TM 00206 AFC Geo User Manual

TM_00206_AFC%20Geo%20User%20Manual

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Avalara Geo for Communications
Product User Manual
Release:
1711
Document: TM_00206_0018
Date:
11/15/2017

Avalara for Communications - Contact Information
Address Avalara, Inc.
513 South Mangum Street, Suite 100
Durham, North Carolina, 27701
Toll Free 800-525-8175
Corporate Site http://communications.avalara.com/
Comms Platform Site https://communications.avalara.net
Email communicationsupport@avalara.com

All trade names referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
© Avalara, Inc. 2017. CONFIDENTIAL

Document Revision History
The Revision History log lists the date and description of the most recent revisions or versions of the
document.
Date

Version

Description

10/01/2014
10/06/2014
01/09/2015

0001
0002
0003

04/05/2015

0004

07/02/2015
07/09/2015

0005
0006

10/22/2015

0007

01/13/2016

0008

02/10/2016

0009

02/22/2016

0010

02/26/2016

0011

05/13/2016

0012

08/25/2016

0013

11/21/2016

0014

02/13/2017

0015

Initial publication/distribution.
Re-branded for EZtax, Inc.
Added verbiage to Section 3 regarding address geocoding for US
addresses/locations only—not international. (Also inserted references to US
addresses in first paragraphs of Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8.)
Updates specific to 2015Q2r1 release/build for second quarter. Copyright updates
throughout. Screenshot updates in Section 7 for EZgeo Direct.
Updated Location Service Endpoint address in Section 5.4.
Inserted details regarding valid/invalid street number addresses in Section 3.1.1
and reference to AFC Geo’s inability to support geocoding for PO Box address in
Section 4.4.
Changed references from Census Block Group to Census Block, to reflect change in
code that returns individual block IDs, instead of block group ID.
Updates for AFC Geo Direct screenshots and to include census values in Section 7
AFC Geo Direct and in Section 6 AFC Geo SaaS Standard.
Added clarification in Best Practices (Section 4.4) to use option for Special Tax
Districts.
Added clarification for PO Boxes in Address Parsing (Section 3.1.1) and Best
Practices (Section 4.4).
Avalara branding updates to reflect the transition to the new company and product
names have been incorporated into this document. Please see Appendix A –
Avalara Product Names for specific changes in product references and descriptions.
Added the following: reference to meaning of PCode = -1 in Section 5.3.2 Address
Location; Section 4.7 Secondary Unit to Best Practices; table added to Section 4.8
Endpoints; Section 5.5 Example SOAP Messages; fields to AFC Geo SaaS Standard
input format in Section 6.3.1.2 Address Geocoding Format; reference to Source as
internal field in Section 5.3.1 Input Address; note regarding geocoding support only
for US and US territory addresses in Section 3.1 Understanding Address Geocoding;
Updated AFC Geo Direct screenshots in Section 7 AFC Geo Direct.
Updated Section 5.3.1 Input Address to reflect changes in optional fields; Updated
Section 5.5 Example SOAP Messages with samples for Basic and Custom binding;
Updated Section 6.3.1.2 Address Geocoding Formats with default values for options
in SaaS Standard; Added Feature/ID as an option for SaaS Standard in Section
6.3.2.2 Lat/Long Geocoding; Added new Section 6.3.3 Error Handling for SaaS
Standard; Added processing options in Section 7.2.2 Input Address and Options for
Direct and updated AFC Direct screenshots throughout.
Added new Section 3.3 Special Tax Jurisdiction and Townships to provide
explanation of the Incorporated flag and how it ties in with special tax jurisdictions
and townships. Removed notes from Section 5.3.2 regarding census data not being
available for Florida. Census data is now available for Florida. Updated references
to ‘special tax districts’ to ‘special tax jurisdictions’ throughout document with
exception of the field names in the software.
Updated release and version numbers.

Date

Version

Description

05/15/2017

0016

08/18/2017
11/15/2017

0017
0018

Updated Section 5.3.1 Input Address to include Option Value 8 for Return Zip+4.
Renamed Section 7 AFC Geo Viewer and updated content to reflect the transition
from AFC Geo Direct to new tool.
Release and version number updates on the cover.
Release and version number updates on the cover. Updated Avalara contact
information (address and support site). Removed Appendix A – Avalara Product
Names.

Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1
What is Avalara Geo for Communications?................................................................................. 1
Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Process Overview ........................................................................................................................ 2
AFC Geo Products .................................................................................................................. 2
AFC Geo Architecture ............................................................................................................ 2
AFC Geo Data Flow Process ................................................................................................... 3
Getting Started .................................................................................................................................. 4
Technical/System Requirements ................................................................................................. 4
AFC Geo License Software Requirements ............................................................................. 4
AFC Geo License Hardware Requirements ............................................................................ 4
Supported Platforms/Configurations .......................................................................................... 4
AFC Geo Features & Functionality ...................................................................................................... 5
Understanding Address Geocoding............................................................................................. 5
Address Parsing ..................................................................................................................... 6
Matching ............................................................................................................................... 8
Understanding Lat/Long Geocoding ......................................................................................... 11
Special Tax Jurisdictions and Townships ................................................................................... 11
AFC Geo Best Practices .................................................................................................................... 12
Minimum Score ......................................................................................................................... 12
Street Number Snapping ........................................................................................................... 13
Postal Centroid .......................................................................................................................... 13
Special Tax Jurisdictions ............................................................................................................ 13
Numeric Street Number ............................................................................................................ 13
CASS Validation ......................................................................................................................... 14
Secondary Unit .......................................................................................................................... 14
Endpoints .................................................................................................................................. 14
AFC Geo SaaS Pro............................................................................................................................. 15
Using AFC Geo SaaS Pro ............................................................................................................ 15
Web Service Methods ............................................................................................................... 16
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Web Service Data Types ............................................................................................................ 16
Input Address ...................................................................................................................... 16
Address Location ................................................................................................................. 19
Locator Service Endpoint .......................................................................................................... 22
Example SOAP Messages .......................................................................................................... 22
Basic Binding........................................................................................................................ 23
Custom Binding ................................................................................................................... 30
AFC Geo SaaS Standard .................................................................................................................... 36
Accessing the AFC Geo FTP Site ................................................................................................ 36
Logging into the AFC Geo FTP Site ............................................................................................ 36
Transferring Files to and From the FTP Site .............................................................................. 37
Preparing Files for Upload ................................................................................................... 37
Understanding Output Files ................................................................................................ 39
Error Handling ..................................................................................................................... 41
AFC Geo Viewer (AFC Geo Direct) .................................................................................................... 41
AFC Geo License............................................................................................................................... 42
Using AFC Geo License .............................................................................................................. 42
Example ............................................................................................................................... 42
Running AFC Geo ................................................................................................................. 44
Troubleshooting Scenarios & Frequently Asked Questions .............................................................. 45
Common Troubleshooting Scenarios ........................................................................................ 45
AFC Geo SaaS Pro ................................................................................................................ 45
AFC Geo SaaS Standard ....................................................................................................... 46
AFC Geo Direct .................................................................................................................... 46
AFC Geo License .................................................................................................................. 46
Common .............................................................................................................................. 46
AFC Geo Exceptions .................................................................................................................. 47
Support ............................................................................................................................................ 48

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Introduction

What is Avalara Geo for Communications?
Avalara Geo for Communications (AFC Geo) is a geospatial product which provides assurance that
customers are taxed in the appropriate taxing jurisdiction. AFC Geo pinpoints your customers’ locations
and tax jurisdiction using latitude and longitude. It also validates customers’ addresses according to the
United States Postal standards and the data is Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certified.
AFC Geo offers multiple features such as the ability to:






Validate customer addresses to eliminate incorrect issues.
Enhance mailing addresses to ZIP+4 U.S. Postal standards.
Determine the county where customers are located.
Determine if addresses are incorporated or unincorporated.
Identify special tax jurisdiction status including E911, transit, police, school, library and more.

AFC Geo is able to perform these tasks through address scrubbing, address validation and tax jurisdiction
assignment (geocoding). It has the ability to drill down to the rooftop-level (based on U.S. Postal
standards) which allows users to collect and remit accurate taxes and invoices.
AFC Geo’s performance is extremely fast and supports multiple data types, including standard address
with Zip+4, FIPS codes, Feature ID’s, XY coordinates and PCodes (Avalara’s proprietary jurisdiction code).
Additionally, AFC Geo has been certified by the Florida Department of Revenue for address to jurisdiction
assignment. This means customers can qualify to receive higher tax collection allowances (.75 percent
versus .25 percent) and are granted the hold harmless provision of the Florida Communications Service
Tax. Also, the use of CASS validation allows AFC Geo users to obtain a higher degree of accuracy for
carrier routes, 5-digit ZIP codes, ZIP+4 codes and delivery point addresses.
Note: AFC Geo only supports geocoding for US, Puerto Rico and other US territory addresses. All
addresses in foreign countries (including Canada and Mexico) are not supported and may not return any
results.

Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of Avalara’s AFC Geo product features and
functionality. It also provides high-level information for new users and detailed instruction for working
with the different variations of the product.

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Process Overview
AFC Geo accepts input in the form of addresses or latitude/longitude values and processes (geocodes)
them in order to return location and tax jurisdiction information. There are multiple processing methods
by which the geocoding can be invoked, depending on client needs. Supporting components are utilized
for address validation and matching.

AFC Geo Products
Avalara offers multiple AFC Geo products with different processing methods for its geocoding
solution. These products are the following:


AFC Geo SaaS Pro (Software as a Service/Solution) – hosted, web service solution for cloudbased interfaces that provides real-time processing.



AFC Geo SaaS Standard – hosted, FTP batch processing solution.



AFC Geo Direct – web site solution that allows one-by-one validation or lookups of addresses



AFC Geo License – site license solution, used onsite or at the client site, with software and
address updates provided. Usually recommended for large transaction volumes.

AFC Geo Architecture

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AFC Geo Data Flow Process

The input to the AFC Geo process is either an address or a latitude/longitude pairing. The interface layers
accept that input and pass it along for processing.
One of the input options is a Boolean flag indicating if the USPS CASS Validation (Coding Accuracy Support
System) should be done. This process will ensure that the input address is as accurate as possible.
Next comes the Geocoding process which uses 3rd party components to return one or more existing
locations from their databases. Those locations that score higher than the minimum score given in the
input values will be returned.
If no locations are returned, and fallback options were set in the input, then the fallback method will be
performed. The details of the fallback options are addressed later in this manual.
If there are matching locations, they are ranked according to their score and filtered based on source.
Note that AFC Geo uses two sources for its geocoding: NavTeq and TeleAtlas. AFC Geo will prefer
locations from the database which have been most recently updated. In addition, census tract and
census block data is also featured and available in the geocoding process and/or results.
If a single result location is requested, the best location will be returned from the geocoding. On the
other hand, if all matches above the minimum score were requested, then multiple locations will be
returned.
If there are multiple locations returned, and CASS validation was requested, then each of the locations
will then go through another validation step.
Finally, the resultant location and jurisdiction information is returned.

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Getting Started

Technical/System Requirements
For most of the AFC Geo products, the technical/system requirements are more associated with
secondary functionality, rather than AFC Geo specifically. In other words, AFC Geo SaaS Pro requires web
services, AFC Geo SaaS Standard requires FTP and AFC Geo Direct requires a web browser. The only
product that has explicit requirements is AFC Geo License.

AFC Geo License Software Requirements
Java Runtime Environment version 1.5.0 or higher.

AFC Geo License Hardware Requirements
512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
35GB disk space
DVD drive

Supported Platforms/Configurations
AFC Geo is supported on the following platforms:
•
•
•

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012
Red Hat Linux
HPUX

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AFC Geo Features & Functionality
AFC Geo has multiple products that use different methods or avenues through which its functionality can
be accessed. Those methods have differences in how they operate with respect to the user or client’s
application, but, at the core, there is common functionality.
The four different AFC Geo products are as follows:





AFC Geo SaaS Pro
AFC Geo SaaS Standard
AFC Geo Direct
AFC Geo License

With AFC Geo SaaS Pro, clients can integrate geocoding functions directly into applications by invoking
web services API calls across the internet. This method has the most functionality available, but also
requires the most responsibility to code the client application. Sample applications are available to
provide insight into how this coding can be done.
AFC Geo SaaS Standard is a batch file processing system for geocoding a set of inputs. Input batch files for
either addresses or latitude/longitude values are uploaded to an FTP server. Once there, AFC Geo SaaS
Standard will process them and produce a results file, which can then be downloaded.
AFC Geo Direct is an interactive web site application that allows for geocoding of one address at a time. It
is a fairly simple application, but is useful for a limited number of inputs.
AFC Geo License is a full featured system that is completely hosted at the client’s site. It is recommended
for large transaction volumes.
Each of these four AFC Geo products will be further described in sections below. However, each of them
also has common functionality that is described below in the remainder of this section.

Understanding Address Geocoding
AFC Geo is the geocoding locator, online solution of AFC that cleans and standardizes US customer
addresses and identifies customer locations for taxing purposes. Address geocoding is the process of
mapping an address to the street network, i.e., returning a location. The input into this process is a set of
one or more strings.
Note: AFC Geo only supports geocoding for US, Puerto Rico and other US territory addresses. All
addresses in foreign countries (including Canada and Mexico) are not supported and will not return any
results.

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Address Parsing
There are multiple input strings for an address to be geocoded. Each string can contain one or more subcomponent values of the overall address. Those input strings and their meaning are as follows:







StreetAddress – First line of address, (e.g. ‘8675 W 96th St’)
SecondaryUnit – Second line of address (e.g. ‘Suite 220’, ‘Apt 100’)
CityStateZip
– Combined values (e.g. ‘Overland Park, KS 66212’)
City
– Individual city name (e.g. ‘Overland Park’)
State
– Individual state abbreviation (e.g. ‘KS’)
Zip
– Individual zip code (e.g. ‘66212’)

There are a number of variations that are allowed with these input strings. First of all, the City, State, and
Zip can either be supplied as one combined string, or it can be supplied as individual strings.
You can also put the secondary suite or apartment number within the StreetAddress. In fact, the zip code
(but not the city and state) can be included within the StreetAddress, making a single line address.
The following examples below provide another view on the input address field options.


StreetAddress, City, State, Zip:
8675 W 96th St



Overland Park

66212

Suite 220

Overland Park

66212

StreetAddress, CityStateZip:
8675 W 96th St



Overland Park

StreetAddress, SecondaryUnit, City, State, Zip:
8675 W 96th St



66212

StreetAddress, City, State, Zip:
8675 W 96th St, Suite 220



Overland Park, KS 66212

StreetAddress:
8675 W 96th St, 66212

(Requires CASS Validation option to be turned on)
There is no need to specify in which option the address fields are being supplied. The geocoding will be
able to handle the address in any of the above formats.
Normally, a StreetAddress should start with a numeric street number for geocoding to occur. For
example, ‘8675 Main Street’ as the StreetAddress is acceptable. ‘ABC Main Street’ is not acceptable and
will not produce a valid result. The one exception to this rule is for states that allow a one letter prefix on
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the street. For example, G4386 S Saginaw St, Burton MI 48529-2001 is a valid address in Michigan. In this
scenario, the letter prefix G will be removed, and the address 4386 S Saginaw St will be geocoded.
The use of a Post Office (PO) Box for tax determination geocoding is not recommended or supported, as
PO Boxes are not considered acceptable by tax jurisdictions for tax situsing purposes. For example,
StreetAddress ‘PO Box 100’ or ‘P.O. Box 58912’ will not be geocoded. Zip codes which are associated with
a PO Box are not recommended for situsing because they represent the physical location of the PO Box,
not of the situs of the actual transaction. Use of workarounds to circumvent AFC Geo PO Box validation
rules is strongly discouraged, as invalid results will be returned for tax determination purposes.
An additional requirement for when a single line address is used, is that the CASS validation option must
be turned on. This allows the zip code that is included in the Street Address field to be recognized.
The parser produces one or more interpretations of the input fields, in the form of associating values with
database keys. For example, parsing 16 Tech Circle, 01760 as a single-line address will produce the
following key/value combination:
Key

Value

Street Number
Street Name
Secondary Unit
City Name
State Abbreviation
Postal Code

16
Tech Circle
N/A
N/A
N/A
01760

AFC Geo uses a parser which is capable of producing multiple interpretations of the ambiguous input text.
This is different from parsers used in other geocoders, which can only produce one parsing for the given
text. For example, parsing 15 GA HWY 21,ATLANTA,GA,12345 will produce the following two
interpretations:
Key

Interpretation 1

Interpretation 2

Street Number
Street Name
Secondary Unit
City Name
State Abbreviation
Postal Code

15
GA HWY 21
N/A
Atlanta
GA
12345

15
GA HWY
21
Atlanta
GA
12345

Indeed, the input address could be interpreted either as number 15 on Georgia Highway 21 or as number
15 on Georgia Highway, apartment 21. Both of these interpretations deserve consideration.

