No doubt by now you've seen some announcements regarding the end of support for the "classic" RFC Library and how this impacts BSI TaxFactory. As a BSI customer, you probably received an email from BSI Support about this. Either way, if you haven't already, I encourage you to have a look at Note 2219445 (BSI TaxFactory wrapper code redesign - old RFC Library going out of maintenance).

You've probably also seen some discussions around the subject of just how to obtain and install or upgrade this new RFC Library, and if you're like me, perhaps even been a little confused as to just what you need to do.

Take heart! It's not that difficult. At the core of it, this is just another Cyclic Update, with only a couple easy extra steps. The basic process for applying a Cyclic Update has not changed from the procedure I described in BSI TaxFactory 10 Cyclic Update. Here I'll just go over the few extra steps.

Remember the deadline for maintaining support: 31 March 2016. So plan on getting this through your DEV and QAS track and into production before that date.

Prerequisite SAP Note

Before you update TaxFactory to Cyclic J, it is necessary to apply Note 2242290 (BSI: Changes for Cyclic J of BSI TaxFactory 10.0) to your ECC system. This is due to some changes in the structure of the data that TaxFactory sends back to ECC once this Cyclic is applied. Note, it's perfectly fine to apply this Note at any time before you apply the Cyclic, as it is backwards-compatible with earlier Cyclics.

Apply the Cyclic

Now apply Cyclic J to your TaxFactory system using the same standard procedure outlined in BSI TaxFactory 10 Cyclic Update. Only a few items are different from the update to Cyclic F described in that blog.

TF10 Client

During the TF10j client update, you may notice the message:

Querying Tomcat7-PRD failed (0). Waiting...

Do not be alarmed! This is normal. What is happening here is that the installer is stopping the Tomcat service and is querying to determine when it has stopped before going on to delete files. The query "fails" until it detects a successful stop, which may take a moment or two. Once the service stops, the query succeeds and the installer proceeds. Otherwise, this part is the same as previous TF10 client cyclic updates.

TF10 Server

Again, this process is mostly the same, but here there is one additional step to take. Also, you might find it necessary to shutdown the SAP Gateway (via SAPMMC) before copying the new executables into the working folder, as the gateway process may hold a lock on the tf10server.exe file.

You will notice two new files that didn't exist in prior cyclics: tf10server_new.exe and tf10serverdebug_new.exe. These are the versions that use the new NetWeaver RFC Library. By default, BSI is providing them as optional files, while the default files still use the Classic RFC Library -- the one that is being deprecated.

However, we don't want to use the old library, we want the new one, so the procedure is to rename the files:

1. Rename tf10server.exe and tf10serverdebug.exe to tf10server_old.exe and tf10serverdebug_old.exe, respectively.
2. Rename tf10server_new.exe and tf10serverdebug_new.exe to tf10server.exe and tf10serverdebug.exe, respectively.

Cyclic Data File

Don't forget, to launch the new client in your browser, you must edit your favorite or shortcut URL. The new URL will look something like this:

http://<TFhost>.<domain>.com:8091/eTF10j/PRD

Notice the part in bold, where the letter indicator of the Cyclic is included. That's the part you must change.

Load the cyclic data file as you would normally. You will notice a new feature in the client for monitoring the manual load status, which is a nice addition.

New RFC Library

Here comes the fun part. At this point, nothing works. Well, ok the TF client works, but you don't have any working communication between ECC and TaxFactory, and not just because you haven't restarted your Gateway yet. If you're like me, you probably assumed that your fancy 7.42 Gateway would have the new RFC functions embedded. Nope. Then you might assume that you can use the 7.42 version of sapnwrfc.dll, etc. Maybe, but I had a devil of a time trying to make that work.

You might assume the readme.txt that came with the new Cyclic J server executables would have detailed installation instructions. Not really. It just says to put the new libraries in the directory where tf10server.exe is running, but doesn't say which libraries. Note 1025361 (Installation, Support and Availability of the SAP NetWeaver RFC Library), which everything points to, does give some hints, but it isn't very explicit in its instructions. Indeed, as it kept pointing to a 7.20 version of the RFC Library, not to mention a full SDK, and it seemed that a 7.42 version was available, I figured the Note must be out of date.

I spent more than a day or two trying to make it work with a 7.42 version of sapnwrfc.dll, fruitlessly.

There might indeed be a way to make the 7.42 dlls work, but for our purposes here you do in fact require the 7.20 version mentioned in the Note.

Download the RFC Library

To obtain the correct library, open up Support Packages and Patches | SAP Support Portal, and under Software Downloads... Support Packages and Patches select Browse Download Catalog. Navigate to Additional Components... SAP NW RFC SDK... SAP NW RFC SDK 7.20... <server OS platform, e.g. "Windows on x64 64bit"> and select the latest patch level of the NetWeaver RFC Library (at this writing, it is patch 38 published on 11/13/2015). Download the file and unpack it with SAPCAR as you normally would.

Install the RFC Library

The installation is simple. You simply copy the appropriate files to the appropriate folder. To find the files you need, drill into the folder you unpacked to \nwrfcsdk\lib and copy all the files you find there.

Paste these copied files into your working TaxFactory server folder (e.g. \BSI\TaxFactory\server), where your tf10server.exe executable resides.

That's pretty much it!

You can restart your Gateway via SAPMMC now.

Test and Sync

Time to test that it works. A connection test to BSI10-US-TAX via SM59 should be successful. Good old RPUBTCU0 via SA38 should be successful. And HRPAYUS_SYNC_TAX_DT should correctly report the new Cyclic and appropriate Regulatory update for Level in BSI Client.

However, you still don't have Cyclic J in your ECC system. For that you'll need to run a sync, even if your Regulatory levels already match. And, as usual after a sync in DEV, you'll need to create both cross-client and client-specific transports to migrate the new status to QAS and PRD.

By now most US Payroll customers have either upgraded their TaxFactory installations from 9.0 to 10.0, or (like me) are scrambling to do so before the November 30 deadline. Or, perhaps you're installing TaxFactory for the first time and (like me) finding the documentation a bewildering array of conflicting and difficult-to-collate information. Take heart! This blog is for you.

Below I will detail the steps required, in order (something the documentation doesn't seem to manage well), to get a new or upgraded TaxFactory 10 system running and connected to SAP Payroll. The scenario here is a standalone TaxFactory system, using Microsoft SQL Server as its database. However, in general the information should apply to other database platforms with minor adaptation. TaxFactory can also be installed on your SAP ERP system itself, sharing the same DBMS, and while that does simplify a few things, it is not my recommendation.

Due to the length of this topic (apologies!), it has been necessary to split the blog into four parts. Part 1 details the required preparations: gathering materials, installing and configuring SQL Server, and installing SAP Gateway. Part 2 continues with creating and loading the database and installing the TaxFactory server itself. Part 3 details the installation of the TaxFactory client and loading of the Data Set. Part 4 will discuss the required SAP-side configuration.

Preparations

Gathering Materials

You will need to download or acquire a few items for the installation, so it is best to have them all ready to go. You'll need approximately 10-11 GB to hold all the source files.

1. DBMS and any service packs, cumulative updates, or hotfixes
   1. Here we are using Microsoft SQL Server 2012, with Service Pack 2 and Cumulative Update 2.
   2. When in doubt about which is the latest SP and CU for SQL Server, I find it helpful to refer to Microsoft SQL Server Version List.
2. Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server (free download)
   1. Download Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server from Official Microsoft Download Center
3. Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update
   1. You may or may not need this. Per various SAP Notes, such as 1676665, you may need to apply this Windows hotfix if you receive a particular error during the Gateway installation, so it doesn't hurt to have it handy.
   2. Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update from Official Microsoft Do…
4. SAP Standalone Gateway
   1. This does not need to match your ERP release, so you should use the latest and greatest. At this time, that is NetWeaver 7.4 SR2.
   2. Please note that this is not the same as NetWeaver Gateway, which is an add-on to an existing NetWeaver ABAP system.
   3. You will need Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM)
      1. http://service.sap.com/swdc -> Installations and Upgrades -> Browse our Download Catalog -> SAP NetWeaver and complementary products -> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NETWEAVER 7.4 -> SOFTWARE PROVISIONING MGR 1.0 -> <platform, i.e. "Windows on x64 64bit"> -> SWPM10SPxx_x-xxxxxxxx.SAR
   4. You will need the Kernel 7.42 installation media (not the patch)
      1. Same path as above to SAP NETWEAVER 7.4 -> Installation and Upgrade -> <platform, i.e. "Microsoft Windows"> -> <DBMS, i.e. "Microsoft SQL-Server"> -> <DVD # for "SAP Kernel 7.42 <platform>">.
   5. Extract both packages to a source folder using sapcar.
5. SAP Initial Tax Mapping
   1. Navigate to http://service.sap.com/tubs-> TaxFactory 10.0 -> Initial Mapping -> Initial Mapping for TaxFactory 10.0 and download the file.
   2. Extract the file BTXTAXC.xml and save it on your workstation.
6. SAP Tax Update Bulletins
   1. Depending on your ERP Support Package level, you may be able to synchronize your SAP tables directly from the TaxFactory system once it is installed. However, if you are not yet at a high enough HRSP, then you will still be doing this the old-fashioned way, downloading SAP transports and applying them to your system, in which case the process has not changed from prior TaxFactory releases.
   2. Navigate to http://service.sap.com/tubs-> TaxFactory 10.0 -> TUB Downloads -> TUB xxx - TUB xxx (latest available) -> TUB xxx (latest available).
   3. There will be six files. You need five. Download all except the "Incremental" update.
      1. Note, if you have made customizations to the files T5UTA, etc, then you may need to use incremental updates. This is beyond the scope of this current document, which assumes that you are using the tables as delivered and therefore can use cumulative updates to save time and effort.
   4. Extract the files and copy the "K" files to \usr\sap\trans\cofiles on your transport host, and the "R" files to \usr\sap\trans\data.
7. Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for your server platform in 64-bit version (currently JRE 7 update 67)
   1. Note that by default java.com will offer the 32-bit JRE, so I recommend using the manual download option at Java Downloads for All Operating Systems.
   2. Choose your OS and, if in Windows, the 64-bit option. Note that you are not concerned here with integrating the JRE into a browser, so it is not necessary to download the 32-bit version.
8. Apache Tomcat 7
   1. Apache Tomcat - Apache Tomcat 7 Downloads
   2. Scroll down to Binary Distributions -> Core -> 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service Installer and download from that link.
9. BSI TaxFactory
   1. Login to http://www.mybsi.com/connect
   2. Click the big button for Download BSI TaxFactory 10.
   3. Select the latest Cyclic Bulletin (currently 10.0d).
   4. From the Downloads section, find your OS/DBMS/bit-width combination and click Download File. In our example, we need Windows 2008 thru 2012 and SQL Server 2005 thru 2012 64-bit. This is the server package.
   5. Above this section and on the right, click the link for TF10 Client Package for Windows and save the file.
   6. To the left of that, click the link for Download Master File.
      1. It is not generally necessary to download the cyclic data file nor any regulatory bulletins at this point, as the Master File includes the most recent cyclic and regulatory data. The filename will indicate the TUB level being installed, which should match the SAP TUB downloaded earlier. If not, be sure to download the SAP TUB that matches the BSI Master File.
   7. From the top menu, select Product Maintenance. Choose BSI TaxFactory as the product. Under Maintenance, select Maintain Machine Key.
      1. Click Add New Key. Confirm the correct release and platform, and enter your TaxFactory server's hostname in all capitals (if it is a Windows host). Click Request Server Key.
      2. From the list of machine keys, find the one you just created (perhaps the only one in the list) and click Save as File. This will download a small file called machinekey.lic. Save it on your workstation's hard drive.

