What Is an EDI 820? Understanding Digital Remittance Advices

When a retailer pays you, you need to know which invoices the payment covers. The 820 Payment Order and Remittance Advice carries that information in an electronic file. It replaces the check stub or the email with the payment details.

What the 820 tells you

An 820 can tell you which invoices a payment covers, the amount paid against each, and whether anything was deducted. A retailer may send it directly or through a bank, and it travels alongside the payment itself.

How it relates to the 810 invoice

The 810 is your bill, covered in What Is an EDI 810 Invoice?. The 820 is the retailer’s answer: here is what we paid, and here is what it applies to. The invoice number on the 810 is what links the two.

If the payment is less than the invoice, the 820 should show where the difference went, such as a deduction or adjustment. Retailers use their own reason codes, so check your retailer’s guide to read them.

What it is made of

A few parts are worth knowing:

• The payment details: amount, method and date.
• A trace number: this ties the 820 to the deposit in your bank account.
• The remittance detail: the invoices paid, with amounts and any credits.
• The adjustments: deductions and the reason given.

Why it saves time

Matching a lump-sum payment to open invoices by hand is slow and easy to get wrong. When the 820 goes straight into your accounting or ERP system, the matching can be automated, and deductions become visible when the payment lands, not weeks later.

Not every retailer sends an 820 to every supplier. Check which documents your retailer uses before you plan the setup.