EDI Envelope — ISA, GS, GE, IEA
EDI Envelope Segments — ISA, GS, GE, IEA
Overview
Every EDI transaction is wrapped in envelope segments. These are consistent across all transaction types (846, 850, 856, 810).
code
ISA ─── Interchange Header (outermost envelope) GS ─── Functional Group Header ST ─── Transaction Set Header ... transaction content ... SE ─── Transaction Set Trailer GE ─── Functional Group Trailer IEA ─── Interchange Control Trailer
ISA - Interchange Header
| Element | Name | Length | M/O | Value/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISA01 | Authorization Info Qualifier | 2 ID | Required | 00 (No authorization info present) |
| ISA02 | Authorization Information | 10 AN | Required | Not Used (space-filled) |
| ISA03 | Security Info Qualifier | 2 ID | Required | 00 (No security info present) |
| ISA04 | Security Information | 10 AN | Required | Not Used (space-filled) |
| ISA05 | Interchange ID Qualifier | 2 ID | Required | ZZ (Mutually Defined) or 01 (DUNS) |
| ISA06 | Interchange Sender ID | 15 AN | Required | If sender is FLX → FLXPOINT. If sender is Vendor → vendor's ISA ID number. Right-padded with spaces to 15 chars |
| ISA07 | Interchange ID Qualifier | 2 ID | Required | ZZ (Mutually Defined) |
| ISA08 | Interchange Receiver ID | 15 AN | Required | If receiver is FLX → FLXPOINT. Right-padded to 15 chars |
| ISA09 | Date | 6 DT | Required | YYMMDD format |
| ISA10 | Time | 4 TM | Required | HHMM format |
| ISA11 | Interchange Control Standards ID | 1 ID | Required | U (US EDI Community of X12, TDCC, UCS) |
| ISA12 | Interchange Control Version | 5 AN | Required | 00401 |
| ISA13 | Interchange Control Number | 9 N | Required | Sequential number starting with 1, incremented by 1 per transmission |
| ISA14 | Acknowledgment Requested | 1 ID | Required | 0 (No Interchange Acknowledgment TA1 requested) |
| ISA15 | Test Indicator | 1 ID | Required | P (Production) or T (Test) |
| ISA16 | Sub-element Separator | 1 AN | Required | > (standard) or : — must be consistent throughout the file. 992 support emails in 6 months mention delimiter/separator issues. |
Delimiter Troubleshooting
- Standard delimiters: segment terminator
~, element separator*, sub-element separator>(ISA16) - Common issue: files have line breaks (CR/LF) before
~— Flxpoint's parser handles this, but be aware - Unusual delimiters: if a vendor uses
|instead of*, the ISA header must declare it correctly at the fixed position - Data containing delimiters: if product names or descriptions contain
*,~, or>, this will break the parser. These characters must be escaped or removed from data fields.
ISA ID Qualifier Codes (ISA05/ISA07)
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
01 | DUNS (Dun & Bradstreet) |
14 | DUNS Plus Suffix |
30 | U.S. Federal Tax ID |
32 | U.S. Federal Employer ID (FEIN) |
ZZ | Mutually Defined (default) |
X12 defines 30+ qualifier codes but FLX typically uses ZZ.
GS - Functional Group Header
| Element | Name | Length | M/O | Value/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS01 | Functional Identifier Code | 2 ID | Required | See table below |
| GS02 | Application Sender's Code | 15 AN | Required | Sender's ID |
| GS03 | Application Receiver's Code | 15 AN | Required | Receiver's ID |
| GS04 | Date | 8 DT | Required | CCYYMMDD format |
| GS05 | Time | 4 TM | Required | HHMM format |
| GS06 | Group Control Number | 9 N | Required | Control number, starting with 1, incremented by 1 |
| GS07 | Responsible Agency Code | 2 ID | Required | X (Accredited Standards Committee X12) |
| GS08 | Version | 12 AN | Required | 004010VICS |
GS01 Functional Identifier Codes
Authoritative code table confirmed with Faiyaz Ahmed (Integrations) 2026-04-16. See Flxpoint Parser Rules for envelope-layer behavior.
| Code | Transaction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
IB | 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice | |
PO | 850 Purchase Order | |
AD | 855 PO Acknowledgement | Canonical Flxpoint code |
PR | 855 PO Acknowledgement | Legacy alias — still accepted by the parser |
SH | 856 Ship Notice/Manifest | |
IN | 810 Invoice | |
PI | 832 Price/Sales Catalog | |
FA | 997 Functional Acknowledgment |
Accepted Versions (GS08)
Flxpoint accepts three variants:
004010VICS— preferred (matches VICS-specific segments)004010— accepted with a warning (not hard-rejected even if VICS-specific segments are present)005010— accepted
ISA15 Usage Indicator — Test Mode
P= ProductionT= Test — both are processed by Flxpoint, but the UI (and Flxpector) badges test files with a "Test Mode" pill so they are not mistaken for live orders.
GE - Functional Group Trailer
| Element | Name | Length | M/O | Value/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE01 | Number of Included Transaction Sets | 6 N | Required | Count of ST segments within the group |
| GE02 | Group Control Number | 9 AN | Required | Must match GS06 |
IEA - Interchange Control Trailer
| Element | Name | Length | M/O | Value/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IEA01 | Number of Included Functional Groups | 5 N | Required | Count of GS segments within the interchange |
| IEA02 | Interchange Control Number | 9 N | Required | Must match ISA13 |
Control Number Matching Rules
| Trailer Field | Must Match | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SE02 | ST02 | Transaction Set Control Number |
| GE02 | GS06 | Group Control Number |
| IEA02 | ISA13 | Interchange Control Number |
FLX Envelope Requirements vs Generic X12
| Aspect | FLX Spec | Generic X12 004010 |
|---|---|---|
| ISA05 | ZZ or 01 | 30+ qualifier codes supported |
| ISA13 uniqueness | Not required by FLX (best practice) | Some validators enforce |
| ISA date format | YYMMDD | YYMMDD (match) |
| GS date format | CCYYMMDD | CCYYMMDD (match) |
| GS time formats | HHMM | HHMM, HHMMSS, HHMMSSD, HHMMSSDD |
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