An improved "code-free" method of describing EDI business information manipulation processes. Whereas currently EDI translation and message processing is characterized by complex programming methods, this use of a spreadsheet style metaphor enables EDI processing to be developed that can be used in an ad hoc and dynamic fashion. This matches the business requirements brought about by environments such as the Internet and Electronic Commerce. Also the method can be integrated directly into modern software tools such as Web Browser software, and used by people who are not intimately familiar with the exact details of EDI message syntax. Instead they utilize a familiar data representation in order to accomplish a complex task that otherwise would instead require highly skilled programming knowledge to perform.