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Matching
The input address is used to look up candidate locations within the street database. This process is similar
to a traditional database query. At this stage, some of the keys are treated in a "relaxed" manner, in that
a strict match is not required to produce a candidate. For example, streets, whose name sounds like the
input street name, are considered candidates. Therefore, 1 Renee Street, 02134 will match 1 Rena Street,
02134. The algorithm used for matching the sounds is proprietary and is much more powerful than the
popular, but relatively primitive, SOUNDEX algorithm.
Note that certain typos may result in street names that do not sound like the correct name. In this case,
AFC Geo may not find a match.
If a street has alternate names (aliases) in the database, they will all be considered.
The street number is matched against the address ranges supplied in the vendor's street database. A
single street is represented in the street database as a chain of segments called street links. A link is a
small segment of the street, usually between two intersections, but sometimes a single block consists of
multiple links. Each link is characterized by a range of street numbers on either of its sides. For example,
the left side may have the street number range of 2 - 48, and the right side 1 - 47. A precise match occurs
when the street number supplied for geocoding falls within the address range of a link. For example, if
the street number supplied in the above example is 24, then AFC Geo assumes that the location is
approximately in the middle of the link on the left side, and computes the geographic coordinates
accordingly.

3.1.2.1 City + State vs. Postal Code
In addition to the mandatory street address, i.e., the house number and street name, a valid address
must contain information about the locality. In the US, this information is represented by the city name,
state abbreviation, and/or postal code. In many cases, an address can be unambiguously geocoded with
only city and state, or only the zip code. In some cases, the client application does not supply a zip code,
or the city name, etc. Here is how AFC Geo approaches these situations:


Initially, the full address, including street, city, state and zip are used to geocode the address. If
this produces a score that is above the minimum required score, then that is returned for the
results.



However, if no location is found that scored high enough, then it is possible that some of the
input values were incorrect. Therefore, a geocoding with street address and zip code is
attempted.



If it still does not have a result that scores high enough, then it will attempt a geocoding with
street address, city and state, but not zip code.

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An important implication of this approach is that if the right city and state, but the wrong postal code are
supplied, or vice versa, the match will still succeed. There are implications for scoring, in that a 100%
score will not be achieved, but the correct location will be returned (unless it falls under the scoring
threshold). This is because the scoring is relative to the number of input values used in geocoding, and
therefore by not including incorrect values, the score can be increased.
One way to look at this process is as producing multiple interpretations, just like during the parsing stage.
This, of course, has nothing to do with parsing, and everything to do with the virtual redundancy of
city/state versus postal code.
For instance, the address 16 Tech Cir, Natick, MA, 12345 (wrong zip code) will produce the following two
interpretations:
Key

Interpretation 1

Interpretation 2

Street Number
Street Name
City Name
State Abbreviation
Postal Code
Notes

16
Tech Cir
Natick
MA
N/A
Will match a location in postal code 01760

16
Tech Cir
N/A
N/A
12345
Will not match any locations

When the results are merged, the one correct location will be returned. If the two interpretations have
each produced results, and the client application has used the AllMatches API call, then both sets of
results will be scored and returned, and the client application is given an opportunity to select "the right
one".

3.1.2.2 Fallback Modes
Some of the keys are normally treated in a strict manner. However, if the query fails to produce a match,
AFC Geo enters the so-called fallback mode. The fallback mode can be thought of as relaxing certain
criteria. There are two modes that can be independently turned on or off by the client application.
Each of the fallback modes results in a slight decrease of the performance of the query, which is why the
application developer is given control over this behavior.
The most useful fallback mode is called Street Number Snapping (also called Number Out Of Range).
Either an erroneously entered street number, or outdated street data can result in a situation when none
of the address ranges contains the supplied street number. When the Street Number Snapping mode is
on, AFC Geo finds the link with the address range closest to the supplied number, and returns that link.
The location is "snapped" to the end of the link with the closest street number. For example, geocoding
200 Tech Cir, 01760 with Street Number Snapping on (on the GDT data set) will fall back to 98 Tech Cir,
01760, because 98 is the largest even street number present in the data set.

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Another fallback mode is called Postal Code Centroid. If turned on, then when a location has not been
found with a score above the minimum, the location of the center of the zip code area will be returned.
This, of course, is just an approximation of the location of the address, but it could be sufficient for the
application’s purpose.
A final fallback mode that is done outside of the geocoding process uses a lookup based on zip code and
city name. When this mode is done, the city name must match the lookup table. Therefore, no
abbreviations should be used within the city name (e.g. don’t use ST when it officially is SAINT). This
mode also assigns a special score of 1.01, to indicate that the jurisdiction was assigned by the lookup
fallback method, rather than through geocoding.
Note: All fallback modes are approximations, and therefore could produce results that are different than
what are expected. For example, the city name lookup method assumes that a location is within the city
limits, when the actual location may not be. Fallback methods are only invoked if no match can be found
within the street database using normal geocoding methods, which is often caused by inaccurate data in
the input address, such as a wrong zip code.

3.1.2.3 Scoring
Finally, all candidate locations are scored according to how well database values match specified input
values. The score of 1.0, or 100%, results from an exact match between the inputs and the actual values.
The score of 0.0 is a theoretical score that would be produced if nothing matched at all, although such
locations never make it to the scoring phase.
An important point here is that the scoring is applied only to the keys that are specified by the calling
application. The user is never "punished" by score for not supplying a certain key, such as the zip code.
For instance, geocoding 16 Tech Cir, Natick, MA succeeds with a 100% score (even though the zip code is
not specified). However, if the user does supply a value, then the scoring engine considers it. For
instance, geocoding 16 Tech Cir, Natick, MA, 01700 (the zip code is incorrect here) succeeds with a 76%
score.
The names, such as city and street names, are matched based on the algorithm known as Edit Distance.
Edit Distance is essentially the minimum number of single-character changes, removals or additions
required to convert one string into another. The more typos one makes, the larger the edit distance
between the typed and the perfect values. The edit distance of 0 produces the perfect score, and so on.
For instance, geocoding 1 Great Plaine ave, 02492 (the correct name is Great Plain) succeeds with an 84%
score, and 1 Great Plane ave, 02492 results in an even worse, 79% score. Note, by the way, that these
reasonable typos result in a relatively small decrease of the score.
The combined score for the location is computed as a weighted average of the individual scores by key.
In cases when the address is not able to be geocoded (i.e. the address is not available in the map data
used by AFC Geo), AFC Geo will attempt to use other data sources in order to determine the appropriate
taxing jurisdiction for the address. Mainly, AFC Geo will use a combination of the zip code, the zip+4 (if
available in the input address), and the location name in order to look up the taxing jurisdiction for that
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location. When this lookup succeeds, AFC Geo will return a value of 101% or 1.01. This special code
indicates that the geocode data is not available, but the jurisdiction information was able to be retrieved
anyway.
Note that a score 1.01 does not have any implications on the CASS validation performed by AFC Geo. The
CASS validated address may still be returned in the output depending on whether the CASS validation
succeeded or not. Therefore, you should continue to check if the CASS data is available in the output.
When the snapping is off, no match will be generated. There are links in the data set that do not have an
address range assigned. This happens usually when the new street is digitized, but no houses have been
built. Later, even when the street is populated, there may be a lag before the address ranges appear in
the street data set. Links without address ranges are approached according to the following rules:


Links without address ranges are not considered unless Street Number Snapping is on.



If there is even a single street link with an address range, it is preferred to unassigned links.



Certain streets, especially in new developments, may not have any address ranges assigned.
Obviously, in this situation it is impossible to return the closest address range. In this situation,
AFC Geo will return an arbitrary segment on the street, to at least get you in the neighborhood.

The other supported fallback is called Postal Centroid. It involves reverting to the centroid of a postal
code area, when:


Geocoding failed to produce any match at all;



The postal code was supplied in the input address;



The street data set contains at least one street in this postal code.

The centroid is a very coarse approximation of the real location.

Understanding Lat/Long Geocoding
AFC Geo has the ability to process the latitude/longitude of a particular location and return specific
location information along with the Avalara PCode for taxation purposes. However, please make note
that lat/long geocoding does not return complete addresses of the input location.

Special Tax Jurisdictions and Townships
Sometimes areas can be designated as requiring a tax for a specific purpose. These areas are called
special tax jurisdictions, and can be applicable for entities such as Fire, Police, Ambulance, Library,
Transportation, Economic Development, and Cultural and Science. The boundaries of these special tax
jurisdictions can be arbitrary and not related to any other boundary such as city limits.
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Also, some states utilize a level of government called Townships, which are in between cities and
counties. In other words, townships segment the county into smaller sections. AFC Geo uses special tax
jurisdictions to implement taxes at the township level when a township has different taxes than what is at
the county level.
Therefore, to handle special tax jurisdictions, AFC Geo extends its standard city/county/state mapping
functionality with custom mapped areas that correspond to the areas where those unique taxes are
applicable.
When running AFC Geo, the return of special tax jurisdiction results is optional, and there is a Boolean flag
that should be used when special tax jurisdiction results are desired. It is a best practice, however, to
return special tax jurisdiction data, so normally this option will be turned on.
Special tax jurisdictions can sometimes cover areas outside the city limits of a town, but for tax
calculation purposes, they are considered a type of local tax. Previously, that required checking to see if a
special tax jurisdiction was applicable and explicitly setting the Incorporated flag going into AFC tax
calculation functions. This is because AFC Geo only sets the Incorporated flag based on city limits.
However, an enhancement to the tax calculation functions has been made such that it is no longer
required to set the Incorporated flag to obtain special tax jurisdiction tax calculations.
Note: The Incorporated flag is used to specify whether the address involved in this transaction is inside or
outside of the Local level designated as their location. The tax may or may not be affected by this
designator depending upon whether or not the local level has taxes which would apply to the
transaction/service type pair.

