Program, information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method

Abstract

To solve the problem in which in an electronic contract system, a user who receives information on an electronic contract (contract information) from a sender cannot conclude a contract when the user is busy with other work, or is away on a business trip, vacation, or the like.SOLUTION: Provided is a program for causing a CPU to execute: a contract receiving step of receiving, from a first user, contract information to be subject to concluding a contract; a condition receiving step of receiving, from a second user, one or more delegation conditions; an approver identifying step of identifying, based on the delegation conditions received in the condition receiving step, one or more third users as approvers of the contract information received in the contract receiving step; an approval step of receiving, from the one or more third users identified in the approver identifying step, an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract for the contract information received in the contract receiving step; and an authority granting step of granting an approval authority owned by the second user to the one or more third users identified in the approver identifying step.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing device, an information processing system, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development and spread of computer technology, documents that were previously written on paper are being digitized. For example, documents such as contracts that require the signatures and seals of the parties involved are being considered for management as electronic data. Patent Document 1 discloses a data storage destination restriction device that can restrict data storage destinations for each user group within a company. Patent Document 2 discloses an information processing system relating to digital contracts that includes a creator terminal, a verification company terminal, and a contract management server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-51345 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2017-10096 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In electronic contract systems, there was a problem in that the user who received the information about the electronic contract (contract information) from the sender was unable to conclude the contract if they were busy with other work or absent on a business trip or vacation. In such cases, the sender may be asked to send the contract information to another user (proxy user) and the contract may be concluded, but in this case, there is a problem that the system does not remember that the proxy user has concluded the contract on behalf of the sender. Therefore, the present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a technology in an electronic contract system that executes contract procedures electronically, in which a user who receives contract information delegates approval authority to another user, thereby reducing the workload of the user associated with the contract conclusion procedure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A program having a processor and a memory unit, for causing a computer to execute electronic contract procedures between users, the program causing the processor to execute the following steps: a contract acceptance step of accepting contract information to be the subject of a contract from a first user; a conditions acceptance step of accepting one or more delegation conditions from a second user; an approver identification step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step based on the delegation conditions accepted in the conditions acceptance step; an approval step of accepting instructions from the one or more third users identified in the approver identification step to approve the contract conclusion of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step; and an authority granting step of granting the approval authority held by the second user to the one or more third users identified in the approver identification step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, when a second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system 1. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 10. [Figure 3] 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a first user terminal 20. FIG. [Figure 4]3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a second user terminal 30. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a third user terminal 40. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of a user table 1012. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of a group table 1013. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of a document table 1014. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of a confirmation table 1015. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of an input item table 1016. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of a delegation condition table 1017. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a contract creation process. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a contract confirmation process. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of an authorization process (second embodiment). [Figure 15] 10 is a screen example showing the operation of a contract creation process. [Figure 16] 10 is a screen example showing a message sent to the second user terminal 30. [Figure 17] 10 is a screen example of a first screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. [Figure 18] 10 is a screen example of a second screen (first embodiment) showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. [Figure 19] 10 is a screen example of a second screen (second embodiment) showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. [Figure 20] 10 is a screen example of a third screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. [Figure 21] 10 is a screen example showing the operation of the authorization process (second embodiment); [Figure 22] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of a computer 90. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In all drawings describing the embodiments, common components are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted. Note that the following embodiments do not unduly limit the content of the present disclosure described in the claims. Furthermore, not all components shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential components of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a precise illustration.

[0009] <System 1 Configuration> The system 1 in the present disclosure is an information processing system for realizing an electronic contract conclusion service between multiple users. The system 1 includes information processing devices, namely, a server 10, a first user terminal 20, a second user terminal 30, and a third user terminal 40, which are connected via a network N. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the first user terminal 20. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the second user terminal 30. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the third user terminal 40. As shown in FIG.

[0010] Each information processing device is configured by a computer equipped with an arithmetic unit and a storage device. The basic hardware configuration of the computer and the basic functional configuration of the computer realized by the hardware configuration will be described later. For each of the server 10, the first user terminal 20, the second user terminal 30, and the third user terminal 40, descriptions that overlap with the basic hardware configuration and basic functional configuration of the computer will be omitted.

[0011] <Server 10 configuration> The server 10 is an information processing device that provides an electronic contract conclusion service between a plurality of users. The server 10 includes a storage unit 101 and a control unit 104 .

[0012] <Configuration of the storage unit 101 of the server 10> The storage unit 101 of the server 10 includes an application program 1011 , a user table 1012 , a group table 1013 , a document table 1014 , a confirmation table 1015 , an input item table 1016 , and a delegation condition table 1017 .

[0013] The application program 1011 is a program for causing the control unit 104 of the server 10 to function as each functional unit.

[0014] The user table 1012 is a table that stores and manages information about member users (hereinafter referred to as users) who use the service. When a user registers to use the service, the user's information is stored in a new record in the user table 1012. This allows the user to use the service according to the present disclosure. Note that the user who uses the service according to the present disclosure does not necessarily need to be registered in the user table 1012. The user table 1012 is a table having a user ID as a primary key and columns of user ID, user name, email address, group ID, and approval authority. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user table 1012.

[0015] The user ID is an item that stores user identification information for identifying a user. The user identification information is an item that is set with a unique value for each user. The user name is an item for storing the name of the user. The user name may be set to any character string such as a nickname instead of a name. The email address is an item for storing the email address of the user. The group ID is an item for storing group identification information of the group to which the user belongs. A user may belong to multiple groups. The approval authority is an item that stores authority information regarding the user's approval of the conclusion of a contract. For a user who has the authority to approve the conclusion of a contract (approval authority), information indicating that the user has the authority to approve the conclusion of a contract, such as True, is stored. On the other hand, for a user who does not have the authority to approve the conclusion of a contract, information indicating that the user does not have the authority to approve the conclusion of a contract, such as False, blank, or null value, is stored. The system may be configured so that approval authority can be set according to the contract information. For example, a system may be configured so that user A has approval authority for specific contract information A but does not have approval authority for specific contract information B. The system may be configured so that approval authority can be set according to the type of contract information (contract information type), such as a confidentiality agreement, a joint research agreement, a contract for work, etc. For example, the system may be configured so that user A has approval authority for a confidentiality agreement but does not have approval authority for a contract for work. Alternatively, the system may be configured to store multiple levels (levels, ranks) of authority information depending on the user's department, government office, etc. For example, information such as C for temporary staff, B for regular employees, A for managers, and S for executives may be stored in the approval authority field, and only users with approval authority of a predetermined rank or higher (for example, A or higher for a confidentiality agreement) may be able to approve the conclusion of a contract depending on the contract type information, contract amount, etc. of the contract information.

[0016] The group table 1013 is a table that stores and manages information (group information) about groups to which a user belongs. The group can define any group to which a user belongs, such as a corporation, a company, a club, an organization, or a department within a company. The group table 1013 is a table having the group ID as a primary key and columns of group ID, group name, and administrator ID. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the group table 1013.

[0017] The group ID is an item for storing group identification information for identifying a group. The group identification information is an item for storing a unique value for each group. The group name is an item for storing the name of the group. Any character string can be set as the group name. The administrator ID is an item that stores the user identification information of a user who has administrator privileges in a group. A user with administrator privileges can arbitrarily define and set a user who has a certain level of status or authority in a group such as an organization.

[0018] The document table 1014 is a table for storing and managing information (contract information) relating to an electronic contract exchanged between a creator and a recipient. The document table 1014 is a table having the document ID as a primary key and columns of document ID, document data, and creator ID. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the document table 1014.

[0019] The document ID is an item for storing document identification information for identifying contract information. The document identification information is an item for which a unique value is set for each contract information. The document data is an item that stores contract information (binary or text data). Creator ID is an item for storing user identification information for identifying the user who created the contract information.

[0020] The confirmation table 1015 is a table that stores and manages information (checker information) including the email addresses of users who will be checkers of contract information. The confirmation table 1015 is a table having columns for document ID, confirmation order, designated person data, confirmer email address, confirmation flag, language data, access code, and date and time. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of the confirmation table 1015.

[0021] The document ID is an item for storing document identification information of the contract information to be checked by the checker. The confirmation order is an item for storing information regarding the confirmation order when the contract information is confirmed by the confirmer. The contract information stored by the creator is circulated to the confirmers in the confirmation order and confirmed. The designated person data is an item for storing information for identifying a user who designated a person to check the contract information. Specifically, the designated person data includes information for identifying a user, such as an email address or user identification information. The checker email address is an item that stores the email address of the checker of the contract information. The checker's email address does not need to be registered in advance as a user to use the service disclosed herein. In other words, the checker's email address does not need to be included in the user table 1012. The confirmation flag is an item that stores confirmation identification information for identifying whether or not the checker has completed the procedure for checking the contract information. When the checker has completed checking the contract information, information indicating that the check has been completed, such as a value of True, is stored in the confirmation flag item. The language data is an item for storing information (language information) related to the language of the verifyer. The access code is an item for storing an access code set for the verifying person. The date and time is an item for storing the date and time when the checker performed the procedure for checking the contract information. Specifically, the date and time when the check identification information was stored in the check flag item is stored.

