Parcel manager for distributed electronic billing system
A parcel management system is provided to reliably transfer parcels from one computer to another and track the parcels as they are transferred. The parcel management system is implemented in a distributed electronic billing system in which billers submit billing data to a service center and the service center generates billing statements from the billing data and electronically distributes the billing statements to consumers on behalf of the biller. The electronic billing system includes a biller integration system resident at each of the billers. The biller integration system is a set of software tools that integrate with the biller's existing billing and accounting systems. The biller integration system sends the billing data and a statement template to the billing service center, where they are stored. The service center generates customized billing statements by inserting the data into the template and distributing the billing statements electronically to consumers. The biller integration system and service center are each equipped with a gateway to facilitate the exchange of the statement template, the billing data, resources, and rules. Each gateway has a parcel manager to reliably transfer parcels and track the parcels as they go from one computer at the biller to another computer at the service center. Through this parcel handling and monitoring system, the biller integration system keeps the biller informed as to the location and status of the statement templates, the billing data, any forthcoming payments, and so forth.
1 . A biller integration system, which interfaces with an existing billing system of a biller, comprising:
a translator to convert billing data from the biller's existing billing system to a particular format;
a statement designer to create a statement template for visually presenting the billing information in a customized arrangement that is determined by a biller;
a gateway to facilitate transfer of the statement template and the billing data to a billing service center and to monitor status of the statement templates and the billing data as they are transferred; and
a parcel manager implemented as part of the gateway, the parcel manager:
creating a parcel to carry the statement templates and billing data, wherein the created parcel is particularized to contain and carry a particular type of data; and
generating notifications to provide the status of the parcel as it is transferred.
2 . A biller integration system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the parcel manager tracks status of the parcel after transfer is complete.
3 . A biller integration system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a management console that supports a user interface (UI), the management console interfacing with the gateway to present the status of the parcel as it is transferred.
4 . A biller integration system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a parcel database to store information on the parcel.
5 . A biller integration system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the translator, the statement designer, the gateway, and the parcel manager are embodied as software modules stored on a computer-readable medium.
6 . The parcel manager as recited in claim 1 , wherein the particular type of data is batch statement data.
7 . The parcel manager as recited in claim 1 , wherein the particular type of data is selected from the group consisting of consumer information data, payment data, batch statement data, and statement template data.