AFC Geo Best Practices
This section contains a list of best practices for using AFC Geo as recommended by Avalara. Each
organization must carefully evaluate its own requirements when determining how to use AFC Geo with its
applications.

Minimum Score
Client applications should always specify a minimum score for an address or check the score returned for
any matching addresses before using the address. The minimum score must be between 0 and 1,
inclusive. However, Avalara recommends not using addresses with a score of less than 0.7 (for 70%). This
would allow for a reasonable number of typos when entering the address. This scoring requirement may
be increased or decreased to allow for a higher or lower level accuracy, which may vary depending on the
quality of the input data.

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Note that for different minimum scores in combination with the scoring variations built into the system,
AFC Geo can produce some differing scoring results for the same address. For example, if a minimum
score of 0.7 is given for an address with an incorrect zip code, then the scoring variation that removes the
incorrect zip code could produce a score above 0.7 and be returned. On the other hand, if a minimum
score of 0.0 is given, then the incorrect zip code could be included in the full address scoring variation,
but return a score that is less than 0.7.

Street Number Snapping
Avalara recommends that clients do not use street number snapping (Options bit flag of 1) as it almost
always results in returning an incorrect street number. In many applications it may be acceptable to
enable street number snapping to get the tax jurisdiction (FIPS Code or PCODE) and use the original street
number. This would almost always be accurate unless there is a long section of the street with no
address range assigned.

Postal Centroid
This option (Options bit flag of 2) is also not recommended by Avalara because the address returned will
have no relationship to the input address other than they will both have the same zip code. In addition to
an invalid address, there are also several cases where the tax jurisdiction returned will also be incorrect.

Special Tax Jurisdictions
It is highly recommended to set the option to return special tax jurisdictions (Options bit flag of 16).
Special tax jurisdictions are applicable for taxes associated with fire, police, ambulance, library, roads,
economic development, townships, etc. Without this option turned on, jurisdictions for only city or
county will be returned.

Numeric Street Number
Normally, a StreetAddress should start with a numeric street number for geo coding to occur. For
example, ‘8675 Main Street’ as the StreetAddress is acceptable. ‘ABC Main Street’ is not acceptable and
will not produce a valid result. The one exception to this rule is for states that allow a one letter prefix on
the street. For example, G4386 S Saginaw St, Burton MI 48529-2001 is a valid address in Michigan. In this
scenario, the letter prefix G will be removed, and the address 4386 S Saginaw St will be geocoded.
The use of a Post Office (PO) Box for tax determination geocoding is not recommended or supported, as
PO Boxes are not considered acceptable by tax jurisdictions for tax situsing purposes. For example,
StreetAddress ‘PO Box 100’ or ‘P.O. Box 58912’ will not be geocoded. Zip codes which are associated with
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a PO Box are not recommended for situsing because they represent the physical location of the PO Box,
not of the situs of the actual transaction. Use of workarounds to circumvent AFC Geo PO Box validation
rules is strongly discouraged, as invalid results will be returned for tax determination purposes.

CASS Validation
CASS Validation (Coding Accuracy Support System) is a process by which a USPS database is used to
ensure that the geocoded address is as accurate as possible. Therefore, it is a best practice to use this
option to increase the accuracy of the results. Please note; however, that if the address is in Florida, CASS
Validation will always be performed, no matter what the value of the input flag.

Secondary Unit
The input address has a field called Secondary Unit for data such as apartment or suite numbers. This
level of information does not impact jurisdiction assignment, and therefore is not necessary. However, if
it is supplied, it should be placed in the separate Secondary Unit field, rather than being concatenated to
the end of the street address. The reason for this is because the Secondary Unit field is not used within
geocoding, and therefore will not cause valid addresses to be missed. On the other hand, an apartment
number on the street address line can cause the score to be lowered to the point that a valid match is
missed.

Endpoints
AFC Geo SaaS Pro has two sets of endpoints. One set returns a NULL when there is a problem within the
geocoding process. The other set of endpoints (ending in /2.0) return exceptions. It is a best practice to
use the endpoints that return exceptions and to handle them within your code. Please reference the
table below for examples of endpoints.
Binding
Basic HTTP
Custom
WS HTTP

URL
https://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc/2.0
https://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc
https://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc/SSL/2.0
https://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc/SSL
http://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc/2.0
http://ezgeoasp.billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc

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AFC Geo SaaS Pro
AFC Geo SaaS Pro is an XML web service that provides address verification and assignment of the tax
jurisdiction for US addresses. It is used when integrating into other client applications. Function calls are
made over the internet, executed at a remote server, and results are returned to the calling program.
AFC Geo SaaS Pro is certified by the Florida Department of Revenue to assign the correct jurisdiction for
the Florida Communications Service Tax.
AFC Geo SaaS Pro also provides the option to return a Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certified
address. CASS certification is the process of normalizing addresses to USPS Publication 28 standards and
validating the address against current USPS AMS-II data. All address elements are verified as well as
adding ZIP code, ZIP+4, carrier route, delivery point and barcode detail. Customers using CASS certified
addresses may be eligible for discounted postal rates. AFC Geo SaaS Pro uses the MailStar CASS product
developed by AES Systems to perform the CASS certification. Please note; however, that if the address is
in Florida, CASS validation will automatically be performed, no matter the value of the input option flag.

Using AFC Geo SaaS Pro
AFC Geo SaaS Pro was developed using XML, SOAP 1.1, WSDL and WS-Security so it can be integrated into
virtually any application. To use the AFC Geo SaaS Pro web service from your application, you will need to
create a proxy stub for your programming language and platform. The proxy stub will encapsulate many
of the details of communicating over the Internet between your application and the web service. The
proxy stub will contain data types, classes and functions that you will use in your source code to invoke
the methods on the web service.
Most programming languages have a toolkit or SDK for generating some or all of the proxy stub. The
following is a list of some of the products that may be used to create the proxy stub.
Toolkit or
Product Name

Programming Language

Platform

Visual Studio.NET
.NET Framework SDK
Systinet Server
Apache Axis
GSOAP

C# or Visual Basic.NET
C# or Visual Basic.NET
Java or C++
Java or C++
C/C++

Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
See http://www.systinet.com
See http://ws.apache.org/axis/
See http://sourceforge.net/projects/gsoap2

If possible, it is best to use a toolkit or SDK that supports the WS-Security specification. This will make it
easier to generate the proxy stub.

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Web Service Methods
The following is a list of web service methods that are supported by AFC Geo SaaS Pro:
GeocodeAddress – accepts a single address as input and returns the address in the street database that
best matches the input data.
GeocodeAllMatches – accepts a single address as input and returns all addresses in the street database
that matches the input data.
GeocodeLatLong - accepts the latitude and longitude of a location as input and returns jurisdiction
information only; it does not return complete addresses.
GetServerTime – returns the current time on the web server. This may be necessary to resolve clock
synchronization differences between the web service and the client.
For each match of Input Address, AFC Geo SaaS Pro returns the score of the match, the standardized
address, the county the match resides within, the Feature ID, the FIPS code for the match, the Avalara
PCode for the match, and whether the match is in an incorporated area. If more than one match is
returned, the results will be ordered based on score with the best match coming first. For
Latitude/Longitude Geocoding using the GeocodeLatLong method, AFC Geo SaaS Pro returns State,
County, City, Feature ID, FIPS Code, Avalara PCode, and the Tax Jurisdiction name.

Web Service Data Types
Input Address
Class used to contain the input address information and other options which is used to geocode the
address.
Properties:
StreetAddress – string containing the street number, street name and optional unit number. In most
cases, this value must start with a numeric street number, or the address will not geocode.
CityStateZip – string containing the CityStateZip line of input address; ex – Overland Park, KS 66212.
Either this combined field or the individual City, State, and Zip fields can be used.
City – string containing the city name.
State – string containing the two character state abbreviation.
Zip – string containing the postal code.

