# US 2019/0244263 A1 · System and Method for Real-Time Integrated Credit Card Management > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0244263 A1 - Document ID: US20190244263A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/271,611 - Filed: 2019-02-08 - Published: 2019-08-08 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-08 - Assignees: Blackbaud, Inc. - Applicants: Blackbaud, Inc. - Inventors: Deborah Nelson; David Vroblesky; Nicole Guernsey; Julia Petit; David Epner; Stephen Boyle; Beth Kesser; Gautam Chawla; Rakesh Garg; Thomas Walker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190244263A1 ## CPC - G06Q 30/04: Billing or invoicing - G06F 3/04847: Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials - 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 - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A method and system for managing a plurality of credit card transactions within an integrated accounting environment. Embodiments of the present disclosure enable integration between financial institutions, organizational accounting systems, and disparate user workflows to overcome deficiencies of the prior art. Specific embodiments enable tracking of credit card charges, credits, and payments directly within an accounts payable interface, enabling the ability to view activity on the credit card account record, register, and vendor record. Methods and systems are operable to establish a real-time data transfer protocol between a financial institution and an organizational accounting application to integrate transaction data in real-time, define vendor association for transactions, and create a real-time credit card register to drive decision making across disparate user roles. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computerized method for managing a plurality of credit card transactions, the method comprising: inputting, with at least one input/output device operably engaged with a graphical user interface being configured to communicate data to at least one application database, a plurality of credentials associated with one or more credit card accounts; establishing, with an application server executing an application programming interface, a communications interface between at least one financial institution database and the at least one application database, the at least one financial institution database being associated with the one or more credit card accounts; communicating in real-time, via the application server executing the application programming interface, credit card transaction data from the at least one financial institution database to the at least one application database; storing the credit card transaction data in the at least one application database, the at least one application database being integrated with at least one financial accounting application, the at least one financial accounting application being operable to configure a plurality of accounts payable parameters within the at least one application database, and communicate accounts payable data to the at least one application database; and, displaying, via a graphical user interface, an integrated view of the credit card transaction data, the accounts payable data according to the accounts payable parameters, and a vendor record. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing, with the at least one application server, a container in the application database, the container comprising the vendor record, a credit card account record, and a credit card register. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 further comprising processing, via the application server, the credit card transaction data from the at least one financial institution database to establish a vendor association with an individual transaction in the credit card transaction data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3 further comprising storing, in the application database, the individual transaction in the container. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 further comprising generating an invoice, via the financial accounting application, by querying the container to retrieve the individual transaction, and applying the individual transaction to one or more distribution sets. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more distribution sets comprise account distribution, project distribution, and grant distribution. ### Claim 7 A computerized system for integrated credit card management within a computerized financial accounting application comprising: an application server comprising an application database, the application server being communicably engaged with at least one financial institution server over a communications network, the application server comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory device operable to cause the processor to perform one or more operations, the one or more operations comprising: configuring a plurality of credit card account parameters being associated with a plurality of credit card accounts within a graphical user interface; configuring a plurality of credit card management parameters within the graphical user interface, the plurality of credit card management parameters defining at least one distribution set, at least one vendor record, and at least one credit card register; establishing, for each credit card account within the plurality of credit card accounts, a data transfer interface with the at least one financial institution server; configuring a plurality of containers in the application database, each container in the plurality of containers being associated with at least one credit card account in the plurality of credit card accounts, and the plurality of credit card management parameters; initiating a data transfer protocol with the financial institution server to receive a plurality of credit card transaction data; storing the plurality of credit card transaction data within the plurality of containers in the application database; assigning, in the application database, an attribute to each credit card transaction in the plurality of credit card transaction data, the attribute being associated with at least one credit card management parameter in the plurality of credit card management parameters; associating the plurality of credit card transaction data with the at least one vendor record; and, generating an invoice associated with the plurality of credit card transaction data according to the at least one distribution set and the at least one vendor record. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7 further comprising unassigning, in the application database, the attribute from a credit card transaction in the plurality of credit card transaction data. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7 further comprising generating a vendor activity record according to the attribute from each credit card transaction in the plurality of credit card transaction data. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7 further comprising generating an accounts payable workflow within an accounts payable module according to the plurality of credit card management parameters. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7 further comprising processing a transaction receipt associated with a credit card transaction. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11 further comprising storing transaction data associated with the transaction receipt in the application database. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9 wherein the vendor activity record is updated in real-time in response to the data transfer protocol with the financial institution server. ### Claim 14 A computerized system for integrated credit card management within a computerized financial accounting application comprising: an application server comprising an application database, the application server being communicably engaged with at least one financial institution server over a communications network, the application server comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory device operable to cause the processor to perform one or more operations, the one or more operations comprising: providing a graphical user interface for a plurality of user modules comprising a cardholder module, an approver module, a department administrator module, and an accounts payable module; configuring, within the cardholder module, a plurality of credit card account parameters being associated with a plurality of credit card accounts; establishing, for each credit card account within the plurality of credit card accounts, a data transfer interface with the at least one financial institution server; configuring, within the approver module, a plurality of credit card management parameters being associated with a plurality of credit card accounts, the plurality of credit card management parameters comprising one or more attributes, the one or more attributes comprising vendor attributes and distribution set attributes; configuring a plurality of containers in the application database, each container in the plurality of containers being associated with at least one credit card account in the plurality of credit card accounts, and the plurality of credit card management parameters; initiating a data transfer protocol with the financial institution server to receive a plurality of credit card transaction data; assigning, within the cardholder module, the one or more attributes to one or more credit card transaction within the plurality of transaction data; approving, within the department administrator module, the one or more attributes assigned to the one or more credit card transaction within the plurality of transaction data; storing the one or more attributes in the plurality of containers in the application database; and, providing, within the accounts payable module, a reporting interface comprising one or more real-time budget controls, vendor spending reports, and real-time transaction reports. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 wherein the initiating the data transfer protocol with the financial institution server is initiated within the accounts payable module. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 further comprising generating, within the accounts payable module, an invoice comprising the plurality of credit card transaction data and the plurality of credit card management parameters. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16 wherein the plurality of credit card management parameters comprise a grant distribution project. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16 wherein the plurality of credit card management parameters comprise a project distribution parameter. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16 wherein the plurality of credit card management parameters comprise an account distribution parameter. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 wherein the plurality of credit card management parameters comprise a vendor account.