[0022] The input item table 1016 is a table that stores and manages information (input item information) related to input items associated with electronic contract information. The input item table 1016 is a table having columns for input item ID, document ID, inputter ID, input data, input rule, and date and time. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of the input item table 1016.

[0023] The input item ID is an item that stores input item identification information for identifying an input item. The document ID is an item that stores the document identification information of the electronic contract information with which the input item is associated. The inputter ID is an item that stores the user identification information or email address of the inputter who entered the input data into the input item. Specifically, the inputter ID stores the creator ID, the email address of the user identified by the creator ID, the email address of the verifying person, etc. The input data is an item that stores input data entered into an input item by a user. The input rule is a field that stores input rule information related to the input rules for input fields. The input rules can be data types such as date, datetime, text, and integer, as well as the number of characters in the case of text, regular expressions for text, and other input rule information related to any input field. The date and time is an item for storing the date and time when the input data is input into the input item by the inputter.

[0024] The delegation condition table 1017 is a table that stores and manages information relating to the delegation conditions (delegation condition information). The delegation condition table 1017 is a table having columns for user ID, delegation condition, delegation user ID, and delegation period. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the data structure of the delegation condition table 1017. As shown in FIG.

[0025] The user ID is an item for storing the user identification information of the user who is to grant (transfer) his / her approval authority. The delegation conditions are items that store conditions for granting approval authority to a user identified by a delegation user ID. For example, the delegation conditions can store the document ID of a specific contract information, that is, the contract information can be specified and approval authority can be granted to a user with a specific delegation user ID. For example, the delegation conditions can store predetermined contract type information. That is, contract information having specific contract type information can be identified, and approval authority can be granted to a user having a specific delegation user ID. For example, the delegation conditions can store information on the contract amount (contract amount information). That is, by specifying contract information whose contract amount is equal to or less than a predetermined amount or equal to or more than a predetermined amount, approval authority can be granted to a user with a specific delegation user ID. For example, the delegation conditions can store information about the creator (creator information). That is, creator information such as whether the user related to the creator (sender) is a specific user or a user belonging to a specific group can be specified, and approval authority can be granted to a user with a specific delegation user ID. Approval authority can be delegated to a specific user depending on the company or organization to which the creator belongs. The commission conditions may include a combination of conditions for contract type information, contract amount information, creator information, and the like. It is also possible to not store the delegation conditions (null value, blank). In this case, approval authority for all contract information can be granted to the user identified by the delegated user ID. For example, if you want to grant all approval authority to a specific user when the user identified by the user ID is away on vacation or business trip, you can grant all approval authority to the specific user only during the delegation period by setting the absence period in the delegation period. The delegate user ID is an item for storing the user identification information of the user to whom approval authority is granted. Instead of the user identification information, the email address of the delegate user may be stored. The delegation period is an item that stores information about the expiration date of the delegation authority. Specifically, it stores the start date and time and the end date and time that specify the expiration date of the delegation authority. The delegation authority granted to a user is valid only during the delegation period, and the delegation authority is invalidated or deleted when the delegation period has expired. The user does not have to set a delegation period. In this case, the delegation conditions are judged for any date and time, and approval authority is granted to the corresponding delegation user ID.

[0026] <Configuration of the control unit 104 of the server 10> The control unit 104 of the server 10 includes a user registration control unit 1041, a contract creation unit 1042, a contract confirmation unit 1043, and an authorization unit 1044. The control unit 104 executes an application program 1011 stored in the storage unit 101, thereby realizing each functional unit.

[0027] The user registration control unit 1041 performs processing to store information about users who wish to use the service according to the present disclosure in the user table 1012. The information stored in the user table 1012 is generated when a user opens a web page operated by a service provider from any information processing terminal, enters information into a predetermined input form, and transmits the information to the server 10. The user registration control unit 1041 stores the received information in a new record in the user table 1012, completing the user registration. This allows the user stored in the user table 1012 to use the service. Before the user registration control unit 1041 registers the user information in the user table 1012, the service provider may conduct a predetermined examination to restrict whether or not the user is permitted to use the service. The user ID may be any character string or number that can identify the user, any character string or number desired by the user, or may be automatically set by the user registration control unit 1041.

[0028] The contract preparation unit 1042 executes the contract preparation process, the details of which will be described later.

[0029] The contract confirmation unit 1043 executes a contract confirmation process, the details of which will be described later.

[0030] The authorization unit 1044 executes authorization processing, the details of which will be described later.

[0031] <Configuration of First User Terminal 20> The first user terminal 20 is an information processing device operated by a user who uses a service. The first user terminal 20 may be, for example, a desktop personal computer (PC) or a laptop PC, or may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet. It may also be a wearable terminal such as an HMD (Head Mount Display) or a wristwatch terminal. The first user terminal 20 includes a storage unit 201 , a control unit 204 , an input device 206 , and an output device 208 .

[0032] <Configuration of the storage unit 201 of the first user terminal 20> The storage unit 201 of the first user terminal 20 includes a first user ID 2011 and an application program 2012 .

[0033] The first user ID 2011 is the user's account ID. The user transmits the first user ID 2011 from the first user terminal 20 to the server 10. The server 10 identifies the user based on the first user ID 2011 and provides the user with the service according to the present disclosure. The first user ID 2011 includes information such as a session ID temporarily assigned by the server 10 to identify the user using the first user terminal 20.

[0034] The application program 2012 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 201, or may be configured to be downloaded from a web server or the like operated by a service provider via a communication IF. The application programs 2012 include applications such as a web browser application. The application program 2012 includes an interpreted programming language such as JavaScript (registered trademark) that runs on a web browser application stored on the first user terminal 20.

[0035] <Configuration of the control unit 204 of the first user terminal 20> The control unit 204 of the first user terminal 20 includes an input control unit 2041 and an output control unit 2042. The control unit 204 executes the first user ID 2011 stored in the storage unit 201, thereby realizing each functional unit.

[0036] <Configuration of the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20> The input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 includes a camera 2061 , a microphone 2062 , a position information sensor 2063 , a motion sensor 2064 , and a touch device 2065 .

[0037] <Configuration of the output device 208 of the first user terminal 20> The output device 208 of the first user terminal 20 includes a display 2081 and a speaker 2082 .

[0038] <Configuration of second user terminal 30> The second user terminal 30 is an information processing device operated by a user who uses a service. The second user terminal 30 may be, for example, a desktop personal computer (PC) or laptop PC, or may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet. It may also be a wearable terminal such as an HMD (Head Mount Display) or a wristwatch terminal. The second user terminal 30 includes a storage unit 301 , a control unit 304 , an input device 306 , and an output device 308 .

[0039] <Configuration of the storage unit 301 of the second user terminal 30> The storage unit 301 of the second user terminal 30 includes a second user ID 3011 and an application program 3012 .

[0040] The second user ID 3011 is the user's account ID. The user transmits the second user ID 3011 from the second user terminal 30 to the server 10. The server 10 identifies the user based on the second user ID 3011 and provides the user with the service according to the present disclosure. The second user ID 3011 includes information such as a session ID temporarily assigned by the server 10 to identify the user using the second user terminal 30.

[0041] The application program 3012 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 301, or may be configured to be downloaded from a web server or the like operated by a service provider via a communication IF. Application programs 3012 include applications such as a web browser application. The application program 3012 includes an interpreted programming language such as JavaScript (registered trademark) that runs on a web browser application stored in the second user terminal 30.

[0042] <Configuration of the control unit 304 of the second user terminal 30> The control unit 304 of the second user terminal 30 includes an input control unit 3041 and an output control unit 3042. The control unit 304 executes the second user ID 3011 stored in the storage unit 301, thereby realizing each functional unit.

[0043] <Configuration of the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30> The input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 includes a camera 3061 , a microphone 3062 , a position information sensor 3063 , a motion sensor 3064 , and a keyboard 3065 .

[0044] <Configuration of the output device 308 of the second user terminal 30> The output device 308 of the second user terminal 30 includes a display 3081 and a speaker 3082 .

[0045] <Configuration of third user terminal 40> The third user terminal 40 is an information processing device operated by a user who uses the service. The third user terminal 40 may be, for example, a desktop personal computer (PC) or a laptop PC, or may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet. It may also be a wearable terminal such as an HMD (Head Mount Display) or a wristwatch terminal. The third user terminal 40 includes a storage unit 401 , a control unit 404 , an input device 406 , and an output device 408 .

[0046] <Configuration of the storage unit 401 of the third user terminal 40> The storage unit 401 of the third user terminal 40 includes a third user ID 4011 and an application program 4012 .

