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X12 transaction guide · Finance

EDI 839 Project Cost Reporting

The X12 document used to transmit cost and schedule information for earned value, program management and contract funds status reporting.

Sent by
Contractor
Received by
Government agency or prime contractor
Standard
ANSI ASC X12

What is an EDI 839?

The EDI 839 Project Cost Reporting is the ANSI X12 transaction set that transmits cost and schedule information supporting performance measurement (earned value), program management reporting and contract funds status reporting.

Large government contracts, particularly in defense, require contractors to report budgeted, earned and actual costs by work breakdown structure element, so the agency can track performance and funding needs. The 839 carries that data in structured form; schedule data can travel in the 806 project schedule reporting. Reporting is usually monthly.

How the EDI 839 worksDiagram of the EDI 839 Project Cost Reporting. Contractor sends it to government agency or prime contractor. It usually starts the exchange. It is usually followed by 997. Inside the ISA, GS and ST envelopes, X12 release 008010 requires, in the heading: BCS (Beginning Segment for Project Cost Reporting) and the required N1 loop with N1 (Party Identification) and detail: the required CFT loop with CFT (Cost Reporting Format Type). 1 optional loops are listed by their first segment.How the EDI 839 worksProject Cost Reporting: who sends it, where it fits and what the standard marks required1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeEDI 839SENDERContractorRECEIVERGovernment agency orprime contractor997 or 999 acknowledgment back, if the partners agreeUSUALLY FOLLOWED BY997FunctionalAcknowledgment2 WHAT X12 RELEASE 008010 REQUIRESInterchange: sender and receiver IDsISA … IEAFunctional group, ID code PKGS … GETransaction set 839ST … SEHEADINGBCSBeginning Segment for Project Cost ReportingRequired loop N1 · repeats many timesN1Party IdentificationDETAILRequired loop CFT · repeats many timesCFTCost Reporting Format Type+ 1 optional loop, starting with:BSDBlue box: required loop. Optional loops are listed by the segment that starts them; when a loop is used, that first segment is required. Optional segmentsoutside loops are not drawn.Structure: required segments and loops in the X12 008010 listing for the 839. Your trading partner's implementation guide adds its own requirements.
How the EDI 839 worksDiagram of the EDI 839 Project Cost Reporting. Contractor sends it to government agency or prime contractor. It usually starts the exchange. It is usually followed by 997. Inside the ISA, GS and ST envelopes, X12 release 008010 requires, in the heading: BCS (Beginning Segment for Project Cost Reporting) and the required N1 loop with N1 (Party Identification) and detail: the required CFT loop with CFT (Cost Reporting Format Type). 1 optional loops are listed by their first segment.How the EDI 839 worksProject Cost Reporting: who sends it, where itfits and what the standard marks required1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeEDI 839SENDERContractorRECEIVERGovernmentagency or primecontractor997 or 999 acknowledgment back, if the partnersagreeUSUALLY FOLLOWED BY997Functional Acknowledgment2 WHAT X12 RELEASE 008010 REQUIRESInterchange: sender and receiver IDs (ISA… IEA)Functional group, ID code PK (GS … GE)Transaction set 839 (ST … SE)HEADINGBCSBeginning Segment forProject Cost ReportingRequired loop N1 · repeats manytimesN1Party IdentificationDETAILRequired loop CFT · repeatsmany timesCFTCost Reporting FormatType+ 1 optional loop, starting with:BSDBlue box: required loop. Optional loops are listedby the segment that starts them; when a loop isused, that first segment is required. Optionalsegments outside loops are not drawn.Structure: required segments and loops in the X12008010 listing for the 839. Your trading partner'simplementation guide adds its own requirements.

How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends the 839, to whom, and which documents usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what X12 release 008010 itself requires: the envelopes around the 839 and the segments and loops the standard marks as required, area by area. Optional loops are listed by the segment that starts them rather than drawn in full. This is the standard's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: each partner's implementation guide usually makes some optional loops mandatory, restricts the codes and may use a different release.

Expand diagram Download SVG

When it is used

  • Submitting earned value performance reports
  • Reporting contract funds status
  • Reporting costs by work breakdown structure

Where it fits in the document flow

This document 839 Project Cost Reporting
Usually followed by 997 Functional Acknowledgment

Structure

Mandatory segments in the 839 (X12 release 008010)

The segments X12 release 008010 marks as mandatory at their level, in order. Segments inside optional loops are needed only when the loop is used. This is the standard's requirement, not your trading partner's: each partner's implementation guide names the release it uses, adds the optional segments it requires and restricts the values. The requirement status comes from one published X12 reference listing and has not been checked against a second source.

  • ST
  • BCS
  • N1
  • CFT
  • BSD
  • CLI
  • SE

Practical example

The 839 in practice

A defense contractor reports monthly on a development program. Its project control system sends the agency an 839 with the budgeted cost of work scheduled and performed, the actual cost and the estimate at completion for each work breakdown element. The agency's analysts calculate variances and review them with the contractor.

Implementation

Implementation considerations for the 839

  • Use the agreed work breakdown structure and reporting levels.
  • Reconcile reported actuals with accounting records.
  • Follow the agency's reporting requirements and calendar.
  • Explain significant variances alongside the data.

How ECOM helps

Automate the 839 with ECOM

Solution

Financial Document Automation

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Industry

Industrial Manufacturing

Distributor, OEM customer and supplier integration for industrial manufacturers.

Solution

Enterprise Integration

Any-to-any integration across partners, systems, protocols, security requirements, formats and ERPs, in batch or real time.

More general questions about EDI are answered in the EDI FAQ.

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