EDIFACT RECADV: Receiving Advice and Examples

RECADV is the buyer telling you what actually made it onto their shelves. Your DESADV said 120 units on pallet one. The RECADV says 108 were accepted and 12 arrived crushed. That difference becomes a credit note, a deduction from your next payment, or a dispute, so the receiving advice is the document your finance team should be reading as closely as your warehouse team.

This guide follows the GS1 EANCOM 2002 RECADV layout (subset version EAN009, directory D.01B). Every example continues the same fictional order used in the ORDERS, ORDRSP and DESADV guides, so you can follow one purchase order from start to finish.

What is an EDIFACT RECADV?

RECADV (receiving advice) is the UN/EDIFACT message a buyer or receiving site sends to the supplier after goods have been physically received and inspected. It confirms receipt, reports any differences between what was received and accepted and what was despatched or ordered, and can say what should happen to the difference: return it, destroy it, or keep the line open as a backorder.

GS1 describes two uses for the message:

• Confirmation of receipt. Only the header is sent. It names the despatch advice and order and says, in effect, "all arrived".
• Notification of discrepancies. The detail section lists each item (and optionally each pallet) with the accepted quantity and a QVR variance explaining any gap.

GS1 says the message should be sent within a commercially agreed period after receipt, giving 24 hours as an example. In practice the partner's implementation guide sets the deadline.

Where RECADV sits in the order-to-cash flow

Some partners want the invoice to follow the RECADV, so you bill for what was accepted rather than what was despatched. Others invoice from the DESADV and use the RECADV to raise deductions afterwards. Find out which model your partner runs before go-live, because it decides whether a short receipt shows up as a smaller invoice or as a debit note weeks later.

Each RECADV covers one despatch point and one receiving point. A delivery to two depots produces two receiving advices.

Example 1: full receipt, header only

The fictional retailer Harbour Lane Stores receives despatch advice KV-DES-7781 from Kestrel Valley Homeware at its distribution centre on 15 October 2026. Everything checks in. Following the GS1 "simple scenario", only the header is sent.

Example 2: short delivery and a backorder

Same delivery, different outcome. On line 1 the DESADV said 120 chopping boards but only 114 were counted. On line 2 the supplier had already told the buyer, through ORDRSP, that only 40 of the 60 mill sets would ship now. The buyer accepts the 40 and keeps the remaining 20 open, but only until 30 October.

Read the QVR quantity qualifier carefully. It names the quantity the variance is measured against. -6:12 means "6 fewer than despatched", which is a supplier or carrier problem. -20:21 means "20 fewer than ordered", which the supplier already announced. The same minus sign means very different things for your invoice.

Example 3: damaged pallet, goods to be returned

This time the buyer reports by pallet. The first pallet, SSCC 350987650000000010, arrived with 12 boards damaged. They will be returned and the supplier must collect them on 20 October. The second pallet is fine. Reporting by SSCC uses the PCI, QTY, QVR and GIN group under each LIN, so the supplier can trace the damage to a specific pallet and, from there, to a carrier and a loading bay.

If the damaged goods are destroyed on site instead of returned, use quantity qualifier 196 (received, not accepted, to be destroyed) and drop the collection date.

RECADV segment reference

Status and repeats follow the EANCOM 2002 message structure chart. M is mandatory, C conditional.

Code tables

BGM message function

QTY qualifiers

QVR: what the variance is measured against

The second component of QVR is a quantity qualifier. A negative value means less than expected, positive means more.

QVR discrepancy codes (third element)

QVR can also carry a change reason code in its fourth element, such as AT (item not ordered), BH (batch number difference), BN (temperature outside agreed range) or PC (pack difference). Which reasons a partner sends, and what each one triggers commercially, is set in their guide and trading agreement.

Line-level DTM qualifiers

RECADV vs the X12 861

The biggest structural difference: X12 861 puts the condition and the quantity in one RCD segment. RECADV separates the accepted quantity (QTY+194) from the explanation (QVR), and lets you report the same item twice: once overall, and again per SSCC. When mapping between them, build each RCD from the QTY and QVR pair, not from QTY alone. The EDI 861 guide lists the X12 condition codes.

