EDI 811 Consolidated Service Invoice/Statement

What is EDI 811?

Electronic data interchange (EDI) 811 is a billing document service companies use as the electronic version of a consolidated service invoice and statement. Companies can accommodate various arrangements and bill multiple service providers within one document. EDI 811 frequently replaces the EDI 810 Invoice because it can manage complex and structured billing applications and service and invoice details.

EDI 811 documents follow the X12 format set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a not-for-profit organization that regulates U.S. EDI formats.

What are the Essential Components of EDI 811?

The format of EDI 811 is flexible, allowing various levels of account invoicing and statement data. The most common EDI 811 formats are:

• Single account billing: This format is used for bills for one account, one service, and one invoice.
• Group account billing: This format consolidates several single accounts under one master account into one invoice.
• Consolidated account billing: Consolidated account billing is for a single account or group billing account under one master account.

EDI 811 documents have key data elements such as:

• Individual or organization name
• Accounting detail
• Balance detail
• Data and time reference
• Total cost
• Items or services
• Unit prices

You can choose from these two levels of billing, each with different key data elements:

• EDI 811 Summary Bill that abbreviates invoice data for high-level processing
• EDI 811 Detailed Bill that comprehensively analyzes the service and charges to give the customer complete billing information

How do I Use EDI 811?

EDI 811 is widely used by organizations that need to send or receive consolidated or stand-alone invoices for various service arrangements, as this billing need requires different processing than a standard invoice. When the seller receives an EDI 811 document, they return an EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgment to indicate they received EDI 811.

The telecommunications industry commonly uses 811 transactions to bill multiple phone numbers individually and consolidate the data under a master account.

You can use EDI 811 as a credit or debit memo to differentiate payable and memo items. However, you should use EDI 812 Credit/Debit Adjustment as a stand-alone credit or debit adjustment notification.

What are the Benefits of EDI 811?

This EDI document allows more flexibility for complex billing needs. Companies can use up to nine hierarchical levels to organize various billing arrangements and service providers into one document. You can choose the type and organization of data to present in the invoice.

With EDI 811 transactions, you can provide different account information to various levels, bill individual accounts, and consolidate the information under one master account. For example, you can deliver an EDI 811 Summary Bill to the master account and EDI 811 Detailed Bills to the sub-accounts. You can also use EDI 811 to bill multiple service providers with several billing arrangements within one transaction.