# Gather requirements
Source: https://www.stedi.com/docs/edi-platform/getting-started/gather-requirements

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title: Gather requirements
sidebarTitle: "Gather requirements"
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Complete the following steps in preparation for onboarding your first trading partner. Please [contact us](https://www.stedi.com/contact) with any questions.

## Project planning

Work with your team to determine the following details:

* **Trading partner:** Select a trading partner to integrate with. If you have multiple trading partners, we recommend starting with the partner that is either easiest to work with or that has the earliest implementation deadline.
* **Timeline:** Determine your ideal implemention timeline and any hard deadlines for when the integration must be production-ready. Communicate these to your customer success engineer as soon as possible.
* **Team members:** Identify the team members who will be involved in the integration. We recommend at least one project or program manager to communicate with trading partners and keep the integration on track and one engineer or technical team member.
* [EDI IDs](#edi-ids): You need IDs for both your business and your trading partner before you can configure your Stedi account.

## Contact your trading partner

Ask your trading partner for the following information. You and your customer success engineer will use it to configure your account.

### EDI requirements

Create a list of all the EDI transaction types you plan to send or receive.

* **Guides:** Ask your partner for the most up-to-date EDI requirements for each transaction type. Your partner may provide these as PDF, Excel, or Word documents.
  <Tip>
    These requirements may already be available in the [Stedi
    Network](https://www.stedi.com/edi/network). If so, we'll use the documents
    you provide to ensure the Network guides are up-to-date. If not, we'll add
    the guides you need to the Network in 1-2 business days.
  </Tip>

### EDI IDs

Determine the following IDs for both you and your trading partner. You can use the IDs in existing production EDI files or ask your trading partner to provide them.

* [`ISA` ID](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12/segment/ISA#ISA-06): Codes included in each EDI file's ISA header (`ISA06` or `ISA08`) to identify your and your partner's organization. In logistics and retail, this is often a derivative of the company name. For example, `AMAZONDS` for Amazon Dropshipping. In healthcare, this may be the Payer ID, such as `87726` for UnitedHealthcare or another value.
* [`ISA` Qualifier](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12/segment/ISA#ISA-05): The type of ISA ID. If you're not sure what to choose for your business, we recommend `ZZ (Mutually Defined)`.
* [Application Code](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12-008010/segment/GS#GS-02): Codes included in each EDI file's GS header (`GS02` or `GS03`) to identify your and your partner's organization. The Application Code for a business is typically the same as its `ISA` ID, but not always.

<Tip>
  If you're new to EDI, we can help you choose values for your business.
</Tip>

### Connection protocol

Determine how you will exchange EDI files with your partner and gather configuration details.

* **Stedi-hosted SFTP/FTPS (recommended):** No additional information is required for configuration. We'll provide credentials your partner can use to connect to the server.
* **Remote SFTP/FTPS:** If your partner is hosting the remote server, ask them to provide the following information:
  * Protocol - FTP, FTPS, SFTP
  * Host - server URL/address
  * Port number
  * Password or key passphrase
  * Root directory
  * Directories to retrieve files from your trading partner (inbound) and to deliver files to your trading partner (outbound)
* **AS2:** This connection type is complex. If your partner requires AS2, we will discuss the requirements during your onboarding call. You can also check out our [AS2 documentation](/edi-platform/configure/trading-partners/connections/as2/as2-overview) for more information.

### Sample EDI files

Gather production EDI files or ask your partner for sample files that you can use to test the integration.

Trading partners often send files that do not fully conform to their official EDI requirements, so it's critical to test your pipeline with real-world data before your go-live date.