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SecondaryUnit – a string value and is a part of the street address; such as an apartment, suite or any
other unit type in USPS publication 28. This information can optionally appear in the StreetAddress
field, but it helps the parsing accuracy if it is separated and place in this field.
MinimumScore – a double containing the minimum score that will qualify the address in the street
database as a matching address. This value must be between 0 and 1, inclusive. However, a
minimum score greater than zero should be used, because lower scores can produce matches that
are quite divergent.
Offset – a double value; the distance in meters at which the resulting location is offset from the side
of the link. The default is 3 meters.
Options – integer containing a bit mask of additional options to use when matching addresses in the
street database.
The options field contains a bitwise combination of any of the following options. To use
multiple options, add the option values together for all the options that should be enabled. For
example, to enable the return of special tax jurisdictions (bitwise value 16) and census IDs
(bitwise value 32) set the option field to 48 (16+32).
Note: The complete list of bitwise values currently supported are provided and listed in the
following section below. Additional bitwise values are reserved for future use. Also, please
note that geocoding option 8 for returning zip code extensions has been deprecated. There is
no need to select this as an option as a zip extension will automatically be returned.

1. Fallback Options
If a request fails to produce a match, the user can request AFC Geo SaaS Pro use a
fallback mode. Specifying a fallback mode relaxes certain criteria and causes a slight
decrease in the performance of the request.
Street Number Snapping (Number Out Of Range). When this mode is on, AFC Geo SaaS
Pro finds the location with the closest street number and returns that as a match. This
mode is helpful when an incorrect street number has been entered or the location is in
a new development and has not been incorporated into the street database yet. Street
Number Snapping does not significantly affect the performance of the system.
Option Value = 1
Postal Code Centroid. If no match is found, the center of the postal code area is
returned.
Option Value = 2

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2. Other Options
Return Zip+4. This option causes the postal code extension field to be populated with
the zip+4 value for any matching addresses.
Option Value = 8
Note: Zip+4 is always returned. Even if the 8 is not included in the Option Value totals,
the Zip+4 will be returned.
Return Special Tax Jurisdictions. This option causes AFC Geo to look up and return
information for special tax jurisdictions, if one applies to the location. Special tax
jurisdictions are for things such as libraries and schools, etc.
Option Value = 16
Return Census IDs. This option causes AFC Geo to look up and return information for
census areas for the location. It will return the Block ID and the Tract ID for the
location.
Option Value = 32
Return Building Zip Code. This option causes AFC Geo to look up and return the zip
code specific to a building, if it is different than the street address.
Option Value = 256
CassCertify – a Boolean value indicating whether the address should be validated using the AES
MailStar CASS Certified address validation application. If set to “true”, the service attempts to
populate the CassAddress property of the AddressLocation instance (or instances) returned by the
GeoCode request. If set to “false”, the validation is bypassed, unless the address is in Florida, in which
case CASS validation will always be performed. Setting CassCertify to true does not guarantee a
CassAddress will be returned. If CassCertify is set to true and the CassAddress returned is null, the
address failed Cass validation.
Source - Note there is also a Source field included in the service reference definition for an
InputAddress. This is an optional field, and is for internal use only. It should not be populated when
making client API calls.

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Address Location
Structure or class used to contain a verified address and its tax jurisdiction.
Properties:
NetworkID – string indicating which street database the matching address was found in. (ta =
TeleAtlas, nt = NavTeq)
StreetNumber – string containing the street number of the matching address.
StreetName – string containing the street name of the matching address.
SecondaryUnit – string containing the unit number of the matching address.
CityName – string containing the city name of the matching address.
StateName - string containing the two letter state abbreviation of the matching address.
County – string containing the name of the county the matching address is within.
PostalCode – string containing the 5-digit postal code of the matching address.
PostalCodeExtension - string containing the 4-digit postal code extension of the matching
address.
Score – double value between 0.0 and 1.0 indicating how good of a match the address is. The
higher the score, the better the match.
Latitude – double containing the latitude of the matching address.
Longitude – double containing the longitude of the matching address.
CensusTract – integer containing the ID of the Census Tract, which is a contiguous group of
census block groups, geocoded based on census data.
CensusBlockGroup – integer containing the ID of the individual Census Block, which is the
smallest area surrounded by streets, geocoded based on census data.
NOTE: Previously, the Census Block Group ID, which is a group of contiguous census
blocks, was returned in this field; however, this has been updated to provide a value
which reflects finer detail. In order to facilitate backward compatibility in the API, the
field name will remain the same.
For example, if the Block Group ID is 01 and the Block ID is 014, the value stored in this
field will be the integer value 1014.
PCode – integer containing the Avalara PCode of the matching address. This PCode correlates
to the set of taxes that are applicable to the address. In rare circumstances, the value of the
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PCode could be returned as -1, which means it is unassigned. This could happen if there is no
mapping from its FIPS Code to a PCode. If a PCode of -1 is returned, please contact Avalara
support.
TaxJurisdictionName - string containing the jurisdiction name. This is the name of the jurisdiction
identified by the PCode property.
SpecialTaxDistrictPCode – integer containing the Avalara PCode of the special tax jurisdiction if
the address is within a special tax jurisdiction. Otherwise, this method returns -1. This field is
for informational purposes only. For calculating taxes with AFC, the value returned by the
PCode should always be used.
SpecialTaxDistrictName – string containing the name of the special tax jurisdiction.
PrimaryJurisdictionPCode – integer. If the location is within a special tax district, this property
contains the Avalara PCode of the underlying tax district. This can be used to determine the
jurisdiction and taxes for the location if the special tax jurisdiction did not exist. This PCode will
always refer to a county or city. It will never be a PCode for a special tax jurisdiction. If the
location is not within a special tax jurisdiction, this method has the same value as PCode. This
field is for informational purposes only. For calculating taxes with AFC, the value returned by
PCode should always be used.
PrimaryJurisdictionName – string. If the location is within a special tax jurisdiction, this property
returns the name of the underlying tax district. This can be used to determine the jurisdiction
for the location if the special tax jurisdiction did not exist. This will always refer to a county or
city. It will never be the name of a special tax jurisdiction. If the location is not within a special
tax jurisdiction, this method returns the same value as TaxJurisdictionName. This is the name of
the jurisdiction identified by PrimaryJurisdictionPCode. This field is for informational purposes
only.
FeatureID – integer The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) feature id is a unique,
permanent geographic feature identifier assigned by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
FIPSCode - long containing the FIPS code (Federal Information Processing Standards) of the
matching address. FIPS codes are 10 digit numbers in the format of
SSCCCPPPPP where SS = State Code, CCC = County Code and PPPPP = Place Code. If the state
code has a leading zero, that will be lost. If the location is in a special tax jurisdiction the FIPS
code returned will be assigned by Avalara. Any FIPS codes that start with a “99” in the state
location are Avalara, Inc. codes for special tax jurisdictions. This FIPS code or the PCode can be
used in the AFC software product to calculate the correct taxes for the jurisdiction.
FIPSPlaceName - string containing the FIPS place name

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UnderlyingFIPSCode - long containing the Federal FIPS code of the underlying jurisdiction. This
method returns the Federal FIPS code of the underlying tax district. This can be used to
determine the Federal FIPS code for the location if the special tax jurisdiction did not exist. This
FIPS code will always refer to a county or city. It will never be a FIPS code for a special tax
jurisdiction. If the location is not in a special tax jurisdiction, this method returns the same
value as FIPS Code. This field is for informational purposes only. For calculating taxes with AFC,
the value returned by FIPSCode should always be used.
Incorporated - Boolean indicating if the matching address is within the city limits of a town.
When this value is returned as true, then the location is within the city limits. When false, the
location is outside the city limits.
CassAddress - CassAddress object that contains the CASS address data if the CassCertify property
of the InputAddress object was set to true. If the CassCertify property was set to false or the
address could not be certified, this property will be set to null.
















Address - Returns the CASS certified address. Represented in a string array with as
many lines of text as required by the standard way of printing the address on an
envelope.
Address Line - The street address portion of the address.
City State Zip - A combined string with the city, state and zip code. The city, state
and zip are separated by commas. The zip and zip+4 (if present) are separated by
a hyphen.
City - The USPS preferred city name.
State - The state abbreviation.
Zip - The 5-digit ZIP code.
Zip4 - Returns the 4-digit ZIP+4. If the ZIP+4 is empty, this means that the address
was not certified by CASS and may not be deliverable by the post office.
Address Quality Flags - A string with the Address Quality Flags identified by the
CASS software component. Refer to Appendices A and B in
MailStar.doc in the docs2006 directory on the CASS DVD for the meaning of this
field.
Carrier Route - The postal carrier route for this address.
County Code (integer) - The standard USPS code of the US county for this address.
Delivery Point Validation - Delivery Point Validation data. Refer to maildpvelot.doc
in the docs2006 directory of the CASS DVD for information on how to interpret
the value of this field.
Enhanced Line Of Travel - The position of this address in the carrier route walk
sequence.
Reliability (double) - A number, between 0 and 1, indicating the closeness of the
match between a location address and USPS standards (higher is better).
USPS Bar Code - A string of 12 numbers to be printed as a bar code for pre-sorting.

InputAddress – array of Strings; Input Address in an array of two strings. First string contains the
street address along with the unit/apt number and the second string contains city, state and zip.

