EDI 997-Functional Acknowledgement
The EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgement is an electronic receipt for EDI documents. Trading partners use the 997 to confirm that they received the delivery information, as well as see if there were any data or formatting errors. Essentially, the EDI 997 acts as a response to tell supply chain partners that information has been seen and accepted or rejected.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is defined as the electronic communication process for exchanging data amongst trading partners without human intervention. Simply put, EDI provides a technical basis for commercial “conversations” between two entities, either internal or external.
EDI encompasses the entire electronic communication process including:
- Transmission
- Message Flow
- Document Format
- Software Used to Interpret Documents
Common EDI Transactions
Full List of EDI ANSI X12 Documents and Transactions
What is EDI 997
The EDI 997 is an electronic document used to acknowledge the receipt of a transaction set (such as an EDI 810 Invoice or EDI 850 PO) and to report any errors or exceptions that may have occurred during the processing of the transaction. The 997 serves as a confirmation that the transaction was received and processed successfully, and is often used for end-to-end testing of EDI transactions. This electronic document complies with the ANSI X12 EDI specification.
EDI 997 documents follow the x12 format set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a not-for-profit organization that regulates EDI formats in the U.S. For businesses using the EDIFACT standard, the equivalent of EDI 997 is the CONTROL message.
Benefits of EDI 997
EDI 997 provides a valuable tool for organizations to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and visibility of their business transactions, leading to improved business outcomes and increased operational efficiency.
How is an EDI 997 Used?
Basic overview of how the EDI 997 is used:
- The sender generates a transaction set and transmits it to the receiver via EDI.
- The receiver processes the transaction set and generates an EDI 997 to acknowledge the receipt of the transaction
- The EDI 997 includes information such as the control number of the transaction set, the acknowledgement type (accepted, rejected, or accepted with errors), and any error codes that may have occurred during processing.
- The EDI 997 is transmitted back to the sender, providing confirmation that the transaction set was received and processed, and indicating any errors that may have occurred during processing.
- The sender can use the information in the EDI 997 to resolve any errors or exceptions that may have occurred, and to track the status of the transaction set.
EDI 997 is typically used for end-to-end testing of EDI transactions, and for ongoing communication between trading partners to ensure the accuracy and reliability of transaction data.
Common Issues Regarding the EDI 997
Errors in the EDI 997 typically arise from not adhering to trading partner specifications or EDI standards. A 997 Functional Acknowledgement may be rejected for several reasons, including:
- Mismatch in Control Numbers
- Violates Character Length Requirements
- Incorrect Acknowledgement Type
- Missing Mandatory Data
- Contains Invalid Data
Your reconciliation process should be checking for Rejections, at a minimum, but also for Error and Partially Accepted states. The states may reflect a change in standards or in your partner’s requirements that you haven’t been made aware of. They can also mean that you have provided incomplete or incorrect data. Ignoring the Error and Rejected statuses may be costly to your company, as those EDI transactions may not be fully processed by your partner leaving you with unpaid invoices and a growing number of aged accounts receivable accounts.
EDI 997 Specifications
ANSI ASC X12
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) chartered the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 to develop uniform standards for inter-industry electronic exchange of business transactions, namely electronic data interchange. ASC X12 also contributes to UN/EDIFACT messages that are used widely outside of the United States.
EDI 997 Transaction Sample
Key data elements included in the EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgement
AK1 – Group Acknowledgment (Refers to GS segment)
AK3 – Reports Errors in a specific segment
01: Segment in Error
02: Line in error from ST
AK4 – Reports Errors in specific element
01: Lists the Element in error
02: Lists the ID in EDI dictionary of the element
03: Code giving a general reason for the error 04: Shows the bad data
- 1: Mandatory data element missing
- 2: Conditional data element missing
- 3: Too many data elements
- 4: Data element too short
- 5: Data element too long
- 6: Invalid character in data element
- 7: Invalid code value
- 8: Invalid date
- 9: Invalid time
- 10: Exclusion condition violated
AK9 – Group Response
- Additional dates (such as cancel by dates
AK2 – Document Acknowledgment (Refers to ST segment)
AK5 – Type of acknowledgment
01: Lists the Acknowledgment Status
- A: Accepted
- E: Accepted with Errors noted
- M: Rejected; message authentication
- P: Partially accepted
- R: Rejected
- W: Rejected
- X: Rejected
02: Transaction set syntax Error Code
- 1: Transaction set not supported
- 2: Transaction set trailer missing
- 3: Transaction control #’s don’t match
- 4: Number of segments don’t match count
- 5: One or more segments in error
- 6: Missing transaction set identifier
- 7: Missing or invalid transaction set control #
- 16: Syntax Error
- 23: Transaction set control # not unique
Commport's EDI specialists can help automate your 997 functional acknowledgement reporting.
Let Commport take on that task and deliver you the same great service and support you need to run your business successfully.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is defined as the electronic communication process for exchanging data amongst trading partners without human intervention. Simply put, EDI provides a technical basis for commercial “conversations” between two entities, either internal or external.
EDI encompasses the entire electronic communication process including:
- Transmission
- Message Flow
- Document Format
- Software Used to Interpret Documents
An Integrated EDI solution translates your inbound documents, like purchase orders, from your trading partners’ EDI files into a format that can be imported directly into your ERP, accounting or other business system.
When you’re ready to send out invoices, PO acknowledgments or other outbound documents, it takes the format exported from your system and translates it into the EDI formats required by your trading partners.
Commport’s Integrated EDI solution has no complicated or expensive software to install, and no need for you to be an EDI
expert or create your own mappings
The solution grows easily as your business grows and adding new customers is easy.
Translation is fast and reliable – so you can focus on your business
Key Features of Commport's Integrated EDI
- Documents flow into and out of your business system without any human interaction.
- Commport handles all of the ‘EDI’ work.
- No delays between your customer sending an order and you receiving it.
- Reduce manual effort
- Eliminate errors
- Improve cash flow