Providing payment software application as enterprise services

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including systems and computer program products, for a service architecture design that provides enterprise services having payment functionality at the level of an enterprise application. The design includes a set of service operations, process components, and optionally deployment units. Suitable business objects are also described.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D collectively illustrate a high-level view of a software architectural design and implementation of a suite enterprise software services having payment functionality.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams collectively showing an expense and reimbursement management process component.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a cash management process component.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F are block diagrams collectively showing a payment processing process component.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E are block diagrams collectively showing a due item processing process component.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a financial market data management process component.

Claims

1. A system comprising: a computer system comprising one or more hardware platforms for executing computer software; andcomputer software deployed on the computer system, the computer software implementing a plurality of service operations, the service operations comprising: a notify of settlement result operation operable to send a notification of a settlement result;a notify of settlement result cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a settlement result;a create receivables payables operation operable to send a notification to create a receivable or payable;a cancel receivables payables operation operable to send a notification to cancel a receivable or payable;a notify of European community sales list report operation operable to send a European community sales list report;a notify of product tax declaration operation operable to send a notification about a product tax declaration;a maintain bank directory entry operation, the operation operable to request to maintain a bank directory entry; anda request bank directory transmission operation, the operation requesting a bank directory transmission.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the service operations further comprise: a confirm payment request operation operable to send a confirmation notification to confirm a payment request;a notify of payment request operation operable to send a notification of payment;a create bank statement operation operable to create a bank statement;a create payment advice operation operable to create a payment advice;a process lock box operation operable to processing a lock box;a create cash payment operation operable to create a cash payment notification;a cancel cash payment operation operable to send a notification to cancel a cash payment;a notify of payment operation operable to send a notification of payment;a notify of payment cancellation operation operable to send a notification of cancellation of payment;a request credit card settlement operation operable to send a notification to request a credit card settlement;a request check deposit operation operable to send a notification request for a check deposit;a request payment order operation operable to send a notification request for a payment order;a request file based payment order operation operable to send a notification request for a file based payment order;a notify of settlement result operation operable to send a notification of a settlement result based on an expense report;a notify of settlement result cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a settlement result based on an expense report previously sent;a request project task availability information operation operable to send a notification of an expense that applies to an existing project;a query liquidity status operation operable to query liquidity status;a create payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation creation request;a cancel payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation cancellation request;a synchronous change payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation synchronize change request;a change payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation change request;a create payment order operation operable to send a payment order creation request;a cancel payment order operation operable to send a payment order cancellation request to update the payment order business object;a request clearing operation operable to send a notification of a clearing request;a request clearing cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a clearing request;a change clearing house payment order based on credit card settlement confirmation operation operable to send a notification to change a clearing house payment;a get liquidity status operation operable to send a notification to get liquidity status;a create clearing operation operable to send a notification to create a clearing;a cancel clearing operation operable to send a notification to cancel a clearing;a request payment operation operable to send a notification to request a payment;a request payment cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a payment request;a request payment information and provisional payment reservation operation operable to send a notification to request provisional payment information;a maintain expense arrangement operation operable to send a notification to update an expense arrangement;a request project task availability information operation operable to request availability;a notify of provisional payment reservation deletion operation operable to send a notification of deletion of a provisional payment reservation; anda notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion operation operable to send a notification to change a provisional payment deletion operation.