SQL Server

Install and configure SQL Server much as you would for an SAP installation. We will not go into detail here about installing SQL Server, except to highlight a few important points.

Collation

TaxFactory, like SAP, requires a case-sensitive collation. The SQL Server default, however, is case-insensitive. The SAP default of SQL_Latin1_General_CP850_BIN2 will work, however, for a standalone installation BSI recommends SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS. Note that this is very similar to the SQL Server default of SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS, so you must pay close attention at this step.

Authentication Mode

In prior releases TaxFactory required Mixed Mode (SQL Server authentication and Windows authentication). This is no longer the case, so in this example we will choose Windows authentication mode. Also, per SAP's recommendation, we will add the local host's Administrators group to the list of SQL Server administrators.

Other items for the installation and configuration of SQL Server can be as per SAP's recommendations or your organization's standards. In general, I recommend to set Lock Pages in Memory (Note 1134345), to configure 1/3 of the physical RAM for SQL Server usage, and to set Max Degree of Parallelism to 1 (Note 1702408), just as you would for an SAP central instance.

SAP Gateway

If you install TaxFactory onto your ERP application server, a standalone gateway will not be required. However, if you install TaxFactory as a standalone system, as outlined in this blog, then you will need a gateway to provide the RFC connection from your ERP application to the TaxFactory server executable. Fortunately, installing a standalone gateway is a quick and relatively painless process.

The gateway does not require any database resources. However, as with all SAP installations, it does require a unique System ID, or SID, and two user accounts for the service and administration, plus one global group for the users. If you perform the installation as a Domain Admin, SWPM will create the user accounts for you. It is also possible to use local users instead of domain users, but generally speaking SAP advises to create domain users.

If you do not have a Domain Admin user account to perform the installation, you will need to create, or have your network administrator create on your behalf, the group and users. This is described in full in the gateway installation guide, which is found at http://service.sap.com/instguides -> Installation & Upgrade Guides -> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NetWeaver 7.4 -> Installation -> 3 - Installation - Standalone Engines -> Installation: Gateway for SAP NetWeaver 7.1 or Higher.

For this blog, we will assume that you have chosen a SID of TFP for your TaxFactory gateway. Therefore, the AD global group will be SAP_TFP_GlobalAdmin, and the domain users will be SAPServiceTFP and tfpadm. Do not, however, use either of these accounts for the installation of the gateway. Note that if you do pre-create the users, they should both have the same password, and the password should be set to never expire. If your organization's policy requires unique passwords for the two users, there will be an option in the installation to accommodate this, but by default sapinst will assume the same password for both.

Installation

In your source folder on your server, you should by now have extracted the SWPM and kernel packages that you downloaded earlier. If not, do so now into separate subfolders (in our example, \source\swpm and \source\kernel). Execute \source\swpm\sapinst.exe.

In part 1, Choose Option, drill into SAP Installation Master -> SAP NetWeaver 7.4 Support Release 2 -> MS SQL Server -> SAP Systems -> Standalone Engines -> Gateway -> Gateway.

Click Next. If this is the first time you've installed an SAP system on this server (which is likely), you should momentarily see a message box stating SAPinst needs to log you off in order to reliably continue the installation. This is because sapinst is adding certain required OS permissions to your user account and it is necessary to logout and in again to activate them. Click OK.

Log back in to the server console again. Sapinst will automatically restart with the same options as before, bringing you to part 2, Define Parameters. Enter your chosen System ID (SID; in our example 'TFP') and the drive onto which you wish to install the gateway executables.

Click Next. On the next screen enter the password for your SAPServiceSID and sidadm users. If the users already exist, this will be the password chosen for them; if they do not, this is the password that will be set for them by sapinst, and it should be compliant with your organization's password policy. Note that if you require different passwords for the two users, there will be an option later in the installation to set that.

Click Next. On the next screen enter the location for your kernel source files. Note that sapinst asks for "Kernel NW740 SR2," but by this it means the 7.42 kernel.

Click Next. Sapinst will confirm the correct kernel files, and then on the next screen show a summary of the chosen parameters. If you need to make any revisions, select the relevant checkbox and click Revise, or click Show Detail to see (and revise) more details about the installation. Otherwise, if everything looks correct, click Next.

The installation will proceed at this point and should only take a minute or two. When it is complete you should see a message box to that effect. Optionally follow the feedback link, or click OK.

Troubleshooting msiexec or vcredist error

It might happen that SWPM or sapinst fails with an error message: "Running msiexec failed with return code 1603: Fatal error during installation. Commandline was msiexec.exe /norestart /L /vcredist_x64.logvcredist_64.msi /qn." If this occurs, apply the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update that you downloaded earlier, and then restart sapinst.

Configuring secinfo.dat

By default your new gateway will still refuse connections from external systems, so there is one piece of configuration you must do. You must create a secinfo.dat file and place it in the appropriate folder, with the appropriate parameters defined inside. This file doesn't exist until you create it.

A full discussion of the available parameters for secinfo.dat are beyond the scope of this blog, but are discussed at length in Note 1425765. You will need to adapt the file according to the needs of your organization, but something like the following will work for purposes of enabling TaxFactory to be called from your ERP system.

Create the file in the folder \usr\sap\SID\Gxx\data. The first line of the file must be:

#VERSION=2

The second line should begin with "P" (for "Permit"), then have entries for TP, HOST, USER, and USER-HOST. TP points to the TaxFactory server batch file, which you will create later. HOST is the fully-qualified hostname of your TaxFactory server. USER is the calling username, and USER-HOST is the hostname or IP address of your ERP system (you may use wildcards if the call may come from several systems). So, this line will follow this pattern:

P TP=<drive>:\BSI\TaxFactory\server\tf10server.bat HOST=<TaxFactory Host>.<domain> USER=* USER-HOST=<IP address or range>

So, if you will be installing TaxFactory onto your E: drive on the server "taxfactory," and all of your SAP servers are using internal IP addresses in the 10.50.15.x subnet, for instance, your file might look like this:

#VERSION=2

P TP=E:\BSI\TaxFactory\server\tf10server.bat HOST=taxfactory.domain.com USER=* USER-HOST=10.50.15.*

Please note that the keywords (TP, HOST, etc) are case-sensitive and must be capitalized.

Save the file, logout and login again as 'sidadm,' and use SAPMMC to restart the gateway. In the process list, right-click on gwrd.EXE and choose Developer Trace. In the trace file, look for the line "GwIInitSecInfo: secinfo version = 2". If you see this, then the gateway correctly read your secinfo.dat file. If you do not, you may have misformatted the file, or you may have saved it in the wrong folder.

<continued at BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2>

This blog is the continuation from BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server and BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2, which collectively covered gathering materials, configuring SQL Server, installing SAP Gateway, creating the TaxFactory database, and installing the TaxFactory server executables. Now we will move on to the TaxFactory web client and loading our dataset, and then in Part 4 we will get it all connected to SAP.

Client Installation

Unlike previous releases, TaxFactory 10 introduces a new web-based client, which requires the installation of a small web server and associated XML files. You will therefore need to install a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Apache Tomcat web server, Microsoft SQLJDBC driver, and the TaxFactory 10 Client component itself.

Java Runtime Environment

Earlier (in Part 1) you downloaded Oracle Java 7 for Windows 64-bit. You should now have in your Source folder a file named similarly to jre-7u67-windows-x64.exe (the u67 portion may be different if you downloaded a more recent patch). Execute this file. Accept the warning, then on the Welcome screen click on Install. After a moment you should see a success message. Click Close.

To test that the installation was successful, open a command prompt and type java -version. If the JRE is properly installed you should see version information.

Apache Tomcat

Tomcat is a lightweight web server that provides the environment for the TaxFactory web client. Again, you have already downloaded the installation files (in Part 1) to your Source folder, where it will have a name similar to apache-tomcat-7.0.55.exe. Execute this file. Accept the security warning and click Run.

The Apache Tomcat Setup Wizard will start. Click Next. Accept the license agreement by clicking I agree. On the Choose Components page, leave everything at default and click Next.

On the Configuration Options page, leave everything at default (other than optionally checking the box for Create shortcuts for all users) and click Next.

On the Java Virtual Machine page, the wizard should have automatically located the path to your JRE 7 installation. Click Next. On the Choose Install Location page, change the destination folder as appropriate for your software installation standards, or leave it at the default, and click Install. The installation is very quick. When it is done, leave Run Apache Tomcat checked and click Finish. You should briefly see a message about the service starting.

