INVOICING SYSTEM
A method to facilitate invoicing for transactions established utilizing a network-based transaction system includes supporting establishment of transactions between a plurality of entities in the network-based transaction system, and identifying as part of an invoice generation process, a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party. The method further includes identifying first and second transactions from the plurality of transactions that satisfy combinable criteria, and generating an invoice for at least the first and second transactions that satisfy the combinable criteria. The method can also be implemented in a system and on a machine-readable medium.
1 . A computerized method to facilitate invoicing for transactions established using a network-based transaction system, the method including:
supporting, by a server machine, establishment of transactions between a plurality of entities in the network-based transaction system;
identifying, with the server machine, as part of an invoice generation process, a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party;
identifying, with the server machine, first and second transactions from the plurality of transactions that satisfy combinable criteria; and
generating, with the server machine, an invoice for at least the first and second transactions that satisfy the combinable criteria.
2 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the first entity is a seller, and the identification of the plurality of transactions is performed responsive to an initiation of the invoice generation process by a second entity.
3 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the first entity is a buyer, and the identification of the plurality of transactions is performed as part of a payment process.
4 . The computerized method of claim 3 , wherein:
the identification of the plurality of transactions is performed responsive to the buyer initiating the payment process in connection with the first transaction; and
the method includes identifying a third transaction involving the buyer that is combinable with one or more of the first transaction and the second transaction based on the combinable criteria.
5 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes determining that a seller agreed to combinability of transactions involving the seller.
6 . The computerized method of claim 5 , wherein the determining includes retrieving seller-defined preferences with respect to the combinability of transactions involving the seller.
7 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes identifying each of the first and second transactions as being between a common buyer and a common seller.
8 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes identifying each of the first and second transactions as having been established in terms of a common currency.
9 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the supporting of the establishment of the first and second transactions between the plurality of entities is performed at a plurality of network-based transaction systems.
10 . The computerized method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of network-based transaction systems includes a plurality of geographically customized network-based transaction systems.
11 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions to which the first entity is a party includes identifying the first and second transactions as having been concluded within a predetermined time period.
12 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting the first and second transactions to the first entity as being combinable; and
prompting the first entity for confirmation regarding an inclusion of the first and second transactions in the invoice.
13 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions comprises:
presenting to the first entity a list of unpaid transactions selected from the first and second transactions; and
receiving data identifying a selection by the first entity of one or more transactions from the list for the invoice.
14 . The computerized method of claim 13 , wherein the list of unpaid transactions comprises one or more subsets of combinable transactions, each of the one or more subsets being associated with the first entity and a buyer.
15 . The computerized method of claim 14 , wherein the invoice includes one or more subsets of combinable transactions and one or more independent transactions.
16 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the network-based transaction system comprises a network-based marketplace.
17 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying the first and second transactions comprises displaying on a client machine the first and second transactions with an indicator of combinability.
18 . The computerized method of claim 17 , wherein the indicator of combinability is an icon.
19 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying the first and second transactions comprises providing, by the server machine, a filter for combinable transactions; and displaying on a client machine the first and second transactions in response to a selection of the filter for combinable transactions by the first entity.
20 . The computerized method of claim 1 , comprising providing a discount to the first entity when the first entity agrees to combine transactions that satisfy combinable criteria.
21 . The computerized method of claim 1 , comprising providing to the first entity an indication of savings resulting from combining the transactions.
22 . A system to facilitate invoicing for transactions established using a network-based transaction system, the system including:
a server to support establishment of transactions between a plurality of entities; and
a server to identify, as part of an invoice generation process, a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party, to identify first and second transactions from the plurality of transactions that satisfy combinable criteria, and to generate an invoice for at least one of the first and second transactions that satisfy the combinable criteria.
23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes determining whether a seller agreed to combinability of transactions involving the seller.
24 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes identifying each of the first and second transactions as being between a common buyer and a common seller.
25 . The system of claim 22 , comprising:
a server to present the first and second transactions to the first entity as being combinable; and
a server to prompt the first entity for confirmation regarding an inclusion of the first and second transactions in the invoice.
26 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the network-based transaction system comprises a network-based marketplace.
27 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions comprises providing, by a server, a filter for combinable transactions; and displaying on a client machine the first and second transactions in response to a selection of the filter for combinable transactions by the first entity.
28 . The system of claim 22 , comprising a server to provide a discount to the first entity when the first entity agrees to combine transactions that satisfy combinable criteria.
29 . The system of claim 22 , comprising a server to provide to the first entity an indication of savings resulting from combining the transactions.
30 . A tangible machine-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method to facilitate invoicing for transactions established utilizing a network-based transaction system, the method including:
supporting establishment of transactions between a plurality of entities in the network-based transaction system;
identifying, as part of an invoice generation process, a plurality of transactions to which a first entity is a party;
identifying first and second transactions that satisfy combinable criteria; and
generating an invoice for at least the first and second transactions that satisfy the combinable criteria.
31 . The machine-readable medium of claim 30 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes determining whether a seller agreed to combinability of transactions involving the seller.
32 . The machine-readable medium of claim 30 , wherein the identification of the first and second transactions includes identifying each of the first and second transactions as being between a common buyer and a common seller.
33 . The machine readable medium of claim 30 , comprising instructions for:
presenting the first and second transactions to the first entity as being combinable; and
prompting the first entity for confirmation regarding an inclusion of the first and second transactions in the invoice.
34 . The machine readable medium of claim 30 , wherein the network-based transaction system comprises a network-based marketplace.
35 . The machine readable medium of claim 30 , wherein the identifying the first and second transactions comprises providing, by the server machine, a filter for combinable transactions; and displaying on a client machine the first and second transactions in response to a selection of the filter for combinable transactions by the first entity.
36 . The machine readable medium of claim 30 , comprising instructions for providing a discount to the first entity when the first entity agrees to combine transactions that satisfy combinable criteria.
37 . The machine readable medium of claim 30 , comprising instructions for providing to the first entity an indication of savings resulting from combining the transactions.