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the service operations are grouped into service interfaces, the service interfaces comprising: a personnel administration in interface that includes the maintain expense arrangement service operation;a receivables payables out interface that includes the notify of settlement result and the notify of settlement result cancellation service operations;an expense accounting out interface that includes the notify of settlement result and the notify of settlement result cancellation service operations;a project task availability out interface that includes the request project task availability information service operation;a liquidity status out interface that includes the query liquidity status service operation;a bank directory transmission in interface that includes the maintain bank directory entry service operation;a bank directory transmission requesting out interface that includes the request bank directory transmission service operation;a payment request in interface that includes the create payment order, the cancel payment order, the create payment reservation, the cancel payment reservation, the synchronous change payment reservation and the change payment reservation service operations;a payment request out interface that includes the confirm payment request, the notify of payment, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, and the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion service operations;a clearing in interface that includes the change payment allocation based on clearing request confirmation, the cancel clearing, and the create clearing service operations;a clearing out interface that includes the request clearing, the confirm clearing, and the request clearing cancellation service operations;an outgoing payment advicing out interface that includes the notify of payment service operation;a bank statement processing in interface that includes the create bank statement service operation;an incoming payment advicing in interface that includes the create payment advice service operation;a lockbox processing in interface that includes the process lock box service operation;a cash payment in interface that includes the create cash payment and the cancel cash payment service operations;a credit card settling in interface that includes the change clearing house payment order based on credit card settlement confirmation service operations;a payment ordering out interface that includes the request payment order and the request file based payment order service operation;a payment accounting out interface that includes the notify of payment and the notify of payment cancellation service operations;a credit card settling out interface that includes the request credit card settlement service operation;a check depositing out interface that includes the request check deposit service operation;a bill of exchange submitting out interface that includes the request bill of exchange submission service operation;a receivables payables in interface that includes the cancel receivables payables and the create receivables payables service operations;a liquidity status in interface that includes the get liquidity status service operation;a European community sales list report out interface that includes the notify of European community sales list report service operation;a product tax declaration out interface that includes the notify of product tax declaration service operation; anda payment request in interface that includes the change payment based on payment request confirmation service operation.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein: the computer software implementing the notify of settlement result, the notify of settlement result cancellation, the request project task availability information, the maintain expense arrangement, the notify of settlement result, and the notify of settlement result cancellation operations is deployed on a first hardware platform; andthe computer software implementing the get payment behavior summary, the notify of European community sales list report, the notify of product tax declaration, the get liquidity status, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the cancel clearing, the create clearing, the confirm clearing, the notify of European Community sales list report, the change payment based on payment request confirmation, the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment, the request payment cancellation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, the notify of dunning invoice, the notify of dunning invoice cancellation, the cancel receivables payables, and the create receivables payables operations is deployed on a second hardware platform; andthe computer software implementing the request payment order, the request file based payment order, the request check deposit, the confirm payment request, the change clearing house payment order based on settlement confirmation, the cancel payment order, the cancel payment reservation, the change payment reservation, the create payment order, the create payment reservation, the sync change payment reservation, the notify of payment, the request payment card payment settling, the change payment allocation based on clearing request confirmation, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the request clearing, the request clearing cancellation, the create payment advice, the create bank statement, the process lock box, the cancel cash payment, the create cash payment, the request bill of exchange submission, and the query liquidity status operations is deployed on a third hardware platform.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the first through the third hardware platforms are distinct and separate from each other.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein: the computer software implementing the notify of settlement result, the notify of settlement result cancellation, the request project task availability information, the maintain expense arrangement, the notify of settlement result, and the notify of settlement result cancellation operations is deployable on a first hardware platform; andthe computer software implementing the get payment behavior summary, the notify of European community sales list report, the notify of product tax declaration, the get liquidity status, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the cancel clearing, the create clearing, the confirm clearing, the notify of European Community sales list report, the change payment based on payment request confirmation, the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment, the request payment cancellation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, the notify of dunning invoice, the notify of dunning invoice cancellation, the cancel receivables payables, and the create receivables payables operations is deployable on a second hardware platform; andthe computer software implementing the request payment order, the request file based payment order, the request check deposit, the confirm payment request, the change clearing house payment order based on settlement confirmation, the cancel payment order, the cancel payment reservation, the change payment reservation, the create payment order, the create payment reservation, the sync change payment reservation, the notify of payment, the request payment card payment settling, the change payment allocation based on clearing request confirmation, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the request clearing, the request clearing cancellation, the create payment advice, the create bank statement, the process lock box, the cancel cash payment, the create cash payment, the request bill of exchange submission, and the query liquidity status operations is deployable on a third hardware platform andthe first through the third hardware platforms being distinct and separate from each other.