Common RECADV errors and fixes

• Reading QTY+12 as the accepted quantity. It is what you said you despatched. The figure that drives the invoice is QTY+194. Map the right one or you will invoice for goods that were rejected.
• Ignoring the QVR qualifier. A variance against 12 is a despatch problem; against 21 it is an order shortfall the buyer may already have agreed. Route them to different queues.
• SSCCs that do not match the DESADV. If the RECADV quotes an SSCC your system never sent, the pallet was relabelled or the DESADV was wrong. Check the inspector for the GS1 check digit first, then compare against your despatch records.
• No RECADV is not the same as a clean receipt. GS1 notes that a full, discrepancy-free receipt often produces no RECADV or a header-only one. Agree with the partner which applies, or you will wait for a message that never comes.
• Replacements treated as new receipts. A BGM function 5 replaces an earlier RECADV quoted in RFF+ALO. Update the original receipt; do not add a second one.
• Backorder deadlines lost. DTM+61 under a line is a cancel-by date. If you ship after it, the buyer can refuse the delivery.

Testing checklist

1. Agree whether the partner sends header-only RECADVs for clean receipts, or none at all.
2. Confirm which quantity qualifiers they send (194 only, or 194 plus 12, 21 and 46).
3. Get their full list of QVR discrepancy and reason codes, and decide what each one does in your ERP.
4. Ask whether they report by item, by SSCC, or both.
5. Test a short receipt, an over-delivery and a damaged pallet before go-live.
6. Check that UNT counts and CNT+2 match by pasting each test file into the EDIFACT inspector.
7. Agree how disputes are raised: through EDI, a portal or email.

OrderSync reads RECADV, matches each line back to the order and despatch advice, and shows accepted, short and rejected quantities next to each other, so your team works the exceptions instead of re-keying them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a RECADV in EDI?

RECADV is the UN/EDIFACT receiving advice message. The buyer or receiving warehouse sends it after goods arrive to confirm what was received and accepted and to report shortages, damage or over-deliveries against the despatch advice or the order. It is the EDIFACT equivalent of the X12 861.

What is the difference between DESADV and RECADV?

DESADV is sent by the supplier when goods leave and says what was shipped. RECADV is sent by the buyer after the goods arrive and says what was received and accepted. Comparing the two, line by line and SSCC by SSCC, is how both sides find and settle delivery discrepancies.

What does QTY+194 mean?

Qualifier 194 means "received and accepted". It is the quantity the buyer has taken into stock and will pay for. Other quantities in the same line, such as 12 (despatched) or 21 (ordered), are there for comparison.

Is RECADV mandatory?

No. EANCOM defines it but does not require it, and many retailers never send one. Where it is used, the trading partner agreement sets when it is sent and what it triggers, such as invoice matching or automatic deductions.

How quickly is a RECADV sent?

GS1 recommends sending it within a commercially agreed period after receipt and gives 24 hours as an example. The partner's guide sets the actual window.

Can a RECADV reject a whole delivery?

Yes. A rejected item is reported as its own line with a received and accepted quantity of zero and a QVR explaining why, for example item not ordered or goods damaged. GS1 also defines message function 27 (not accepted) in BGM for a receiving advice that does not accept the referenced message.

What is the X12 equivalent of RECADV?

The X12 861 Receiving Advice/Acceptance Certificate. The data is similar, but X12 combines condition and quantity in the RCD segment, while RECADV splits them into QTY and QVR.

Related guides

• EDIFACT explained: syntax, envelopes and the full X12 mapping
• EDIFACT DESADV: the despatch advice RECADV is checked against
• EDIFACT ORDERS and ORDRSP: the order and the supplier's response
• EDIFACT INVOIC: the invoice that should agree with the receipt
• EDIFACT APERAK: application errors on a message, as opposed to goods discrepancies
• EDIFACT message types: every EDIFACT message and its X12 equivalent
• EDI 861 receiving advice: the X12 counterpart

Sources

• EANCOM 2002 S3: RECADV receiving advice message, GS1
• UN/EDIFACT D.01B RECADV message, UNECE
• Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), GS1

Paste any RECADV into the free EDIFACT inspector to see each line, quantity and SSCC laid out and checked.