests from each business operator to specify the percentage of the cost of goods or services in welfare services that should be borne by the business operator and the employee, and generates cost-sharing setting information indicating the specified cost-sharing percentage. Based on the aforementioned burden ratio setting information, the employee's share of the unit price of the product or service is calculated, and this employee share is output as the price of the product or service. To obtain usage information for each employee showing the amount of the goods or services consumed at the aforementioned price, Based on the usage information for each employee and the burden-sharing ratio setting information for each business operator, it is determined for each employee whether the amount borne by the business operator for each employee's usage is subject to income tax. A program to cause a computer to output an employee list for each business, which identifies the employees whose employer contributions are subject to income tax from among the aforementioned employees.

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