Automated Remittance Reconciliation via Format Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of reconciling electronic payments and handling exceptions in the process, such as errors in payment amounts or non-standard remittance data formats, poses a challenge in automating the matching of payments with outstanding receivables.
Innovation Solution
A payer profile and a matching engine are used to programmatically reconcile electronic receivables by matching payment data and remittance data, with customizable rules and a user interface for handling exceptions, allowing for manual corrections and format conversions to ensure accurate matching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated matching of electronic payments with outstanding receivables is implemented, then processing efficiency is improved, but complexity of handling exceptions and errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that includes a payer profile database and a matching engine. The matching engine acts as a mediator between incoming electronic payments and outstanding receivables, automatically matching payments to invoices using payer profiles stored in the database. This intermediary structure handles the complexity of reconciliation internally, allowing automated processing without requiring manual intervention for each transaction, thus resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and increased complexity.
2Reliability
If manual correction and format conversion capabilities are added to handle non-standard remittance data, then reliability of matching is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining a payer profile database that stores standardized payment format information for different payers in advance. When a payment is received, the system queries this pre-established database to retrieve the appropriate format specifications. This preliminary preparation allows the system to automatically handle non-standard formats through format conversion based on pre-defined rules, improving matching reliability without adding complex real-time decision-making logic, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, a computing system receives a first electronic remittance corresponding to a first electronic payment to a payee. The system determines that the first remittance is in a first, unrecognized format, and responsively presents, to the payee, a user interface for matching electronic remittances to electronic payments. The system receives, via the user interface, field-mapping information between the first format and a second, recognized format. The system receives a second electronic remittance corresponding to a second electronic payment directed to the payee, determines that the second remittance is in the first format, and responsively uses the field-mapping information to convert the second remittance to the second format. The system matches the converted remittance to the second payment, and provides, to the payee, a payment file that indicates a match between the second remittance and the second payment.