# US 2018/0322547 A1 · Enhanced invitation process for electronic billing and payment system

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- Number: US 2018/0322547 A1
- Document ID: US20180322547A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/031,833
- Filed: 2018-07-10
- Published: 2018-11-08
- Earliest claimed: 2008-01-31
- Assignees: Bill.com, Inc.
- Applicants: Bill.com, Inc.
- Inventors: René Lacerte; Mark Orttung; Eric Chan; Robert S. Lam
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180322547A1

## CPC

- G06Q 30/04: Billing or invoicing
- G06Q 20/04: Payment circuits
- G06Q 20/042: {characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque}
- G06Q 20/10: specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
- G06Q 20/102: {Bill distribution or payments}
- G06Q 20/14: specially adapted for billing systems
- G06Q 40/00: Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
- G06Q 40/02: Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance (credit or loans G06Q40/03)
- G06Q 40/10: Tax strategies
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

Enhanced systems and methods for processing invoices, payments, and money transfers are described. One aspect of the invention is a computer-implemented method (and corresponding system and computer program product) for inviting an entity to open an account at a billing and payment system, the method comprising: issuing a check payable to the entity, wherein a checkbox for opening an account at the billing and payment system is printed on an endorsement section of the check along with a reference to additional information regarding additional information related to the account opening; receiving an image of the endorsement section of the check after the check is cleared; determining whether the checkbox is checked in the image; and responsive to a determination that the checkbox is checked, opening an account for the entity at the billing and payment system.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer-implemented method for inviting an entity to open an account at a billing and payment system, the method comprising:
issuing, by a computing device of the billing and payment system, a check payable to the entity, wherein issuing the check includes sending instructions to print, by a printing device, a checkbox for opening an account at the billing and payment system on an endorsement section of the check;
receiving, by the computing device over a network, an image of the endorsement section of the check after the check is cleared;
in response to the receiving of the image, automatically analyzing the received image via an image recognition component of the computing device to determine whether the checkbox is checked in the image; and
responsive to a determination that the checkbox is checked, automatically causing the billing and payment system to open an account for the entity, wherein a service of the billing and payment system is accessible based in part on the opening of the account.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the endorsement section further comprises a line for the entity to provide an address of the entity, and the method further comprises:
recognizing the address provided by the entity along the line in the image of the endorsement section of the check; and
sending a message to the recognized address regarding opening the account for the entity at the billing and payment system.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions to print further comprise printing a reference to additional information related to the account opening, the reference to additional information comprising a Uniform Resource Locator associated with a web page.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the received image is further analyzed via the image recognition component of the computing device to determine whether the endorsement section comprises a signature for the entity.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the check is issued on behalf of a second entity, and the entity can receive subsequent electronic payments from the second entity through the opened account.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises determining deposit information for the entity from the endorsement section of the received image.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining, by the computing device, whether the entity is a non-user of the billing and payment system.

### Claim 8

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with executable computer program code for inviting an entity to open an account at a billing and payment system that, when executed by a computing device associated with the billing and payment system, the computer program code comprising code for:
issuing instructions to print a check payable to the entity, wherein the instructions to print the check comprise an instruction to print, by a printing device, a checkbox for opening an account at the billing and payment system on an endorsement section of the check;
receiving an image of the endorsement section of the check over a network after the check is cleared;
in response to receiving the image, automatically analyzing the received image via an image recognition component of the computing device to determine whether the checkbox is checked in the image; and
responsive to a determination that the checkbox is checked, automatically opening an account for the entity with the billing and payment system, wherein a service of the billing and payment system is accessible based in part on the opening of the account.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the endorsement section further comprises a line for the entity to provide an address of the entity, and the computer program code further comprises program code for:
recognizing the address provided by the entity along the line in the image of the endorsement section of the check; and
sending a message to the recognized address regarding opening the account for the entity at the billing and payment system.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions to print further comprise printing a reference to additional information related to the account opening, the reference to additional information comprising a Uniform Resource Locator associated with a web page.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the received image is further analyzed via the image recognition component of the computing device to determine whether the endorsement section comprises a signature for the entity.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the check is issued on behalf of a second entity, and the entity can receive subsequent electronic payments from the second entity through the opened account.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the executable computer program code further comprises determining deposit information from the endorsement section of the received image.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The storage medium of claim 8, further comprising automatically determining whether the entity is a non-user of the billing and payment system.

### Claim 15

A computer system for inviting an entity to open an account at a billing and payment system, the computer system associated with the billing and payment system and comprising:
a processor; and
memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the computer system to:
issue instructions to print a check payable to the entity, wherein the instructions to print the check comprise an instruction to print, by a printing device, a checkbox for opening an account at the billing and payment system on an endorsement section of the check;
receive, via a network, an image of the endorsement section of the check after the check is cleared;
in response to receiving the image, automatically analyze the received image via an image recognition component of the computer system to determine whether the checkbox is checked in the image; and
responsive to a determination that the checkbox is checked, automatically open an account for the entity with the billing and payment system, wherein a service of the billing and payment system is accessible based in part on the opening of the account.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, wherein the endorsement section further comprises a line for the entity to provide an address of the entity, and the memory further includes instructions which when executed cause the processor to
recognize the address provided by the entity along the line in the image of the endorsement section of the check; and
send a message to the recognized address regarding opening the account for the entity at the billing and payment system.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The computer system of claim 16, wherein the instructions to print further comprise printing a reference to additional information related to the account opening, the reference to additional information comprising a Uniform Resource Locator associated with a web page.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, wherein the received image is further analyzed via the image recognition component to determine whether the endorsement section comprises a signature for the entity.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, wherein the check is issued on behalf of a second entity, and the entity can receive subsequent electronic payments from the second entity through the opened account.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, memory further includes instructions which when executed cause the processor to automatically determine whether the entity is a non-user of the billing and payment system.