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StandarizedAddress – array of Strings; Address matched by AFC Geo in an array of two strings.
First string contains the street address along with the unit/apt number and the second string
contains city, state and zip.

Locator Service Endpoint
LocatorService WSDL (secured with WS-Security) – This endpoint is recommended for applications that
are developed using Microsoft .NET or other platforms that support WS-Security. The URL for this
endpoint is https://EZgeoASP.Billsoft.com/LocatorService.svc.
The LocatorService endpoint uses WS-Security to authenticate requests and ensure the integrity of
messages sent to the service. After registering as an AFC Geo SaaS Pro user, clients will be given a user
name and password that will be used to access the web service.
The user name and password information will be included in the SOAP request using a UsernameToken
with a password digest. The action, message id, reply to, id and timestamp headers and the body of the
message should be signed to guarantee message integrity.
The WS-Security Specification is available online at: http://docs.oasis-open.org/wss/2004/01/oasis200401-wss-soap-message-security-1.0.pdf

Example SOAP Messages
Geocoding requests through AFC Geo SaaS Pro are made using SOAP messages (Simple Object Access
Protocol). Each message is written in XML (Extensible Markup Language), and follows a specific format. A
few examples are provided here to help in understanding what should be sent to the service.
Section 5.5.1 contains SOAP examples using Basic HTTP bindings. However, SOAP examples using Custom
bindings, which consist of minor changes to the Header section, are provided in Section 5.5.2.
Note also that the order of input fields is important. A requirement of SOAP is that there is a static order
of input values, such as fields for inputAddress. If any of the fields is not in the given order, then they will
remain unassigned, and will affect final geocoding results.
There is a Source field that is included in the SOAP reference definitions. This field is optional, and is used
for internal purposes only, so it should be left out when making client API calls.

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Basic Binding
5.5.1.1 GeocodeAddress

*****
*****

true
Overland Park

0.7
3
312
Suite 220
KS
8675 West 96th Street
66212

5.5.1.2 GeocodeAddress Response

2016-08-08T18:18:10.670Z
2016-08-08T18:23:10.670Z

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220

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OVERLAND PARK, KS 66212-3316

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220
S4B
C027
OVERLAND PARK
OVERLAND PARK, KS 66212-3316
91
3
0
100
KS
/662123316758/
66212
3316

1014
51804
OVERLAND PARK
USA
JOHNSON

479210
2009153775
OVERLAND PARK
true

8675 W 96TH ST
OVERLAND PARK,KS 66212

38.95465893143988
-94.685748695942991
nt
1248900
66212
3316
OVERLAND PARK
1248900
1
Suite 220

-1

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220
OVERLAND PARK,KS 66212-3316

KS
W 96TH ST
8675
OVERLAND PARK

2009153775

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5.5.1.3 GeocodeAllMatches

*****
*****

true
Clawson

0.7
3
312

MI
905 E Maple
48083

5.5.1.4 GeocodeAllMatchesResponse

2016-08-08T19:00:12.269Z
2016-08-08T19:05:12.269Z

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY, MI 48083

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905 E MAPLE RD
S1:zNCE
C099
TROY
TROY, MI 48083
125
64
0
91
MI
/48083/
48083

3001
197500
TROY
USA
OAKLAND

1615125
2612580700
TROY
true

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

42.548676318717291
-83.1326049289924
nt
1833400
48083

TROY
1833400
1

-1

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

MI
E MAPLE RD
905
TROY

2612580700

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY, MI 48083

905 E MAPLE RD
S1NZPK5

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C099
TROY
TROY, MI 48083
125
64
0
92
MI
/48083/
48083

2001
180000
TROY
USA
OAKLAND

1626089
2612516160
CLAWSON
true

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

42.548072269155561
-83.158629478188061
nt
1831400
48084

CLAWSON
1831400
0.71428573131561279

-1

905 W MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48084

MI
W MAPLE RD
905
CLAWSON

2612516160

5.5.1.5 GeocodeLatLong

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*****
*****

38.956689
-94.686252

5.5.1.6 GeocodeLatLongResponse

2016-08-08T16:58:54.426Z
2016-08-08T17:03:54.426Z

0
0
OVERLAND PARK
USA
JOHNSON

479210
2009153775
OVERLAND PARK
true

38.956689
-94.686252
nt
1248900

OVERLAND PARK
1248900
0.999961162858618

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-1

OVERLAND PARK,KS null

OVERLAND PARK

2009153775

5.5.1.7 GetServerTime

*****
*****

5.5.1.8 GetServerTimeResponse

2016-08-08T18:14:56.607Z
2016-08-08T18:19:56.607Z

Aug 8, 2016 1:14:56 PM

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Custom Binding
5.5.2.1 GeocodeAddress

*****
*****

true
Overland Park

0.7
3
312
Suite 220
KS
8675 West 96th
Street
66212

5.5.2.2 GeocodeAddressResponse

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220
OVERLAND PARK, KS 66212-3316

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220
S4B
C027
OVERLAND PARK
OVERLAND PARK, KS 66212-3316
91
3
0
100
KS
/662123316758/
66212
3316

1014

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51804
OVERLAND PARK
USA
JOHNSON

479210
2009153775
OVERLAND PARK
true

8675 W 96TH ST
OVERLAND PARK,KS 66212

38.95465893143988
-94.685748695942991
nt
1248900
66212
3316
OVERLAND PARK
1248900
1
Suite 220

-1

8675 W 96TH ST Suite 220
OVERLAND PARK,KS 66212-3316

KS
W 96TH ST
8675
OVERLAND PARK

2009153775

5.5.2.3 GeocodeAllMatches

*****
*****

true
Clawson

0.7
3
312

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MI
905 E Maple
48083

5.5.2.4 GeocodeAllMatchesResponse

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY, MI 48083

905 E MAPLE RD
S1:zNCE
C099
TROY
TROY, MI 48083
125
64
0
91
MI
/48083/
48083

3001
197500
TROY
USA
OAKLAND

1615125
2612580700
TROY
true

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

42.548676318717291
-83.1326049289924
nt
1833400
48083
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TROY
1833400
1

-1

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

MI
E MAPLE RD
905
TROY

2612580700

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY, MI 48083

905 E MAPLE RD
S1NZPK5
C099
TROY
TROY, MI 48083
125
64
0
92
MI
/48083/
48083

2001
180000
TROY
USA
OAKLAND

1626089
2612516160
CLAWSON
true

905 E MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48083

42.548072269155561
-83.158629478188061
nt
1831400
48084

CLAWSON

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1831400
0.71428573131561279

-1

905 W MAPLE RD
TROY,MI 48084

MI
W MAPLE RD
905
CLAWSON

2612516160

5.5.2.5 GeocodeLatLong

*****
*****

38.956689
-94.686252

5.5.2.6 GeocodeLatLongResponse

0
0
OVERLAND PARK
USA
JOHNSON

479210
2009153775
OVERLAND PARK
true

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38.956689
-94.686252
nt
1248900

OVERLAND PARK
1248900
0.999961162858618

-1

OVERLAND PARK,KS null

OVERLAND PARK

2009153775

5.5.2.7 GetServerTime

5.5.2.8 GetServerTimeResponse

Aug 8, 2016 1:44:26 PM

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AFC Geo SaaS Standard
AFC Geo SaaS Standard is used for geocoding multiple US addresses within a batch input file.

Accessing the AFC Geo FTP Site
To initiate an AFC Geo SaaS Standard batch, your input must be uploaded to the AFC Geo FTP server.
Once complete, the results file can then be downloaded.
Please be aware that web browsers (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer) may not be used for uploading and
downloading your files to the AFC Geo FTP site. You must use an FTP client application to transfer files to
and from the AFC Geo FTP site.
Windows users:
Microsoft does not currently include convenient FTP client software in its operating systems. It is
assumed you either have a third-party FTP client application such as WS_FTP or FileZilla, or that you are
comfortable accessing FTP sites using command-line syntax.
Linux users:
If you are using a Linux system to transfer your data files, you can use any number of free FTP clients to
contact the AFC Geo FTP site, (such as WXFTP), or you can use command-line syntax.

Logging into the AFC Geo FTP Site
To log on to the Avalara FTP site, the following information is needed:
HOSTNAME/ADDRESS: ftp.billsoft.com
USER ID: Company’s login User ID, which is available from the Avalara Technical Support contact.
PASSWORD: Company’s login password, which is available from the Avalara Technical Support contact.

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Transferring Files to and From the FTP Site
Once connected to the AFC Geo FTP site, you should change to the directory that has the same name as
your company’s three-character code. You are now ready to send your file for processing (see figure 15,
which shows a 3rd party FTP client application).
When you have successfully
connected to the EZgeo FTP
site and changed to your
company's file-transfer
directory, you can send your
txt file for processing. You can
ignore the index files.