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer software deployed on the computer system comprises: a plurality of process components, each of the process components being a package of software deployed and executing on the computer system and implementing a respective and distinct business process, the plurality of process components including: an expense and reimbursement management process component used to expense and reimburse;a due item processing process component used to manage all payables and receivables from service and supply and corresponding sales and withholdinga payment processing process component used to handle all incoming and outgoing payments and represent the main data base for the liquidity status; anda cash management process component used to used for the analysis and the management of the actual and future flow of money; and wherein:the expense and reimbursement management process component implements the notify of settlement result, the notify of settlement result cancellation, the request availability check, the maintain expense arrangement, the request validity check, the notify of settlement result, and the notify of settlement result cancellation service operations;the due item processing process component implements the get payment behavior summary, the notify of dunning invoice, the notify of dunning invoice cancellation, the notify of European community sales list report, the notify of product tax declaration, the get liquidity status, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the cancel clearing, the create clearing, the confirm clearing, the change payment based on payment request confirmation, the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment, the request payment cancellation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, the cancel receivables payables, and the create receivables payables service operations;the payment processing process component implements the request payment order, the request file based payment order, the request check deposit, the confirm payment request, the change clearing house payment order based on credit card settlement confirmation, the cancel payment order, the cancel payment reservation, the change payment reservation, the create payment order, the create payment reservation, the synchronous change payment reservation, the notify of payment, the request credit card settlement, the change payment allocation based on clearing request confirmation, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the request clearing, the request clearing cancellation, the create payment advice, the create bank statement, the process lock box, the cancel cash payment, the create cash payment, the request bill of exchange submission service operations; andthe cash management process component implements and the query liquidity status service operations.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer software deployed on the computer system comprises: a plurality of deployment units, each of the deployment units being a package of software packaged together to be deployed on a single physical hardware platform, the plurality of deployment units including: an expense and reimbursement management deployment unit to process an arrangement made by a company for an employee for expense reporting;a due item management deployment unit to process due payment and receivables; anda payment processing deployment unit to process payment information; and wherein:the expense and reimbursement management deployment unit implements the notify of settlement result, the notify of settlement result cancellation, the request availability check, the maintain expense arrangement, the request validity check, the notify of settlement result and the notify of settlement result cancellation service operations;the due item management deployment unit implements the get payment behavior summary, the notify of dunning invoice, the notify of dunning invoice cancellation, the notify of European community sales list report, the notify of product tax declaration, the get liquidity status, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the cancel clearing, the create clearing, the confirm clearing, the change payment based on payment request confirmation, the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment, the request payment cancellation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, the cancel receivables payables and the create receivables payables service operations; andthe payment processing deployment unit implements the query liquidity status, the request payment order, the request file based payment order, the request check deposit, the confirm payment request, the change clearing house payment order based on credit card settlement confirmation, the cancel payment order, the cancel payment reservation, the change payment reservation, the create payment order, the create payment reservation, the sync change payment reservation, the notify of payment, the request credit card settlement, the change payment allocation, based on clearing request confirmation, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the request clearing, the request clearing cancellation, the create payment advice, the create bank statement, the process lock box, the cancel cash payment, the create cash payment and the request bill of exchange submission service operations.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a repository of service descriptions, the repository including a standards-based description of each of the plurality of service operations.