[0047] The third user ID 4011 is the user's account ID. The user transmits the third user ID 4011 from the third user terminal 40 to the server 10. The server 10 identifies the user based on the third user ID 4011 and provides the user with the service according to the present disclosure. The third user ID 4011 includes information such as a session ID temporarily assigned by the server 10 to identify the user using the third user terminal 40.

[0048] The application program 4012 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 401, or may be configured to be downloaded from a web server or the like operated by a service provider via a communication IF. The application programs 4012 include applications such as a web browser application. The application program 4012 includes an interpreted programming language such as JavaScript (registered trademark) that runs on a web browser application stored in the third user terminal 40.

[0049] <Configuration of the control unit 404 of the third user terminal 40> The control unit 404 of the third user terminal 40 includes an input control unit 4041 and an output control unit 4042. The control unit 404 executes the third user ID 4011 stored in the storage unit 401, thereby realizing each functional unit.

[0050] <Configuration of the input device 406 of the third user terminal 40> The input device 406 of the third user terminal 40 includes a camera 4061 , a microphone 4062 , a position information sensor 4063 , a motion sensor 4064 , and a keyboard 4065 .

[0051] <Configuration of the output device 408 of the third user terminal 40> The output device 408 of the third user terminal 40 includes a display 4081 and a speaker 4082 .

[0052] <Operation of information processing system 1> Each process of the information processing system 1 will be described below. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the contract creation process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the authorization process (second embodiment). FIG. 15 is an example of a screen showing the operation of the contract creation process. FIG. 16 is an example of a screen showing a message sent to the second user terminal 30. In FIG. FIG. 17 is an example of the first screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. FIG. 18 is an example of a second screen (first embodiment) showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. FIG. 19 is an example of a second screen (second embodiment) showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. FIG. 20 is an example of the third screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. FIG. 21 is an example of a screen showing the operation of the authorization process (second embodiment).

[0053] <Contract Creation Process> The contract creation process is a process in which a creator creates contract information and sends it to a confirmer. In this disclosure, a first user is a user who creates the contract information, and a second user and a third user are users who confirm the contract information. Note that when creating contract information, multiple users can be set as confirmers. In the present disclosure, a first user is a user who belongs to a group such as an organization or company different from that of a second user, and the second user and a third user are users who belong to a group such as the same organization or company.

[0054] 12 is an example of a screen showing the operation of the contract creation process. Screen 50 for creating contract information, which is displayed on display 2081 of first user terminal 20, displays status 510 indicating the current creation status of contract information, buttons 521, 522, 523 for specifying input items, contract information display area 530, document data 531, input items 532, 533, 534, and send button 540.

[0055] <Outline of contract creation process> The contract creation process is a series of steps in which the creator creates contract information, sets the verifying party to whom the contract information will be sent, sets input fields for the contract information, sets input rules for the input fields, accepts input data for the input fields from the creator, determines the delegation conditions, and sends the contract information to the verifying party or the delegation party that has been set.

[0056] <Details of contract creation process> In step S101, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 receives, from the creator, contract information to be the subject of a contract to be concluded between the creator and the verifying party. Specifically, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 to create contract information including document data related to the contract. The document data can be in any data format, such as PDF (Portable Document Format), Word, or XML (Extensible Markup Language), and can be included in the contract information. The first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 and transmits the created document data and the first user ID 2011 to the server 10. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 accepts the received first user ID 2011 and document data, and stores them in the creator ID and document data items of a new record in the document table 1014, respectively. As a result, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the new contract information in the document table 1014.

[0057] Document data 531 stored in document table 1014 is displayed on screen 50 for creating contract information.

[0058] In step S102, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 to select and identify a user who will be the checker (recipient) of the contract information. In the present disclosure, it is assumed that the first user selects and identifies a second user as the recipient. The first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20, inputs the email address of the second user who will be the checker, and sends it to the server 10. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the received email address and the document ID of the contract information created and stored in step S101 in the checker email address and document ID items in the confirmation table 1015, respectively, and associates the contract information with the email address of the second user and stores them. The first user may also set the language and access code of the second user and store them in association with the email address of the second user. At this time, a value of 1 is stored in the confirmation order field of the confirmation table 1015. In step S102, the first user may be able to select and set multiple users to be the checkers. In this case, the value of the confirmation order field for the users to be the checkers is incremented by one and stored according to the selection order. This sets the circulation order of the checkers in the contract confirmation process, which will be described later. Note that setting the circulation order is not essential.

[0059] The first user may be configured to be able to specify whether or not the second user has approval authority when designating the second user who will be the checker. Specifically, if the first user knows in advance that the second user is the person in charge of the contract procedure and that the second user does not have approval authority in the organization with which the contract is concluded, the first user designates and stores the second user as a user who does not have approval authority for the contract information received in step S101. This allows the second user to be designated as a checker for the contract information to be processed, but makes it possible to avoid the second user approving the conclusion of the contract.

[0060] In step S103, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 to set input items for the contract information. Specifically, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 to set multiple input items for the contract information created and stored in step S101. The input items can be any input item, such as a seal field for stamping seal data, an input field for entering text data such as signature data, a check box field for selecting check items, and a date field for entering a date. The first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 or the like to send a request to add an input item to the server 10. Upon receiving the request, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the document ID of the contract information as the document ID of a new record in the input item table 1016. As a result, the newly added input item information is stored in association with the contract information. The first user can store multiple pieces of input item information in association with the contract information.

[0061] In step S104, the first user sets input rules for each input item to be added. The first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 or the like to specify input rules for each piece of input item information set in step S103 and transmits them to the server 10. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the received input rules in the input rule field of the record for each piece of input item information in the input item table 1016. This makes it possible to set input rules for each input item.

[0062] In step S105, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 accepts input data for a plurality of input items input by the first user. Specifically, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 to input input data for each input item set in step S104. For example, the first user may input input data for a number used to manage contract information, such as a serial number for a group to which the first user belongs, into an input item for which a management number is set. The first user may input input data for the contract conclusion date of the contract information into an input item for which a contract conclusion date is set. After completing input of input data into the input items, the first user transmits the input item ID and input data for each input item to the server 10. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 receives and accepts the input item ID and input data for each input item. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the received input data in the input data item of the input item information in the input item table 1016 identified by the received input item ID. As a result, the input data entered by the first user is stored in the input item table 1016.

[0063] The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 receives an instruction from the first user to request the second user to conclude a contract for the contract information. Specifically, the first user operates the input device 206 of the first user terminal 20 and presses the send button 540 displayed on the screen 50 for creating contract information, thereby sending a request to send the contract information to the server 10.

[0064] In step S106, upon receiving the request, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 identifies one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in step S101, based on the delegation conditions. Specifically, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 searches the delegation conditions item in the delegation conditions table 1017 based on the user ID of the checker, contract type information, the contract amount specified in the contract information, creator information, etc., and acquires a delegation user ID. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may be configured to identify and acquire multiple delegation user IDs. In the present disclosure, the delegation user ID includes, for example, a third user ID.

[0065] The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 searches the user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the delegated user ID acquired in step S106, and acquires the email address of the delegated user. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 acquires the document ID, confirmation order, designated person data, language data, and access code fields associated with the second user from the confirmation table 1015, associates them with the email address of the delegated user, and stores them in the document ID, confirmation order, designated person data, language data, access code, and confirmer email address fields of a new record in the confirmation table 1015, respectively. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may be configured to, when multiple delegated users are specified, increment the value of the confirmation order item of the second user by one and store the incremented value in the confirmation order item of the record of each delegated user. In this case, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may be configured to move down and store (update) the confirmation order value of the record of the checker who is later in the confirmation order (higher in the confirmation order) when a specified delegated user is added to the record of the confirmation table 1015. This allows the second user to be replaced with the delegated user while maintaining the confirmation order when multiple checkers are specified. Furthermore, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 stores a value of True in the confirmation flag field of the record of the second user stored in the confirmation table 1015, thereby completing the approval process by the second user. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may store information indicating that the confirmation process has been skipped due to delegation in the confirmation flag field of the record of the second user stored in the confirmation table 1015. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may also be configured to delete the record of the second user from the confirmation table 1015. This causes the contract confirmation process by the second user to be skipped.

[0066] In step S107, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 sends a message to the second user or the user associated with the checker, such as the delegated user, notifying that a request to check the contract information has been sent from the first user. Specifically, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 searches the check order field in the check table 1015 and identifies the user (first checker) who will be the first checker and has the smallest value stored in the check order field. In the present disclosure, the first checker is, for example, the third user who is the delegated user. The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 sends a message to the email address of the first checker by a communication means such as email notifying that a request to check the contract information has been sent from the first user. The message sent to the first confirmation user includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) containing a document ID for identifying the contract information. The URL may directly include the document ID, or may include information such as a string that has been arbitrarily encrypted from the document ID, or other information such as a string that can identify the document ID by referencing a table (not shown). The URL may also include information for identifying the first confirmation user. For example, if the first confirmation user is not a registered user of the service disclosed herein, the URL must include information for identifying the first confirmation user.

