From CSV Columns to 850 Segments
Each PO number in your CSV becomes one ST/SE transaction set. The header fields go into BEG (PO number and date), DTM*002 (requested delivery) and the N1/N3/N4 ship-to loop. Every row becomes a PO1 line: quantity, unit of measure, unit price, then your item number under qualifier VN and the GS1 number under UP, EN or UK depending on its length, followed by a PID description. CTT01 counts the lines, and SE01, GE01 and IEA01 are counted for you.
| CSV column | 850 element |
|---|---|
| PO Number | BEG03 |
| PO Date | BEG05 |
| Delivery Date | DTM*002 |
| Ship To Name / ID | N102 / N104 (N103 = 92) |
| Quantity, UOM, Unit Price | PO102, PO103, PO104 (PO105 = PE) |
| Item Number | PO106 = VN, PO107 |
| UPC / EAN / GTIN-14 | UP, EN or UK with the number |
| Description | PID05 |
Before You Send It
A valid 850 is not always an accepted one. Retailers add their own rules on top of X12: Walmart expects department numbers in REF*DP, some partners want a specific ISA qualifier instead of ZZ, and many test files must carry ISA15 = T. Check your partner's requirements on the retailer EDI compliance pages, then open the file in the EDI viewer and validator and pick the retailer under Validate for. Replace the placeholder sender and receiver IDs with the ISA IDs your partner gave you. The 850 purchase order guide explains every segment. Received a PO and need to answer it? Reply to a PO with an 855, 856 or 810.
When CSV Orders Become a Daily Job
A converter is fine for a test file or the odd order. When customers send orders as spreadsheets, PDFs and emails every day, OrderSync reads them as they arrive, checks each line against your catalog and pricing, and creates a clean order for your team to approve, with anything unusual flagged. See order processing automation or, for Excel files, the Excel to EDI converter. Orders that start life as XML, such as cXML or an ERP export, are covered in XML to EDI 850 mapping.