Online UI Filing Support from the State UI Form Module

Greg Hatfield Updated by Greg Hatfield

Most states encourage taxpayers and preparers to complete UI wage and tax reports online. Some states mandate that these reports be filed electronically if the employer has over a certain number of employees, or if the preparer files for over a certain number of employers. The most time consuming part of online filing is entering wage data when the employer has many employees. Fortunately, most states have built functionality into their online filing systems to allow users to upload or import wage data, sometimes tax report data also, from a properly formatted file produced by their desktop payroll software.

CFS Payroll System supports online filing by producing the specifically formatted files required for many states. Several state UI form modules have a "Online Filing Support" menu item which allows users to store log-in information for the employer or preparer, create the formatted file, and log-in automatically to the state website. A generic description of the process is described below. This description is applicable to any state form module with this functionality. The actual menu titles in the state form may be slightly different than described below because they are state specific. More specific information for each state may be found in the Online UI Filing Support module.

If the state form module does not have an "Online Filing Support" menu, or CFS Payroll System does not support the state UI form with a module, check the Online UI Filing Support module which supports many additional states.

To use the Online Filing Support follow these steps:

Note: The file created has data for one employer's return at a time.

1. Complete and save the state UI form.

2. (Optional) From the Online Filing Support menu in the form, select "Store Login Info" for either the preparer (agent) or the employer. If you enter the preparer login information, then it will be used for all employers and doesn't need to be entered again. If you enter the employer login information, then it will be used for only this employer. Enter the Username and Password (each state may call them something else) you use to log in to the state website. The delay value will default to 5 seconds. If the website loads slowly then you may need to increase the delay value. If you will log-in manually, or you want to keep the log-in information more secure, you do not need to enter this information here. If you do enter it here, be sure to NOT have your browser save the password.

3. From the Online Filing Support menu in the form, select "Create a File". The file contains the SSN, name, and wage information for all of the employees listed on the form. Some state files also contain tax report information and each state has a different format. The file will be created and saved in the employer's data directory. The file name and path will be displayed in a message box and copied to the windows clipboard so it can be easily pasted into the file browse dialog when importing the file into the website later (see Step 5).

4. From the Online Filing Support menu in the form, select "Log-in to State Website" for either the preparer or employer, as appropriate. The program will launch your default internet browser, load the state website, and, after a delay, send the Username and Password to the website to automatically log you in. Do not click the mouse or touch the keyboard before the login is complete. If the website loads slowly then you can increase the seconds delay set in Step 2. If the automatic login still fails, then manually enter the login information instead. If you chose not to enter the log-in information in Step 2, then the website will still load and you can enter it manually.

5. Once logged in, follow the state procedure for filing a return for the employer (the user must be familiar with using the state filing system). Proceed to the state function to import or upload a file. Open the browse dialog to locate the file. In the browse dialog, rather than having to navigate to find the file listed in the message box in Step 3, you can paste the filename and path that was copied to the Windows Clipboard by pressing CTLR+V. This assumes that you haven't copied something else to the clipboard since the file was created in Step 3. Proceed to import or upload the file. Check for any errors reported by the online filing system.

6. Use the online filing system to complete any other required information, such as tax report information and payment information, and file the return.

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Online State UI Filing Support

PA UC-2/2A - UCMS FTP or File Upload Support

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