[0067] If the first user sets an access code for the second user, the first user will separately communicate the access code to the first confirmation user by means of email, etc. This means that even if a third party obtains the message notified to the first confirmation user, the third party will not be able to execute the contract confirmation process unless they obtain the access code.

[0068] The contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 may notify the second user accepted in step S102 that the contract information accepted in step S101 has been delegated to one or more third users. Specifically, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 searches for a record in which information indicating that the confirmation process has been skipped is stored in the confirmation flag field of the confirmation table 1015, and sends a message to the confirmer email address of that record notifying that the contract information has been delegated to the first confirmation user.

[0069] 16 is an example of a screen showing a message notified to the second user terminal 30. The message screen 60 displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 includes a message 61 and information about a URL 62 including a document ID for identifying contract information.

[0070] <Modification> When the first user selects and sets multiple checkers in step S102, the first user may be configured to independently set different input item information for each of the multiple checkers in step S103. For example, when the first user sets two users, a second user and a ninth user, as checkers, the first user may set the input items for the contract start date and contract end date for the second user and the input item for the contract conclusion date for the ninth user. In this case, in the contract confirmation process described below, the second user can input input data for the input items for the contract start date and contract end date, but cannot input input data for the input item for the contract conclusion date. On the other hand, the ninth user cannot input input data for the input items for the contract start date and contract end date, but can input input data for the input item for the contract conclusion date. The first user may be configured to select and set multiple checkers for one input item information.

[0071] Input items 532, 533, and 534 are drawn as drawing objects on screen 50 for creating contract information. In input items 532 and 533, the user identification information "USER-B" of the user who has selected and set to input the input item is drawn as the allocation, and the item "text" is drawn as the input item type. In input item 534 related to stamping, the user identification information "USER-C" of the user who has selected and set to stamp is drawn as the allocation, and the item "stamp" is drawn as the input item type.

[0072] <Contract confirmation process> The contract confirmation process is a process in which the confirmer confirms the contents of the contract information received from the creator.

[0073] <Outline of contract confirmation process> The contract confirmation process is a series of processes that accepts access from the confirmer, presents the first screen displaying the contract information to the confirmer, accepts input data for input fields from the confirmer, and accepts data related to confirmation of the contract information from the confirmer. The contract confirmation process is terminated if the checker does not have the approval authority for the contract information. Details of the contract confirmation process for the second user and the third user who will be the checkers in this disclosure will be described below as "Details of the contract confirmation process (second user)" and "Details of the contract confirmation process (third user)," respectively.

[0074] <Details of contract confirmation process (second user)> In step S301, the second user who will be the confirmer can select the URL described in the received message by operating the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like, thereby opening the web page specified by the URL using the browser application of the second user terminal 30. As a result, the second user terminal 30 transmits a request to the server 10 to execute the contract confirmation process.

[0075] If an access code item is stored in the record of the second user in confirmation table 1015, the second user is requested to input an access code, and the input access code is compared with the access code stored in the record of the second user in confirmation table 1015, thereby performing authentication processing for the second user. Specifically, the server 10 transmits an input screen for authenticating the access code to the second user terminal 30. The second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 to input the access code and transmit it to the server 10. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines whether the received access code matches the access code stored in the second user's record in the confirmation table 1015, and if they match, continues the contract confirmation process. On the other hand, if they do not match, stops the contract confirmation process. Note that the authentication process using the access code may be omitted.

[0076] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID item in the document table 1014 based on the document ID included in the received request, and acquires contract information.The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID item in the confirmation table 1015 based on the document ID included in the received request, and acquires confirmer information.The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID item in the input item table 1016 based on the document ID included in the received request, and acquires input item information associated with the contract information.

[0077] In step S302, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies the second user and acquires the approval authority information of the second user. The second user may be identified based on the second user ID 3011 included in the request received from the second user terminal 30, or based on identification information for identifying the second user included in the URL. If the second user is not registered with the service according to the present disclosure, the second user must be identified from the URL. For example, the URL may include the second user's email address, user ID, or the like as information for identifying the second user.

[0078] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the user identification information of the identified second user, and acquires the approval authority field of the second user. In the present disclosure, the approval authority of the second user is configured to be stored in the user table 1012, but the approval authority of the second user may be stored for each group to which the second user belongs, or for each contract information or for each contract information type. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 acquires the approval authority information of the second user for the target contract information. Furthermore, if the second user is not registered with the service according to the present disclosure, the second user may be regarded as a user without approval authority and processing may be executed.

[0079] In step S303, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 generates a first screen based on the acquired contract information, confirmer information (information that identifies the second user), input item information, and the confirmer's approval authority information or extended approval authority, and transmits it to the second user terminal 30.

[0080] Specifically, if the approval authority information of the second user acquired in step S302 stores information indicating the authority to approve the conclusion of the contract, or if the second user has extended approval authority, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines that the second user is a user who can approve the conclusion of the contract of the contract information accepted by the second user, presents the first screen to the second user, and proceeds to step S304.

[0081] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies and determines the extended approval authority of the second user by the following method: When the contract information corresponds to the delegation conditions, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies one or more second users associated with the corresponding delegation conditions as approvers of the contract information accepted from the first user. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the delegation user ID and delegation period fields in the delegation conditions table 1017 based on the second user ID 3011 and the current date and time, and acquires the user ID (delegation source user ID) and delegation conditions. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID field in the document table 1014 based on the document ID included in the received request, and acquires the document data. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies contract type information, contract amount, etc. identified based on the document ID and document data, and compares them with the delegation conditions to determine whether the delegation conditions are met. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 also identifies creator information related to the first user, and compares them with the delegation conditions to determine whether the delegation conditions are met. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies the delegation source user ID associated with the satisfied delegation conditions. Note that multiple delegation source user IDs may be identified.

[0082] For example, if the contract type of the contract information is a predetermined contract type, one or more third users are identified as approvers of the contract information received from the first user. For example, if the contract amount of the contract information is a predetermined amount, one or more third users are identified as approvers of the contract information received from the first user. For example, when the creator information of the contract information is predetermined creator information, one or more third users are identified as approvers of the contract information received from the first user. For example, if the date and time when the contract information is received from the first user is a predetermined date and time, one or more third users are identified as approvers of the contract information received from the first user.

[0083] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the identified delegation source user ID and acquires the approval authority. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 regards the acquired approval authority of the delegation source user as the approval authority of the second user, and calls this the extended approval authority. If multiple delegation source user IDs are identified, the extended approval authority may include the approval authority of the second user and the approval authorities of multiple delegation source users. If the extended approval authority includes approval authority to approve the contract information to be the subject of the contract conclusion, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines that the second user is a user who is able to approve the conclusion of the contract for the received contract information. As a result, the second user can approve the contract information based on the approval authority of the delegating user in the delegation condition table 1017 in addition to the approval authority stored in the user table 1012.

[0084] On the other hand, if the second user is a user who cannot approve the conclusion of the contract based on the received contract information, the contract confirmation process is terminated.

[0085] In step S304, the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 presents the second user with a first screen for accepting an operation to approve the contract information. The second user checks the contract information displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 and approves it. In addition, the first screen presented to the second user may be configured to be presented to the second user in the language specified for the confirmer, based on the language information stored in the language data item of the second user's record in confirmation table 1015.

[0086] 17 is an example of the first screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. The first screen 70A for approving the contract information, which is displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30, displays a status 710 indicating the current creation status of the contract information, a contract information display area 730, document data 731, input items 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, a save button 750, and an authority delegation button 760.

[0087] In step S304, the second user can grant approval authority to a specific user for the contract information related to the contract conclusion by operating the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like and pressing the authority delegation button 760.

[0088] If the second user grants approval authority to the third user through the authorization process (first embodiment), the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may terminate the contract confirmation process and not execute the process of step S305 or step S306. The second user can end the contract confirmation process by operating the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 to press the save button 750.

[0089] In step S305, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 accepts input for one or more input items of the contract information. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like to input data into the input items 732, 733, 734, and 735 set in the contract information. In the present disclosure, input by the second user into the input item 736 is not assigned, and therefore, it is visually displayed that the second user cannot input input data into the input item 736.

[0090] In step S306, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives an instruction from the second user to agree to and approve the conclusion of the contract in the contract information received from the first user. If approval authority is not granted to the third user by the authorization process (first embodiment), the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 displays the Agree button 740 instead of the Save button 750 on the first screen 70A. The second user checks the contract information and input data displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30, and if he or she agrees or accepts the contents, he or she operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 to press the Agree button 740 displayed on the first screen 70A for confirming the contract information, thereby executing a process of transmitting a request including the document ID, information identifying the second user, and the input data for each input item entered in step S305 to the server 10. The information identifying the second user may be the second user ID 3011. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 stores information indicating that the second user has confirmed the contract information based on the received request. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the confirmation table 1015 based on the received document ID and information identifying the second user, and stores a value of True in the confirmation flag field of the relevant record. For example, if the information identifying the second user is an email address, the contract confirmation unit 1043 searches the document ID and confirmer email address fields of the confirmation table 1015 and stores a value of True in the confirmation flag field of the relevant record. If the information identifying the second user is user identification information, the contract confirmation unit 1043 searches the document ID and confirmer email address fields of the confirmation table 1015 based on the email address of the second user identified by searching the user ID field of the user table 1012, and stores a value of True in the confirmation flag field of the relevant record. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 stores the received input data in the input data item of the input item table 1016 identified by the input item ID associated with the input data. As a result, in step S305, the input data entered by the second user is stored as input item information in the input item table 1016.

