AFC Viewer manual

The Jurisdiction information section is used to specify the Bill To, Origination and Termination points for AFC transactions. These points correspond to the jurisdictions used for subsequent tax calculations in the AFC Viewer.

The Bill To field is used to indicate the Taxing Jurisdiction for the billing location of the transaction. In a Telecom example, the Bill To field should be the customer’s billing address.

The Origination field is used to indicate the Taxing Jurisdiction for the Origination of the transaction. To continue the telecom example, the Origination field should match the origination point for a call.

The termination field is used to indicate the Taxing Jurisdiction for the Termination of the transaction. Again continuing the telecom example, the Termination field should match the termination point for a call.

Use the appropriate Change button to select or update the Bill To, Origination and Termination points. Selecting a Change button invokes the Location Search dialog.

Use the appropriate Clear button to clear the information currently displayed in a Jurisdiction information field.

When selecting or changing jurisdictions the information in the Location Search dialog defaults to the previously-selected location. This allows for quick changes in the event that multiple jurisdiction points are set to the same jurisdiction

Use the Jurisdiction fields to create a hypothetical transaction.

As an example, a customer may want to know if it is more tax-friendly to have company cell phones bill from corporate headquarters or regional offices. As an example we’ll look at a company based in Portland, Oregon with a regional office in Chicago, Illinois.

To view taxes for calls billed from Oregon, set the Bill To field to Portland. Then set the Origination field to Chicago. For local usage the Termination field should also be set to Chicago. Alternatively, set the Termination appropriately for calls to outlying areas or other states. Once the jurisdictions are set, taxes may be calculated for various transactions.

To view taxes for calls billed from Chicago, change the Bill To field to Chicago and repeat the same tax calculations. The tax liabilities for each situation can then be compared to aid in determining which situation is more tax-friendly to the business.

This is just one example of the many ways the AFC Viewer can be used.

The Transaction Data section is used to specify the transaction information that will be used by AFC to determine the type of taxes to apply to the transaction.

T/S is an abbreviation for Transaction/Service Type. Use the T/S dropdown list box to select a transaction type and service type. Entries in the T/S drop down list box are made up of a transaction and service type descriptions followed by the transaction and service type codes in parentheses.

Refer to the TM_00115_AFC Transaction and Service Types for descriptions and examples of Transaction and Service Types.

Select the appropriate sale type:

• Retail specifies that the transaction is a Sale to an end user.
• Wholesale specifies that the transaction is a sale to another carrier, which will resell the service to an end user or another carrier.

The Prepaid check box is used to indicate if the transaction being processed is a debit card transaction.

The Adjustment Information section is used to indicate a transaction as an adjustment.

Check the Charge radio button to specify the transaction as a customer charge.

Check the Credit Adjustment radio button to specify the transaction as a credit adjustment.

Check the Debit Adjustment radio button to specify the transaction as a debit adjustment.

Use the Adjustment Method and Discount drop down list boxes to specify the method and discount type (if applicable) for the adjustment.

The Invoice fields are used to provide the date and amount of an Invoice.

The Date field is normally populated with the bill date.

The Amount field specifies the amount of the transaction to be taxed.

Local service transactions should include the number of lines the customer subscribes to. AFC uses this information for generation of per line taxes usually associated with local E911 charges and local telecommunications relay service taxes and other assorted taxes.

The Minutes Field specifies the length of phone call in minutes, with one tenth of a minute precision capability. AFC uses this field for generation of taxes that are specified as per minute flat fees in some taxing jurisdictions and stores the value in the AFC log database.

The Customer Information fields are used to define the status of the customer.

Select the appropriate Customer Type for the transaction.

Check the Incorporated check box to indicate that the customer resides inside or outside of the Local level designated as their location.

Check the Lifeline check box if the customer is a Lifeline participant.

The Company fields are used to define the status of the company.

Check the Regulated check box to indicate the telecommunications company and its services are regulated by the regulatory commission in the state of the service.

Check the Franchise check box to indicate the company provides services sold pursuant to a franchise agreement between the carrier and jurisdiction.

Check the Facilities checkbox to specify the tangible facilities used by a company to deliver the service.

Select the appropriate Business Class for the company making the transaction. The available values are Incumbent Local Exchange Company (ILEC) and Competitive Local Exchange Company (CLEC).

Use the Service Class field to delineate the Primary activity of an organization as either Long Distance or Local Service.

Use this check box to signify a pro-rated transaction.

When the Pro-Rated check box has been checked this text field will be enabled. Enter the pro-rated percentage in the text box.

When tax exemptions have been applied to the transaction a summary of the exemptions will show up in the Exemptions field. Use the View/Edit… button to add, change, or remove exemptions.

Use the view/edit button to specify tax exemptions for a transaction.

Check the Invoice Mode check box to enable Invoice Mode.

