A system for generating outgoing and translating incoming messages, comprising a core engine and a plurality of plug-ins; outgoing system further comprising a trading partner agreement database (TPAD). For the outgoing message, the TPAD identifies a particular extensible document format protocol plug-in and a particular extensible exchange protocol plug-in from plurality of plug-ins based on the parties' agreement. The core engine translates and constructs the message by encoding it with the identified plug-ins respectively. For the incoming message, the core engine examines every extensible exchange protocol, identifies the particular extensible exchange protocol, and decodes the incoming message with the identified exchange protocol. The core engine then examines every extensible document format protocol, identifies the particular extensible document format protocol, and processes the decoded message with the identified document protocol. Plurality document and exchange plug-ins allow the user to mix and match different protocol standards, making the system more flexible.