What is an EDIFACT REMADV Message?

The supplying organization would first create an EDI invoice message or several invoice messages to their customer. When using EDIFACT as the EDI standard, this would be as an INVOIC message.

A REMADV message is particularly useful if multiple invoices are settled in a single payment. With an EDIFACT REMADV, the supplier can use this information to relate several invoices to a payment.

As the usage of a REMADV message is optional, it is not as common as some of the other practically mandatory document types in an EDI workflow. These REMADV messages tend to be sent between the larger customers and their suppliers, dependent on their specific business practices.

Remittance advice messages contain various data regarding the payment of goods. The remittance advice can furthermore refer to different business processes and the corresponding financial transactions.

EDI Remittance Advices follow a set structure of segments and elements specific to the EDIFACT standard. The customer’s own in house ERP system like e.g., SAP, would create a message containing all the required invoice bundling information, e.g., in SAP IDoc, which is then translated into the customer’s required EDI standard. The EDI solution doing the conversion can be an EDI Cloud Service or EDI software for in-house usage.

A typical EDIFACT REMADV message contains:

• Buyer and seller information
• Previous Invoice details like invoice number and amount
• Surcharge or reduction reasons and applied discounts
• Partial payments that have already been transferred or are still due, etc.

The EDI Remittance Advice can be necessary as part of the so-called ten-day invoices. A supplier issues invoices for a larger number of delivery notes at the same time (usually covering around ten days and various purchase locations - for example, retail stores), which then are settled in one go.

The figure below shows an EDIFACT REMADV message and which other message types are used in an automotive scenario:

EDIFACT is the current standard proposed by the UN and used across Europe and in most parts of Asia. UN/EDIFACT uses a single REMADV document to specify all invoices which are settled in one payment. Using the ANSI X12 standard, which is mostly used in North America, the 820 (Payment order (EFT)) would be sent. TRADACOMS is a standard in the UK retail sector where the equivalent is called SRMHDR.

Incorrect or unknown master data can cause issues. If you send references that the supplier does not recognize or understand the REMADV may not be accepted. For example

• Invoice numbers do not match in the supplier’s ERP system
• Discounts are applied without prior agreement