When the file has completed processing, you can download the output (or "result" file) from the AFC Geo
FTP site. The result file will have a similar name to the .txt file you uploaded, except it will contain an
under score and the character "R" - indicating it is a result file. For example, if the uploaded txt file
contained a file called KML02172014AA.txt or KML02172014AA.ltl, the result file (for downloading) would
be called KML02172014AA_R.txt or KML02172014AA_R.ltl8.

Preparing Files for Upload
When you upload your data file for processing by AFC Geo, the AFC Geo FTP server begins automatic
processing of your file. However, in order to provide for automatic processing, you must be certain to
name your file correctly. Please observe the following guidelines when preparing your file for upload:


The file must be named correctly.



The file must be in the correct file format.



The file must be in plain text.

If more than one file is sent in the current day, you should change the variable portion of the filename in
order to differentiate the files and prevent previous file uploads from being overwritten.
See sections below for more details on these guidelines.

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6.3.1.1 Naming Files
Uploaded files MUST be named using the following naming convention:
Filename Format:

ABCMMDDYYYYVV.EXT

Where:
 The filename should begin with the company's three-letter code (e.g. ABC).
 The 4th and 5th characters in the filename should be the current month (e.g., 02 for
February).
 The 6th and 7th characters in the filename should be the current numerical day (e.g., 17
for the 17th day of the current month)
 The 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th characters in the filename should be the current year (e.g.,
2014)
 The remaining characters before the extension should be variable (e.g., AA, 11 or A1).
This is a unique identifier for each file uploaded. This prevents files from being
overwritten.
 The filename would then be finished by a .TXT for Plain text format for Address file and
.LTL for Latitude/Longitude file.

Examples:
Address Files
For company ABC and receipt of a file on the 17th February, 2014, the file name would be ABC02172014AA.txt
Latitude/Longitude Files
For company ABC and receipt of a file on the 17th February, 2014, the file name would be ABC02172014AA.ltl

6.3.1.2 Address Geocoding Format
When requesting address information via AFC Geo SaaS Standard, please provide a plain text document
containing the following details:







Unique Identifier – You may use any numerical identifier you choose (e.g., customer number,
account number, etc.)
Street address
City
State abbreviation
5 digit Zip or 5 digit Zip +4
Minimum Score
(optional, default of 0.7 if no value is provided)

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



Offset
Cass certify flag
Options
value is provided)

(optional, default of 3 if no value is provided)
(optional, default of true if no value is provided)
(optional, default of 312: Zip+4, Special Tax Dist, Census, Bldg Zip if no

See Section 5.3.1 for a detailed description of the input fields.
This must be formatted using comma separation. Please format using one line per requested address.
The preferred format is to have both Carriage Return (0x0D) and Line Feed (0x0A) for line termination.
The format will look like this:
1,8675 west 96th St suite 220,Overland Park, KS,66212
2,1600 Pennsylvania Ave,Washington DC,DC,20500,0.7,3,TRUE,312

6.3.1.3 Lat/Long Geocoding Format
The input file for Lat/Long Geocoding contains the following details:




Unique Identifier – You may use any numerical identifier you choose (e.g., customer number,
account number, etc.)
Latitude
Longitude

This must be formatted using comma separation. Please format using one line per requested address.
The preferred format is to have both Carriage Return (0x0D) and Line Feed (0x0A) for line termination.
The format will look like this:
312254, 34.08, -117.89
376009, 34.08, -87.06

Understanding Output Files
6.3.2.1 Address Geocoding
The Address Geocoding result file format is as follows:
This file contains a comma separated plain text document with the results of your upload to the AFC Geo
SaaS Standard service. This file format contains the following columns:







Unique ID (from input file)
Score (1 equals 100% reliability)
PCode
Jurisdiction name
FIPS code
Unincorporated (1 for true or 0 for false)
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














County
Latitude
Longitude
Street Address
City
State
Zip Code
CASS Street Address
CASS City
CASS State
CASS Zip code
FeatureID*
Census Tract ID*
Census Block ID*

*Return of this data is optional. Clients must contact communicationsupport@avalara.com in order to activate this functionality.

Below is an example of a single-line record in the output file of Address Geocoding, without optional
output values:
1,1,1248900,OVERLAND PARK,2009153775,0,JOHNSON,38.9546476806009,-94.6859671231543,8675 W
96TH ST STE 220,OVERLAND PARK,KS,66212-3382,8675 W 96TH ST STE 220,OVERLAND PARK,KS,662123382
Below is an example of a single-line record in the output file of Address Geocoding, with optional output
values:
2,0.761904776096344,534000,WASHINGTON,1100150000,0,WASHINGTON DC,38.8986939338077,77.0359746164679,1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW ,WASHINGTON,DC,20502-0003,1600 PENNSYLVANIA
AVE NW,WASHINGTON,DC,20500-0003,531871,6202,1031

6.3.2.2 Lat/Long Geocoding
The Lat/Long Geocoding result file format is as follows:
This file contains a comma separated plain text document with the results of your upload to the AFC Geo
SaaS Standard service. This file format contains the following columns:









Unique ID (from input file)
Latitude
Longitude
Country Name
State Name
County Name
Jurisdiction Name
PCode
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

FeatureID*

*Return of this data is optional. Clients must contact communicationsupport@avalara.com in order to activate this functionality.

Below is an example of a single-line record in the output file of Lat/Long Geocoding, without optional
output values:
312254,34.08,-117.89,USA,CA,LOS ANGELES,COVINA,299700
Below is an example of a single-line record in the output file of Lat/Long Geocoding, with optional output
values:
376009,34.08,-87.06,USA,AL,CULLMAN,CULLMAN COUNTY,24100,161547

Error Handling
Records with invalid data will generate a line in the output file indicating there is an error with that one
entry, but all valid records are processed and reported as normal. There is also a log file that is created
that provides more detail for each record that has an error. With this information, clients will be able to
obtain valid results, determine what is incorrect as well as be able to change any records with errors and
reprocess them.
Below is an example of a single-line error record.
1234,ERROR - Invalid input data - Minimum Score (KS) is not a valid double
This error would be generated if the street data inadvertently included an embedded comma, thereby
throwing off the comma separated value fields.
NOTE: At this time, AFC Geo Standard does not support using quotes to try to embed commas (e.g. “123
Main Street, Apt 100”). AFC Geo Standard does not include the Secondary Unit field; therefore, it is best
to simply leave out the apartment or suite number in the Street Address field.

AFC Geo Viewer (AFC Geo Direct)
AFC Geo Viewer provides US address verification and assignments of tax jurisdictions through input of a
street address or latitude and longitude coordinates.
Note: The AFC Geo Viewer is accessible on the Geo Viewer page of the AFC Customer Portal
https://communications.avalara.net. Please contact communicationsupport@avalara.com in order to
obtain access and login credentials for this tool.

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AFC Geo License
AFC Geo License is a full featured system that is completely hosted at the client’s site, with software and
US address updates provided. It is recommended for large transaction volumes. AFC Geo License is
similar to AFC Geo SaaS Pro in that the geocoding is integrated into client software, but all functionality is
local, rather than executed over the internet, and there are no transaction charges.

Using AFC Geo License
The main interface to AFC Geo is called billsoft.EZgeo.Locator. The JavaDoc for this class and all other AFC
Geo classes can be found in the docs directory under EZGEO_HOME. The Locator object takes in one or
more addresses or one or more intersections and returns one or more matches for each location,
depending on your preference. For each match, AFC Geo returns the score of the match, the
standardized address, the county the match resides in, the FIPS code for the match, the Avalara PCode for
the match, whether the match is in an incorporated area, the census block, and the census tract. If more
than one match is returned, the best match will appear first in the list, the next best will appear next in
the list, and so on.