10. A computer program product encoded on a tangible machine-readable information carrier for implementing a plurality of services, the product comprising computer software operable to implement on a computer system services operations, the services operations comprising: a maintain expense arrangement operation operable to send a notification to update an expense arrangement;a request project task availability information operation operable to send a notification of an expense that applies to an existing project;a notify of settlement result operation operable to send a notification of a settlement result;a notify of settlement result cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a settlement result;a create receivables payables operation operable to send a notification to create a receivable or payable;a cancel receivables payables operation operable to send a notification to cancel a receivable or payable;a notify of European community sales list report operation operable to send a notification about a European community sales list report;a notify of product tax declaration operation operable to send a notification about a product tax declaration;a maintain bank directory entry operation operable to request to maintain a bank directory entry; anda request bank directory transmission operation operable to requesting a bank directory transmission.

11. The product of claim 10, wherein the service operations further comprise: a confirm payment request operation operable to send a confirmation notification to confirm a payment request;a notify of payment request operation operable to send a notification of payment;a create bank statement operation operable to create a bank statement;a create payment advice operation operable to create a payment advice;a process lock box operation operable to processing a lock box;a create cash payment operation operable to create a cash payment notification;a cancel cash payment operation operable to send a notification to cancel a cash payment;a notify of payment operation operable to send a notification of payment;a notify of payment cancellation operation operable to send a notification of cancellation of payment;a notify of cash payment operation operable to send a notification of cash payment;a request credit card settlement operation operable to send a notification to request a credit card settlement;a request check deposit operation operable to send a notification request for a check deposit;a request payment order operation operable to send a notification request for a payment order;a request file based payment order operation operable to send a notification request for a file based payment order;a notify of settlement result operation operable to send a notification of a settlement result based on an expense report;a notify of settlement result cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a settlement result based on an expense report previously sent;a request project task availability information operation operable to send a notification of an expense that applies to an existing project;a query liquidity status operation operable to querying liquidity status;a create payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation creation request;a cancel payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation cancellation request;a synchronous change payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation synchronize change request;a change payment reservation operation operable to send a payment reservation change request;a create payment order operation operable to send a payment order creation request;a cancel payment order operation operable to send a payment order cancellation request to update the payment order business object;a request clearing operation operable to send a notification of a clearing request;a request clearing cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a clearing request;a change clearing house payment order based on credit card settlement confirmation operation operable to send a notification to change a clearing house payment;a get liquidity status operation operable to send a notification to get liquidity status;a create clearing operation operable to send a notification to create a clearing;a cancel clearing operation operable to send a notification to cancel a clearing;a request payment operation operable to send a notification to request a payment;a request payment cancellation operation operable to send a notification to cancel a payment request;a request payment information and provisional payment reservation operation operable to send a notification to request provisional payment information;a notify of provisional payment reservation deletion operation operable to send a notification of deletion of a provisional payment reservation; anda notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion operation operable to send a notification to change a provisional payment deletion operation.

12. The product of claim 10, wherein the computer software comprises: a plurality of process components, each of the process components being a package of software deployed and executing on the computer system and implementing a respective and distinct business process, the plurality of process components including: an expense and reimbursement management process component used to expense and reimburse;a due item processing process component used to manage all payables and receivables from service and supply and corresponding sales and withholding;a payment processing process component used to handle all incoming and outgoing payments and represent the main data base for the liquidity status; anda cash management process component used to used for the analysis and the management of the actual and future flow of money; and

