Convert an EDIFACT INVOIC to Excel
Drop the .edi or .txt file exactly as your partner sent it. The INVOIC message is parsed into a table, and the segments that only mean something to your trading partner are shown as they are rather than guessed at.
| # | Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | VAT % | Net amount |
|---|
| Category | Rate | Taxable base | VAT amount |
|---|
| # | Qualifier | Reference | Amount | Paid |
|---|
| Segment | Element | Value |
|---|
Where EDI stops being self-explanatory
EDIFACT is older than any of the XML formats and far more permissive: the same INVOIC message can be written a dozen legal ways, and the meaning of a qualifier is frequently agreed in a partner-specific implementation guideline rather than in the standard. So this parser names what the standard names, and for the rest it shows you the segment, the element and the value. A wrong label on a finance document is worse than an unlabelled one.
What you get out
Every field below is read from the file itself. Nothing is inferred, and a field the invoice does not carry is left empty rather than filled in with a plausible guess.
- BGM document number and type, DTM dates, CUX currency
- NAD parties, with the qualifier they were sent under
- LIN line items with quantity, price and applicable tax
- MOA monetary amounts and TAX rows
- Every remaining segment, element by element, unlabelled and unaltered
Questions
Which directory versions work?
The common invoice directories, D.93A through D.01B and later. The segment structure of INVOIC has been stable for a long time, which is why the file is still in use.
Why are some values shown as raw segments?
Because their meaning depends on your agreement with that partner. Anything unambiguous is labelled; anything that would be a guess is shown as the raw segment so you can read it against your own guideline.
Can it read a file with several messages?
Yes. Each UNH to UNT message is read on its own within the interchange.