Electronic Billing with required viewing of supplemental information

A method for presenting billing information via a network, comprising:

• transmitting, via the network and to a network user, a first message, the first message indicating availability of detailed billing information and availability of supplemental information, and including a hyper-link to only the supplemental information;
• receiving a second message via the network, the second message indicating an accessing of the supplemental information by the network user;
• and
• transmitting, via the network and to the network user and only after receipt of the second message, a third message including a hyper-link to the detailed billing information.

A method for distributing bill related information via a network, comprising:

• receiving a first information identifier and a second information identifier, the first information identifier associated with first bill related information and the second information identifier associated with second bill related information, the first bill related information and the second bill related information each associated with a bill of a network user;
• storing the received first information identifier and the received second information identifier;
• processing the received first information identifier and second information identifier to select a mode of operation;
• if a first mode is selected, transmitting together, to the network user via the network, a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information and the first information identifier;
• and
• if a second mode is selected, transmitting to the network user, via the network, a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information, the first information identifier, and the second information identifier.

A system for presenting billing information via a network, comprising:

• a first network station configured to transmit a first information identifier and a second information identifier, the first information identifier associated with first information and the second information identifier associated with second information, the first information and the second information each associated with a network user;
• a second network station configured to 1) store the received first information identifier and the received second information identifier, 2) transmit the first information identifier and a notice of availability of the first information and the second information to the network user, and 3) transmit the second information identifier to the network user;
• and
• a third network station configured to 1) process the transmitted first information identifier to access the first information, and 2) process the transmitted second information identifier to access the second information;
• wherein the second network station is further configured to transmit the second information identifier to the network user only after the network user requests access to the first information.

A system for presenting billing information via a network, comprising:

• a communications port for transmitting and receiving information via a network;
• a memory configured to store a first hyper-link to detailed billing information and a second hyper-link to supplemental information, the detailed billing information and the billing information each associated with a bill of a network user;
• and
• a processor configured to 1) cause the communications port to transmit, to the network user, a first message, the first message indicating availability of the detailed billing information and the availability of the supplemental information and including the hyper-link to the supplemental information, 2) receive a second message via the communications port, the second message indicating an accessing of the supplemental information by the network user, and 3) cause the communications port to transmit, to the network user and only after receipt of the second message, a third message, the third message including the hyper-link to the detailed billing information.

A system for distributing bill related information, comprising:

• a communications port configured to receive and to transmit information via a network;
• a memory configured to store a first information identifier and a second information identifier, each received via the communications port, the first information identifier associated with first bill related information and the second information identifier associated with second bill related information, the first bill related information and the second bill related information each associated with a bill of a network user;
• a processor in communication with the communications port and the memory and configured to process the first information identifier and the second information identifier to select a mode of operation;
• wherein the processor is further configured to cause the communications port to transmit together, to the network user, the first information identifier and a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information if a first mode is selected;
• wherein the processor is further configured to cause the communications port to transmit together, to the network user, a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information, the first information identifier, and the second information identifier.

An article of manufacture for presenting information via a network, comprising:

• a computer readable medium;
• and
• computer programming stored on the medium;
• wherein the stored computer programming is configured to be readable from the computer readable medium by a computer to thereby cause the computer to operate so as to:
• receive a first information identifier and a second information identifier, the first information identifier associated with first information and the second information identifier associated with second information, the first information and the second information each associated with a network user;
• store the received first information identifier and the received second information identifier;
• transmit together, via the network, a notice of availability of the first information and the second information and the first information identifier to the network user;
• transmit, via the network, the second information identifier to the network user only after the network user requests access to the first information.

An article of manufacture for presenting billing information via a network, comprising:

• a computer readable medium;
• and
• computer programming stored on the medium;
• wherein the stored computer programming is configured to be readable from the computer readable medium by a computer to thereby cause the computer to operate so as to:
• transmit, via the network and to a network user, a first message, the first message indicating availability of detailed billing information and availability of supplemental information, and including a hyper-link to only the supplemental billing information;
• receive a second message via the network, the second message indicating an accessing of the supplemental information by the network user;
• and
• transmit, via the network and to the network user and only after receipt of the second message, a third message including a hyper-link to the detailed billing information.

An article of manufacture for distributing bill related information via a network, comprising:

• a computer readable medium;
• and
• computer programming stored on the medium;
• wherein the stored computer programming is configured to be readable from the computer readable medium by a computer to thereby cause the computer to operate so as to:
• receive a first information identifier and a second information identifier, the first information identifier associated with first bill related information and the second information identifier associated with second bill related information, the first bill related information and the second bill related information each associated with a bill of a network user;
• store the received first information identifier and the received second information identifier;
• process the received first information identifier and second information identifier to select a mode of operation;
• if a first mode is selected, transmit to the network user, via the network, a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information and the first information identifier;
• and
• if a second mode is selected, transmit to the network user, via the network, a notice of availability of the first bill related information and the second bill related information, the first information identifier, and the second information identifier.