Example
This sample Java code geocodes a single address by initializing the Locator object and sending in the
address through the Locator’s geocode function. The results are then printed out and the Locator exit
function is called.
public class TestAddress {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Locator loc = null;
try {
// The "EZgeo.home" property can be set here
// or with the java -DEZgeo.home=D:\billsoft\EZgeo argument
// Windows
System.setProperty("EZgeo.home", "D:\\billsoft\\EZgeo");
// Linux
// System.setProperty("EZgeo.home", "//billsoft//EZgeo");
loc = new Locator();
// Create an inputAddress object to hold the input address
InputAddress = new InputAddress();
// Request the address to be CASS certified BEFORE EZgeo processing
// false turns off cass
inputAddress.setCassCertify(false);

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inputAddress.setOptions(InputAddress.RETURN_CUSTOM_AREAS);
// Put a two line address into the input object
//inputAddress.setAddressLine("10150 W 87th St");
//inputAddress.setCityStateZip("overland park,ks,66212");

// geocode a single address returning best match
{
inputAddress.setAddressLine("10100 W 87th St");
inputAddress.setCityStateZip("Overland park KS");
inputAddress.setOptions(280) ;
AddressLocation addrLoc = loc.geocodeAddress(inputAddress);
// Print the results
printAddressLocation(addrLoc);
}
} catch (EZgeoException ex) {
System.out.println(ex.getMessage());
System.out.println("");
System.out.println("stack trace:");
ex.printStackTrace();
}
try
{
loc.exit();
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
System.out.println(ex.getMessage());
}
System.out.println("\r Done: " + new Date());
System.exit(0);
}
static void printAddressLocation(AddressLocation addrLoc) {
if (addrLoc == null)
{
System.out.println("\rMatch is null");
}
else
{
System.out.println("\r** Input Address ****\r");
String[] inAddr = addrLoc.getInputAddress();
System.out.println(inAddr[0]);
System.out.println(inAddr[1]);
// Print some CASS data
System.out.println("\r** CASS data****\r");

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if(addrLoc.getCassAddress() != null)
{
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getAddressLine());
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getCityStateZip());
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getCity());
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getState());
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getZip());
System.out.println(addrLoc.getCassAddress().getZip4());
}
// Print some EZgeo data
System.out.println("\r** EZgeo data****\r");
String[] stdAddr = addrLoc.getStandardizedAddress();
System.out.println(stdAddr[0]);
System.out.println(stdAddr[1]);
System.out.println("\rScore: " + addrLoc.getScore());
if (addrLoc.isIncorporated())
System.out.println("Incorporated");
else
System.out.println("Unincorporated");
System.out.println("County: " + addrLoc.getCounty());
System.out.println("PCode: " + addrLoc.getPCode());
System.out.println("Jurisdiction Name: " + addrLoc.getPrimaryJurisdictionName());
System.out.println("FIPS Code: " + addrLoc.getFIPSCode());
System.out.println("Latitude: " + addrLoc.getLatitude());
System.out.println("Longitude: " + addrLoc.getLongitude());
System.out.println("Network ID: " + addrLoc.getNetworkId());
if(addrLoc.getSpecialTaxDistrictName()!= "")
System.out.println("STD name: " + addrLoc.getSpecialTaxDistrictName());
}
}
}

Running AFC Geo
The Maximum Heap Size of the Java Virtual Machine must be at least the page pool size plus 100 MB per
street database. In addition, the system property EZgeo.home must be set to the EZGEO_HOME
environment variable.
The following examples assume a page pool size of 50 MB and the use of two street databases.
Example (Windows): java –Xmx250m –DEZgeo.home=%EZGEO_HOME% EZgeoTest
Example (UNIX): java –Xmx250m –DEZgeo.home=$EZGEO_HOME -DEZgeo.options=3 EZgeoTest

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Troubleshooting Scenarios & Frequently Asked Questions
Common Troubleshooting Scenarios
AFC Geo SaaS Pro
I’m not getting AFC Geo SaaS Pro programming to work
The programming required to integrate AFC Geo SaaS Pro into a client program has a number of things
that must be done. A few of the standard items that need to be checked are the following:





Endpoints and bindings
Username / Password
SOAP Message
IP Address registered with Avalara

To aid in developing the client programming, Avalara can provide sample programs to help provide an
example of how it can be done. In addition, the following link provides information about AFC Geo SaaS
Pro, including WSDL links.
http://EZgeoasp.billsoft.com/locatorservice.svc

Your Username and Password will be assigned to you by Avalara support. The service is also restricted to
specific IP addresses. Therefore, you must provide Avalara with the IP address that you will be using, so it
can be placed in the list of approved clients.
Finally, it is often beneficial to be able to capture the specific SOAP message that is being sent to AFC Geo
SaaS Pro, so that it can be examined in order to determine if it contains everything that is required. To do
that capture, you will need a utility program. One such program is Fiddler.

I’m getting an exception error
There are a number of potential exception errors that can be sent back from AFC Geo. The information
about each individual exception is given in the following section.

I’m not getting any exception errors
There are two sets of endpoints for AFC Geo. The endpoints with /2.0 at the end are the ones that will
send back an exception when there is an error. The other endpoints will simply return a null result.

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AFC Geo SaaS Standard
I uploaded my file quite a while ago, and I still don't see any result file. What's wrong?
The most likely reason for this is an incorrect filename or an incorrect file format. The file must be in the
correct format for the system to process it. Likewise, the file must be named correctly for the system to
recognize it (see the appropriate sections within this manual regarding the naming of files). The filename
can be especially tricky: the actual .TXT or .LTL file must be named according to the afore-mentioned filenaming convention.
Solution: If, after verifying your file is both formatted and named correctly, you are still having problems call or email your Avalara Technical Support contact.
I’ve connected to the AFC Geo FTP server, but I cannot view the contents of my directory.
If you’re unable to change directories, or if you are unable to list the contents of your transfer directory
or transfer files to/from the FTP server, you are most likely being denied access to the AFC Geo SaaS
Standard server by a firewall or proxy server.
Solution: You should contact your network administrator or Internet service provider and ask them to
reserve the address block of ftp.BillSoft.com as trusted addresses for AFC Geo’s FTP server.

AFC Geo Direct
I get a browser error saying Web Page Cannot Be Found - HTTP 404
Solution: Check the URL to ensure you are entering it correctly. It should be
http://EZgeodirect.billsoftservices.com/EZgeoDirectLocator.aspx . If you have the URL correct, contact
Avalara support for assistance.
I am unable to log in
Solution: Double check your user name and password. The log in is not case sensitive. If you believe you
have your log in correct, please contact Avalara support for assistance.

AFC Geo License
AFC Geo License is not working
Setting up AFC Geo License has numerous installation and configuration issues. Working with Avalara
Support to resolve these issues will be required.

Common
Why did I get two different scores for the same address on two different requests?
AFC Geo has many input options, and the one that is most likely associated with this situation is the
Minimum Score. If you make two separate geocoding requests with two different minimum scores, then
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it is possible to receive results with different scores, even though the address is the same. This is because
AFC Geo has scoring options that use different subsets of the address input values, which can produce
different scores. This is done to address the possibility of incorrect input values, such as a wrong zip code
or misspelled city name.
Solution: Make sure that the Minimum Score is consistent, and not defaulting to a value of zero.

AFC Geo Exceptions
AFC Geo SaaS Pro has the option of returning exceptions when there are errors within the procedure call.
The format of those errors is as follows.
Error - -
Where:

Code that is unique to this type of error.

Sequence number within an Avalara database log. This ID can be used by Avalara
support people in order to get details on how resolve the issue.

Standard text for this type of error.
The following is a list of the standard exceptions that can be returned by AFC Geo SaaS Pro.
MsgID MessageText / Description
E0001 Could not geocode address. Check InputAddress values.
This is a general purpose error related to input address values not being supplied. The
address must include a street address, and the street address should start with a street
number that should normally be all numeric. The address must also include either a zip
code or city and state.
E0002 Minimum score must be between 0 and 1, inclusive.
The minimum score cannot be negative or greater than one. A score of 1 indicates 100%
match.
E0003 The EZgeo.home property is not defined. Use System.setProperty.
AFC Geo needs to know the directory where it has been installed. The
System.setProperty function can be used to make that assignment within the client code.
E0004 Invalid Configuration: Config values not set in Config.txt

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The AFC Geo configuration file has a standard set of options that must be set. This error
indicates that one of the configuration entries that are expected are not in the file.
E0005 Invalid Street database. Must be 1=NT, 2=TA, 3=Both.
The input value indicating which street database must be 1 for NavTeq only, 2 for
TeleAtlas only, or 3 to use both.
E0101 User not found.
The user name supplied for login was not found.
E0102 User account is inactive.
The user account was found, but has been inactivated.
E0103 Unable to geocode with CASS Certify enabled. Contact Avalara Support.
The CASS certification service is not operational. This service must be restarted in order
to geocode with that option. As an alternative, however, geocoding can be done if the
CASS certification option is turned off.
E9998 Server Setup/Operation error. Contact Avalara Support.
This error occurs due to some setup or operation error on the Avalara side of the
process. Please contact Avalara in order to resolve the issue.
E9999 An internal error occurred. Contact Avalara Support.
This is a general purpose error message for situations in which the specific error
condition is undefined. Please contact Avalara support in order to report and resolve the
issue.

Support
Avalara strives to provide the very best in customer support. If you should need assistance or further
information, please call us at 1-800-525-8175, (913) 859- 9674, or send an email message to
communicationsupport@avalara.com.
If you are calling with an urgent matter outside of the hours of 8 am to 5 pm (Central time) Monday
through Friday, you can leave a message on your Avalara Technical Support contact's voicemail at (913)
221-7320.

A F C G e o P r o d u c t U s e r M a n u a l | 48 of 48
Copyright  2017 Avalara, Inc.

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TM 00206 AFC Geo User Manual

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