EDIFACT message guide · Finance
COACSU Commercial account summary
The UN/EDIFACT message used to send commercial data on payments made and items outstanding on an account over a period.
- Sent by
- Trading partner or its agent
- Received by
- The other trading partner or its agent
- Standard
- UN/EDIFACT · Batch message
- X12 equivalent
- No direct equivalent
What is the EDIFACT COACSU message?
COACSU is the UN/EDIFACT commercial account summary. The directory defines it as a message for transmitting commercial data about payments made and outstanding items on an account over a period of time. It may be sent at agreed fixed intervals or on demand, to and from trading partners or their agents.
Where a statement of account shows the position at a moment, the account summary covers the activity over a period. Trading partners use it to reconcile accounts with high transaction volumes, such as those between retailers and suppliers.
How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends COACSU, to whom, and which messages usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what the directory D.21A itself requires: the envelopes around COACSU and the segments and segment groups it marks mandatory. Conditional groups are listed by their trigger segment rather than drawn in full. This is the directory's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: a message implementation guide, such as an industry subset or a partner’s own guide, usually makes some conditional groups mandatory, restricts the codes and may use an older directory.
When it is used
- Summarizing account activity over a period
- Reconciling high-volume trading accounts
- Providing on-demand account summaries
Where it fits in the message flow
No other message routinely comes directly before or after COACSU; it is exchanged when the business event occurs. If the partners agree, the receiver confirms each interchange with a CONTRL syntax and service report.
Structure
Mandatory segments in COACSU (directory D.21A)
In UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A, the COACSU message has 44 segment positions arranged in 12 segment groups. These are the segments and segment groups marked mandatory at message level, in order; a mandatory group is shown with the segment that starts it. Segments inside conditional groups are needed only when the group is used. This is the directory’s requirement, not your trading partner’s: each partner’s message implementation guide names the directory it uses, often an older one such as D.96A or D.01B where the structure can differ, makes some conditional segments mandatory and restricts the codes.
- UNH
- BGM
- DTM
- UNS
- UNT
Practical example
COACSU in practice
A supermarket chain sends a large food supplier a COACSU each quarter summarizing all invoices received, deductions taken and payments made on the supplier's account, with the items still open. The supplier compares it with its receivables ledger and resolves several deductions it had not yet recorded.
Implementation
Implementation considerations for COACSU
- Agree the summary period and the cut-off rules.
- Include deductions together with their reason codes.
- Reconcile the summary with both parties' ledgers.
- Decide when to send summaries on demand.
How ECOM helps
Automate COACSU with ECOM
Solution
Financial Document Automation
Automate invoices, remittances, payment files and bank statements from capture to posting.
Industry
Retail
Retail and eCommerce EDI for suppliers and retailers, from purchase order to payment, with compliance built in.
Solution
Order-to-Cash Automation
Automate the flow from purchase order to payment across every customer channel.
Compare X12 and EDIFACT, or see answers to general questions in the EDI FAQ.
Related messages
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