How does Vertex work?

BBritain

VIP Member
I'm curious how Vertex works with EnterpriseOne. Does Vertex 'hijack' a tax bsfn and redirect it to their tables for calculating tax?

Thanks for specific revelations,
Ben again,
 
Vertex has its own database and its own set of API. JDE provides an integration layer to vertex via code in BSFNs. If you have vertex installed when a jde session is initialized it makes a connection to vertex and stores vertex API function pointers, vertex handles, etc. as a single record in a named jdeCache instance (shared pattern). Other functions (X00TAX for example) that need to make vertex API calls can read this cache record to obtain the function pointers, vertex handles, etc. so that they can make vertex API calls.
 
So, are you suggesting that JDE is already looking for Vertex commands? Or does the Vertex-install modify the X00TAX function to look for and make the necessary vertex calls?

Or maybe I should ask this differently. If I was to try to implement my own custom tax tables and rates what would I do to make this possible?

Thanks,
Ben again,
 
JDE is all ready looking for Vertex. The integration with Vertex is all on the JDE side of things. Vertex doesn't have any "knowledge" of JDE.

B0000182.h contains all the vertex definitions and JDE vertex wrapper definitions. When a JDE session is created the tools layer actually calls some BSFNs as part of the boot strap process of creating a JDE user session. If you debug B0000182 and you have vertex installed (you may have to have it installed locally and have OCM mappings configured for your user ID for this to work), you will see that the function jdeInitEnvBSFN gets called simply by logging on to JDE. This function will initialize Vertex and store connection info and vertex API function pointers in jdeCache to be used by other BSFNs that need to make vertex api calls.

So bascially if you have vertex installed and configured as your tax calculator in JDE.

Logging in calls jdeInitEnvBSFN (B0000182) which establishes a vertex connection and stores connection info, function ptrs, etc. in jdeCache.

If you, for example, enter a sales order, functions in X00TAX are called that retrieve the vertex connection info from this cache record and make the required vertex api calls to calc tax, or do Geocode stuff, etc.
 
Just to expand a little on the debugging thing. If you try and debug tax calculator and vertex BSFNs don't bang your head against the wall if it looks its not executing. Developers generally have their BSFNs mapped local by default, but even for developers most of the tax calculator stuff is mapped to an enterprise server so that vertex doesn't have to be installed on every development pc. Since I have done some customization of X00TAX as well as other custom code that calls vertex I have vertex installed on my development PC and I also have OCM mappings for my user ID that map those BSFNs to run local for me.

If you want to debug tax stuff you need to have vertex installed locally and you need to have OCMs mapped for your user ID to run those BSFNs local.
 
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Or maybe I should ask this differently. If I was to try to implement my own custom tax tables and rates what would I do to make this possible?


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I am not really sure how to answer this question. The thought frightens me a little. I am not sure what your motivation would be to roll your own tax tables. If you simply want to avoid vertex licensing costs (I am a developer and know nothing about licensing costs... it gives me a headache) I would think that the development effort and costs required to do this might not be worth it unless your tax calculating/reporting requirments are narrowly scoped and simple. If your taxing situation is too complex or beyond the configuration capabilities of JDE/Vertex then you may want to consider modiyfing how the calls to Vertex are made. That is what we did when we couldn't configure out of the box JDE/Vertex to calculate sales tax correctly on sales orders for a very unqiue tax situation. We hired a Vertex consultant to configure Vertex and from a high level outline what JDE needed to pass to Vertex and then we went in and made the mods to X00TAX to alter what was passed to Vertex. All things considered the mod was much simpler than trying to roll our own tax tables, calculator/reporter, etc.

All my JDE tax calulcation/Geocoding experience is with Vertex installed so I don't really know how JDE works in the absense of Vertex. Perhaps there are other people here more qualified to answer that.
 
Hi Brian
I am trying to run R42565 locally on my machine and the tax rates are always zero but when I run in html they are calculating correctly. Our client has a requirement to have the tax amounts on each detail line and Im trying to debug the tax bsfn as to why it wont calculate. I have set B0000182 and X0OTAX to run locally in my OCM yet it still doesnt calculate. Can you provide any more details on how you are able to have VERTEX running locally on a development fat client. Many thanks We are running 9.10
 
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