13. The product of claim 10, wherein the computer software comprises: a plurality of deployment units, each of the deployment units being a package of software packaged together to be deployed on a single physical hardware platform, the plurality of deployment units including: an expense and reimbursement management deployment unit that includes an expense arrangement and an expense report business object;a due item management deployment unit that includes a European Community sales list report, a debt guarantee, a tax receivables payables register, a due payment run, a due clearing, a dunning run, a product tax declaration, a due payment, a withholding tax declaration, a trade receivables payables account, a dunning, a trade receivables payables register, and a factoring business object; anda payment processing deployment unit that includes an expected liquidity item, a liquidity forecast, an incoming check, a bank payment order, a house bank account, a cash payment, a bill of exchange payable, a check deposit, a bill of exchange book, a cash storage, a payment advice, a check storage, a cash transfer, a payment card payment settlement run, a payment register, a payment media run, a payment allocation, an outgoing check, a bank statement, a clearing house account, a clearing house payment order, a bill of exchange receivable, a bill of exchange submission, and a payment order business object; and wherein:the expense arrangement business object is made for internal employees per work agreement for purposes of expense reporting, and the expense report business object includes data on trip times, trip destinations, and mileage data used to calculate reimbursement amounts and expense amounts;the debt guarantee business object represents obligations and demands relating to bonds and guarantees, the due payment run business object represents a specification of the automated creation of payment requests for receivables payables from goods and services, the product tax declaration business object represents a declaration of the product tax payables/receivables of a company to the responsible tax authority according to the tax declaration arrangement and country specific legal requirements that triggers the payment to the tax authority if required, the due payment business object represents a payment request or payment confirmation with regard to trade receivables and payables from goods and services, the tax receivables payables register business object is a register of tax receivables and payables of a company that are due for delivered goods and rendered services between buyers and sellers or that are due for the consumption of goods or that are due for the transfer of goods or that are withheld from payments to sellers, the European Community sales list report business object represents European Community sales, the due clearing business object represents a group of receivables and payables for clearing, the dunning run business object is a specification of the automated creation of dunning business objects, the dunning business object represents a company's (the creditor's) demand upon a business partner (the debtor) for payment, relates to all receivable items in a trade receivables payables account for which payment will be demanded at a particular point in time, serves as the basis for creating and sending reminders or demands for payment, and controls and documents the dunning process, the factoring business object represents the sale of outstanding receivables for goods and services, the withholding tax declaration business object is a declaration of withholding tax payables of a company to a tax authority according to the tax declaration arrangement and country specific legal requirements that triggers the payment to the tax authority if required, the trade receivables payables account business object is a structure element of due item processing for data entry and reporting of all trade receivables or trade payables of a company from or to a business partner that contains guidelines and agreements with regards to a business partner concerning the payments and dunning for receivables and payables, and the trade receivables payables register business object is a register for all trade receivables and payables from goods and services of a company from/to its business partners; andthe expected liquidity item business object increases or reduces liquidity for a company, the liquidity forecast business object represents the financial status on a time raster including future cash flows, the incoming check business object represents a check send by a business partner, the bank payment order business object represents a payment order which will be sent to a house bank, the house bank account business object is a representation of a house bank account (type of cash location), the cash payment business object represents incoming or outgoing cash payment from or to a business partner, the bill of exchange payable business object represents a bill of exchange sent to a business partner, the check deposit business object sends a collection of incoming checks to the house bank for cashing, the cash storage business object represents a storage location for cash of a company, the payment advice business object represents a payment advice received from a business partner or house bank, the check storage business object is a location where incoming checks are stored, the cash transfer business object is an internal money transfer between bank account and bank account (bank transfer)—cash account and bank account (cash deposit)—bank account and cash account (cash withdrawal)—cash account and cash account (cash transfer), the payment card payment settlement run business object represents the specification of the automated creation of settlement requests for clearing house payment orders to a clearing house, the payment register business object represents registration for all self and foreign initiated incoming and outgoing payments of a company, the payment media run business object represents the specification of the automated creation of payment media, the payment allocation business object documents a process step by which open payments of different type belonging to one another are indicated as confirmed or sent to other components for post processing, the outgoing check business object represents a check send to a business partner, the bank statement business object represents a bank statement for a house bank account, the clearing house account business object represents a merchant at the clearing house for the processing of credit card settlement, the clearing house payment order business object represents clearing a collection of credit card payments to the clearing house, the bill of exchange receivable business object represents a bill of exchange received from or a bill of exchange request sent to a business partner, the bill of exchange submission business object sends incoming bills of exchange to the house bank for cashing, and the payment order business object creates payment media for either bank, credit card settlement institute, or business partner on the base of payment requests.