[0091] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines that the contract confirmation process has been performed by all checkers with approval authority. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines that the contract confirmation process has been performed by all checkers with approval authority when a value of True is stored in the confirmation flag of the record of a checker with approval authority in the confirmation table 1015. In other words, the contract confirmation unit 1043 makes the determination while ignoring the value of the confirmation flag of the record of a checker who does not have approval authority. The contract confirmation unit 1043 also makes the determination while ignoring the value of the confirmation flag of a record that stores information indicating that the confirmation work has been skipped due to delegation. When the contract confirmation process is performed by all the confirmers who have the approval authority, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits a message to the first user notifying that the contract confirmation process has been completed. Specifically, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 sends a message to the email address of the first user by a communication means such as email notifying the first user that the second user has completed confirmation of the contract information. In other words, the message notifies the first user that the second user has approved the conclusion of the contract. This allows the first user to know that the conclusion of the contract with the second user has been completed. The message sent to the first user may include information about a URL including a document ID for identifying the contract information. When multiple users are set as checkers, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may send a message notifying the checkers other than the user who last executed the contract confirmation process that the contract confirmation process has been completed. This allows the checkers to receive notification that the contract confirmation process has been completed by all checkers. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may also send a message to a user who has authority equivalent to that of an administrator in a group to which multiple confirmers belong, notifying the completion of the contract confirmation process. This allows the administrator in the group to which the confirmer belongs to be notified that the contract confirmation process has been completed. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 retrieves the group ID field in the user table 1012 based on the user ID or email address. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 retrieves the group ID field in the group table 1013 based on the retrieved group ID field, retrieves the administrator ID field, and identifies a user who has authority equivalent to that of an administrator by retrieving the user ID in the user table 1012 based on the administrator ID, and then sends a message notifying the completion of the contract confirmation process.

[0092] <Second screen presentation process (first embodiment)> When the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like and presses the authority delegation button 760, the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 presents the second screen (first embodiment) to the second user, which accepts an operation to identify one or more users as approvers. In addition, the second screen presented to the second user may be configured to be presented to the second user in the language specified for the confirmer, based on the language information stored in the language data item of the second user's record in confirmation table 1015.

[0093] 18 is an example of the second screen (first embodiment) showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. The second screen 80, which is displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 and accepts an operation to specify one or more users as approvers, displays input fields for inputting an email address 801, a name 802, a company name 803, a language 804, and an access code 805, a cancel button 821, and an add button 822.

[0094] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives, from the second user, information specifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information received from the first user. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 to input the email address, name, company name, language used, and access code of the user to be identified as the approver into email address 801, name 802, company name 803, language 804, and access code 805, respectively, displayed on the second screen 80. Note that the second user may omit inputting the company name, language, and access code. Also, in the present disclosure, the third user may be a user who does not have approval authority in the user table 1012.

[0095] <Second screen presentation process (second embodiment)> When the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like and presses the authority delegation button 760, the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 presents the second screen (second embodiment) to the second user, which accepts an operation to identify one or more users as approvers.

[0096] 19 is an example screen (second embodiment) of the second screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. The second screen 80, which is displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 and accepts an operation to specify one or more users as approvers, displays input fields for inputting an email address 801, a name 802, a company name 803, a language 804, and an access code 805, a cancel button 821, an add button 822, as well as a user candidate presentation area 841 that presents multiple users as user candidates and a switch button 861 that switches the type of user candidate. By operating the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like, the second user can press the switch button 861 displayed on the second screen 80 to selectively switch between four types of user candidates: “Group,” “History,” “Group History,” and “Other,” and present multiple user candidates in the user candidate presentation area 841. The switching button 861 may be configured so that the items "Group," "Group History," and "Other" cannot be pressed when the second user does not belong to a predetermined group and is not associated with group identification information, or when the second user is unable to use group-related functions. In other words, the configuration may be such that only user candidates based on "History" are presented to the second user. In addition, a configuration may be included in which predetermined officials such as section chiefs and department chiefs are presented as user candidates.

[0097] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives, from the second user, information specifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information received from the first user. Specifically, similar to the second screen presentation process (first embodiment), the second user can operate the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like to input the email address, name, company name, language used, and access code of the user to be identified as the approver into email address 801, name 802, company name 803, language 804, and access code 805, respectively, displayed on the second screen 80. The second user may omit inputting the company name, language, and access code.

[0098] In the second screen presentation process (second embodiment), the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 can accept an operation to specify one or more users as approvers from the user candidates presented in the user candidate presentation area 841. Specifically, the second user selects and specifies one or more user candidates presented in the user candidate presentation area 841 by operating the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30. The control unit 304 of the second user terminal inputs information about the selected user candidates into input fields such as email address 801, name 802, company name 803, language 804, etc. This allows the second user to select the third user as the approver from the presented plurality of user candidates, thereby reducing the input burden on the second user.

[0099] <Suggesting users based on groups> The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 presents a plurality of users associated with the second group as user candidates to the second user associated with the second group. At this time, one or more users who cannot approve the contract information among the plurality of users associated with the second group may be presented as user candidates. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30, presses the "Group" button from the switching button 861 displayed on the second screen 80, and sends a request to the server 10 to present user candidates based on groups. When the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives the request, it searches the email address or user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the email address or user ID of the second user, which is information identifying the second user, and acquires the group ID field (second group ID). Based on the acquired second group ID, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the group ID field in the user table 1012 and acquires the user ID, user name, email address, and approval authority fields. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits the user ID, user name, and email address of the user who does not have approval authority to the second user terminal 30. The display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 displays a list of the received user candidate information including the user name, email address, etc. in the user candidate presentation area 841.

[0100] <Presenting User Candidates Based on History (First Example)> The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 presents one or more second users previously identified by the second user as user candidates based on the history information of the second user. At this time, one or more users who cannot approve the contract information may be presented as user candidates. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30, presses the "History" button from the switching button 861 displayed on the second screen 80, and sends a request to the server 10 to present user candidates based on the history. Upon receiving the request, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the designated person data item in the confirmation table 1015 based on the information identifying the second user, and acquires the confirmer email address of a user who the second user previously identified as an approver. Based on the acquired email address, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the email address item in the user table 1012, and acquires the user ID, user name, email address, and approval authority items. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits the user ID, user name, and email address of the user who does not have approval authority to the second user terminal 30. The display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 displays a list of the received user candidate information including the user name, email address, etc. in the user candidate presentation area 841.

[0101] <Presenting User Candidates Based on History (Second Embodiment)> The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 presents, as user candidates, one or more second users previously identified by multiple users including the second user associated with the second group, based on the history information of the second group with which the second user is associated. At this time, the contract confirmation unit 1043 may be configured to present, as user candidates, one or more users who cannot approve the contract information. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30, presses the "Group History" button from the switch button 861 displayed on the second screen 80, and sends a request to the server 10 to present user candidates based on the group history. When the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives the request, it searches the email address or user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the email address or user ID of the second user, which is information identifying the second user, and acquires the group ID field (second group ID). Based on the acquired second group ID, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the group ID field in the user table 1012 and acquires the user ID and email address fields. This makes it possible to acquire multiple users associated with the second group. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the designated person data item in the confirmation table 1015 based on the user IDs and email addresses of the multiple users associated with the second group that have been acquired, and acquires the confirming person email addresses of users who have been previously identified as approvers by the multiple users associated with the second group.The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the email address item in the user table 1012 based on the acquired email addresses, and acquires the user ID, user name, email address, and approval authority items. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits the user ID, user name, and email address of the user who does not have approval authority to the second user terminal 30. The display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 displays a list of the received user candidate information including the user name, email address, etc. in the user candidate presentation area 841.

