Abstract: A system and method for the mass customization of bills or invoices particularized to each client's preference is provided. The present invention is used to permit a provider of mass customization billing service to customize invoice/bill formats, layouts, and contents for service organizations as well as recipients of those services. Under the system and method of the present art, the invoice generation process is driven by a set of format specifications customized to an individual account or client. Accordingly, the system and method of the invention is ideal for customers and clients that require particularized styles, formats, or information content relevant to invoices.

Abstract: A system and method for the mass customization of bills or invoices particularized to each client's preference is provided. The present invention is used to permit a provider of mass customization billing service to customize invoice/bill formats, layouts, and contents for service organizations as well as recipients of those services. Under the system and method of the present art, the invoice generation process is driven by a set of format specifications customized to an individual account or client. Accordingly, the system and method of the invention is ideal for customers and clients that require particularized styles, formats, or information content relevant to invoices.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and system for providing and displaying on a computer device information related to charges incurred for the consumption of Internet services. Using such a system, a consumer of services is notified of the charges and usage information within seconds of the actual consumption of services, thereby permitting the consumer to budget for services and control their consumption of services accordingly. Preferably, the charge and usage information includes ongoing updates on the basis of the smallest incremental unit consumed, to provide the consumer with a running total of the amount of services used at any one point in time; the charges incurred for such usage; the charges for proposed actions so that the consumer can determine an action's cost in advance; and predictions regarding future usage and expenditures based on the consumer's utilization history.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus facilitate rating of telecommunications transactions and allow modification of the rating process without requiring reprogramming of the rating system program. An input data structure includes pointers to functions that return internally or externally derived data values to the rating system program. By virtue of a system of selection criteria and selection rules, the rating system program evaluates telecommunications transaction characteristics to obtain appropriate rating data for the transaction and to calculate charges based on this rating data.

Abstract: A collapsible tube dispenser includes rollers movably mounted in a housing for squeezing a tube, as the rollers roll axially along the tube. The housing is constructed to permit ready installation of a tube to be squeezed. In one form of the invention, the housing includes an open frame, and in another form of the invention, the housing can be quickly disassembled in a convenient manner.