US-12626284-B1 - Merchant invoicing and customer relationship tracking system

US12626284B1US 12626284 B1US12626284 B1US 12626284B1US-12626284-B1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system, method, and apparatus for managing orders and invoices among customers of a retail merchant. The system allows a first customer to establish trusted links with one or more associated fellow customers, thereby authorizing the fellow customers to add purchases to the first customer's invoice. This allows a primary customer to purchase items for a secondary customer under tightly controlled and well communicated conditions, without extra work from the merchant. The system also uses location aware services on customer's smartphones to provide data that enhances the customers' experiences, by triggering prompts to open and close and invoice. The system also uses location aware services to determine which other customers may be in a related party together.

Inventors

Ravi Durairaj
Ryan Thomas Russell
Ashley Raine Philbrick
Carlos JP Chavez
Stacy Callaway Huggar
Quian Antony Jones
Janelle Denice Dziuk
Yevgeniy Viatcheslavovich Khmelev
Sumita T. Jonak

Assignees

UIPCO, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220822

Claims (8)

1 . A system for managing orders and invoicing among multiple customers, comprising: a mobile computing device, associated with a primary customer, at least one point of sale device in electronic communication with the mobile computing device, the point of sale including a processor, a cash register, and a wi-fi network adaptor for engaging in electronic communication with the mobile computing device over a local wi-fi network; and wherein the point of sale device is configured to perform the steps of: receiving entrance location data over the wi-fi network from the mobile computing device that is associated with the primary customer, indicating that the primary customer has entered a geographical location of a merchant, the entrance location data having been generated by the mobile computing device using GPS technology based on a geographic location of the mobile computing device; sending over the wi-fi network a check-in electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the check-in electronic prompt requesting whether the primary customer wishes to start an open invoice with the merchant at the point of sale device including the cash register; creating an open invoice for the primary customer based on an input received in response to the check-in electronic prompt; receiving over the wi-fi network first inside location data from the primary customer indicating a location of the primary customer inside the geographical location of the merchant; receiving over the wi-fi network second inside location data from at least one third party customer indicating a location of the at least one third party customer inside the geographical location of the merchant; identifying whether the at least one third party customer is likely to be a secondary customer associated with the primary customer, by comparing the first inside location data with the second inside location data and determining whether the first inside location data and the second inside location data are within a threshold distance; sending over the wi-fi network a party confirmation electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the party confirmation electronic prompt requesting confirmation that at least one secondary customer identified within the threshold distance is associated with the primary customer, and is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; sending over the wi-fi network an authorization electronic notification to a secondary mobile computing device associated with the at least one secondary customer indicating that the at least one secondary customer is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; receiving an order from a secondary customer, and adding the order to the primary customer's open invoice; computing an open invoice total purchase price; receiving over the wi-fi network exit location data from the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer indicating that the primary customer has exited the geographical location of the merchant, the exit location data having been generated by the mobile computing device using GPS technology based on a geographic location of the mobile computing device; sending over the wi-fi network a check-out electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the check-out electronic prompt requesting that the primary customer confirm that the open invoice has been closed and paid.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein: the check-out electronic prompt further includes a payment option that enables the primary customer to pay the open invoice total purchase price to the merchant; and the point of sale device is further configured to: store information associated with at least two payment methods; recall the stored payment method information in response to the check-out electronic prompt, and provide a recommendation to the primary customer regarding which of the at least two payment methods should be used to pay the open invoice total purchase price to the merchant, the recommendation being based on at least one of: a merchant discount available, a reward associated with a payment method, and a coupon offered by a party other than the merchant.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point of sale device is further configured to: send an order confirmation electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer each time the point of sale device receives an order from the secondary customer, the order confirmation electronic prompt prompting the primary customer to accept or deny whether the order made by the secondary customer will be placed on the primary customer's open invoice.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point of sale device is further configured to: generate and send to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer a digital token, the digital token including one or more criteria by which to automatically accept or deny whether the order made by the secondary customer will be placed on the primary customer's open invoice.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point of sale device is further configured to: receive a party confirmation input, in response to sending the party confirmation electronic prompt; the party confirmation input including data inputted by the primary customer describing a relationship between the primary customer and the secondary customer.