[0102] <Suggesting users based on other information> The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 presents a plurality of users as user candidates based on at least one of the contract information, the first user associated with the first group, and the first group. At this time, one or more users who cannot approve the contract information may be presented as user candidates. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30, presses the “Other” button from the switching button 861 displayed on the second screen 80, and transmits a request for presenting user candidates based on other information to the server 10. Upon receiving the request, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies contract information previously concluded with the first user and contract information previously concluded with other users associated with the first group to which the first user belongs, searches the document ID field in the confirmation table 1015 based on the document ID included in the contract information, and acquires the confirmer email address field of users previously identified as approvers in the contract information. At this time, the server 10 may be configured to refer to the user table 1012 and the group table 1013 and acquire only the confirmer email addresses of users associated with the second group to which the second user belongs. Based on the acquired email addresses, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the email address field in the user table 1012 and acquires the user ID, user name, email address, and approval authority fields. Based on the information identifying the second user, the server 10 searches the designated person data field in the confirmation table 1015 to obtain the confirming person email address of the user previously identified by the second user as an approver. Based on the obtained email address, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the email address field in the user table 1012 to obtain the user ID, user name, email address, and approval authority fields. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits the user ID, user name, and email address of the user who does not have approval authority to the second user terminal 30. The display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 displays a list of the received user candidate information including the user name, email address, etc. in the user candidate presentation area 841.

[0103] <Variation 1> In addition, when presenting user candidates based on a group, presenting user candidates based on history (first embodiment), presenting user candidates based on history (second embodiment), or presenting user candidates based on other information, one or more users who cannot approve the contract information may be presented as user candidates in preference to one or more users who can approve the contract information. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to transmit the user IDs, user names, and email addresses of users with approval authority, in addition to users without approval authority, to the second user terminal 30. In this case, the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 may present the user candidate information without approval authority higher in the list than the user candidate information with approval authority, so that the second user can easily select the user candidate information without approval authority. In addition, when the user candidate information is displayed in a carousel or by page forwarding, it is possible to display the user candidate information without approval authority on the first page.

[0104] <Variation 2> The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to present user candidates based on history (first embodiment) and history (second embodiment) in such a way that, among one or more third users, the third user that has been identified more frequently is presented as a user candidate with higher priority. Specifically, in the presentation of user candidates based on history (first embodiment) and the presentation of user candidates based on history (second embodiment), the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may count the number (number of times) of duplicate user candidate information for each user ID or email address of the user candidate for the acquired user candidate information, and prioritize the count so that user candidate information with higher priority is presented higher in the list, thereby presenting user candidate information of users who have been selected and identified more frequently in the past by the second user or multiple users belonging to the second group so that the second user can easily select it.In addition, when user candidate information is displayed in a carousel or by page forwarding, it is possible to display user candidate information with higher priority on the first page.

[0105] <Variation 3> It is also possible to combine presentation of user candidates based on groups, presentation of user candidates based on history (first embodiment), presentation of user candidates based on history (second embodiment), and presentation of user candidates based on other information to present one user candidate to the second user.

[0106] <Authorization Processing (First Embodiment)> The second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 and presses the Add button 822 displayed on the second screen, thereby executing a process to send a request including the information entered in the email address 801, name 802, company name 803, language 804, and access code 805 to the server 10. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the email address field in the user table 1012 based on the email address included in the received request, and obtains the user ID (delegated user ID). The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 stores the second user ID 3011, the obtained delegated user ID, and the document ID included in the received request in the user ID, delegated user ID, and delegation conditions fields of the delegation conditions table 1017, respectively. Specifically, the delegation conditions field of the delegation conditions table 1017 stores information that identifies the document ID of the target contract information and grants approval authority to the user who has the delegated user ID. This allows the user of the delegated user ID to approve the contract information, regardless of whether or not they have approval authority. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 stores the email address and document ID of the delegate user included in the received request in the items "confirmer email address" and "document ID" of a new record in the confirmation table 1015, respectively, and stores the contract information in association with the email address of the delegate user. Note that the user ID or email address of the second user may also be stored in the item "designated person data" of the confirmation table 1015. This allows the second user to receive a presentation of user candidates based on the history. At this time, the values ​​of the confirmation order item of the user who will be the checker are incremented by one and stored in the confirmation table 1015. This sets the circulation order of the checkers in the contract confirmation process. Note that setting the circulation order is not essential. The second user can specify and set one or more approvers. When the second user has completed the setting of the approvers, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like to press the cancel button 821 to end the approver setting process.

[0107] At this time, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to set the input items assigned to the second user by the first user to be assigned to the third user. In other words, the input item information assigned to the second user may be handed over to the approver designated by the third user. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the inputter ID field of the input item table 1016 based on the second user ID, and stores the third user ID in the inputter ID field of the identified record. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to delete the second user ID from the inputter ID field of the identified record, store the third user ID, and overwrite the third user ID as the inputter ID. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to store the third user ID without deleting the second user ID from the inputter ID field of the identified record, and add the third user ID as the inputter ID.

[0108] In addition, if the second user identifies multiple third users as approvers, the second user may be configured to assign multiple different third users to each of the multiple input item information assigned to the second user by the first user. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30, etc., and selectively adds and stores the user IDs of multiple different third users in the inputter ID field of the record of input item information in which the second user ID is stored in the inputter ID field of the input item table 1016.

[0109] <Details of contract confirmation process (third user)> In step S301, the third user, who is the first confirmation user, can select the URL described in the received message by operating the input device 406 of the third user terminal 40 or the like, thereby opening the web page specified by the URL using the browser application of the third user terminal 40. As a result, the third user terminal 40 transmits a request to the server 10 to execute the contract confirmation process. Steps S301 to S306 of the contract confirmation process (third user) are the same as those of the contract confirmation process (second user) except that the user who executes the process is the third user instead of the second user, and therefore a duplicated explanation will be omitted.

[0110] In step S303, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 grants the approval authority held by the second user to one or more third users identified as confirmers. Specifically, if the approval authority information of the third user acquired in step S302 stores information indicating the authority to approve the conclusion of the contract, or if the third user has extended approval authority, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 determines that the third user is a user who can approve the conclusion of the contract for the contract information received, presents the first screen to the third user, and proceeds to step S304.

[0111] The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies and determines the extended approval authority of the third user by the following method: When the contract information corresponds to the delegation conditions, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies one or more third users associated with the corresponding delegation conditions as approvers of the contract information accepted from the first user. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the delegation user ID and delegation period fields in the delegation conditions table 1017 based on the third user ID 4011 and the current date and time, and acquires the user ID (delegation source user ID) and delegation conditions. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID field in the document table 1014 based on the document ID included in the received request, and acquires the document data. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies contract type information, contract amount, etc., identified based on the document ID and document data, and compares them with the delegation conditions to determine whether the delegation conditions are met. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 also identifies creator information related to the first user, and compares them with the delegation conditions to determine whether the delegation conditions are met. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 identifies the delegation source user ID associated with the satisfied delegation conditions. Note that multiple delegation source user IDs may be identified. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the user ID field in the user table 1012 based on the identified delegation source user ID, and acquires the approval authority. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 regards the acquired approval authority of the delegation user as the approval authority of the third user, and calls this the extended approval authority. If multiple delegation user IDs are specified, the extended approval authority may include the approval authority of the third user and the approval authorities of multiple delegation users.

[0112] In step S306, if multiple third users are identified in step S106 of the contract creation process, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 accepts an instruction from one of the multiple third users to approve the conclusion of the contract for the accepted contract information, and approves or skips the conclusion of the contract for the contract information for the other third users in accordance with the instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract for the accepted contract information from the one user. Specifically, when the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 receives an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract information from one of the multiple third users identified in step S106 of the contract creation process, it stores a value of True in the confirmation flag item of the other third user set as the confirmer in the confirmation table 1015, and completes the contract confirmation process for the other third user. Note that the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may be configured to store information indicating that the contract confirmation process will be skipped when one of the first users approves the conclusion of the contract in the confirmation flag item of the other third user. As a result, when multiple third users are specified by the delegation conditions, one third user can approve the contract conclusion, thereby omitting the contract conclusion approval process by the other third users, thereby reducing the workload of the multiple third users.

[0113] In step S306, when the contract confirmation process has been performed by all the confirmers with approval authority, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits a message to the first user notifying that the contract confirmation process has been completed. Specifically, the contract creation unit 1042 of the server 10 sends a message to the email address of the first user by a communication means such as email, notifying the first user that the second user has completed confirmation of the contract information. In other words, the message notifies the first user that the second user has approved the conclusion of the contract. This allows the first user to know that the conclusion of the contract with the second user has been completed. The second user can complete the appropriate contract conclusion procedures without the first user knowing that the conclusion of the contract has been approved by a third user delegated by the organization to which the second user belongs. The message may also include content notifying the third user that the third user has completed confirmation of the contract information.

[0114] 20 is an example of a third screen showing the operation of the contract confirmation process. The third screen 70B for approving the contract information, which is displayed on the display 4081 of the third user terminal 40, displays a status 710 indicating the current creation status of the contract information, a contract information display area 730, document data 731, input items 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, and an agree button 740. In other words, a third user with approval authority can agree to and approve the contract information. Note that, like the first screen 70A, the authority delegation button 760 may also be displayed on the third screen 70B. Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which information identifying one or more fourth users as approvers of the contract information received from the first user is not accepted from the third user. That is, the authority delegation button 760 may be displayed when the third user is identified as the approver of the contract information received from the first user based on the approval authority stored in the user table 1012, and the authority delegation button 760 may not be displayed when the third user is identified as the approver of the contract information received from the first user based on the extended approval authority. This makes it possible to prevent a user who has been granted approval authority from re-delegating the authority to another user, i.e., to prevent approval authority from being granted to a user who is not intended by the approval authority holder.

