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X12 transaction set reference
X12 850 — Purchase Order
The X12 850 is an electronic purchase order sent by a buyer or retailer to a supplier, carrying PO number, ship-to parties, line items, quantities, and delivery dates.
EDI 850 facts
- GS01 functional ID for 850 groups is PO — parsers use it to route purchase-order traffic separately from invoices and ASNs.
- BEG03 purchase order number is the anchor retailers use to match 856 ASN and 810 invoice references.
- SignalEDI maps BEG/N1/PO1 into structured JSON on inbound 850 and validates partner rule packs before routing.
Where EDI 850 fits
- Direction
- Buyer / retailer → supplier
- GS functional ID
- PO
- Workflow position
- 850 starts order-to-cash: retailers send 850, suppliers respond with 855 (optional), ship with 856 ASN, then invoice with 810.
Related sets: 855, 856, 810, 997 · Document guide
Key segments in EDI 850
| Segment | Role |
|---|---|
| ST | Opens transaction set 850 and assigns ST02 control number. |
| BEG | PO header — purpose, PO number, and order date. |
| N1 | Ship-to, bill-to, and vendor party IDs with qualifier codes. |
| PO1 | Line items — quantity, UOM, price, and product IDs. |
| CTT | Line count for SE integrity checks. |
| SE | Closes the transaction set; segment count must match. |
Sample EDI 850
ST*850*0001~ BEG*00*SA*PO1001**20260504~ N1*ST*RETAIL DC*92*DC001~ PO1*1*12*EA*19.99**VN*SKU-100~ CTT*1~ SE*5*0001~
Validate samples with the free EDI validator.
Send EDI 850 with SignalEDI
POST /api/v1/documents/outbound
{
"partnerId": "retailer-demo",
"documentTypeCode": "850",
"payload": { "purchaseOrderNumber": "PO1001", "lines": [{ "sku": "SKU-100", "qty": 12 }] }
}Your side can reach partner-ready setup in days, not weeks — partner certification calendars may still take longer. See the API quickstart.
Common EDI 850 errors
- Missing or duplicate BEG03 PO number
- N104 ship-to ID not enrolled with retailer
- PO1 quantity or UOM mismatch vs retailer catalog
- CTT01 line count does not match PO1 loops
Related reference
FAQ
EDI 850 FAQ
The buyer or retailer sends the 850 to the supplier.
No. A 997 only confirms syntactic acceptance of the functional group — business acceptance is usually an 855 or partner workflow.
Trust & proof
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