6 . A system for managing orders and invoicing among multiple customers, comprising: a mobile computing device, associated with a primary customer, at least one point of sale computing device in electronic communication with the mobile computing device, the point of sale computing device including a processor, a display screen, a cash register, and a wi-fi network adaptor for engaging in electronic communication with the mobile computing device over a local wi-fi network; and wherein the point of sale computing device is configured to perform the steps of: receiving entrance location data over the network from the mobile computing device that is associated with the primary customer, indicating that the primary customer has entered a geographical location of a merchant, the entrance location data having been generated by the mobile computing device using GPS technology based on a geographic location of the mobile computing device; sending over the network a check-in electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the check-in electronic prompt requesting whether the primary customer wishes to start an open invoice with the merchant at the point of sale device including the cash register; creating an open invoice for the primary customer based on an input received in response to the check-in electronic prompt; receiving over the network first inside location data from the primary customer indicating a location of the primary customer inside the geographical location of the merchant; receiving over the network second inside location data from at least one third party customer indicating a location of the at least one third party customer inside the geographical location of the merchant; identifying whether the at least one third party customer is likely to be a secondary customer associated with the primary customer, by comparing the first inside location data with the second inside location data and determining whether the first inside location data and the second inside location data are within a threshold distance; sending over the network a party confirmation electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the party confirmation electronic prompt requesting confirmation that at least one secondary customer identified within the threshold distance is associated with the primary customer, and is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; sending over the network an authorization electronic notification to the at least one secondary mobile computing device associated with the at least one secondary customer indicating that the at least one secondary customer is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; receiving over the network over the network an order from a secondary customer, and adding the order to the primary customer's open invoice; computing an open invoice total purchase price; receiving over the network exit location data from the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer indicating that the primary customer has exited the geographical location of the merchant, the exit location data having been generated by the mobile computing device using GPS technology based on a geographic location of the mobile computing device; and sending over the network a check-out electronic prompt to the mobile computing device associated with the primary customer, the check-out electronic prompt requesting that the primary customer confirm that the open invoice has been closed and paid.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the point of sale computing device further includes a credit card reader.
8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the network is selected from the group consisting of a wireless cell phone network, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Divisional of Durairaj et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/695,225, filed Nov. 26, 2019, and entitled “Merchant Invoicing and Customer Relations Tracking System”, which in turn claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 62/811,662 filed Feb. 28, 2019 and titled “Merchant Invoicing and Customer Relationship Tracking System,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of customer relationship management and merchant point of sale hardware systems, and related methods and smartphone applications. BACKGROUND Many well-known customer relationship management systems are known in the art of merchandizing and retail sales. In the particular field of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other dining establishments, a variety of software and hardware systems are variously used to in order to facilitate a positive customer experience. One common problem for these types of merchants is the desire of customers to split the bill among a party of associated customers. Known smartphone apps are often used by customers in order to address the problem of splitting the check. For example, the app Venmo is popular for splitting checks among friends when dining out. Known smartphone apps generally require an input from the customer, such as by typing in a bill total or by taking a picture of a bill. Furthermore, these known apps also require multiple money transfers between the people splitting the bill—usually with one person paying the merchant with e.g. a credit card and then being reimbursed by each friend each through a separate in-app money transfer. Accordingly, these conventional apps focus on merely doing the arithmetic of figuring out who owes what—and then enabling peer-to-peer cash transfer among the people splitting the bill. These apps generally do not communicate with the merchant's point of sale system. Nor do these conventional apps include location aware services that might facilitate payment to a merchant, or facilitate authorization of who is sharing in payment. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for systems, devices, and methods that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE In one aspect, the disclosure provides a system for managing orders and invoicing among multiple customers, comprising: at least one computing device, the computing device including a processor; and wherein the computing device is configured to perform the steps of: (1) receiving entrance location data indicating that a primary customer has entered a geographical location of a merchant; (2) sending a check-in electronic prompt to the primary customer, the check-in electronic prompt requesting whether the primary customer wishes to start an open invoice with the merchant; (3) creating an open invoice for the primary customer based on an input received in response to the check-in electronic prompt; (4) sending a party confirmation electronic prompt to the primary customer, the party confirmation electronic prompt requesting confirmation that at least one secondary customer is associated with the primary customer, and is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; (5) sending an authorization electronic notification to the at least one secondary customer indicating that the at least one secondary customer is authorized to add purchases to the primary customer's open invoice; (6) receiving an order from a secondary customer, and adding the order to the primary customer's open invoice; (7) computing an open invoice total purchase price; (8) receiving exit location data indicating that the primary customer has exited the geographical location of the merchant; (9) sending a check-out electronic prompt to the primary customer, the check-out electronic prompt requesting that the primary customer confirm that the open invoice has been closed and paid. In another aspect, the disclosure provides a method comprising: (1) receiving a check-in electronic input from a primary customer, the check-in input causing a merchant to create an open invoice associated with the primary customer; (2) receiving first inside location data from the primary customer indicating a location of the primary customer inside the geographical location of the merchant; (3) receiving second inside location data from at least one third party customer indicating a location of the at least one third party customer inside a geographical location of the merchant; (4) identifying whether the at least one third party customer is likely to be a secondary customer associated with the primary customer by comparing the first inside location data with the second inside location data; (5) sending a party confirmation electronic prompt to the primary customer, the party confirmation electronic prompt requesting confirmation that at least one secondary customer is