[0115] <Electronic signature processing> An electronic signature process may be included in step S306. In response to the instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract received from the second user in step S306, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 affixes an electronic signature indicating that the conclusion of the contract of the contract information has been approved to the contract information received from the first user, and stores the resulting digital signature. Specifically, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 adds a digital signature to the contract information based on the received request and stores it. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the document ID item in the document table 1014 based on the document ID, and acquires the contract information. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 affixes an electronic signature to the acquired contract information and stores it in the document data item of the document table 1014. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may update (overwrite) the document data item with the contract information affixed with the electronic signature, or may store the contract information before affixing the electronic signature in a separate storage device (not shown). The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may include any of the following information in the electronic signature: document ID, email address of the first user, email address of the second user, approval date and time, confirmation date and time, authentication method for approval date and time, authentication method for confirmation date and time, input data value for each input item, consent (approval) of the first user, second user, timestamp, etc. As a result, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 adds a digital signature to the contract information indicating that the second user has approved the conclusion of the contract of the contract information, and stores the digital signature. This makes it possible to prevent spoofing or tampering of the contract information by a third party.

[0116] Similarly, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10, based on an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract received from the third user, attaches an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has approved the conclusion of the contract information, and stores the contract information. Furthermore, based on an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract received from the third user, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may also attach an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has been granted approval authority by the second user, and store the contract information. The contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 may include in the electronic signature any of the following information: document ID, email address of the first user, email address of the third user, approval date and time, confirmation date and time, authentication method for approval date and time, authentication method for confirmation date and time, input data value for each input item, consent (approval) of the first user, third user, timestamp, etc. As a result, the contract confirmation unit 1043 of the server 10 adds a digital signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has approved the conclusion of the contract for the contract information, and stores the digital signature. This makes it possible to prevent spoofing or tampering of the contract information by a third party. The contract information may also be contract information in which the information of the second user is specified as a signatory to the contract. In other words, the document data may be configured to display the name, title, job title, etc. of the second user as a signatory. This allows the fact that the third user has approved the contract information in which the information of the second user is specified as a signatory to be stored. Information indicating the third user's approval can be added as an electronic signature without changing the information of the second user specified in the contract information.

[0117] <Authorization Processing (Second Embodiment)> The authorization process (second embodiment) is a process in which a user having approval authority determines the authorization conditions and authorization period, and delegates and grants approval authority to a specific user.

[0118] <Outline of Authorization Processing (Second Embodiment)> The authorization process (second embodiment) is a series of processes that accepts access from a user with approval authority, identifies the user with approval authority, determines the delegation conditions and delegation period, identifies the delegated user, and transmits and stores them to the server 10.

[0119] <Details of the Authorization Processing (Second Embodiment)> In step S501, a user with approval authority (hereinafter referred to as the second user) operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 and operates a browser application to access a website for executing the authorization process (second embodiment) provided by the server 10, and sends a request including the second user ID 3011 to the server 10.

[0120] When the authorization unit 1044 of the server 10 receives a request to execute authorization processing, the authorization unit 1044 identifies the second user based on the second user ID 3011 included in the request. The authorization unit 1044 of the server 10 generates a delegation condition setting screen and transmits it to the second user terminal 30.

[0121] 21 is an example of a delegation condition setting screen showing the operation of the authorization process (second embodiment). The delegation condition setting screen 87 displayed on the display 3081 of the second user terminal 30 displays a user ID display field 871 for the second user, a delegation condition input field 872, a delegation user ID input field 873, a delegation period input field 874, and a save button 875. The delegation condition input field 872 includes a condition field input field 8721, a judgment condition input field 8722, and a condition value input field 8723.

[0122] In step S503, the authorization unit 1044 of the server 10 accepts one or more delegation conditions from the second user. The delegation conditions accepted by the authorization unit 1044 of the server 10 from the second user are conditions in which one or more delegation conditions are associated with one or more third users. Specifically, the second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 or the like to operate input fields such as the delegation condition input field 872, the delegation user ID input field 873, and the delegation period input field 874 displayed on the delegation condition setting screen 87, and selects and inputs the desired delegation conditions, the user ID of the user to whom authority is to be granted, and the delegation period, respectively. For example, the delegation conditions may include conditions related to the contract type of the contract information. For example, the terms of commission may include terms regarding the contract amount of the contract information. For example, the delegation conditions may include conditions regarding creator information of the contract information. For example, the delegation conditions may include conditions regarding time and date. The second user operates the input device 306 of the second user terminal 30 to press the save button 875 displayed on the delegation condition setting screen 87. As a result, the second user terminal 30 transmits the input values ​​entered in the second user ID 3011, delegation condition input field 872, delegation user ID input field 873, and delegation period input field 874 to the server 10. The authorization unit 1044 of the server 10 stores the received input values ​​entered in the second user ID 3011, delegation condition input field 872, delegation user ID input field 873, and delegation period input field 874 in the user ID, delegation condition, delegation user ID, and delegation period items of the delegation condition table 1017, respectively. In the present disclosure, the third user ID is specified as the delegation user ID.

[0123] As a result, in the delegation condition determination process in step S106 of the contract creation process, if the contract information transmitted to the second user meets the delegation conditions during the delegation period, the contract confirmation process is transferred to the third user. As a result, in step S303 of the contract confirmation process, the approval authority of the second user is included in the extended approval authority of the third user, and the presence or absence of approval authority is determined based on the extended approval authority.

[0124] <Basic computer hardware configuration> 22 is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of a computer 90. The computer 90 includes at least a processor 901, a main memory device 902, an auxiliary memory device 903, and a communication IF 991 (interface), which are electrically connected to one another by a communication bus 921.

[0125] The processor 901 is hardware for executing an instruction set written in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, and the like.

[0126] The main memory device 902 is used to temporarily store programs, data to be processed by the programs, etc. For example, it is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0127] The auxiliary storage device 903 is a storage device for saving data and programs, such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a semiconductor memory.

[0128] The communication IF 991 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals for communicating with other computers via a network using wired or wireless communication standards. The network is composed of the Internet, a LAN, various mobile communication systems constructed by wireless base stations, etc. For example, the network includes 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile communication systems, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) that can connect to the Internet via a predetermined access point. In the case of a wireless connection, communication protocols include, for example, Z-Wave (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), and Bluetooth (registered trademark). In the case of a wired connection, the network also includes a direct connection using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, etc.

[0129] It should be noted that the computer 90 can be virtually realized by distributing all or part of each hardware configuration across multiple computers 90 and interconnecting them via a network. In this way, the computer 90 is a concept that includes not only a computer 90 housed in a single housing or case, but also a virtualized computer system.

[0130] <Basic functional configuration of computer 90> The following describes the functional configuration of a computer realized by the basic hardware configuration (FIG. 22) of the computer 90. The computer includes at least the functional units of a control unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit.

[0131] The functional units of the computer 90 can also be realized by distributing all or part of the functional units among multiple computers 90 interconnected via a network. The computer 90 is a concept that includes not only a single computer 90 but also a virtualized computer system.

[0132] The control unit is realized by the processor 901 reading out various programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 903, expanding them in the main storage device 902, and executing processing in accordance with the programs. The control unit can realize functional units that perform various types of information processing depending on the type of program. In this way, the computer is realized as an information processing device that performs information processing.

[0133] The storage unit is realized by a main storage device 902 and an auxiliary storage device 903. The storage unit stores data, various programs, and various databases. Furthermore, the processor 901 can allocate a storage area corresponding to the storage unit in the main storage device 902 or the auxiliary storage device 903 in accordance with the programs. Furthermore, the control unit can cause the processor 901 to execute processes for adding, updating, and deleting data stored in the storage unit in accordance with the various programs.

[0134] A database refers to a relational database, which manages data sets called masters and tables in a tabular format structurally defined by rows and columns, by relating them to each other. In a database, a table is called a table, a master, a column in a table is called a column, and a row in a table is called a record. In a relational database, relationships between tables and masters can be set and associated. Typically, each table and each master has a column set as a primary key to uniquely identify a record, but setting a primary key to a column is not essential. The control unit can cause the processor 901 to add, delete, or update records in specific tables and masters stored in the storage unit according to various programs.

[0135] Note that the databases and masters in this disclosure may include any data structure in which information is structurally defined (such as a list, dictionary, associative array, or object). The data structure also includes data that can be considered as a data structure by combining data with functions, classes, methods, etc. written in any programming language.

[0136] The communication unit is realized by the communication IF 991. The communication unit realizes a function of communicating with other computers 90 via a network. The communication unit can receive information transmitted from other computers 90 and input the information to the control unit. The control unit can cause the processor 901 to execute information processing on the received information in accordance with various programs. In addition, the communication unit can transmit information output from the control unit to other computers 90.

