Expense Reporting Suggestion Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing expense reporting systems are inefficient and error-prone, as they rely on inexperienced users to manually input data, leading to errors that require extensive backend editing.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and apparatus that presents data entry suggestions on a graphical user interface, prioritizing journey-specific suggestions over generic ones, to facilitate accurate and efficient self-reporting of expenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fully automated expense reporting software is used, then effort upfront is saved, but errors in expense reports increase requiring extensive backend editing
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to automatically generate expense reports by connecting to their corporate cards and bank accounts, allowing the system to self-populate expense data without manual intervention. This maintains ease of operation while improving accuracy through automated data capture from reliable sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual data entry mechanisms with automated electronic data capture systems that directly interface with corporate cards and bank accounts. This substitution eliminates human error in data transcription while maintaining user-friendly operation through automated processes.
2Reliability
If inexperienced users manually input expense data, then data entry effort increases, but errors decrease compared to fully automated systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically capturing expense data from corporate cards and bank accounts, eliminating the need for users to manually input data. This resolves the contradiction by providing both high accuracy through automated capture and high productivity through elimination of manual entry time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-capturing transaction data from corporate cards and bank accounts before the user needs to file expenses. This advance data collection ensures accuracy is established upfront while reducing the time required for actual expense report completion.
3Reliability
If paper forms are used for expense reporting, then manual effort is required, but error rates are lower with experienced individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical paper form system with an electronic automated system that captures data directly from corporate cards and bank accounts. This substitution maintains reliability by using accurate electronic data sources while dramatically improving ease of operation by eliminating manual data entry and paper handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates electronic copies of expense data directly from corporate card transactions and bank account records, replacing the need for manual copying from paper receipts to forms. This maintains accuracy by preserving original transaction data while improving ease of operation through automated electronic capture.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described, including obtaining user journey information based on a combination of electronic scheduling data, location-based data, image capture data, or motion sensing data; formulating a journey-specific suggestion based on the obtained user journey information, the journey-specific suggestion being indicative of a recent journey taken by the user; formulating a user-specific suggestion based on the obtained journey information; formulating a generic suggestion irrespective of the user journey information; receiving input for a computing device, the received input including selection of a control element on a user interface displayed on the computing device and textual input for the selected control element; and in response to the received input, causing prioritized display of a plurality of suggestions as input for the selected control element such that the journey-specific suggestion is prioritized over the user-specific suggestion, which is prioritized over the generic suggestion.


