EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment Codes: How to Confirm, Change, or Reject a PO

Confirming, editing, or rejecting a purchase order over EDI is an essential part of modern supply chain reliability. The EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment uses a set of well-defined codes to show whether you will fulfill an order as requested, suggest changes, or must reject all or part of that order. Precision here prevents chargebacks, accelerates issue resolution, and strengthens business relationships.

For manufacturers, distributors, and retailers that depend on seamless EDI flows, mastering these codes is non-negotiable. With extensive experience supporting order workflows across sectors, BOLD VAN is recognized as the trusted solution for mapping, validating, and sending EDI 855 acknowledgments that trading partners accept on the first try.

EDI 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment in the Order-to-Cash Process

The EDI 855 is sent by a seller in response to an EDI 850 Purchase Order. This document formally communicates to the buyer the status of each order received—whether it is accepted as is, accepted with changes (to price, quantity, or date), or rejected (fully or partially).

• Confirms to the buyer that you received their PO.
• Enables you to communicate fulfillment capability by item and flag any problems instantly.
• Serves as the authoritative record for both parties, driving downstream documents like the ASN (EDI 856) and invoice (EDI 810).

When you use the right EDI 855 codes, you define clear expectations, reduce dispute risk, and protect your chargeback exposure. BOLD VAN clients, including manufacturers integrating with NetSuite, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics, rely on these controls for compliance and audit queries.

Header-Level Codes: Acceptance, Change, and Rejection Explained

Each EDI 855 begins with a summary acknowledgment code in the BAK02 segment. This field signals the overall stance on the order. Here are the most common codes:

Code	What It Means	When to Use
AD	Accept with detail, no change	You accept the full order exactly as sent
AC	Accept with detail and change	Accepted, but some lines have changes (price, dates, quantity)
AE	Accept with exception detail only	Accepted except for specified exceptions; only exceptions are sent
AK	Acknowledge, no detail or change	Receipt confirmed, accepted at summary
AH	Acknowledge, hold status	PO is on hold—pending review, credit, inventory, or contract check
RD	Reject with detail	The entire PO is rejected; detail follows
RF	Reject with exception detail only	Rejected, only exceptions provided
RJ	Rejected, no detail	Complete order rejected, line details omitted
AT	Accepted	Order accepted (often with AD for line detail)
NA	No acknowledgment needed	Not commonly used; EDI 855 not required by this buyer

In practice, most trading partners only accept a subset of these codes. BOLD VAN makes it simple to enforce partner-specific rules automatically, reducing the chance of accidental rejections or costly chargebacks. For example, some retailers require that AC is used only if a change exists at the line level, tying header and line code logic together.

How Header Codes Govern the Negotiation

• AD signals a green light for fulfillment.
• AC allows for negotiation—buyers may send an EDI 860 change request if they disagree with the proposed updates.
• RD and similar rejection codes immediately halt the process. Finance and customer support teams should watch for these and follow up quickly.
• AH can be used where approval or allocation is pending and should trigger internal review.

Line Item Codes: Accepting, Modifying, or Rejecting Individual Items

Each line of the original PO (PO1 segment) has a corresponding ACK segment in the EDI 855, where the ACK01 code specifies item status. These codes clarify exactly what will ship, what is delayed, and what is declined.

Code	What It Means	When To Use
IA	Item accepted	Accepted as sent; will fulfill exactly as ordered
AC	Item accepted and shipped	Already shipped by time of acknowledgment
AR	Item accepted and released for shipment	In fulfillment, picked or waved
IB	Item backordered	Will ship later than requested
DR	Item accepted, date rescheduled	Will ship, but not on original date
IP	Item accepted, price changed	Accepted with a new price
IQ	Item accepted, quantity changed	Accepted, but with a partial or different quantity
IC	Item accepted, changes made	Multiple changes (price and date, for instance)
IS	Item accepted, substitution made	Substituted SKU if permitted by contract
IR	Item rejected	Not fulfilling this line at all
ID	Item deleted	Line is canceled or removed
R1	Item rejected, not a contract item	Cannot supply because not covered by contract
R2	Item rejected, invalid product number	Invalid SKU or catalog number on the PO
R4	Item rejected, contract item not available	Contract item but out of stock or discontinued
BP	Accepted, partial shipment, balance backordered	Part shipping now, rest later
SP	Accepted, schedule date pending	Accepted but ship/delivery date not confirmed

