Transaction Payables Processing System and Approach

A method for electronically processing transactions involving buyers and sellers using, for each transaction, electronic profile data that is appropriate to each buyer/seller pairing and a contract data set defined as a function of the buyer and a predefined business relationship between the buyer and at least one seller, the method comprising:

• processing electronic transactions according to the stored contract data sets and profile data, by
• for each transaction involving a buyer and at least one seller, auditing transaction data using a stored contract data set for the transaction, and generating computer-readable audit data characterizing the audit,
• financing and processing electronic payment to a seller financial institution in response to generated audit data indicating that payment to the seller is appropriate for at least one transaction involving the seller and a buyer, and
• assessing a transaction processing fee, for each seller to which electronic payment is made, by generating computer-readable fee data that associates the fee and a fee amount with a seller for which the fee data is generated.

A transaction-based computer processing arrangement for processing payable funds for transactions between buyers and sellers, wherein at least one of a buyer and seller in each transaction transacts with a system administrator to process a payment account for the at least one of a buyer and seller, the computer processing arrangement being independent from the buyers and sellers and configured and arranged to:

• for each of a plurality of seller invoice data sets,
• associate the seller invoice data set with a transaction involving a buyer and seller using predefined contract data for a contract between the buyer and the seller,
• audit the associated invoice data set using the predefined contract data and audit data specified by the buyer in the transaction, and
• generate computer-readable audit data characterizing the audit;
• for each buyer, process electronic payment to sellers' financial institutions in response to generated audit data indicating that payment to a seller is appropriate for at least one invoice data set for the seller;
• and
• assess a transaction processing fee for each processed electronic payment by generating computer-readable fee data that associates the assessed fee and fee amount with a seller for which the electronic payment is generated.