For carriers · brokers · 3PLs
Transportation EDI With the Records to Manage the Load
Most providers move your EDI between systems. Elevate turns it into load records you can act on and trace.
- 204, 990, 214, and 210, in both directions
- Partner-specific maps and settings
- Exceptions surfaced as review items, not log lines
- Support from the team that set you up
What Elevate Keeps On Record
Built for carrier-to-shipper and carrier-to-broker EDI workflows
Inbound and Outbound Directions
Partner-Specific Mapping
Operational Load Records
Exception Review
Documents Added as Partners Require
What Is Transportation EDI?
Transportation EDI is how shippers, brokers, and carriers exchange shipment documents in a standard X12 format. A 204 tenders the load, a 990 accepts or declines it, 214s report status, and a 210 invoices for it.
Most large shippers require it before they will tender freight at volume. Most providers can move these documents. The difference is what happens after they arrive: Elevate keeps the load, the decision, the status, and the invoice as records you can act on, not files that passed through.
The Documents That Carry a Load
The motor carrier lifecycle. Configured per partner, in the directions they need.
| Doc | Name | Direction | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 204 | Motor Carrier Load Tender | Inbound for carriers, outbound for shippers | Offers a load with stops, dates, weight, equipment, and charges |
| 990 | Response to a Load Tender | Outbound for carriers, inbound for shippers | Communicates the accept or reject decision |
| 214 | Shipment Status Message | Outbound for carriers, inbound for shippers | Reports status events against the shipment |
| 210 | Freight Details and Invoice | Outbound for carriers, inbound for shippers | Carries the freight invoice and charge detail |
- ›Becomes a load record, not a parsed file
- ›Carries stops, dates, equipment, and charges per the partner's spec
- ›A tender missing key fields is flagged, not half-built
- ›Accept or reject in Elevate; the decision stays on the load
- ›Outbound 990 generates automatically when enabled
- ›Response code and timestamp recorded in full history
- ›Milestone and exception codes, configured per partner
- ›Dispatchers enter a status event and queue the 214
- ›Status history lives on the load, not in a file archive
- ›Generates a freight invoice from charge data
- ›Inbound 210s matched to the load by number and references
- ›Unmatched and duplicate invoices are flagged
Your partners decide the set, not us
These four are where most carriers start, not a ceiling. When a partner needs a document outside the set, we scope it and add it. We tell you plainly what is configured today and what we would build.
Where Elevate Is Different
Most established trucking EDI providers can handle 204s, 990s, 214s, and 210s. We are not claiming otherwise. What changes is where those transactions live and what you can do with them afterward.
Records, Not Just Files
A translator moves a document and archives a copy. Elevate keeps the load, response, status, and invoice in one place — so you act on it and trace it back to the EDI.
Flexible by Design
Both directions, all four documents. Partner-specific maps and settings. When a partner works differently, that is a config, not a separate product.
Service and Transparency
Simpler pricing. Hands-on setup. Direct access to people who know the EDI and the app. When something fails, you get a review item — not a black box.
IN ONE SENTENCE
Elevate combines transportation EDI with the operational records, workflows, and exception visibility needed to actually manage the load.
Visibility Instead of a Black Box
A translator gives you a log line. Elevate gives you an action item on the record it belongs to.
Tender Review Items
A tender missing key fields is flagged, not half-built. Conflicting tenders are caught, not overwritten.
Response History
Timestamps recorded on the load. If an outbound 990 fails to map, your decision still stands.
Status Events
Each event kept with its reason, time, and location. Known codes update load status.
Invoice Checks
Unmatched invoices, duplicates, total mismatches, and unmapped codes are flagged for review.
NO SOFTWARE SEES EVERYTHING
These are exceptions Elevate detects in its own mapping and matching. A partner’s systems can still fail for reasons outside our view. Ours tells you what it does see, on the record it belongs to.
Connectivity and Integration
Transport and integration are agreed per implementation.
Connectivity
Supports file-based EDI connections through configured inbound and outbound directories. AS2, SFTP, or VAN availability is confirmed per implementation.
