One of the most successful automation attempts in payments has been the adoption of EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, which can allow for full automation of cash applications from participating customers. EDI specifies the number of formats for everything from invoices to debit authorizations. Two financial formats related to payments and processing are EDI 820 and EDI 823. EDI 820 is for payment/remittance advice and is provided by paying companies, usually to accompany an electronic payment. EDI 823 is a lockbox file that usually comes from the bank. EDI 823 is not unlike other lockbox formats like BAI and BAI2, in that they have similar shortcomings? while they can usually be processed directly by ERP, they do not contain line item detail due to costs for adding these by the bank. For this reason, EDI 820 has emerged as a key enabler of auto-cash. The issue with EDI is that even with general standardization, the format is open to customization between various customer companies. In fact, there are two dominant standards for EDI? ANSI X.12 and UN/EDIFACT. Because of the wide variation of data that can be included, the EDI formats vary between customers.

In the past, vendors looking to take advantage of EDI had to provide specific templates ? this process is error-prone and limits flexibility??

It is not uncommon to receive a manual of hundred-plus pages to describe the various segments and data fields in the file provided by a given company. This often meant that, in the past, vendors looking to take advantage of EDI had to provide specific templates to read and process each individual format of EDI. This process is not only IT-intensive to add new automation, but it is also error-prone and limits flexibility when payers make changes to their files. Recent solutions have provided out-of-the-box, comprehensive support for the rich EDI 820 and 823 formats that allow onboarding new customers without additional resource expenditure and delays. By supporting the multiple variations allowed by the different formats, such systems can interpret the data correctly without the need for customization. The benefits of EDI support are clear. Companies can automatically, and without error, get the information they need to immediately apply cash without any human intervention. The level of automation that EDI can provide? 100%! This means that customers who provide EDI already or that you can convince to provide you with EDI remittance, will not take any of the cash application team?s time allowing for switching resources to higher-value activities or to support growth without growing team size.