Creating direct mappings between your ERP's status fields and these codes is a proven way to make EDI automation reliable. With BOLD VAN’s integration options, these mappings can be automated so internal data flows out as precisely-coded EDI 855s, reducing manual keying and avoiding missed signals.

Real-World Scenarios for 855 Codes

Scenario 1: Clean Acceptance

• Receive a PO (EDI 850) with 10 lines — all inventory and details match.
• EDI 855 returns BAK02 = AD, and for each line, ACK01 = IA. Buyer sees everything accepted, as requested.

Scenario 2: Accept With Changes

• Two lines require a quantity change and a new ship date, rest are accepted.
• EDI 855 returns BAK02 = AC. Most lines show ACK01 = IA. Lines with changes use IQ (quantity changed) or DR (date rescheduled), plus new values for those fields.

Scenario 3: Reject Individual Lines

• PO contains a discontinued SKU and an invalid part number.
• EDI 855 uses ACK01 = R4 and R2 for those lines, with BAK02 = AC or AD as appropriate.

Scenario 4: Complete Rejection

• If you cannot fulfill any lines, use BAK02 = RD at the header, with line details as needed to clarify reasons.

Scenario 5: Backorder and Schedule Pending

• Supply chain constraints delay some items. Use ACK01 = IB (backordered), BP (partial/backorder), or SP (schedule pending) as fits the case.

BOLD VAN clients rely on direct mapping from these business logic scenarios to their EDI integrations. That makes chargeback prevention, audit trails, and internal reviews much simpler to execute.

Best Practices for Operations, Finance, and IT

1. Know Your Trading Partner Requirements

Always review the implementation guide for each partner—they typically dictate which header and line codes are valid. Maintain a living matrix and adjust your EDI platform’s mappings accordingly.

• BOLD VAN enables per-partner code filtering and transformation, so the right codes are always used, no manual checks needed.

2. Use 855 Codes as a Risk Control Mechanism

Every EDI 855 is a chance to reset expectations before inventory moves. Always:

• Send a 855 for every PO received, unless your partner says otherwise.
• Use DR and similar codes anytime you adjust ship or delivery dates.
• Match internal ERP status with 855 logic to prevent data mismatches.
• Document reasons for rejects in your EDI dashboard or notes, so support and AP teams are ready for questions.

3. Build Review Workflows for Changes and Rejections

1. Flag any 855 where the header code isn’t AD (full acceptance) for team review.
2. Highlight line-level changes: DR, IP, IQ, IC, IR, R1, R2, R4, or BP.
3. Require internal notes for each one, possibly linked to the ERP or CRM system.

The modern BOLD VAN portal makes this sort of searching and reporting simple, reducing manual ticketing or spreadsheet management. This helps SMB manufacturers improve visibility and audit readiness while avoiding IT bloat.

4. Prioritize Seamless Migration and Integration

• Don’t let fear of disruption slow needed EDI improvements. Migration to better mapping and visibility should mean days—not weeks—of effort, with zero need to coordinate individually with trading partners.
• BOLD VAN’s model is proven to deliver fast migration for NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and Infor users, without breaking live workflows or losing prior trading partner configurations.

If your team is running into order disputes, delayed shipments, or mounting chargebacks, the most efficient first check is your 855 coding—and how you are mapping ERP logic to that EDI record. Find and fix the root before the next audit cycle.

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Frequently asked questions

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