Method and software application and system for automated bill processing

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for processing one or more bills of a biller. Methods and systems may present a request to pay one or more of a set of one or more bills in total or in part on a site of a computer network, A selection of the one or more bills from a customer may be received, said selection responding to said request via said site. Method and system may generate an electronic advice of settlement of the selected bills comprising an ID, and present the electronic advice of settlement and/or the ID to the customer or to a payment service provider.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for processing one or more bills of a biller, comprising:
 presenting, to a customer, a request to pay one or more of a set of one or more bills in total or in part on a site of a computer network;   receiving from the customer, by at least one processor, a selection of the one or more bills, said selection responding to said request via said site;   generating, by the at least one processor, an electronic advice of settlement, wherein the electronic advice of settlement comprises a list of the selected bills and a payment amount for each of the selected bills;   generating, by the at least one processor, an identifier of the electronic advice of settlement;   presenting, prior to settlement of the selected bills, the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement to the customer for inclusion with a payment order; and   receiving, from the customer, the payment order comprising the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing editable data fields via the site.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 generating the advice of settlement on the basis of bills amended using the editable data fields.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the payment, referenced by the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting one or more payment service providers for selection by the customer.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the payment order is received by a payment service provider from the customer. 
     
     
         7 . A computer system for processing one or more bills of a biller, comprising:
 a memory having program instructions;   input means for receiving and entering data;   output means for sending and presenting data;   storage means for storing data; and   a processor responsive to the program instructions to:   present, to a customer, a request to pay one or more of a set of one or more bills in total or in part on a site of a computer network,   receive from the customer, a selection of the one or more bills, said selection responding to said request via said site,   generate, by the biller, in response to the selection, an electronic advice of settlement, wherein the electronic advice of settlement comprises a list of the selected bills and a payment amount for each of the selected bills;   generate, by the biller, an identifier of the electronic advice of settlement;   present, prior to settlement of the selected bills, the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement to the customer for inclusion with a payment order; and   receive, from the customer, the payment order comprising the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement.   
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the site includes editable data fields. 
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is responsive to instructions to generate the advice of settlement on the basis of bills amended using the editable data fields. 
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the processor is responsive to instructions to receive the payment, referenced by the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 presenting one or more payment service providers for selection by the customer.   
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the payment order is received by a payment service provider from the customer. 
     
     
         13 . A computer readable medium comprising executable instructions for processing one or more bills of a biller, the instructions, when executed by a computer system, causing the computer system to:
 present, to the customer, a request to pay one or more of a set of one or more bills in total or in part on a site of a computer network;   receive from the customer a selection of the one or more bills from the customer, said selection responding to said request via said site;   generate, by the biller, in response to the selection, an electronic advice of settlement, wherein the electronic advice of settlement comprises a list of the selected bills and a payment amount for each of the selected bills;   generate, by the biller, an identifier of the electronic advice of settlement;   present, prior to settlement of the selected bills, the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement to the customer for inclusion with a payment order; and   receive, from the customer, the payment order comprising the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement.   
     
     
         14 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the computer system to provide editable data fields in the site. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions cause the computer system to generate the advice of settlement on the basis of bills amended using the editable data fields. 
     
     
         16 . The computer readable medium of one or more of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the computer system to receive the payment, referenced by the identifier of the electronic advice of settlement. 
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of one or more of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions cause the computer system to present one or more payment service providers for selection by the customer. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the payment order is received by a payment service provider from the customer.