T-Sets | ANSI X12 810

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) continues to be a vital part of how businesses communicate with each other. The market has been growing at a CAGR of 9.8% since 2022, and is slated to continue that track record all the way to 2030.¹

But while EDI has been around for decades, there is still a lot on the subject that businesses should continue to learn about. An example is the American National Standards Institute X12 (ANSI X12), one of the key standards within EDI. Considering its wide usage across a variety of industries and company sizes, it’s critical to understand to make the most of how your business addresses EDI.

That’s why today, of the multiple messages within this standard, we’ll be covering the ANSI X12 810 transaction set (T-Set.) With this guide, we can help you understand everything you need to know about this T-Set, including:

The ANSI X12 810 message’s main uses.
How a typical ANSI X12 810 message is structured.
The steps that go behind processing an ANSI X12 810 message.

Suggested reading: Need a refresher on EDI standards? Read our in-depth guide: EDI Standards Webpage.

What is the ANSI X12 810 T-Set?

The ANSI X12 810 T-set, often referred to as the Invoice Transaction Set, serves as a standard for sending invoice data between businesses.

Due to its capabilities in facilitating the exchange of sales information, this T-Set is used in multiple industries, from Retail to Transportation & Logistics. If you want to improve how your organisation carries out B2B transactions, the ANSI X12 810 T-set is an essential tool for efficient, reliable communication.

Benefits and drawbacks of the ANSI X12 810 message

Like all technologies, the ANSI X12 810 T-set comes with its strengths and limitations. However, the advantages greatly outweigh the challenges.

Key benefits of the ANSI X12 810 T-set include:

Efficiency improvement: Automating the invoice process reduces time-consuming manual tasks, allowing you to direct more of your efforts on to other critical business operations.
Data accuracy: Automation minimises human errors, ensuring the data accuracy of your invoices.
Payment cycle acceleration: Digital invoice processing reduces payment cycle duration, enhancing cash flow.

The main challenge associated with the ANSI X12 810 is its complexity. While its automation capabilities save a lot of errors in communication, the actual data input needs to be accurate to prevent the message from being rejected.

The best way of addressing this is through considering external solutions and expert EDI partners that can seamlessly integrate with your business operations.

How is an ANSI X12 810 T-Set structured?

A typical ANSI X12 810 message follows this structure:

ISA*…* // Interchange Control Header
GS*IN*SellerDept*BuyerDept*YYMMDD*HHMM*1*X*004010
ST*810*0001
BIG*YYMMDD*InvoiceNo*YYMMDD*PONo
N1*ST*ABC Company*9*123456789
ITD*05*3*1.5**15**45
DTM*011*YYMMDD
IT1**1*EA*10**UP*012345678905
TDS*1000
CAD*SCAC*ProNo*BOL*RefNo
SE*10*0001
GE*1*1
IEA*1*000000001

Now let’s break down each segment and the purpose they serve within the message:

Segment	Description	Purpose
ISA	Interchange Control Header: Begins the interchange	The start of the interchange
GS	Functional Group Header	Start the Invoice group
ST	Transaction Set Header: Begins the transaction set	Start of the Invoice Transaction Set
BIG	Beginning Segment for Invoice Transaction	Indicates the invoice and purchase order dates and numbers
N1	Name: Identifies a party by organisation, name, and code	Identifies the buyer ‘ABC Company’
ITD	Terms of Sale or Deferred Terms	Specifies the payment terms
DTM	Date/Time Reference: Provides key dates	Indicates the invoice date
IT1	Baseline Item Data (Invoice): Provides details on each invoiced item	Details of the item invoiced
TDS	Total Monetary Value Summary	Indicates the total invoice is for $1,000
CAD	Carrier Details (Invoice): Provides the transportation details	Specifies the shipment details
SE	Transaction Set Trailer: Marks the end of the transaction set	End of the Invoice Transaction Set
GE	Functional Group Trailer: Marks the end of a functional group	End of the Invoice group
IEA	Interchange Control Trailer: Marks the end of an interchange	The end of the interchange

How an ANSI X12 810 T-Set is processed

Here are the steps for processing the ANSI X12 810 T-set:

EDI document creation: Prepare and send the EDI document, such as the Invoice (EDI 810), to the trading partner.
EDI document reception and processing: The receiving system accepts the incoming EDI document and checks for errors.
Invoice generation: If the document passes the checks, the receiving system generates the invoice.
Invoice transmission: The invoice is sent to the original sender, notifying them about its receipt and processing status.
Error handling: If an error indicates rejection, the original sender then corrects the mistake and resends the document — effectively restarting the process.

EDI standard equivalents

It’s also worth knowing the equivalents of the ANSI X12 810 message in other major EDI standards. Having this knowledge helps your business see greater interoperability (across various regions and industries), integrations with other systems, and in meeting compliance regulations.

Here are examples of how the ANSI X12 810 T-Set translates into other standards:

EDI Standard	Equivalent to ANSI X12 810
EDIFACT	INVOIC
TRADACOMS	INVF
EANCOM	INVOIC
HL7	DFT
RosettaNet	PIP3A4
SAP IDoc	INVOIC02
VDA	4906

Suggested reading: We go further in-depth into ANSI X12 in our must-read guide: ANSI X12 Explained: Message Standards and Transaction Sets

Data Interchange can help you perform EDI with ease

As we covered, the main challenge with implementing ANSI X12 810 comes down to its complexity. Expert knowledge on this T-Set (and EDI as a whole) is crucial to bypassing errors in your message processing and structure — and experiencing communication silos with your business partners.

This is where an EDI partner can help. At Data Interchange, we use our 35+ years of expertise and experience to empower businesses with leading EDI software and services.

Whether it’s one of our best-in-class EDI solutions, a bespoke managed and consulting service, or both, we can deliver the outcome you need to see more efficient EDI. Get started today by speaking with one of our experts!

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