[0137] <Additional Notes> The matters described in the above embodiments will be supplemented below.

[0138] (Appendix 1) A program having a processor and a memory unit, for causing a computer to execute electronic contract procedures between users, the program causing the processor to execute the following steps: a contract acceptance step (S101) of accepting contract information to be the subject of a contract from a first user; a conditions acceptance step (S503) of accepting one or more delegation conditions from a second user; an approver identification step (S106) of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step based on the delegation conditions accepted in the conditions acceptance step; an approval step (S306) of accepting instructions from the one or more third users identified in the approver identification step to approve the conclusion of the contract for the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step; and an authority granting step (S303) of granting the approval authority held by the second user to the one or more third users identified in the approver identification step. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to a third user specified based on the delegation conditions.

[0139] (Appendix 2) The program described in Appendix 1, wherein the delegation conditions accepted in the condition acceptance step (S503) are conditions in which one or more third users are associated with each of one or more delegation conditions, and the approver identification step (S303) is a step in which, when the contract information corresponds to the delegation conditions, one or more third users associated with the corresponding delegation conditions are identified as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step. This allows the second user to delegate approval authority to a third user associated with each delegation condition, thereby enabling the second user to delegate approval authority to a more appropriate third user.

[0140] (Appendix 3) A program described in Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the delegation conditions accepted in the condition acceptance step (S503) include conditions related to the contract type of the contract information, and the approver identification step (S303) is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step if the contract type of the contract information is a specified contract type. This allows the second user to delegate approval authority to the third user for contract information of a predetermined contract type. The second user can selectively determine whether to delegate approval authority to the third user depending on the contract type of the contract information.

[0141] (Appendix 4) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 3, wherein the delegation conditions accepted in the conditions acceptance step (S503) include conditions regarding the contract amount of the contract information, and the approver identification step (S303) is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step if the contract amount of the contract information is a specified amount. This allows the second user to delegate approval authority to the third user for contract information with a predetermined contract amount. The second user can selectively determine whether to delegate approval authority to the third user depending on the contract amount of the contract information.

[0142] (Appendix 5) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 4, wherein the delegation conditions accepted in the condition acceptance step (S503) include conditions related to date and time, and the approver identification step (S303) is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step if the date and time at which the contract information is accepted in the contract acceptance step is a specified date and time. This allows the second user to delegate approval authority to the third user for contract information received during a specified period. The second user can selectively determine whether to delegate approval authority to the third user depending on the period during which the second user will be unable to approve contract information due to vacation, overseas business trip, etc.

[0143] (Appendix 6) 6. The program according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein the first user is a user belonging to a different group from the second user, and the second user and the third user are users belonging to the same group. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user.

[0144] (Appendix 7) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 6, wherein the approver identification step is a step of identifying multiple third users as approvers of the contract information, and the approval step includes a step of receiving an instruction from one of the multiple third users to approve the contract conclusion of the contract information received in the contract acceptance step, and a step of approving or skipping the contract conclusion of the contract information for the other third users in accordance with the instruction to approve the contract conclusion of the contract information received from the one user. As a result, when multiple third users are specified by the delegation conditions, one third user can approve the contract conclusion, thereby omitting the contract conclusion approval process by the other third users, thereby reducing the workload of the multiple third users.

[0145] (Appendix 8) A program having a processor and a memory unit, for causing a computer to execute electronic contract procedures between users, the program causing the processor to execute the following steps: a contract acceptance step (S101) for accepting, from a first user, contract information to be the subject of a contract conclusion; an approver acceptance step (S304) for accepting, from a second user, information identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step; an approval step (S306) for accepting, from the one or more third users accepted in the approver acceptance step, instructions to approve the conclusion of the contract for the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step; and an authority granting step (S303) for granting the approval authority held by the second user to the one or more third users accepted in the approver acceptance step. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user.

[0146] (Appendix 9) The program described in Appendix 8, wherein the approver receiving step is a step that does not receive information from the third user identified by the approver receiving step that identifies one or more fourth users as approvers of the contract information received in the contract receiving step. This makes it possible to prevent a user who has been granted approval authority from re-delegating the authority to another user, i.e., to prevent approval authority from being granted to a user who is not intended by the approval authority holder.

[0147] (Appendix 10) The contract information is contract information in which information of a second user is specified as a signatory to the contract conclusion, and the program causes the processor to execute a signing step (S306) of adding an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has approved the contract conclusion of the contract information and storing the electronic signature based on an instruction to approve the contract conclusion received in the approval step (S306). This allows the fact that the third user has approved the contract information, which specifies the information of the second user as the signatory, to be stored. Information indicating that the third user has approved can be added as a digital signature without changing the information of the second user specified in the contract information.

[0148] (Appendix 11) The program described in Appendix 10, wherein the signature step (S306) includes a step (S306) of adding an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has been granted approval authority by the second user based on the instruction to approve the contract conclusion received in the approval step, and storing the contract information. As a result, it is stored that the third user has approved the contract information based on the approval authority given by the second user.

[0149] (Appendix 12) 12. An information processing device comprising a processor and a storage unit, the information processing device causing the processor to execute a program according to any one of appendices 1 to 11. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user.

[0150] (Appendix 13) An information processing system including an information processing device having a processor and a memory unit, the information processing system causing the processor to execute a program according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user.

[0151] (Appendix 14) An information processing method executed by a computer having a processor and a storage unit, the information processing method causing the processor to execute a program according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11. This means that if the second user is too busy to complete the contract conclusion procedures, the second user's workload associated with the contract conclusion procedures can be reduced by delegating approval authority to another third user. [Explanation of symbols]

[0152] 1 System, 10 Server, 101 Memory unit, 104 Control unit, 106 Input device, 108 Output device, 20 First user terminal, 201 Memory unit, 204 Control unit, 206 Input device, 208 Output device, 30 Second user terminal, 301 Memory unit, 304 Control unit, 306 Input device, 308 Output device, 40 Third user terminal, 401 Memory unit, 404 Control unit, 406 Input device, 408 Output device

Claims

1. A program for causing a computer to execute an electronic contract procedure between users, the program comprising: a processor; and a storage unit. The program causes the processor to: a contract acceptance step of accepting contract information to be the subject of a contract conclusion from the first user; a condition receiving step of receiving one or more delegation conditions related to the content of the contract information from the second user; an approver specifying step of determining whether the contract information received in the contract receiving step matches the delegation conditions received in the conditions receiving step, and, if it is determined that the contract information matches, specifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information; an approval step of receiving an instruction from the one or more third users identified in the approver identification step to approve the conclusion of the contract for the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step; an authorization granting step of granting the approval authority held by the second user to the one or more third users identified in the approver identifying step.

2. the delegation conditions accepted in the condition accepting step are conditions in which one or more third users are associated with each of the one or more delegation conditions, The program described in claim 1, wherein the approver identification step is a step of, when the contract information corresponds to the delegation conditions, identifying the one or more third users associated with the corresponding delegation conditions as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step.

3. the commission conditions accepted in the conditions accepting step include conditions related to a contract type of the contract information, 3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the approver identification step is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step when the contract type of the contract information is a predetermined contract type.

4. the commission conditions accepted in the conditions acceptance step include conditions related to a contract amount of the contract information, 4. A program according to claim 1, wherein the approver identification step is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step when the contract amount of the contract information is a predetermined amount.

5. The delegation conditions accepted in the condition accepting step include a condition related to a date and time, 5. A program according to claim 1, wherein the approver identification step is a step of identifying one or more third users as approvers of the contract information accepted in the contract acceptance step when the date and time at which the contract information is accepted in the contract acceptance step is a predetermined date and time.

6. The first user is a user who belongs to a different group from the second user, The program according to claim 1 , wherein the second user and the third user belong to the same group.

7. the approver specifying step is a step of specifying a plurality of third users as approvers of the contract information, The approval step includes: receiving, from one of the plurality of third users, an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract of the contract information received in the contract receiving step; a step of approving or skipping the conclusion of the contract information for another third user in response to an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract information received from the first user; The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:

8. The contract information is contract information in which information of the second user is specified as a signatory to the contract, The program causes the processor to: a signing step of adding an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has approved the conclusion of the contract information based on the instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract received in the approval step, and storing the electronic signature; The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which executes the above.

9. the signing step includes a step of adding an electronic signature to the contract information indicating that the third user has been granted approval authority by the second user, based on an instruction to approve the conclusion of the contract received in the approval step, and storing the contract information. The program according to claim 8.

10. An information processing device comprising a processor and a storage unit, the information processing device causing the processor to execute the program according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. An information processing system including an information processing device having a processor and a storage unit, the information processing system causing the processor to execute the program according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. 10. An information processing method executed by a computer including a processor and a storage unit, the information processing method comprising causing the processor to execute the program according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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