14. The product of claim 12, wherein: each of the plurality of process components is assigned to no more than one deployment unit among multiple deployment units, and each deployment unit is deployable on the separate computer hardware platform independent of every other deployment unit; andall interaction between the process component in one deployment unit and any other process component in any other deployment unit takes place through the respective service operations of the two process components.

15. The product of claim 14, wherein the deployment units comprise: an expense and reimbursement management deployment unit that includes the expense and reimbursement management process component;a due item management deployment unit that includes the due item processing process component; anda payment deployment unit that includes a payment processing process component and a cash management process component.

16. The product of claim 10, further comprising: an expense and reimbursement management deployment unit that implements the notify of settlement result, the notify of settlement result cancellation, the request project task availability information, the maintain expense arrangement, the notify of settlement result, and the notify of settlement result cancellation service operations;a due item management deployment unit that implements the get payment behavior summary, the notify of European community sales list report, the notify of product tax declaration, the get liquidity status, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the cancel clearing, the create clearing, the confirm clearing, the notify of European Community sales list report, the change payment based on payment request confirmation, the notify of provisional payment reservation change deletion, the notify of provisional payment reservation deletion, the request payment, the request payment cancellation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation, the request payment information and provisional payment reservation change, the notify of dunning invoice, the notify of dunning invoice cancellation, the cancel receivables payables, and the create receivables payables service operations; anda payment deployment unit that implements the request payment order, the request file based payment order, the request check deposit, the confirm payment request, the change clearing house payment order based on settlement confirmation, the cancel payment order, the cancel payment reservation, the change payment reservation, the create payment order, the create payment reservation, the sync change payment reservation, the notify of payment, the request payment card payment settling, the change payment allocation based on clearing request confirmation, the notify of payment, the notify of payment cancellation, the notify of cash payment, the request cash payment cancellation, the request clearing, the request clearing cancellation, the create payment advice, the create bank statement, the process lock box, the cancel cash payment, the create cash payment, the request bill of exchange submission, and the query liquidity status service operations.

