Method and apparatus for central accounting and billing system for enterprise employing mobile field service

Abstract

A central accounting and billing system for enterprises providing service and supply operations for business machines located in a plurality of customer locations employing a fleet of vehicles each carrying a trunk inventory of frequently required repair parts and supplies. An ERP system at a central location generates machine-readable identification tags which are applied to parts and services carried in each of the trunk inventories and are applied to the machines to be serviced. Smart handheld devices such as cell phones contain programs which allow the identification tags to be read and communications to be established to the central ERP system relating to transfer of goods and supplies into and out of the trunk inventory and to the businesses and also the time involved in servicing particular machines at particular businesses in order to generate bills from the central enterprise to such businesses.

1 . A system for maintaining and adjusting accounting records for an enterprise which employs a plurality of service technicians for maintaining and servicing machines located at a plurality of customer locations utilizing a plurality of vehicles each of which carries a trunk inventory of parts and/or supplies for the maintenance and service operation, comprising:
 a central computer based ERP system operative to maintain records of the contents of a central inventory and the trunk inventories in each vehicle;   machine-readable identification tags attached to the parts and/or supplies contained in the central inventory and each trunk inventory; and   cellular telephones equipped with application programs for reading the identification tags and automatically initiating phone messages to said ERP system relating to transfers of the parts and/or supplies into and out of the trunk inventories.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable identification tags contain information identifying the parts and/or supplies bearing the identification tags and data which will automatically initiate said phone messages. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable identification tags constitute QR coded labels. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said machines located at customer locations each bear machine-readable identification labels and the cellular phones, upon reading such labels, transmit information to the central computer based ERP system useful for indicating a machine being serviced and/or the destination of parts and/or supplies transferred from a trunk inventory to the business maintaining said machine. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein phone messages initiated by reading said identification tags attached to particular machines being maintained and serviced at the beginning and end of a service period are timed by the ERP system to generate billing to the business maintaining such machine for the service and maintenance. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular telephones include displays and the reading of an identification tag by the cellular phone generates a dialog window on the screen of the phone. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central inventory is maintained in a central location and machine-readable identification tags identifying the parts or supplies associated with the central inventory are applied to the parts and supplies when received in the central inventory location. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said machine-readable identification tags are applied to parts and/or supplies transferred from said central inventory to said trunk inventories at the time of transfer. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the ERP system utilizes information received from said cellular telephones to generate billing to customers for the delivery of parts and/or supplies and for service operations.