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X12 transaction code

X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment

X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment: explore its business purpose, mapping identifiers, validation tests and 269 partner references across 328 listed channels.

Standard
X12
Code
855
Partner references
269
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Implementation guide

X12 855 mapping and validation

X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment is used when a seller responds to an order. Preserve original purchase order, response revision and order line so the purchase-order response in your business system stays connected to the original document.

Use the version and implementation guide agreed with your trading partner to confirm required fields and responses.

Map records and test the business result
Document or decisionRecord and matching IDsWhat to test
Match the business record purchase-order response

original purchase order, response revision and order line
  • Define which combination of original purchase order, response revision and order line identifies one business record, its lines and any later revision.
Update the receiving system Processing the purchase-order response

ID assigned by the receiving system and processing result
  • Test a partially accepted order with a backordered line and retain both outcomes.
  • Do not treat a syntax acknowledgment as acceptance of price, quantity or delivery dates.
Check the processing result Processing status for the purchase-order response

Original document reference and matching response
  • Reconcile the purchase-order response with the source after a timeout before sending it again. A lost response can occur after the destination has already processed the document.

How the related documents differ

Each message represents a different business event. Use shared references to connect the records while tracking each message’s outcome separately.

Implementation steps

  1. Choose the starting event and owner

    Decide which application acts when a seller responds to an order. Name the operational owner of the purchase-order response and the team that resolves rejected or ambiguous messages.

  2. Keep record IDs connected

    Map original purchase order, response revision and order line. Confirm qualifiers, code lists, units and date/time meaning against the agreed X12 version and partner guide. Preserve the source reference alongside any new destination identifier.

  3. Test failures before launch

    Run the failure cases in the mapping table against realistic purchase-order response data. Check how the receiving system reports a rejection and how your team corrects it without creating a duplicate.

  4. Track every document to completion

    Record transport delivery and document validation separately from successful purchase-order response processing. Give unresolved errors an owner and check the receiving system before approving retries.

Go-live checklist

  • An approved 855 sample and the agreed version and partner guide are available.
  • The mapping tests pass with realistic purchase-order response data.
  • Each submitted document can be traced through delivery, validation and processing in the receiving system.
  • Your team knows how to investigate and recover a rejected or timed-out purchase-order response without processing it twice.

Document structure

X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment at the element level

The X12 855 reference contains 54 segment entries and 204 data elements; 72 are marked mandatory in this reference. Use the version and partner guide agreed for your account to confirm required fields.

Segments
54
Data elements
204
Mandatory elements
72
Segments with elements marked mandatory in this reference
Segment Elements Mandatory
BAK 6 4
CUR 2 2
REF 3 1
FOB 3 1
SAC 10 1
DTM 4 1
TXI 7 1
N9 3 1
MSG 2 1
N1 4 1
N2 2 1
Key identifiers in 855
  • Transaction Set Purpose Code
  • Acknowledgment Type
  • Purchase Order Number
  • Date
  • Entity Identifier Code
  • Currency Code
  • Reference Identification Qualifier
  • Shipment Method of Payment

Find your trading partner for X12 855

269 partners, 328 channels. Choose a channel to inspect its listed document reference and implementation context.

Catalog breakdown

Where X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment appears in this catalog

The largest groups of classified 855 catalog entries are in grocery & food, retail and building & hardware.

By industry

  • grocery & food 53 channels
  • retail 47 channels
  • building & hardware 46 channels
  • furniture & home 43 channels
  • healthcare & pharma 28 channels
  • apparel & footwear 23 channels

By network

  • SPS Commerce 87 channels
  • Epicor Eclipse 42 channels
  • TrueCommerce 26 channels
  • Rithum 8 channels
  • Logicbroker 8 channels
  • iTradeNetwork 7 channels
Partner entries with the most listed channels

FAQ

X12 855 questions

What is X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment used for?

855 is used when a seller responds to an order. It carries information for the purchase-order response. Match it to your business system using original purchase order, response revision and order line.

Which partners list X12 855?

The directory on this page links 269 partner entries that list this message. Choose your partner and channel, then confirm which messages and versions your account requires.

What should I map for X12 855?

Start with original purchase order, response revision and order line and the target purchase-order response. Define duplicate detection, allowed updates and response correlation before mapping individual fields. Use the partner guide to check required fields and their formats.

How should I test 855 error handling?

Test a partially accepted order with a backordered line and retain both outcomes. Do not treat a syntax acknowledgment as acceptance of price, quantity or delivery dates. Also test a lost response after destination processing so that a retry cannot create an unintended duplicate or repeated adjustment.

How does 855 relate to other EDI messages?

X12 850 Purchase Order; X12 856 Ship Notice Manifest; X12 860 Purchase Order Change Request Buyer Initiated are related documents linked from this page. Match these documents through their order, shipment or invoice references. Agree which response marks each business step as complete.

What is the difference between 855 and 850?

855 is used when a seller responds to an order. 850 is used when a buyer places an order. Each message represents a different business step. Keep their record references connected and track the processing result for each message.

What is the difference between 855 and 856?

855 is used when a seller responds to an order. 856 is used when shipment contents are known before the agreed notification deadline. Each message represents a different business step. Keep their record references connected and track the processing result for each message.

Connect EDI to your business systems

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