SQLJDBC

Just as the TaxFactory server requires an ODBC driver to connect to the database, so the TaxFactory client, which runs in the Java context of the Tomcat web server, requires a JDBC driver. Earlier (in Part 1) you downloaded the Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server and saved it to your Source folder. Extract the contents now.

Create a new folder named sqljdbc_4.0. There are two files you need to copy to this new folder:

• \Source\Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_4.0\enu\sqljdbc4.jar
• \Source\Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_4.0\enu\auth\x64\sqljdbc_auth.dll

TF10Client

Earlier (Part 1 again) you downloaded the TF10 Client Package for Windows as a zip file. Extract the contents to create a source folder called TF10ClientInstall. Inside that folder, open TF10ClientInstallation.pdf to find the official installation instructions, and follow along in that document along with this blog to continue.

Execute TF10ClientInstall.exe. Accept the security warning and click Run. Make a note of the functions and prerequisites on the welcome screen and click Next.

Enter the Cyclic password you received from BSI via email and click Next.

Review the license agreement and click I Agree.

On the Configuration Analyzer screen you should note that no prior TF10 Client environments are installed, and that the installer automatically found your Tomcat installation.

If the installer did not find Tomcat, double-check that Tomcat is actually running (it is a Windows service named Apache Tomcat 7.0 Tomcat7). Once your screen looks similar to the above, click Next.

On the XML Server Configuration screen, check the box for 64 bit XML Server and set the appropriate path for installation. I recommend putting this under the same \BSI folder you created earlier for the TaxFactory server executables (in Part 2). Click Next.

As this is the first install on this server, the next screen (BSI TaxFactory 10 Environment Configuration) will read Production Environment Configuration and will have the Install checkbox checked. The screen will be greyed out, because you are required to install one "production" environment on your web server. Don't be alarmed if this is not intended to be "production" but is actually a DEV or QAS system; BSI has set up the client install to allow the installation of multiple environments onto a single web server, but they require PRD to be the first install. My recommendation is to have physically separate DEV, QAS, and PRD servers, which means that BSI will assume a "PRD" environment on each of them. That's ok. Accept the choice here and click Next.

The next screen is probably the most important to get right in this process. This is the "Client Environment" screen. The WEB Server Service Port, WEB Server Service Name, and Database Schema fields will be pre-filled. Do not change these. Under "WEB Server JDBC Configuration / XML Server ODBC Configuration" select the radio button for MS SQL Server.

A pop-up box will ask Does your MSSQL server connection use Windows Authentication? Click Yes.

Now the JDBC JAR file location field will be ready for input (it was greyed out before selecting your DBMS). Click Browse and locate the sqljdbc4.jar file you setup earlier (see "SQLJDBC" in this blog).

Enter the following information into these fields:

• Database Name:  TF10
• Database Port:  1433
• Database Host:  <your database/taxfactory server hostname>
• DSN:  <select the ODBC Data Source you set up earlier (in Part 2), i.e "TFP" or the SID for your Gateway (if you followed my recommendation)>

When you are done, your screen should look similar to this:

Click Next. If all went well, you will see a popup stating Successfully tested ODBC connection and schema for DOMAIN/sidadm. Click OK.

The next screen is TaxFactory XML Server Configuration for MSSQL Windows Authentication. Here you must supply the username and password that the TaxFactory XML server will use to connect to the database. It will default to your currently logged-on user, which at this point is probably sidadm (tfpadm in our example). This is fine to use, as long as the password is set to never expire.

Browse to the path for sqljdbc_auth.dll that you setup earlier (again, in "SQLJDBC" in this blog). When you are done, your screen should look similar to this:

Click Next.

The next five screens are for adding additional environments (DEV, QA, Test1, Test2, and Test3) to the server. You don't need to do that, at least not at this time. Leave the Install button cleared (the default) on each of them and click Next until you come to the confirmation screen:

Check the checkbox for Install PRD Environment(s) and click FINISH. The installation will take a minute or two and will start some services. When it is done you should see Setup was completed successfully and Completed. Click Close.

Load Data Set

Now it's time to launch the client. Switch to your workstation and start your web browser. Navigate to http://hostname.domain.com:8091/eTF10d/PRD, substituting your taxfactory server's hostname. If you are on a newer Cyclic than 10.0.d, use the appropriate cyclic name in place of eTF10d. Logon to the client with:

• User:  TF10
• Password:  bsi

Create Data Set

After logging on, you will see the following screen:

Click on the DEFAULT Data Set ID to connect to it. This is necessary before you can navigate to any other screen in the client.

In the upper right corner, locate the Jump To drop-down box and select System Tools.

Under Access Tools, select Manage Data Set.

Under Manage Data Sets, above the list of available Data Sets, click the link for Click here to add new Data Set.

Under Enter Data Set Information, enter your SAP payroll client number as the Data Set ID and a description of your choice. Select the checkbox for Apply default permission to this Data Set and click Save.

Back at the Manage Data Sets screen, click on your new Data Set to configure it.

Under Related Activities, select Manage Logins and Permissions.

Select the TF10 login (the one in caps).

Select Click here to manage Tool level permissions for this login.

On the Permissions screen, for Permission for Dataset, select your new Data Set and click Refresh.

Scroll to the bottom of the page, select Check All, then Save, then Exit.

Back on the Manage Logins screen, click Manage Data Set, then Connect to Data Sets. Click on your new Data Set to connect to it. Now notice in the lower right (at the right end of the copyright text bar) that your Data Set should be listed as the one that you are connected to.

Install License

Earlier (in Part 1) you created a Machine Key on the BSI website and downloaded it as a file. Now it's time to apply that to your TaxFactory database.

In the Jump To drop-down in the upper right corner, once again select System Tools. Under Database Tools, select Install Machine Key.

Browse to the file you saved (default name is machinekey.lic) and click Upload. After a second or two you should see the message License Key has been installed successfully. If there is an error here, ensure that you correctly entered the hostname on the BSI website when you created the key (including using all caps for a Windows hostname). Also note that the machine key is only valid for installation for a period of five days after creation on the BSI website, so if it has been longer than that, you will need to regenerate the key. Otherwise, click Exit.

Load Tax Master File

Back in Part 1 you downloaded a master file with the latest Cyclic and Regulatory data from BSI. This file will have a name similar to TFU10034.PKG (where 034 indicates the Regulatory, or TUB, level of the file). Using this file enables you to bypass having to separately load the latest Cyclic and every Regulatory bulletin, instead loading it all in one step for initial setup. After this, when BSI releases new Cyclic and Regulatory bulletins, you will apply those normally.

Back on the System Tools page, under Database Tools, select Database Load. Browse to your tax master file and click Upload. On the Database Load  screen that pops up, select the checkbox next to tf.xml and click Process.

This load will likely take about five minutes. If it appears to happen quickly, it's best to wait several minutes, as it is probably still loading in background. Normally, however, you will see an IN PROGRESS message while the load is happening. When the load is finished there will be an output file with an audit of the results. Look through the log to see that all records were processed (all zeroes for the second number in each row). When satisfied, click Exit twice.

Back on the System Tools page, under Maintenance Tools, note that the level numbers for Regulatory Bulletin and Cyclic have advanced to the current status (previously they were 0).

Optional: TaxLocator File

Not all states and not all organizations use TaxLocator, but if you do, now is the time to load the TaxLocator file from BSI, using the same procedure as the tax master file.

Load Initial Tax Mapping

The Initial Tax Mapping is a file provided by SAP, not BSI, which provides a mapping between SAP tax codes and BSI tax codes. You downloaded this file in Part 1 from the same location as the SAP TUB files. After extraction, you should have the file BTXTAXC.xml on your workstation.

Note: if you are performing an upgrade and using a Custom Backup and Restore from your TF9 database, you do not need to perform this step, as this data will be contained in the backup/export from TF9. For an initial install, or if you are choosing a 'clean' install of TF10 rather than upgrading, then you will need this file.

On the System Tools page, under Database Tools, select Custom Backup/Restore. On the Custom Backup/Restore page, select Restore. Select your BTXTAXC.xml file and press Upload.

On the Custom Data Restore page that follows, select the radio button for Existing Data Set and choose your new Data Set. Do not select Delete Existing Data nor Restore Permission (Rights). Click Process.

The restore should take less than a minute. Again, when done there will be an output audit file. Verify that there were no unprocessed records, then click Exit four times.

You should now be back at the Welcome screen. Under System Summary you will notice that where previously you had zero mapped tax codes, now you will have several thousand. You may also see a handful of unmapped authorities. This is normal.

<continued at BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 4>

By now you have fully installed and configured your TaxFactory server, as detailed in the previous parts of this blog series:

1. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server
   1. Gathering materials (downloads) and installing SQL Server and SAP Gateway
2. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2
   1. Loading the database and installing TaxFactory server
3. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3
   1. Installing TaxFactory client (including Apache Tomcat) and loading the Data Set

Now it's time to configure SAP to talk to TaxFactory. Unlike the previous parts of this series, this part is not database-platform-dependent.

SAP Configuration

RFC Destination

The first step is to define the RFC Destination that SAP will use to connect to TaxFactory. This setting is not transportable, so must be done separately in each SAP ERP system in your landscape (DEV, QAS, PRD, etc). If you have setup separate TaxFactory servers for DEV, PRD, etc, then you will want to ensure that you configure each RFC Destination appropriately.

There are two ways to do this, and they are equally effective. The SAP documentation will have you go through the IMG:

• Transaction SPRO
  • SAP Reference IMG
    • Payroll
      • Payroll: USA
        • Tax
          • SAP/BSI Interface
            • Specify location of Tax Factory executable

Experienced Basis administrators will quickly recognize this as a link to transaction SM59, Configuration of RFC Connections, and that, of course, is the shortcut you can use to get here quickly. However, it is useful to remember this IMG path, as you will return to SAP/BSI Interface again shortly.

If you are upgrading from TaxFactory 9.0, you will already have an RFC Destination named BSI90-US-TAX. You cannot reuse this, but you can copy it as a template for the new destination. Alternatively, or for a new installation, expand and/or select the folder TCP/IP connections and click on the create button.