When Invoice Mode is enabled, process transactions as normal. Be sure to select the Calculate button in the bottom left corner of the main AFC Viewer screen to record each transaction. After the desired transactions have been processed, select Customer Totals to see the totals for all the customer transactions. This will reset the transaction totals for the next customer. If Invoice Mode is no longer desired, uncheck the Invoice Mode check box.

AFC applies Steps, Brackets and/or Limits on a per transaction basis unless operating in Invoice Mode. Invoice Mode is used to group transactions that apply to the same customer. AFC maintains a history of the transactions and applies the Steps, Brackets and/or Limits to entire group of transactions.

For example, suppose a jurisdiction charges a 10% UUT on just the first $10 of an invoice. If two separate $6 transactions on the invoice are passed while not in Invoice Mode, two $0.60 tax charges would be erroneously totaled and a $1.20 tax would be generated. However, if these same transactions are passed while in Invoice Mode, the total tax charge would be correctly totaled and a $1.00 tax would be generated.

Refer to the AFC Manual for more information about using Invoice Mode.

This list box displays the taxes resulting from a tax calculation or the cumulative taxes resulting from the set of transactions processed in Invoice Mode. The following information is returned.

• PCode – PCode (Permanent Location Code) for the tax jurisdiction. Refer to the AFC Manual for more information about PCode and Jurisdictions.
• Level – The tax level the tax applies to
• Tax Type – The tax type description
• Tax Type ID – The numeric tax type identifier
• Rate – Tax Rate or amount applied
• Tax Amount – Calculated tax amount
• Taxable Measure – Amount of charge plus any taxed taxes
• Exempt Sale Amount – Amount of the charge exempt from taxes
• Calculation Type – The method used to calculate the tax. (i.e. Rate, Fixed, Per Minute, Per Line)
• Surcharge - Surcharge flag from tax logic
• Jurisdiction Rule – The rule used to determine this tax’s applicability to the transaction.
• Billable - Billable flag from tax logic
• Compliance - Compliance flag from tax logic
• Tax Taxes – The list of all the taxes that will include the tax amount generated for this tax into their taxable measure, before calculating the tax amount.

  Note: Due to the design of the AFC engine, only the first 10 tax on tax items are displayed in the results of this column. There may be additional tax on tax items beyond this limited number.

Tax Inclusive Calculations allow you to enter the total charge desired including the base sale amount plus the tax. The AFC Viewer will then calculate the appropriate taxes and determine what the appropriate base sale amount for the transaction should be.

In order to enable tax inclusive calculations, check the Tax Inclusive Calculation checkbox and then enter the desired total charge into the Total Charge textbox. The base sale amount will automatically be calculated and displayed in the Invoice Amount text box. The screenshot below shows an example of a tax inclusive calculation in which the user entered $150.00 as the total charge. The AFC Viewer determined that the appropriate base sale amount should be $130.02.

The General tab within the AFC Viewer Settings is used to filter Transaction/Service Types to be displayed on the Viewer.

Check the Enable search to select jurisdictions check box to choose jurisdictions using the Location Search dialog. This is the default mode.

Check the Use NPANXX codes to select jurisdictions check box to change the functionality of the viewer to select jurisdictions using NPA/NXX codes. When this check box is checked, the Change buttons on the Jurisdiction Information sections are removed and replaced with NPA/NXX text boxes. Entering an NPA/NXX in the text box causes the AFC Viewer to look up the NPA/NXX code and find the appropriate taxing jurisdiction.

Note: The two check boxes above are linked; only one may be checked at a time. When one is checked the other is automatically unchecked.

Check the Update origination and termination locations when bill-to location is changed check box to have all jurisdiction fields automatically updated when the Bill To jurisdiction field is changed.

Check the Calculate taxes automatically after updating an input field to have the AFC Viewer behave as if the Calculate button was pressed any time an input field is updated.

Use this section to show or hide transaction/service types that may or may not be of interest. Use the check boxes next to the Markets heading to affect all transaction/service types corresponding to a specific market.

To show or hide individual transaction/service types, select one or more items from the appropriate list box and then press the > or < buttons to them back and forth.

This tab allows you to exclude specific states from taxation. Taxes will not be returned for the specified states, except for taxes at the Federal level.

The “Save To” button allows you to save the exclusions into a file that may be used with the AFC system in order to exclude the specified states from taxation.

NOTE: If you are using AFC SaaS Standard or AFC in batch mode, please save the file as “exclude.txt.”

Use this tab to select an existing override file to use with the Viewer.

NOTE: Override files may be created using the AFC RLM, an additional component of the AFC Manager. If any modifications are made to the file using the RLM at the same time it is being used by the AFC Viewer, the AFC Viewer will immediately reflect the changes made.

Use this tab to add or remove visible columns for Tax Results and Customer Tax Totals information to be displayed on the AFC Viewer.

Use this tab to specify tax groupings.

Use this tab to select an existing bundle file to use with the Viewer.

NOTE: Bundle files may be created using the Bundler in AFC Manager, an additional component of the AFC Manager.

The About AFC Manager option screen displays the version of the software and all of the currently installed components.