17. The product of claim 12, wherein: the expense and reimbursement management process component includes an expense arrangement business object and an expense report business object, the expense arrangement business object being the business object that contains values relevant for determining per diem amounts, the type of standard vehicle, as well as a standard cost distribution for internal employees, the expense report business object being the business object that contains a collection of several expense receipts submitted by an expense reporter;the due item processing process component includes a due payment business object, a dunning business object, a debt guarantee business object, a factoring business object, a withholding tax declaration business object, a due payment run business object, a due clearing business object, a dunning run business object, a European community sales list report business object, a trade receivables payables register business object, a tax receivables payables register business object, a trade receivables payables account business object, and a product tax declaration business object, wherein: the due payment business object being the business object that creates payment requests for payment processing;the dunning business object being the business object that is responsible for the dunning of outstanding receivables and sending a dunning letter to the business partner;the debt guarantee business object being the business object that illustrates the contingent liabilities and demands from endorsements, payment warranties and other guarantees for deficiency guarantee, limited endorsement, directly liable endorsement and joint guarantee;the factoring business object being the business object that illustrates the sales of pecuniary claims;the withholding tax declaration business object being the business object that declares the withholding tax liabilities of a company to a tax authority according to the tax declaration arrangement and country specific legal requirements that triggers a payment to the tax authority;the due payment run business object being the business object that represents the specification of the automated creation of payment requests for receivables payables from goods and services;the due clearing business object being the business object that includes a group of receivables and payables for clearing;the dunning run business object being the business object that represents the specification of the automated creation of dunning business objects;the European Community sales list report business object being the business object that declares the statistical tax liabilities and receivables of a member state company to a tax authority according to the tax declaration arrangement and country specific legal requirements;the trade receivables payables register business object being the business object that is the register for all trade receivables and payables from goods and services of a company from/to its business partners;the tax receivables payables register business object being the business object that is the register for all tax receivables and payables of a company;the trade receivables payables account master data object in process being the business object that contains guidelines and agreements with regards to a business partner concerning the payments and dunning for receivables and payables; andthe product tax declaration business object being the business object that is the declaration of the product tax liabilities and receivables of a company to the responsible tax authority according to the tax declaration arrangement and country specific legal requirements that triggers the payment to the tax authority;the payment processing process component includes a payment allocation business object, a cash payment business object, a cash transfer business object, a payment order business object, a clearing house payment order business object, a bill of exchange submission business object, a payment advice business object, a bank payment order business object, an outgoing check business object, a bill of exchange payable business object, a check deposit business object, a payment card payment settlement run business object, a payment register business object, a payment media run business object, a bill of exchange receivable business object, an incoming check business object, a bank statement business object, a house bank account master data object, a cash storage master data object, a check storage master data object, a clearing house account master data object, and a bill of exchange book master data object, wherein: the payment allocation business object being the business object that documents a process step by which open payments of different types belonging to one another are indicated as confirmed or sent for post processing;the cash payment business object being the business object that includes the incoming or outgoing cash payment from or to a business partner;the cash transfer business object being the business object that includes an internal money transfer;the payment order business object being the business object that creates payment media on the base of payment requests;the clearing house payment order business object being the business object that includes the order for clearing a collection of credit card payments to the clearing house;the bill of exchange submission business object being the business object that sends incoming bills of exchange to the house bank for cashing;the payment advice business object being the business object that represents a payment advice received from a business partner or house bank;the bank payment order business object being the business object that includes a payment order which will be sent to the house bank;the outgoing check business object being the business object that represents a check sent to a business partner;the bill of exchange payable business object being the business object that represents a bill of exchange sent to a business partner;the check deposit business object being the business object that sends a collection of incoming checks to the house bank for cashing;the payment card payment settlement run business object being the business object that represents the specification of the automated creation of settlement requests for clearing house payment orders to a clearing house;the payment register business object being the business object that represents the register for all self and foreign initiated incoming and outgoing payments of a company;the payment media run business object being the business object that represents the specification of the automated creation of payment media;the bill of exchange receivable business object being the business object that represents a bill of exchange received from or a bill of exchange request sent to a business partner;the incoming check business object being the business object that represents a check sent by a business partner;the bank statement business object being the business object that represents the bank statement for a house bank account;the house bank account master data object being the business object that represents a business partner providing services for a company;the cash storage master data object being the business object that represents a storage location for the cash of a company;the check storage master data object being the business object that represents a location where incoming checks are stored;the clearing house account master data object being the business object that represents a merchant at the clearing house for the processing of credit card settlement; andthe bill of exchange book master data object being the business object that represents storage for incoming bills of exchange;the cash management process component includes a liquidity forecast business object and an expected liquidity item business object, the liquidity forecast business object being the business object that presents the financial status on a time raster including future cash flows, the expected liquidity item business object being the business object depicting an expected increase or reduction of liquidity for a company used for business processes that are not directly monitored by liquidity forecast.

18. The product of claim 10, wherein: each of the process components includes one or more business objects; andnone of the business objects of any one of the process components interacts directly with any of the business objects included in any of the other process components.

19. The product of claim 18, wherein the business objects comprise the business process object.

20. The product of claim 18, wherein: none of the business objects included in any one of the process components is included in any of the other process components.

21. The product of claim 10, further comprising: a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being operable to receive the message from an inbound operation, an outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send the message, each process agent being associated with exactly one process component;

22. A method of providing services from a computer system having payment functionality, the method comprising: providing services through the sending of messages, the messages including: a notification about a settlement result;a notification about settlement result cancellation;a notification about creation of receivables payables;a notification about cancellation of receivables payables;a notification of credit commitment;a notification of payment behavior summary;a notification of product tax declaration; anda notification about a request bank directory transmission.