The name of your new destination must be BSI10-US-TAX. Connection Type T (TCP/IP Connection) should already be selected, but if not, select it. Enter a description of your choice (e.g. 'BSI TaxFactory 10.0'), and set the following Technical Settings:

• Activation Type:  Start on Explicit Host
• Program:  <drive>:\<path>\tf10server.bat
• Target Host:  <taxfactory_host>.<domain>.<com/org/...>
• Save to Database as:  Hostname
• Start Type of External Program:  Default Gateway Value
• CPI-C Timeout:  Default Gateway Value
• Gateway Host:  <taxfactory_host>.<domain>.<com/org/...>
• Gateway service:  sapgw00

Save your changes and click Connection Test.

If the connection is not successful, the most likely cause is misconfiguration of secinfo.dat in the gateway on your TaxFactory host. Go back to Part 1 of this series and navigate to Preparations -> SAP Gateway -> Configuring secinfo.dat (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server) for more information. Other items to double-check are that the gateway service (sapgw00) and the instance number of your gateway match. In this series we have assumed that you installed your gateway to Instance ID 00; if you chose a different Instance ID, then your gateway service must be adapted to match (sapgw01, sapgw02, etc). Also, double-check that you pointed the destination to the batch file (tf10server.bat) and not the executable (tf10server.exe). For more information about this batch file, see Part 2 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2).

Required Support Packs or Notes

The minimum HR Support Pack for TaxFactory 10 on ERP 6.00 is SAP_HR 99 (or SAP_HR 95 + CLC 99), and for ERP 6.04 it is SAP_HR 65 (or SAP_HR 61 + CLC 65). If you have at least this level of Support Pack, the other required functionality can be obtained through implementation of SAP Notes. However, bear in mind that in Spring 2015 the new Synchronizationmethod for applying TUBs will become mandatory, and this will require a minimum HRSP level of A6 (base ERP 6.0), 72 (EhP4), or 1 (EhP8), plus additional correction Notes on top of those minimum SPs. Most customers will be at a higher SP level than this by then anyway, as the Year-End 2014 Base HRSP is B3 (ERP 6.0), 79 (EhP4), or 7 (EhP8).

If you are not yet on the Year-End Base HRSP, however, but you do meet the TF10 minimum HRSP, here are the Notes which you must consider applying:

1. 1875218 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 Roadmap
   1. Not actually anything to apply, but lists the other most important Notes
2. 1903607 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase I
   1. Can only be applied via Support Pack; included in HRSP 600.99 and 604.65; prerequisite to all other Notes listed
3. 1909014 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase II
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A2 and 604.68
   2. Corrected by 1962760 (see below)
   3. Includes manual activities (besides SNOTE application)
      1. Previous versions of this Note included a typographical error for a View that must be edited, but this has now been corrected
4. 1934582 - Test BSI Tax Calculation in TaxFactory 10.0
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A2 and 604.68
   2. Includes manual activities
   3. Required before you can use RPUBTCU0 to test the TaxFactory connection (see below)
   4. If you use the optional TaxLocator functionality, you must also apply 1934427
5. 1934840 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase 3
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A3 and 604.69
   2. Includes manual activities
   3. This Note proved troublesome for many customers, so I will provide more details below on how to successfully implement it
6. 1937142 - TAX: BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Nonresident Worked Days parameters
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A5  and 604.71
   2. Corrected by 1963469 (only applicable via Support Pack, 600.A5 or 604.71, but tax calculations seem to work fine without this)
   3. Includes manual activities
7. 1962760 - BSI: Payroll driver generates warning messages due to feature 10EET
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A5 and 604.71
   2. Note that it is not enough to simply apply this Note; if you are using TF 10.0, you must also activate the feature in customizing (see below)
8. 2033053 - RPCALCU0 runs for long time or CX_HRPA_VIOLATED_PRECONDITION dump
   1. Not applicable for ERP 6.00
   2. Included in HRSP 604.80 or 608.07
   3. Corrects a serious performance issue in RPCALCU0 (even if you aren't getting any dumps)
   4. Is listed as a correction for Note 1969726, but the performance issue may exist even if you have not applied this Note or equivalent Support Pack

Besides these, you may find that there are other prerequisite Notes that SNOTE brings up.

Note 1934840 - Phase 3

This Note proved troublesome for many customers, so here are some hints to help with a successful implementation. Obviously, the easiest way is to implement the Support Pack that includes it, but if that is not yet an option for you, follow these steps.

The Note includes SNOTE automatic corrections, SAR files to be downloaded and imported, and manual customizing activities. The problem lies in the fact that there is a cross-dependency between some of the code corrections applied via SNOTE and some of the changes imported via SAR file. The Note advises to import the SAR transports first, then apply the SNOTE corrections. However, upon importing L4HK194704 (the 6.04 version of the SAR file) Generation of Programs and Screens will fail with RC=8. The error is Program SAPLHRPAYUS_T5UX9, Include LHRPAYUS_T5UX9SCL: Syntax error in line 58. Type 'CL_HRPAYUS_COURTESY_WH' is unknown.

The accompanying code corrections to be applied via SNOTE include Class CL_HRPAYUS_COURTESY_WH. However, if you apply the code corrections first, you will likely encounter other, similar errors due to dependencies upon objects in the SAR file.

The procedure, therefore, is to:

1. Import the SAR file (L4HK194704 or L7DK244720) using the transport option Leave Transport Request in Queue for Later Import
   1. Ignore the error for now
2. Apply the code corrections via SNOTE
3. Re-import the SAR file, this time clearing Leave Transport Request... and instead setting Import Transport Request Again.

This second import will go in cleanly, and all will be well. After this has been done, you can proceed to the customizing activities described in the Note as applicable for your organization's requirements.

Note that in downstream systems (i.e., QAS and PRD), the procedure is slightly modified. You will import the SAR file per point 1, then import your transport containing all your various Note corrections, then re-import the SAR file per point 3. Bear in mind that this means it will be difficult to automate scheduled imports in later systems, so this will probably warrant manual attention.

Feature 10EET

The Phase II Note introduced this new feature for Employee Type Indicator and Date of Death. One problem with the Note was the generation of warning messages in the pay run for customers still using TaxFactory 9.0, so Note 1962760 provided a correction for that. However, even with the correction applied, if you are using TaxFactory 10.0 but do not activate this feature, you will get the warning messages. The Note implies that you can simply leave the feature inactive in order to duplicate TF 9.0 functionality, but this is not the case.

The message appears in the pay run job log (viewed via SM37). It is message P0 604, 'Feature 10EET has not been activated yet,' and it will appear in the job log numerous times. For a large pay run, very numerous times, such that reviewing the log could be unwieldy, and there may be a minor performance impact on the pay run itself.

If you don't plan to use this feature at this time, you can simply activate it via PE03, configuring as follows:

This will remove the warning message and make your job logs usable again.

Test Tax Calculation (RPUBTCU0)

Once all of your Notes or Support Packs have been applied, you can test the connection from Payroll to TaxFactory. Note that this is not the same as the connection test done in SM59 earlier; that test only confirmed that the connection from SAP to the Gateway works correctly and that SAP could reach the TaxFactory server executable. This test will now actually invoke the TaxFactory engine, sending predetermined test data for TaxFactory to calculate and returning a result. The prerequisite for this test is that you have applied Note 1934582.

Execute transaction SA38 (or SE38). Enter RPUBTCU0 as the program and click Execute.

Confirm the selection of BSI Version 10.0 and click Execute.

The test will take a few seconds, and if all is working correctly you will see the following:

In the message list you may also see message code 2000 ("No company UT experience rate information for the California state UT tax was found..."). This is a normal result.

Various errors may occur at this point:

• Communication failure
  • This usually indicates that your RFC Destination is not correctly configured in SM59.
• System failure
  • This usually indicates a problem connecting to the database or data set. Ensure that your ODBC DSN on the TaxFactory server is working correctly, and ensure that your Data Set (in the TaxFactory client) has the same name as your SAP client number. See Parts 2 and 3 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2, BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3)
• System hangs with no response during RPUBTCU0
  • This could be an issue with the ODBC driver on the TaxFactory server. See Part 2 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2).
• RPUBTCU0 completes without error, but no taxes are calculated
  • This usually indicates that the SAP-BSI tax code mapping is not correct in your Data Set. See Load Initial Tax Mapping in Part 3 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3).

For more details on troubleshooting RPUBTCU0, and the TaxFactory connection and functionality in general, refer to Note 1910127 (FAQ: TaxFactory 10.0 Inst./Upgrade Troubleshooting).

Create Tax Related Wage Types

This step is only relevant for a new installation; if you are upgrading from TaxFactory 9.0, even if you are doing a clean install on a new TaxFactory server, you may skip this step.

In transaction SA38, enter program RPUTTUU0 (Wage Type Update Program). Accept all the defaults on the selection screen, deselect Test Mode, and execute.

Specify Version in Customizing

Return to the IMG (transaction SPRO) and drill down into:

• Payroll
  • Payroll: USA
    • Tax
      • SAP/BSI Interface
        • Specify BSI TaxFactory version for customizing settings

For country grouping 10, option BSITF, set the Value field to 'V10' via the drop-down selection. There should be no need to change the start or end dates. Save your changes, which will create a transport for import into downstream systems.

The next IMG activity, Specify BSI TaxFactory version for master data and tax calculation, only needs to be configured if you intend to use different releases of TaxFactory for different groups (company codes, etc). For most organizations, this can be left blank, in which case the version from the previous activity will take effect.

The final IMG activity, Specify level of messages to be returned, only needs to be configured if you intend to restrict the types of return messages coming from TaxFactory back to the payroll engine. Read the IMG documentation on the activity to determine whether this is appropriate for your requirements.

Apply TUBs

With TaxFactory 10.0, and depending upon your HRSP level, there are now two ways to apply Tax Update Bulletins to your SAP system. The traditional way is to download transport files from http://service.sap.com/tubs and import them to your system. The procedure for this is detailed in Note 1910128, and this has not changed from prior TaxFactory releases.

