Overview
The Commodity Codes list helps you classify the work on your invoices for electronic payment processing. It allows you to define the codes that fit your business so Aspire can send that classification to Fiserv with each card payment, which supports Visa's Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP).
Things to know
Commodity Codes apply only to electronic card payments processed through Fiserv.
Aspire assigns one Commodity Code per invoice, not one per invoice line item.
Assignment happens when you process a payment, not when you create the invoice.
Aspire doesn't create codes for you. You decide which codes fit your business and add them to the list.
If you have no active codes, payments still process. They go out without a Commodity Code.
Requirements
Access to the Lists screen in the Administration module.
Electronic payments configured to process card payments through Fiserv.
How it works
When you add a code to the Commodity Codes list → the code becomes available for assignment. New codes are active.
When you process an electronic payment → Aspire assigns a code to each invoice being paid based on how closely the wording matches. Matching compares the services, descriptions, and service types on the invoice against the values and descriptions of your codes.
When at least one active code exists → Aspire always assigns a code. There's no option to skip it.
When no active codes exist → the payment processes without a commodity code.
When a payment covers more than one invoice → each invoice is sent as its own line item in the payment, with its own assigned code.
When you select a different code before submitting the payment → Aspire sends the code you selected instead of the assigned one.
Aspire sends the code exactly as you entered it in the list. No reformatting is applied.
Three components enforce these rules:
Commodity Codes list — where you define and maintain the codes your business uses.
Code matching — assigns one code per invoice when a payment is processed.
Electronic Payment screen — displays the assigned code for each invoice and lets you change it before you submit.
Key terms
Term | What it means |
|---|---|
commodity code | A code that classifies the goods or services on an invoice. You choose which code system fits your business. |
Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP) | Visa's program for qualifying eligible commercial, corporate, and purchasing card transactions for lower interchange rates. |
interchange rate | The rate the card network sets for processing a transaction. It's part of what you pay to accept a card payment. |
United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) | A published classification system for goods and services. It's one option for your codes, but Aspire doesn't require it. |
In Use | Indicates a code that's currently assigned to one or more invoices. |
Workflow and lifecycle
Defined — You add a code value and a description to the Commodity Codes list. New codes are active.
Active — The code is available for assignment and appears in the dropdown on the Electronic Payment screen.
Assigned — When you process a payment, Aspire assigns a code to each invoice being paid.
Transmitted — Aspire sends the assigned code to Fiserv with the payment.
In use — Once a code is assigned to one or more invoices, the list marks it as in use.
Inactive — Making a code inactive excludes it from assignment and from the dropdown on the Electronic Payment screen. The code stays on the list.
Behavior notes and exceptions
Match quality depends on your codes — matching compares invoice content against your code values and descriptions, so specific, descriptive codes match more accurately than broad ones. When nothing on the invoice matches, Aspire still sends a code, because a code is always required once you have active codes.
Codes must describe real goods or services — Aspire checks the format of what you enter, but it doesn't verify your codes against UNSPSC or any other published code set. Use values that correspond to work your business actually performs. Your payment processor audits the data Aspire sends, and values that don't describe real goods or services can fail that audit. Aspire rejects obvious placeholder values, including "test," "temp," "TBD," "n/a," "none," "sample," and "demo," along with very short numeric values such as "123."
Overrides apply to one payment — selecting a different code on the Electronic Payment screen affects that payment only. It doesn't change the list and doesn't affect which code Aspire assigns next time.
Duplicates aren't allowed — each code value can appear once in your Aspire account. Aspire returns an error message if you try to save a value that already exists.
Payments made before commodity codes — the Commodity Code column displays when you view a historical payment, but it's blank and read-only for payments processed before commodity codes were available.
Caution: Deleting a commodity code cannot be undone. To stop using a code and keep it on the list, make it Inactive instead.
How this displays in Aspire
The Commodity Codes list is on the Lists screen in the Administration module, at Administration > Application > Lists.
The list shows every code in your Aspire account, active and inactive, in four columns:
Code — the value Aspire sends to Fiserv.
Description — the work the code covers. This is what displays on the Electronic Payment screen.
Active — whether the code is available for assignment.
In Use — a checkmark when the code is assigned to one or more invoices.
On the Electronic Payment screen, a Commodity Code column displays for each invoice being paid. It shows the description of the assigned code rather than the code value, and it's a dropdown that lists your active codes. There's no free-text entry.
Why this matters
Sending accurate commodity codes helps eligible card transactions qualify for lower interchange rates, which can reduce processing costs on your card volume. Nothing changes about how you invoice or collect payment. Actual results vary by card type, transaction mix, and Visa's current rates.
Note: Qualifying depends on the data Aspire sends. Codes that accurately and consistently describe the work on the invoice give your transactions the best chance of qualifying.