Connection and EDI directories are polled every minute, so a document does not wait on a long batch cycle. Tender response windows are partner-defined; confirm the deadline in each implementation guide.
Working With Your Systems
Integration depends on the system and the agreed interface. Elevate supports its own load, tender response, status, and invoice workflows, and configured integrations can reduce duplicate entry.
Elevate response → optional outbound 990
Elevate status entry → optional outbound 214
Elevate invoice → outbound 210
What Goes Wrong in Transportation EDI
Common failure points, and where Elevate helps.
Slow Tender Responses
Partner windows can be short. We poll every minute and timestamp every response.
Status Gaps
Missing events can hurt compliance metrics. Status history sits on the load, not in a file archive.
Updates and Cancellations
204s carry original, update, and cancellation purpose codes. Handling gets configured, not assumed.
Invoice Review Delays
Tender and reference mismatches stall invoices. We flag them before they compound.
Partner Variation
No two partners map a document the same way. That is a setting here, not a new product.
Nobody to Call
Most VANs put a queue between you and the answer. Our team knows the EDI and the app.
Transportation EDI Onboarding for Carriers and Brokers
Typical phases for a transportation partner. Timing varies by partner, documents, connectivity, and testing availability.
| # | Phase | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery | Your partners, your documents and directions, your systems, your volume | Elevate and you |
| 2 | Requirements | Review the partner's implementation guide, including their response-window expectations | Elevate |
| 3 | Connectivity | Configure and test the agreed connection | Elevate |
| 4 | Mapping | Partner-specific maps, qualifiers, and settings for the required documents | Elevate |
| 5 | Testing | Test transactions with the partner, corrections, and retests | Elevate and partner |
| 6 | Go live | Production configuration and early transaction review | Elevate and you |
| 7 | Ongoing | Exception review, partner spec changes, additional partners | Elevate and you |
ON TIMING
Implementation timing varies by partner, required documents, connectivity, and partner testing availability. Partner testing schedules can affect the go-live date as much as the configuration work does. We will give you a realistic estimate for your specific partners during discovery rather than a number on a web page.
Transparent Pricing — With No Surprises
Starting at $50/month + $750 flat per trading partner setup. Per-document pricing steps down as your volume grows, and 997 acknowledgments are always free. No contracts. No KC billing. No hidden fees.
Your cost depends on:
- Number of trading partners
- Documents and directions required
- Monthly document volume
- TMS, file, or API integration
What to Compare When You Evaluate Providers
Provider terms and capabilities vary. These are the questions worth asking whoever you talk to, including us.
| Ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Operational records | Does the platform keep the load, decision, status history, and invoice, or does it only move files and archive copies? |
| Exception visibility | When a document fails to map or match, do you get a review item on the record, or a log entry someone has to go find? |
| Direction support | Can the same platform handle carrier-side and shipper-side workflows, or is each a separate implementation? |
| Partner variation | When a partner implements a document differently, is that a configuration or a change order? |
| Who you talk to | Do you reach someone who understands both the EDI and the application, or a queue? |
| Pricing and change fees | Compare pricing, support, monitoring, and change fees directly, in writing. |
Frequently Asked Questions
The 204, 990, 214, and 210, in both directions, configured per partner. Many partners also want 997 acknowledgments. We add other documents as your partners require them.
Yes. Carriers receive the 204 and send the rest; shipper and broker workflows run the reverse. Both directions are configured per partner.
You record the accept or reject decision; an outbound 990 generates automatically when enabled for that partner. The decision stays a user action.
It depends on the TMS and the interface. Elevate runs its own load, response, status, and invoice workflows, and integration reduces duplicate entry. We scope it during discovery.
File-based EDI through configured directories. AS2, SFTP, or VAN availability is confirmed per implementation — tell us what your partners need.
It varies by partner, documents, connectivity, and partner testing schedules. We give you an estimate for your specific partners during discovery.
No. We handle mapping, configuration, and partner coordination. Operational decisions and exceptions still need someone on your side.
Yes, in phases. Move one partner at a time, confirm receipt and response, then move the next. Existing connections stay live until each is validated.