For most customers, you will download five transports for the most recent TUB available (all except the Incremental transport). The transports will have titles like:

1. Tables T5UTN, T5UTT, BTXFORM, BTXAUTH and BTXTAXT
2. Table BTXTAXC
3. Table T5UTX
4. Cumulative T5UTA, T5UTB, T5UTD, T5UTR and T5UTW
5. Cumulative T5UTZ

Import them into your working client in the above order. Note that transports 4 and 5 include client-dependent table contents that can normally only be imported into Client 000, which then must usually be copied into your working client. However, if you have not customized these tables, there is an easier way. Import them directly into your working client by setting the import option Ignore Non-Permitted Table Class. This is only necessary for the last two of the five transports; the others can all be imported to your working client normally, or are client-independent.

Synchronize Payroll Tax Data

Beginning with HRSP 600.A6, 604.72, and 608.01, and if you have at least TaxFactory 10 TUB 19 imported, it becomes possible to synchronize the TUB data directly from your TaxFactory server (after applying the Regulatory Bulletins there) into your SAP tables, thus bypassing the need to download and import the above transport files. Beginning in Spring 2015 this will become the only supported mechanism for applying TUBs to your SAP system, however, for the moment it remains optional. For more information see Note 1975742. Also note that there are currently four correction Notes released for this functionality: 1984911, 1992315, 1992697, and 2009438.

Further Information, and Important Notes

The most important Notes for reference while installing, upgrading, and/or configuring TaxFactory are:

• 1905340: Installing TaxFactory 10.0
• 1910127: FAQ: TaxFactory 10.0 Installation/Upgrade Troubleshooting

Additionally, the following SCN resources are very helpful:

• BSI Tax Factory 10.0, by HEMANTH JAMITHI
  • Good information about using the new web-based TaxFactory client, and some of the more detailed custom configuration that some customers may require (overrides, etc).
• BSI Tax Factory 10.0, by Graziela Dondoni
  • Ongoing discussion thread in which Graziela announces new or upcoming changes for TaxFactory, and customers and consultants ask and answer questions. The thread is currently at 32 pages in length, which can make it difficult to search and browse, but I recommend following it (click Track in Communications) to remain up-to-date.

By now most US Payroll customers have either upgraded their TaxFactory installations from 9.0 to 10.0, or (like me) are scrambling to do so before the November 30 deadline. Or, perhaps you're installing TaxFactory for the first time and (like me) finding the documentation a bewildering array of conflicting and difficult-to-collate information. Take heart! This blog is for you.

Below I will detail the steps required, in order (something the documentation doesn't seem to manage well), to get a new or upgraded TaxFactory 10 system running and connected to SAP Payroll. The scenario here is a standalone TaxFactory system, using Microsoft SQL Server as its database. However, in general the information should apply to other database platforms with minor adaptation. TaxFactory can also be installed on your SAP ERP system itself, sharing the same DBMS, and while that does simplify a few things, it is not my recommendation.

Due to the length of this topic (apologies!), it has been necessary to split the blog into four parts. Part 1 details the required preparations: gathering materials, installing and configuring SQL Server, and installing SAP Gateway. Part 2 continues with creating and loading the database and installing the TaxFactory server itself. Part 3 details the installation of the TaxFactory client and loading of the Data Set. Part 4 will discuss the required SAP-side configuration.

Preparations

Gathering Materials

You will need to download or acquire a few items for the installation, so it is best to have them all ready to go. You'll need approximately 10-11 GB to hold all the source files.

1. DBMS and any service packs, cumulative updates, or hotfixes
   1. Here we are using Microsoft SQL Server 2012, with Service Pack 2 and Cumulative Update 2.
   2. When in doubt about which is the latest SP and CU for SQL Server, I find it helpful to refer to Microsoft SQL Server Version List.
2. Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server (free download)
   1. Download Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server from Official Microsoft Download Center
3. Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update
   1. You may or may not need this. Per various SAP Notes, such as 1676665, you may need to apply this Windows hotfix if you receive a particular error during the Gateway installation, so it doesn't hurt to have it handy.
   2. Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update from Official Microsoft Do…
4. SAP Standalone Gateway
   1. This does not need to match your ERP release, so you should use the latest and greatest. At this time, that is NetWeaver 7.4 SR2.
   2. Please note that this is not the same as NetWeaver Gateway, which is an add-on to an existing NetWeaver ABAP system.
   3. You will need Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM)
      1. http://service.sap.com/swdc -> Installations and Upgrades -> Browse our Download Catalog -> SAP NetWeaver and complementary products -> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NETWEAVER 7.4 -> SOFTWARE PROVISIONING MGR 1.0 -> <platform, i.e. "Windows on x64 64bit"> -> SWPM10SPxx_x-xxxxxxxx.SAR
   4. You will need the Kernel 7.42 installation media (not the patch)
      1. Same path as above to SAP NETWEAVER 7.4 -> Installation and Upgrade -> <platform, i.e. "Microsoft Windows"> -> <DBMS, i.e. "Microsoft SQL-Server"> -> <DVD # for "SAP Kernel 7.42 <platform>">.
   5. Extract both packages to a source folder using sapcar.
5. SAP Initial Tax Mapping
   1. Navigate to http://service.sap.com/tubs-> TaxFactory 10.0 -> Initial Mapping -> Initial Mapping for TaxFactory 10.0 and download the file.
   2. Extract the file BTXTAXC.xml and save it on your workstation.
6. SAP Tax Update Bulletins
   1. Depending on your ERP Support Package level, you may be able to synchronize your SAP tables directly from the TaxFactory system once it is installed. However, if you are not yet at a high enough HRSP, then you will still be doing this the old-fashioned way, downloading SAP transports and applying them to your system, in which case the process has not changed from prior TaxFactory releases.
   2. Navigate to http://service.sap.com/tubs-> TaxFactory 10.0 -> TUB Downloads -> TUB xxx - TUB xxx (latest available) -> TUB xxx (latest available).
   3. There will be six files. You need five. Download all except the "Incremental" update.
      1. Note, if you have made customizations to the files T5UTA, etc, then you may need to use incremental updates. This is beyond the scope of this current document, which assumes that you are using the tables as delivered and therefore can use cumulative updates to save time and effort.
   4. Extract the files and copy the "K" files to \usr\sap\trans\cofiles on your transport host, and the "R" files to \usr\sap\trans\data.
7. Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for your server platform in 64-bit version (currently JRE 7 update 67)
   1. Note that by default java.com will offer the 32-bit JRE, so I recommend using the manual download option at Java Downloads for All Operating Systems.
   2. Choose your OS and, if in Windows, the 64-bit option. Note that you are not concerned here with integrating the JRE into a browser, so it is not necessary to download the 32-bit version.
8. Apache Tomcat 7
   1. Apache Tomcat - Apache Tomcat 7 Downloads
   2. Scroll down to Binary Distributions -> Core -> 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service Installer and download from that link.
9. BSI TaxFactory
   1. Login to http://www.mybsi.com/connect
   2. Click the big button for Download BSI TaxFactory 10.
   3. Select the latest Cyclic Bulletin (currently 10.0d).
   4. From the Downloads section, find your OS/DBMS/bit-width combination and click Download File. In our example, we need Windows 2008 thru 2012 and SQL Server 2005 thru 2012 64-bit. This is the server package.
   5. Above this section and on the right, click the link for TF10 Client Package for Windows and save the file.
   6. To the left of that, click the link for Download Master File.
      1. It is not generally necessary to download the cyclic data file nor any regulatory bulletins at this point, as the Master File includes the most recent cyclic and regulatory data. The filename will indicate the TUB level being installed, which should match the SAP TUB downloaded earlier. If not, be sure to download the SAP TUB that matches the BSI Master File.
   7. From the top menu, select Product Maintenance. Choose BSI TaxFactory as the product. Under Maintenance, select Maintain Machine Key.
      1. Click Add New Key. Confirm the correct release and platform, and enter your TaxFactory server's hostname in all capitals (if it is a Windows host). Click Request Server Key.
      2. From the list of machine keys, find the one you just created (perhaps the only one in the list) and click Save as File. This will download a small file called machinekey.lic. Save it on your workstation's hard drive.

SQL Server

Install and configure SQL Server much as you would for an SAP installation. We will not go into detail here about installing SQL Server, except to highlight a few important points.

Collation

TaxFactory, like SAP, requires a case-sensitive collation. The SQL Server default, however, is case-insensitive. The SAP default of SQL_Latin1_General_CP850_BIN2 will work, however, for a standalone installation BSI recommends SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS. Note that this is very similar to the SQL Server default of SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS, so you must pay close attention at this step.

Authentication Mode

In prior releases TaxFactory required Mixed Mode (SQL Server authentication and Windows authentication). This is no longer the case, so in this example we will choose Windows authentication mode. Also, per SAP's recommendation, we will add the local host's Administrators group to the list of SQL Server administrators.

Other items for the installation and configuration of SQL Server can be as per SAP's recommendations or your organization's standards. In general, I recommend to set Lock Pages in Memory (Note 1134345), to configure 1/3 of the physical RAM for SQL Server usage, and to set Max Degree of Parallelism to 1 (Note 1702408), just as you would for an SAP central instance.

SAP Gateway

If you install TaxFactory onto your ERP application server, a standalone gateway will not be required. However, if you install TaxFactory as a standalone system, as outlined in this blog, then you will need a gateway to provide the RFC connection from your ERP application to the TaxFactory server executable. Fortunately, installing a standalone gateway is a quick and relatively painless process.

The gateway does not require any database resources. However, as with all SAP installations, it does require a unique System ID, or SID, and two user accounts for the service and administration, plus one global group for the users. If you perform the installation as a Domain Admin, SWPM will create the user accounts for you. It is also possible to use local users instead of domain users, but generally speaking SAP advises to create domain users.

If you do not have a Domain Admin user account to perform the installation, you will need to create, or have your network administrator create on your behalf, the group and users. This is described in full in the gateway installation guide, which is found at http://service.sap.com/instguides -> Installation & Upgrade Guides -> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NetWeaver 7.4 -> Installation -> 3 - Installation - Standalone Engines -> Installation: Gateway for SAP NetWeaver 7.1 or Higher.

For this blog, we will assume that you have chosen a SID of TFP for your TaxFactory gateway. Therefore, the AD global group will be SAP_TFP_GlobalAdmin, and the domain users will be SAPServiceTFP and tfpadm. Do not, however, use either of these accounts for the installation of the gateway. Note that if you do pre-create the users, they should both have the same password, and the password should be set to never expire. If your organization's policy requires unique passwords for the two users, there will be an option in the installation to accommodate this, but by default sapinst will assume the same password for both.

