Data Providers - Tax, Custom, and Others

When you add a company to Determination, you always create one of the following types of companies:

  • A Tax Data Provider: This type of company maintains either US or International Tax Data. It is used by transacting companies in their calculations. Data maintained by a Tax Data Provider includes Authority, Rate, Rule, Product, and Date Determination data. Tax Data Providers do not process transactions; they only provide data used by other companies when performing calculations.
  • A Custom Data Provider: This type of company maintains data that can be shared among child companies in the company hierarchy. Custom data includes custom versions of Tax Data Provider data, as well as additional data such as registrations, exemptions, licenses, and product mappings. Custom Data Providers may process transactions, or they may simply provide data used by child companies when performing calculations.
  • A Child Company (neither a Tax Data Provider or Custom Data Provider): Inherits all of its tax and custom data from a specified Tax Data Provider and Custom Data Provider, and cannot add any data of its own. It maintains its own specific data such as users, tax preferences, logic preferences, Workbench scenarios, and so on. Child companies are always calculating companies.

In addition to the preceding types, a Custom Data Provider or Child Company can also serve as one of the following types of Data Providers:

  • Established Authority Data Provider: This type of company maintains its own establishment (nexus) data for either its own use and/or sharing with child companies. For example, a child company can be its own Established Authority Data Provider or it can inherit this data from another company.
  • Currency Exchange Data Provider: This type of company maintains its own currency exchange rate, source, and currency spec data for either its own use and/or sharing with other companies. For example, a child company can be its own Currency Exchange Data Provider or it can inherit this data from another company.

Tax Data Provider Details

In almost all cases, your implementation will make use of one or more Determination-provided Tax Data Providers.

ONESOURCE Indirect Tax Research maintains data for the US Tax Data Provider and INTL Tax Data Provider companies. When you installed Determination, you downloaded and installed master tax data for one or both of these Tax Data Providers. You can download monthly Content Updates.

When you set up your Custom Data Provider or Transacting (Child) company, you should immediately specify the Determination-provided Tax Data Providers as your company's Tax Data Providers. If you do not, you may incorrectly add Tax Data Provider data that will be overwritten when you later specify the correct Tax Data Providers.

Tax Data Provider Data consists of:

  • Application Messages
  • Authority data including:
    • Basic information
    • Contributing Authority data
    • Currency Specs
    • License Types
    • Logic Groups
    • Material Sets
    • Messages
    • Options
  • Authority Types and Aliases
  • Currency Specs
  • Date Determination Logic and Rules
  • Delivery Terms
  • Products
  • Units of Measure and Conversion Factors
  • Zones, Zone Aliases, and Zone Authorities

Custom Data Provider Details

By default, a company is its own Custom Data Provider. The only way a company becomes a non-Custom Data Provider is when it selects a parent company as its Custom Data Provider on its Tax Preferences page.

A Custom Data Provider can share its data with any child company that uses the same Tax Data Provider. For example, if a child company and its parent both share Determination US Tax Data as their US Tax Data Provider, the child can specify the parent as its Custom Data Provider.

Note that a Custom Data Provider company also maintains its own unshared data, listed in the Transacting (Child Company) Details section below.

Custom Data Provider data consists of:

  • Custom versions (overrides of and extensions to) Tax Data Provider data
  • Allocations and Allocation Groups
  • Currency Exchange Rate Sources and Rates (see Note below)
  • Customers and Customer Groups
  • Established Authorities and Zones (see Note below)
  • Licenses and License Types
  • Material Sets and Lists
  • Product Mappings and Product Mapping Groups
  • Registrations and Registration Groups
  • Reference Lists
  • TransEditors and TransEditor Groups
  • XML Output Groups
  • VAT Group Registrations

A child company can provide its own Currency Exchange Rate and Establishments data even if it uses a Custom Data Provider, by setting the associated providers to itself on its Tax Preferences page.

Transacting (Child) Company Details

A transacting company is one which specifies both a Tax Data Provider and a Custom Data Provider on its Tax Preferences page. It maintains neither Tax nor Custom Data, though it may maintain its own Currency and Establishments data or inherit this data from its Custom Data Provider.

A Transacting company also maintains the following data, independent of its Custom Data Provider or Tax Data Provider:

  • Company Preferences (Tax, Logic, and Company)
  • Custom Attributes
  • Currency Exchange Rate Sources and Rates (if Currency Exchange Data Provider is set to this company on its Tax Preferences page)
  • Established Zones and Authorities (if Established Authority Data Provider is set to this company on its Tax Preferences page)
  • Locations and Location Sets
  • Product Mappings and Product Mapping Groups; may also be inherited from Custom Data Provider
  • Registrations and Registration Groups; may also be inherited from Custom Data Provider
  • Roles
  • TransEditors and TransEditor Groups
  • Users
  • Workbench Scenarios