Purchase-order conversion guide

Convert EDI 850 to CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML

Turn supported purchase-order structures into readable canonical rows or keep a physical segment-oriented Raw representation.

Published and reviewed August 30, 2026

Use Smart Mapping when you need interpreted purchase-order rows. It produces the same ordered 210-field schema for generic releases 004010, 004030, and 005010, with one PO1 row plus one additional row per SLN child. Use Raw Mode when you need source-ordered segments and elements instead.

Open the EDI converter

Smart Mapping and Raw Mode answer different questions

Smart Mapping: interpreted canonical purchase-order rows

Smart Mapping understands supported BEG order identity, N1 parties, PO1 lines, SLN children, product qualifier/value pairs, descriptions, dates, references, pricing, allowances, taxes, schedules, destinations, and extended structures. There is one canonical projection—no Key Fields and All Fields distinction exists for 850.

Raw Mode: physical segment-oriented representation

Raw Mode exposes source-ordered segments and element values without claiming the 210-field interpretation. It is useful for inspecting unsupported/private structures or comparing the source with mapped rows. Raw Mode is not an “All Fields” Smart schema.

Choose the output for the next job

CSV

A lightweight, broadly compatible table for database imports, scripts, and straightforward analysis.

Excel (XLSX)

A workbook for spreadsheet review, filtering, sorting, and sharing. Canonical identifiers remain strings, including leading-zero and large integer-like values.

JSON

An array of canonical row objects for application code, APIs, and data pipelines. Collection columns remain JSON strings inside each row object.

XML

An escaped XML serialization of the current canonical row objects for systems that consume XML-shaped data.

XML represents canonical rows—not the native X12 hierarchy

The XML export serializes the current canonical row representation. It is not native X12 hierarchy XML, an official X12 XML schema, or a lossless reconstruction of the original EDI loops. Each row and field follows the same current mapped values used by CSV, XLSX, and JSON.

If a downstream process needs every original segment and loop for reconstruction, retain the authorized source EDI and use Raw Mode for physical inspection. Do not infer that canonical XML can reproduce the original interchange byte-for-byte.

Collection columns preserve repeats without multiplying rows

Twenty-three canonical fields preserve repeating source structures as deterministic JSON strings. The same strings remain scalar cell values in CSV and XLSX, string properties inside row JSON objects, and text values inside canonical-row XML fields.

This contract prevents independent REF, PID, SAC, SCH, SDQ, party, and other occurrences from producing a Cartesian expansion. See the complete field reference for collection names, scopes, source segments, and repeat strategies.

Convert an EDI 850 in the existing workspace

  1. Open the EDI converter and add an authorized 850 file.
  2. Select Smart Mapping for canonical purchase-order rows or Raw Mode for segment-oriented output.
  3. Choose Convert & Preview. Confirm the transaction, tested release, PO number, parties, and PO1/SLN row grain.
  4. Review validation and summary information. Reported Transaction Amount remains separate from Eligible Calculated Line Value; unsafe or ambiguous calculations are withheld.
  5. Use the Data Editor if needed, then export the current rows as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

Multi-file processing keeps file identity and transaction boundaries separate. Exports reflect the reviewed current rows; editing does not rewrite the original EDI.

Your EDI content stays in the browser during conversion

The browser performs EDI-content parsing, mapping, validation, summarization, editing, and export; application servers do not receive those contents as conversion input. Existing account, quota, billing, and bounded analytics metadata may still communicate with application services, so this is not a claim that the entire website makes no network requests.

The product is not X12-certified and does not guarantee trading-partner acceptance, a universal order total, a universal quantity total, cross-currency aggregation, or partner-specific validation.