Installation

In your source folder on your server, you should by now have extracted the SWPM and kernel packages that you downloaded earlier. If not, do so now into separate subfolders (in our example, \source\swpm and \source\kernel). Execute \source\swpm\sapinst.exe.

In part 1, Choose Option, drill into SAP Installation Master -> SAP NetWeaver 7.4 Support Release 2 -> MS SQL Server -> SAP Systems -> Standalone Engines -> Gateway -> Gateway.

Click Next. If this is the first time you've installed an SAP system on this server (which is likely), you should momentarily see a message box stating SAPinst needs to log you off in order to reliably continue the installation. This is because sapinst is adding certain required OS permissions to your user account and it is necessary to logout and in again to activate them. Click OK.

Log back in to the server console again. Sapinst will automatically restart with the same options as before, bringing you to part 2, Define Parameters. Enter your chosen System ID (SID; in our example 'TFP') and the drive onto which you wish to install the gateway executables.

Click Next. On the next screen enter the password for your SAPServiceSID and sidadm users. If the users already exist, this will be the password chosen for them; if they do not, this is the password that will be set for them by sapinst, and it should be compliant with your organization's password policy. Note that if you require different passwords for the two users, there will be an option later in the installation to set that.

Click Next. On the next screen enter the location for your kernel source files. Note that sapinst asks for "Kernel NW740 SR2," but by this it means the 7.42 kernel.

Click Next. Sapinst will confirm the correct kernel files, and then on the next screen show a summary of the chosen parameters. If you need to make any revisions, select the relevant checkbox and click Revise, or click Show Detail to see (and revise) more details about the installation. Otherwise, if everything looks correct, click Next.

The installation will proceed at this point and should only take a minute or two. When it is complete you should see a message box to that effect. Optionally follow the feedback link, or click OK.

Troubleshooting msiexec or vcredist error

It might happen that SWPM or sapinst fails with an error message: "Running msiexec failed with return code 1603: Fatal error during installation. Commandline was msiexec.exe /norestart /L /vcredist_x64.logvcredist_64.msi /qn." If this occurs, apply the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package ATL Security Update that you downloaded earlier, and then restart sapinst.

Configuring secinfo.dat

By default your new gateway will still refuse connections from external systems, so there is one piece of configuration you must do. You must create a secinfo.dat file and place it in the appropriate folder, with the appropriate parameters defined inside. This file doesn't exist until you create it.

A full discussion of the available parameters for secinfo.dat are beyond the scope of this blog, but are discussed at length in Note 1425765. You will need to adapt the file according to the needs of your organization, but something like the following will work for purposes of enabling TaxFactory to be called from your ERP system.

Create the file in the folder \usr\sap\SID\Gxx\data. The first line of the file must be:

#VERSION=2

The second line should begin with "P" (for "Permit"), then have entries for TP, HOST, USER, and USER-HOST. TP points to the TaxFactory server batch file, which you will create later. HOST is the fully-qualified hostname of your TaxFactory server. USER is the calling username, and USER-HOST is the hostname or IP address of your ERP system (you may use wildcards if the call may come from several systems). So, this line will follow this pattern:

P TP=<drive>:\BSI\TaxFactory\server\tf10server.bat HOST=<TaxFactory Host>.<domain> USER=* USER-HOST=<IP address or range>

So, if you will be installing TaxFactory onto your E: drive on the server "taxfactory," and all of your SAP servers are using internal IP addresses in the 10.50.15.x subnet, for instance, your file might look like this:

#VERSION=2

P TP=E:\BSI\TaxFactory\server\tf10server.bat HOST=taxfactory.domain.com USER=* USER-HOST=10.50.15.*

Please note that the keywords (TP, HOST, etc) are case-sensitive and must be capitalized.

Save the file, logout and login again as 'sidadm,' and use SAPMMC to restart the gateway. In the process list, right-click on gwrd.EXE and choose Developer Trace. In the trace file, look for the line "GwIInitSecInfo: secinfo version = 2". If you see this, then the gateway correctly read your secinfo.dat file. If you do not, you may have misformatted the file, or you may have saved it in the wrong folder.

<continued at BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2>

This blog is the continuation from BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server and BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2, which collectively covered gathering materials, configuring SQL Server, installing SAP Gateway, creating the TaxFactory database, and installing the TaxFactory server executables. Now we will move on to the TaxFactory web client and loading our dataset, and then in Part 4 we will get it all connected to SAP.

Client Installation

Unlike previous releases, TaxFactory 10 introduces a new web-based client, which requires the installation of a small web server and associated XML files. You will therefore need to install a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Apache Tomcat web server, Microsoft SQLJDBC driver, and the TaxFactory 10 Client component itself.

Java Runtime Environment

Earlier (in Part 1) you downloaded Oracle Java 7 for Windows 64-bit. You should now have in your Source folder a file named similarly to jre-7u67-windows-x64.exe (the u67 portion may be different if you downloaded a more recent patch). Execute this file. Accept the warning, then on the Welcome screen click on Install. After a moment you should see a success message. Click Close.

To test that the installation was successful, open a command prompt and type java -version. If the JRE is properly installed you should see version information.

Apache Tomcat

Tomcat is a lightweight web server that provides the environment for the TaxFactory web client. Again, you have already downloaded the installation files (in Part 1) to your Source folder, where it will have a name similar to apache-tomcat-7.0.55.exe. Execute this file. Accept the security warning and click Run.

The Apache Tomcat Setup Wizard will start. Click Next. Accept the license agreement by clicking I agree. On the Choose Components page, leave everything at default and click Next.

On the Configuration Options page, leave everything at default (other than optionally checking the box for Create shortcuts for all users) and click Next.

On the Java Virtual Machine page, the wizard should have automatically located the path to your JRE 7 installation. Click Next. On the Choose Install Location page, change the destination folder as appropriate for your software installation standards, or leave it at the default, and click Install. The installation is very quick. When it is done, leave Run Apache Tomcat checked and click Finish. You should briefly see a message about the service starting.

SQLJDBC

Just as the TaxFactory server requires an ODBC driver to connect to the database, so the TaxFactory client, which runs in the Java context of the Tomcat web server, requires a JDBC driver. Earlier (in Part 1) you downloaded the Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server and saved it to your Source folder. Extract the contents now.

Create a new folder named sqljdbc_4.0. There are two files you need to copy to this new folder:

• \Source\Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_4.0\enu\sqljdbc4.jar
• \Source\Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_4.0\enu\auth\x64\sqljdbc_auth.dll

TF10Client

Earlier (Part 1 again) you downloaded the TF10 Client Package for Windows as a zip file. Extract the contents to create a source folder called TF10ClientInstall. Inside that folder, open TF10ClientInstallation.pdf to find the official installation instructions, and follow along in that document along with this blog to continue.

Execute TF10ClientInstall.exe. Accept the security warning and click Run. Make a note of the functions and prerequisites on the welcome screen and click Next.

Enter the Cyclic password you received from BSI via email and click Next.

Review the license agreement and click I Agree.

On the Configuration Analyzer screen you should note that no prior TF10 Client environments are installed, and that the installer automatically found your Tomcat installation.

If the installer did not find Tomcat, double-check that Tomcat is actually running (it is a Windows service named Apache Tomcat 7.0 Tomcat7). Once your screen looks similar to the above, click Next.

On the XML Server Configuration screen, check the box for 64 bit XML Server and set the appropriate path for installation. I recommend putting this under the same \BSI folder you created earlier for the TaxFactory server executables (in Part 2). Click Next.

As this is the first install on this server, the next screen (BSI TaxFactory 10 Environment Configuration) will read Production Environment Configuration and will have the Install checkbox checked. The screen will be greyed out, because you are required to install one "production" environment on your web server. Don't be alarmed if this is not intended to be "production" but is actually a DEV or QAS system; BSI has set up the client install to allow the installation of multiple environments onto a single web server, but they require PRD to be the first install. My recommendation is to have physically separate DEV, QAS, and PRD servers, which means that BSI will assume a "PRD" environment on each of them. That's ok. Accept the choice here and click Next.

The next screen is probably the most important to get right in this process. This is the "Client Environment" screen. The WEB Server Service Port, WEB Server Service Name, and Database Schema fields will be pre-filled. Do not change these. Under "WEB Server JDBC Configuration / XML Server ODBC Configuration" select the radio button for MS SQL Server.

A pop-up box will ask Does your MSSQL server connection use Windows Authentication? Click Yes.

Now the JDBC JAR file location field will be ready for input (it was greyed out before selecting your DBMS). Click Browse and locate the sqljdbc4.jar file you setup earlier (see "SQLJDBC" in this blog).

Enter the following information into these fields:

• Database Name:  TF10
• Database Port:  1433
• Database Host:  <your database/taxfactory server hostname>
• DSN:  <select the ODBC Data Source you set up earlier (in Part 2), i.e "TFP" or the SID for your Gateway (if you followed my recommendation)>

When you are done, your screen should look similar to this:

Click Next. If all went well, you will see a popup stating Successfully tested ODBC connection and schema for DOMAIN/sidadm. Click OK.

The next screen is TaxFactory XML Server Configuration for MSSQL Windows Authentication. Here you must supply the username and password that the TaxFactory XML server will use to connect to the database. It will default to your currently logged-on user, which at this point is probably sidadm (tfpadm in our example). This is fine to use, as long as the password is set to never expire.

Browse to the path for sqljdbc_auth.dll that you setup earlier (again, in "SQLJDBC" in this blog). When you are done, your screen should look similar to this:

Click Next.

The next five screens are for adding additional environments (DEV, QA, Test1, Test2, and Test3) to the server. You don't need to do that, at least not at this time. Leave the Install button cleared (the default) on each of them and click Next until you come to the confirmation screen:

Check the checkbox for Install PRD Environment(s) and click FINISH. The installation will take a minute or two and will start some services. When it is done you should see Setup was completed successfully and Completed. Click Close.

