A method is disclosed that allows batch processes such as the daily batch process to be run within a batch processing environment. An account batch process is initiated after a cut-off time between a first business day and a second business day. The accounts are selected one by one and processed by applying a plurality of batch functions to them without interruption within a short period of time. Whenever a transaction or enquiry is requesting access to an account during the batch process, the transaction or enquiry is delayed for a short period of time while the requested account is being processed. Thus, the method allows transactions and enquiries to operate on the main database even when the overnight batch process is running and ensures that transactions and enquiries initiated after the cut-off time are processed with the updated account data.
