Convert certificates into exemptions

Once you've added a customer's certificate, you can convert it into a tax exemption. You can do this individually or in bulk.

This process is for converting certificates into new exemptions. If an exemption with the same customer, state, and reason for exemption already exists, converting the certificate will return an error saying that this is a duplicate exemption. To renew a certificate, go to the Exemptions tab in CertManager and find the exemption, then update it with the new certificate.

Once a complete exemption has been saved, it can't be deleted from CertManager and the customer, reason for exemption, and state fields can't be edited. The customer number can't be edited after at least one exemption has been associated with it. If you marked a parent's exemption as inherited, this can't be undone either.

Convert a single certificate

  1. Go to the Manage Certificates page and click on the certificate you want to convert into an exemption.



  2. Fill in the following required fields:
    • Customer: Enter at least 3 letters of the customer name, then select the customer from the list.
    • Reason for Exemption: Select a reason for exemption from the dropdown menu.
    • Effective Date: Enter the date that the exemption comes into effect in MM/DD/YYYY format or click the calendar icon and select the date.
    • State/Province: Select each state or province that the exemption applies to.
    • Certificate Number: For each state or province you select, enter the corresponding certificate number.

      You can select multiple states for a single exemption, filling in the certificate number and expiration date for each as needed. This will create multiple exemptions in CertManager — one for each state. However, these exemptions will not be linked and you will need to update each individually as opposed to one single update for all of them.

  3. You can also fill in the following optional fields if you want, but these are not required and you can leave them blank:
    • Apply Exemptions to Children: If you selected a parent customer, you can choose to apply the exemption to their children. Note that while you can view an inherited exemption on a child, any updates need to be done through the parent and will be passed on to all children. You can't edit the exemption just for the child or remove the child from the exemption.
    • Use SKUs: You can use this option to include or exclude certain SKUs from the exemption.
    • Mark as Incomplete: If you mark the exemption as incomplete, you need to select a reason from the available options.
    • Notes: You can use this field to leave a note about the exemption for future reference.
    • Expiration Date: If you leave this field empty, the exemption will never expire. If you have a setting on the expiration periods table for the reason for exemption and state you selected, then the expiration date will auto-populate based on your selected effective date.
  4. Once you've finished filling in the exemption information, click Convert. The exemption will appear in the Exemptions page.



If you selected a certificate from the Submitted tab that was was added by a customer through the Exemption Wizard, the required fields will be filled in automatically but can be edited if necessary.

Convert certificates in bulk with the exemption upload template

  1. Click on the Exemptions tab, then click Upload.



  2. Select Adding new exemptions, then click Next.



  3. Click Download template to download the bulk exemption upload template.


    CertManager v13.1, which was released on June 3, 2024, has a new bulk exemption upload template that includes support for local exemptions. You must use this new template to bulk upload exemptions (even if you don't have local exemptions) as previous versions of the template will not work
  4. Open the exemption-template.xlsx file that was downloaded to your computer. Follow the instructions in the template to enter your exemption information, then save your changes.
    • (New in v13.1) If you're uploading a local exemption, enter the TJID for the local jurisdiction in the Jurisdiction column. A list of local TJIDs for each applicable state (TJIDs.xlsx) is included at the end of this article.
    • If you have a parent exemption that is passed on to all the children, enter Y in the Inherited column. If you put N or leave the column blank, it will create the exemption under the parent only. You can include the parent and children customers in the same upload, as long as the parent columns for a child row match a parent row in the file or the parent already exists in CertManager.
  5. In CertManager, drag and drop the updated template into the box or click Browse and select the updated template from your computer, then click Upload.



To see the file upload progress, click Uploads and Downloads. This will take you to the page where you can see the status of your uploads for the last 7 days.



When the file has been uploaded, the status will say Complete. If there was an error with your file, an error file will be available for download. In this case, check what caused the error, and once you've made the necessary changes, try uploading the file again. Make sure you delete the Error column if you're uploading the edited error file.



Once your file has been uploaded, you can view the exemption on the Manage Exemptions screen.

 

Convert certificates in bulk with a custom mapping

Follow the instructions in the previous section, with the following changes:

  1. On the Upload page, click Custom map your file.



  2. On the next page, select your custom mapping template from the Select custom mapping dropdown menu. Drag and drop your file in or click Browse to upload it, then click Upload.

You can read more about how to create custom mapping templates in this article.

 

Troubleshooting

  • If you try to create an exemption with the same customer, state, and reason for exemption as an exemption that already exists in CertManager, you will receive an error saying this is a duplicate exemption. If you're renewing a certificate, go to the exemption already in CertManager and update the image on it with the certificate you were just trying to convert.
  • If you previously created an exemption for a customer with one reason for exemption (i.e. Agriculture) and now you're creating an exemption for the same customer with a different reason for exemption (i.e. Resale), you'll be able to create this exemption in CertManager. If you have GTD and your organization is set to not allow for multiple reasons for exemption on customers, this second exemption won't sync to GTD.