Load Data Set

Now it's time to launch the client. Switch to your workstation and start your web browser. Navigate to http://hostname.domain.com:8091/eTF10d/PRD, substituting your taxfactory server's hostname. If you are on a newer Cyclic than 10.0.d, use the appropriate cyclic name in place of eTF10d. Logon to the client with:

• User:  TF10
• Password:  bsi

Create Data Set

After logging on, you will see the following screen:

Click on the DEFAULT Data Set ID to connect to it. This is necessary before you can navigate to any other screen in the client.

In the upper right corner, locate the Jump To drop-down box and select System Tools.

Under Access Tools, select Manage Data Set.

Under Manage Data Sets, above the list of available Data Sets, click the link for Click here to add new Data Set.

Under Enter Data Set Information, enter your SAP payroll client number as the Data Set ID and a description of your choice. Select the checkbox for Apply default permission to this Data Set and click Save.

Back at the Manage Data Sets screen, click on your new Data Set to configure it.

Under Related Activities, select Manage Logins and Permissions.

Select the TF10 login (the one in caps).

Select Click here to manage Tool level permissions for this login.

On the Permissions screen, for Permission for Dataset, select your new Data Set and click Refresh.

Scroll to the bottom of the page, select Check All, then Save, then Exit.

Back on the Manage Logins screen, click Manage Data Set, then Connect to Data Sets. Click on your new Data Set to connect to it. Now notice in the lower right (at the right end of the copyright text bar) that your Data Set should be listed as the one that you are connected to.

Install License

Earlier (in Part 1) you created a Machine Key on the BSI website and downloaded it as a file. Now it's time to apply that to your TaxFactory database.

In the Jump To drop-down in the upper right corner, once again select System Tools. Under Database Tools, select Install Machine Key.

Browse to the file you saved (default name is machinekey.lic) and click Upload. After a second or two you should see the message License Key has been installed successfully. If there is an error here, ensure that you correctly entered the hostname on the BSI website when you created the key (including using all caps for a Windows hostname). Also note that the machine key is only valid for installation for a period of five days after creation on the BSI website, so if it has been longer than that, you will need to regenerate the key. Otherwise, click Exit.

Load Tax Master File

Back in Part 1 you downloaded a master file with the latest Cyclic and Regulatory data from BSI. This file will have a name similar to TFU10034.PKG (where 034 indicates the Regulatory, or TUB, level of the file). Using this file enables you to bypass having to separately load the latest Cyclic and every Regulatory bulletin, instead loading it all in one step for initial setup. After this, when BSI releases new Cyclic and Regulatory bulletins, you will apply those normally.

Back on the System Tools page, under Database Tools, select Database Load. Browse to your tax master file and click Upload. On the Database Load  screen that pops up, select the checkbox next to tf.xml and click Process.

This load will likely take about five minutes. If it appears to happen quickly, it's best to wait several minutes, as it is probably still loading in background. Normally, however, you will see an IN PROGRESS message while the load is happening. When the load is finished there will be an output file with an audit of the results. Look through the log to see that all records were processed (all zeroes for the second number in each row). When satisfied, click Exit twice.

Back on the System Tools page, under Maintenance Tools, note that the level numbers for Regulatory Bulletin and Cyclic have advanced to the current status (previously they were 0).

Optional: TaxLocator File

Not all states and not all organizations use TaxLocator, but if you do, now is the time to load the TaxLocator file from BSI, using the same procedure as the tax master file.

Load Initial Tax Mapping

The Initial Tax Mapping is a file provided by SAP, not BSI, which provides a mapping between SAP tax codes and BSI tax codes. You downloaded this file in Part 1 from the same location as the SAP TUB files. After extraction, you should have the file BTXTAXC.xml on your workstation.

Note: if you are performing an upgrade and using a Custom Backup and Restore from your TF9 database, you do not need to perform this step, as this data will be contained in the backup/export from TF9. For an initial install, or if you are choosing a 'clean' install of TF10 rather than upgrading, then you will need this file.

On the System Tools page, under Database Tools, select Custom Backup/Restore. On the Custom Backup/Restore page, select Restore. Select your BTXTAXC.xml file and press Upload.

On the Custom Data Restore page that follows, select the radio button for Existing Data Set and choose your new Data Set. Do not select Delete Existing Data nor Restore Permission (Rights). Click Process.

The restore should take less than a minute. Again, when done there will be an output audit file. Verify that there were no unprocessed records, then click Exit four times.

You should now be back at the Welcome screen. Under System Summary you will notice that where previously you had zero mapped tax codes, now you will have several thousand. You may also see a handful of unmapped authorities. This is normal.

<continued at BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 4>

By now you have fully installed and configured your TaxFactory server, as detailed in the previous parts of this blog series:

1. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server
   1. Gathering materials (downloads) and installing SQL Server and SAP Gateway
2. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2
   1. Loading the database and installing TaxFactory server
3. BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3
   1. Installing TaxFactory client (including Apache Tomcat) and loading the Data Set

Now it's time to configure SAP to talk to TaxFactory. Unlike the previous parts of this series, this part is not database-platform-dependent.

SAP Configuration

RFC Destination

The first step is to define the RFC Destination that SAP will use to connect to TaxFactory. This setting is not transportable, so must be done separately in each SAP ERP system in your landscape (DEV, QAS, PRD, etc). If you have setup separate TaxFactory servers for DEV, PRD, etc, then you will want to ensure that you configure each RFC Destination appropriately.

There are two ways to do this, and they are equally effective. The SAP documentation will have you go through the IMG:

• Transaction SPRO
  • SAP Reference IMG
    • Payroll
      • Payroll: USA
        • Tax
          • SAP/BSI Interface
            • Specify location of Tax Factory executable

Experienced Basis administrators will quickly recognize this as a link to transaction SM59, Configuration of RFC Connections, and that, of course, is the shortcut you can use to get here quickly. However, it is useful to remember this IMG path, as you will return to SAP/BSI Interface again shortly.

If you are upgrading from TaxFactory 9.0, you will already have an RFC Destination named BSI90-US-TAX. You cannot reuse this, but you can copy it as a template for the new destination. Alternatively, or for a new installation, expand and/or select the folder TCP/IP connections and click on the create button.

The name of your new destination must be BSI10-US-TAX. Connection Type T (TCP/IP Connection) should already be selected, but if not, select it. Enter a description of your choice (e.g. 'BSI TaxFactory 10.0'), and set the following Technical Settings:

• Activation Type:  Start on Explicit Host
• Program:  <drive>:\<path>\tf10server.bat
• Target Host:  <taxfactory_host>.<domain>.<com/org/...>
• Save to Database as:  Hostname
• Start Type of External Program:  Default Gateway Value
• CPI-C Timeout:  Default Gateway Value
• Gateway Host:  <taxfactory_host>.<domain>.<com/org/...>
• Gateway service:  sapgw00

Save your changes and click Connection Test.

If the connection is not successful, the most likely cause is misconfiguration of secinfo.dat in the gateway on your TaxFactory host. Go back to Part 1 of this series and navigate to Preparations -> SAP Gateway -> Configuring secinfo.dat (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation/Upgrade for SQL Server) for more information. Other items to double-check are that the gateway service (sapgw00) and the instance number of your gateway match. In this series we have assumed that you installed your gateway to Instance ID 00; if you chose a different Instance ID, then your gateway service must be adapted to match (sapgw01, sapgw02, etc). Also, double-check that you pointed the destination to the batch file (tf10server.bat) and not the executable (tf10server.exe). For more information about this batch file, see Part 2 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2).

Required Support Packs or Notes

The minimum HR Support Pack for TaxFactory 10 on ERP 6.00 is SAP_HR 99 (or SAP_HR 95 + CLC 99), and for ERP 6.04 it is SAP_HR 65 (or SAP_HR 61 + CLC 65). If you have at least this level of Support Pack, the other required functionality can be obtained through implementation of SAP Notes. However, bear in mind that in Spring 2015 the new Synchronizationmethod for applying TUBs will become mandatory, and this will require a minimum HRSP level of A6 (base ERP 6.0), 72 (EhP4), or 1 (EhP8), plus additional correction Notes on top of those minimum SPs. Most customers will be at a higher SP level than this by then anyway, as the Year-End 2014 Base HRSP is B3 (ERP 6.0), 79 (EhP4), or 7 (EhP8).

If you are not yet on the Year-End Base HRSP, however, but you do meet the TF10 minimum HRSP, here are the Notes which you must consider applying:

1. 1875218 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 Roadmap
   1. Not actually anything to apply, but lists the other most important Notes
2. 1903607 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase I
   1. Can only be applied via Support Pack; included in HRSP 600.99 and 604.65; prerequisite to all other Notes listed
3. 1909014 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase II
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A2 and 604.68
   2. Corrected by 1962760 (see below)
   3. Includes manual activities (besides SNOTE application)
      1. Previous versions of this Note included a typographical error for a View that must be edited, but this has now been corrected
4. 1934582 - Test BSI Tax Calculation in TaxFactory 10.0
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A2 and 604.68
   2. Includes manual activities
   3. Required before you can use RPUBTCU0 to test the TaxFactory connection (see below)
   4. If you use the optional TaxLocator functionality, you must also apply 1934427
5. 1934840 - BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Phase 3
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A3 and 604.69
   2. Includes manual activities
   3. This Note proved troublesome for many customers, so I will provide more details below on how to successfully implement it
6. 1937142 - TAX: BSI TaxFactory 10.0 - Nonresident Worked Days parameters
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A5  and 604.71
   2. Corrected by 1963469 (only applicable via Support Pack, 600.A5 or 604.71, but tax calculations seem to work fine without this)
   3. Includes manual activities
7. 1962760 - BSI: Payroll driver generates warning messages due to feature 10EET
   1. Included in HRSP 600.A5 and 604.71
   2. Note that it is not enough to simply apply this Note; if you are using TF 10.0, you must also activate the feature in customizing (see below)
8. 2033053 - RPCALCU0 runs for long time or CX_HRPA_VIOLATED_PRECONDITION dump
   1. Not applicable for ERP 6.00
   2. Included in HRSP 604.80 or 608.07
   3. Corrects a serious performance issue in RPCALCU0 (even if you aren't getting any dumps)
   4. Is listed as a correction for Note 1969726, but the performance issue may exist even if you have not applied this Note or equivalent Support Pack

Besides these, you may find that there are other prerequisite Notes that SNOTE brings up.

Note 1934840 - Phase 3

This Note proved troublesome for many customers, so here are some hints to help with a successful implementation. Obviously, the easiest way is to implement the Support Pack that includes it, but if that is not yet an option for you, follow these steps.

The Note includes SNOTE automatic corrections, SAR files to be downloaded and imported, and manual customizing activities. The problem lies in the fact that there is a cross-dependency between some of the code corrections applied via SNOTE and some of the changes imported via SAR file. The Note advises to import the SAR transports first, then apply the SNOTE corrections. However, upon importing L4HK194704 (the 6.04 version of the SAR file) Generation of Programs and Screens will fail with RC=8. The error is Program SAPLHRPAYUS_T5UX9, Include LHRPAYUS_T5UX9SCL: Syntax error in line 58. Type 'CL_HRPAYUS_COURTESY_WH' is unknown.

The accompanying code corrections to be applied via SNOTE include Class CL_HRPAYUS_COURTESY_WH. However, if you apply the code corrections first, you will likely encounter other, similar errors due to dependencies upon objects in the SAR file.

The procedure, therefore, is to:

1. Import the SAR file (L4HK194704 or L7DK244720) using the transport option Leave Transport Request in Queue for Later Import
   1. Ignore the error for now
2. Apply the code corrections via SNOTE
3. Re-import the SAR file, this time clearing Leave Transport Request... and instead setting Import Transport Request Again.

This second import will go in cleanly, and all will be well. After this has been done, you can proceed to the customizing activities described in the Note as applicable for your organization's requirements.

Note that in downstream systems (i.e., QAS and PRD), the procedure is slightly modified. You will import the SAR file per point 1, then import your transport containing all your various Note corrections, then re-import the SAR file per point 3. Bear in mind that this means it will be difficult to automate scheduled imports in later systems, so this will probably warrant manual attention.

Feature 10EET

The Phase II Note introduced this new feature for Employee Type Indicator and Date of Death. One problem with the Note was the generation of warning messages in the pay run for customers still using TaxFactory 9.0, so Note 1962760 provided a correction for that. However, even with the correction applied, if you are using TaxFactory 10.0 but do not activate this feature, you will get the warning messages. The Note implies that you can simply leave the feature inactive in order to duplicate TF 9.0 functionality, but this is not the case.

The message appears in the pay run job log (viewed via SM37). It is message P0 604, 'Feature 10EET has not been activated yet,' and it will appear in the job log numerous times. For a large pay run, very numerous times, such that reviewing the log could be unwieldy, and there may be a minor performance impact on the pay run itself.

If you don't plan to use this feature at this time, you can simply activate it via PE03, configuring as follows:

This will remove the warning message and make your job logs usable again.

Test Tax Calculation (RPUBTCU0)

Once all of your Notes or Support Packs have been applied, you can test the connection from Payroll to TaxFactory. Note that this is not the same as the connection test done in SM59 earlier; that test only confirmed that the connection from SAP to the Gateway works correctly and that SAP could reach the TaxFactory server executable. This test will now actually invoke the TaxFactory engine, sending predetermined test data for TaxFactory to calculate and returning a result. The prerequisite for this test is that you have applied Note 1934582.

Execute transaction SA38 (or SE38). Enter RPUBTCU0 as the program and click Execute.

Confirm the selection of BSI Version 10.0 and click Execute.

The test will take a few seconds, and if all is working correctly you will see the following:

In the message list you may also see message code 2000 ("No company UT experience rate information for the California state UT tax was found..."). This is a normal result.

Various errors may occur at this point:

• Communication failure
  • This usually indicates that your RFC Destination is not correctly configured in SM59.
• System failure
  • This usually indicates a problem connecting to the database or data set. Ensure that your ODBC DSN on the TaxFactory server is working correctly, and ensure that your Data Set (in the TaxFactory client) has the same name as your SAP client number. See Parts 2 and 3 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2, BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3)
• System hangs with no response during RPUBTCU0
  • This could be an issue with the ODBC driver on the TaxFactory server. See Part 2 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 2).
• RPUBTCU0 completes without error, but no taxes are calculated
  • This usually indicates that the SAP-BSI tax code mapping is not correct in your Data Set. See Load Initial Tax Mapping in Part 3 of this series (BSI TaxFactory 10 Installation for SQL Server - Part 3).

For more details on troubleshooting RPUBTCU0, and the TaxFactory connection and functionality in general, refer to Note 1910127 (FAQ: TaxFactory 10.0 Inst./Upgrade Troubleshooting).

Create Tax Related Wage Types

This step is only relevant for a new installation; if you are upgrading from TaxFactory 9.0, even if you are doing a clean install on a new TaxFactory server, you may skip this step.

In transaction SA38, enter program RPUTTUU0 (Wage Type Update Program). Accept all the defaults on the selection screen, deselect Test Mode, and execute.

Specify Version in Customizing

Return to the IMG (transaction SPRO) and drill down into:

• Payroll
  • Payroll: USA
    • Tax
      • SAP/BSI Interface
        • Specify BSI TaxFactory version for customizing settings

For country grouping 10, option BSITF, set the Value field to 'V10' via the drop-down selection. There should be no need to change the start or end dates. Save your changes, which will create a transport for import into downstream systems.

The next IMG activity, Specify BSI TaxFactory version for master data and tax calculation, only needs to be configured if you intend to use different releases of TaxFactory for different groups (company codes, etc). For most organizations, this can be left blank, in which case the version from the previous activity will take effect.

The final IMG activity, Specify level of messages to be returned, only needs to be configured if you intend to restrict the types of return messages coming from TaxFactory back to the payroll engine. Read the IMG documentation on the activity to determine whether this is appropriate for your requirements.

Apply TUBs

With TaxFactory 10.0, and depending upon your HRSP level, there are now two ways to apply Tax Update Bulletins to your SAP system. The traditional way is to download transport files from http://service.sap.com/tubs and import them to your system. The procedure for this is detailed in Note 1910128, and this has not changed from prior TaxFactory releases.

For most customers, you will download five transports for the most recent TUB available (all except the Incremental transport). The transports will have titles like:

1. Tables T5UTN, T5UTT, BTXFORM, BTXAUTH and BTXTAXT
2. Table BTXTAXC
3. Table T5UTX
4. Cumulative T5UTA, T5UTB, T5UTD, T5UTR and T5UTW
5. Cumulative T5UTZ

Import them into your working client in the above order. Note that transports 4 and 5 include client-dependent table contents that can normally only be imported into Client 000, which then must usually be copied into your working client. However, if you have not customized these tables, there is an easier way. Import them directly into your working client by setting the import option Ignore Non-Permitted Table Class. This is only necessary for the last two of the five transports; the others can all be imported to your working client normally, or are client-independent.

Synchronize Payroll Tax Data

Beginning with HRSP 600.A6, 604.72, and 608.01, and if you have at least TaxFactory 10 TUB 19 imported, it becomes possible to synchronize the TUB data directly from your TaxFactory server (after applying the Regulatory Bulletins there) into your SAP tables, thus bypassing the need to download and import the above transport files. Beginning in Spring 2015 this will become the only supported mechanism for applying TUBs to your SAP system, however, for the moment it remains optional. For more information see Note 1975742. Also note that there are currently four correction Notes released for this functionality: 1984911, 1992315, 1992697, and 2009438.

Further Information, and Important Notes

The most important Notes for reference while installing, upgrading, and/or configuring TaxFactory are:

• 1905340: Installing TaxFactory 10.0
• 1910127: FAQ: TaxFactory 10.0 Installation/Upgrade Troubleshooting

Additionally, the following SCN resources are very helpful:

• BSI Tax Factory 10.0, by HEMANTH JAMITHIREDDY
  • Good information about using the new web-based TaxFactory client, and some of the more detailed custom configuration that some customers may require (overrides, etc).
• BSI Tax Factory 10.0, by Graziela Dondoni
  • Ongoing discussion thread in which Graziela announces new or upcoming changes for TaxFactory, and customers and consultants ask and answer questions. The thread is currently at 32 pages in length, which can make it difficult to search and browse, but I recommend following it (click Track in Communications) to remain up-to-date.

We are a little late in sending our ACA test scenarios to the IRS. We finally received our TCCs today -- 2 of them, one for us as the Issuer and one for the Software Developer (which we probably do not need).

We submitted the XML files for the Scenario 7-0/7-1 (1094/1095Cs). IRS sent us a Rejection on our submission with an error code of AIRMF3003 - Rejected transmission - Error occurred in the TCC. When looking at the detail of the error message it indicates that the 'Error occurred in the TCC'. So I have a few questions:

1. It looks like it is having trouble with the UniqueTransmissionID information in the Manifest file.

• We used the Issuer TCC, which is Active at the Role level with a T/P indicator of 'P', and in the Form T/P indicators section the Issuer Role is set to 'T' for Forms 1094/1095C. Should we have used the Software Developer TCC?
• The UTID that we have looks like this:
  • <UniqueTransmissionId xmlns="urn:us:gov:treasury:irs:ext:aca:air:7.0">3464A9B9-6BF8-1ED6-918D-47ED49C480DD:SYS12:BBVLC::T</UniqueTransmissionId>
  • Is it okay if the UUID portion has upper case letters? This is what SAP generated for us.
• Is it possible that this is just a timing issue? We are not sure if the Role Status was 'Active' on the IRS site before we sent the test transmission.

2. We received a different Software ID from IRS than what was generated in the XML Manifest file by SAP.

• If I edit it and change it to our Software ID, then do I have to recalculate the ChecksumAugmentationNum and the AttachmentByteSizeNum ?

3. Am I right in assuming that if I edit one of the XML files (in this case the Manifest file), that we need to upload both of them into the AATS site?

4. For the 1094C file, is the AggregatedGroupMemberCd supposed to be 2 or 1?

Sorry for all of the late questions, but this has been a bear of a project, as I'm sure all of you are very well aware of.

Thank you in advance for any information.

Beth Matthews