TaxCloud Addon

I am new to ZenCart and had hoped not to need to learn to code too much. So I now have the fresh install of ZenCart V1.5.2 (beta). I used ZenCart 1.5.2 instead of 1.5.1 because my host uses php 5.4 which ZC 1.5.2 was compatible with and ZC 1.5.1 was not. The install went well (the second time around since I made goofs along the way and wiped it all clean to start over). I have most of the stuff set up and am ready to start worrying about taxes and shipping.

I like that TaxCloud is supposed to make things easier overall so I started the install of the latest version of TaxCloud downloaded from the ZenCart Site. After I copy all the files to my site I went to check to see if things still work so far. The store it self appears to be working (although I don't have anything in it yet so its hard to tell). But the Admin area is broken. When I try to go to my admin page I get an HTTP 500 Internal Server Error. No login is shown just the error page. When I check my logs I am shown the following in a log file

PHP Fatal error: Call to undefined function zen_get_ip_address() in /home3/bggearco/public_html/store/ADMINFOLDER/includes/init_includes/init_sessions.php on line 34

I have noticed with some playing around that when I get rid of the file
/public_html/store/ADMINFLODER/includes/functions/general.php
And put the original general.php file back in my admin area works again.
Hope this points someone in the right direction to figuring this out.

I have used WinMerge to compare the two files butthere are a LOT of differences so I am afraid to mess with it for fear of screwing up.

I have looked over a few threads but can not find anyone with my specific problem. I have looked at the code suggested on a few of the threads but it seems that the posts are older than the latest release of TC. I don't want to go messing with too much before I see if someone can direct me in the right direction.

Can anyone tell me how to go about getting TC to work with my ZC 1.5.2 install? I am fearful I will need to do a lot of code tweaks to get this working. If that is the case it makes me wonder how hard it will be to upgrade to the next version of TC or ZC when they become available...... will I have to fix a bunch of stuff again just to move to the latest release?

Any help would be appreciated.
Luke

I found the function -- function zen_get_ip_address() -- in the original general.php file but NOT in the TC version of the general.php file.

Should I just copy paste this function over to the TC version of the general.php file to get things working?

While comparing the two files (original general.php and the TC version of the general.php) I have found there seems to be a LOT of differences between the two. Most of the changes are things actually MISSING in the TC version of the general.php file. Should I copy all the stuff from the original file over to the TC file? Seems like a crazy thought but asking never hurts.

I could use some guidance from someone who knows how this all works
Thanks
Luke

I'm having the exact problem and would be very interested in a reply from a programmer...

I've read in several forums that this mod can be installed on Zen Cart on a local server for testing. I have had no luck with 3 installations. Every time I install the Tax Cloud mod, I lose the admin area. It is blank and will not load the login page.

I have:

• PHP 5.5.12
• curl and soap enabled
• Zen Cart 1.5.3
• no other mods installed to possibly interfere

and I have also copied the admin files to MY_ADMIN_FOLDER

I've compared the core overwrites and the general.php is way over my head as well...

Are TaxCloud people monitoring this thread? The merges for 1.5.4 need to be done. I can submit a PR if it will be reviewed and merged. Let me know.

We would love to merge any changes necessary. Our files for the ZenCart module are available on GitHub, and we openly welcome contributions and edits. Thank you!

OK. I believe my changes are good, but you should be the judge of that. :) Will submit a PR either this weekend or next week.

It's waiting for you now.
https://github.com/taxcloud/ZenCart/pull/5

Has this been officially updated for 1.5.4? The download here on Zen-Cart.com still says 1.5.1. I downloaded the latest zip file from GitHub, but when installing it locally for testing it gave me nothing but a blank page for my Admin.

Please post the logs that were created in the logs folder for this error.

Here is the DEBUG info. Folder names have been changed to protect the innocent.

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to undefined function zen_get_ip_address() in C:\wamp\www\domain\catalog\admin\includes\init_includes\init_sessions.php on line 34

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP Stack trace:

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP   1. {main}() C:\wamp\www\domain\catalog\admin\index.php:0

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP   2. require() C:\wamp\www\domain\catalog\admin\index.php:10

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP   3. require() C:\wamp\www\domain\catalog\admin\includes\application_top.php:156

[25-Mar-2015 14:37:00 UTC] PHP   4. require() C:\wamp\www\domain\catalog\includes\autoload_func.php:48

Thanks. This file was apparently improperly merged. Wait for a new PR to be submitted.

It also appears that the admin/includes/functions/general.php file from TaxCloud is missing a lot of the zen_record_admin_activity statements that were added for PCI Compliance in 1.5.4. If someone just overwrites the file with the TaxCloud one they will be removing that.

Like I said, it was a bad merge. It will be fixed ASAP.

A PR has been submitted to the TaxCloud team.

The TaxCloud guys have merged my PR.

Automated Compliance - I just spoke to TaxCloud. They are pushing turning on Automated Compliance. If you turn on automated compliance, they will calculate and add to your invoices sales tax from 24 states, even if you only have a nexus in 1 state! The alternative is to turn off Automated compliance. With AC off, they will only calculate sales tax from states where you have a nexus, but then they will charge you $10/mo. Personally, I am a small enough business that neither option can work for me. If I cannot find an practical way to collect sales tax, I may go out of business.

SPembleton:

Automated Compliance - I just spoke to TaxCloud. They are pushing turning on Automated Compliance. If you turn on automated compliance, they will calculate and add to your invoices sales tax from 24 states, even if you only have a nexus in 1 state! The alternative is to turn off Automated compliance. With AC off, they will only calculate sales tax from states where you have a nexus, but then they will charge you $10/mo. Personally, I am a small enough business that neither option can work for me. If I cannot find an practical way to collect sales tax, I may go out of business.

I hate seeing posts like this. If you cannot afford $10 a month then you should not be in business period and you should go out of business.

travbacon:

I hate seeing posts like this. If you cannot afford $10 a month then you should not be in business period and you should go out of business.

It sounds harsh, but it's true. You're wasting your time, and likely short-changing your family. If you're that broke, get a second job - at minimum wage if necessary - and spend the rest of your time building marketable skills so you can make more money working for someone else. Running your own business is expensive and difficult, and if you're that cost-sensitive you have no hope.

Don't understand the hardship that neither option can work. If cost is an issue, just turn on Automated Compliance and use TaxCloud for free - and TaxCloud handles all compliance tasks (for the 24 states). :smile:

Taxcloud:

Hello Melanie,

We have had merchants report that COWA does not work with TaxCloud since it replaces some of the checkout code that TaxCloud relies on.

Currently in your cart it isn't making the call to compute the taxes, but it is making the call to commit the order. This is why you are getting the error message you are seeing.

It may be possible to get the two modules working together but it will take some coding changes. I can try to see if there is a simple fix for this. I will give it a try and let you know.

This is incorrect. FEC/FEAC/OPRC are all compatible with TaxCloud. The issue is the core edits that tax cloud makes to the order.php class file contain a condition which checks the page and only lists default Zen Cart pages. Pages like FILENAME_CHECKOUT, FILENAME_QUICK_CHECKOUT, and FILENAME_ONE_PAGE_CHECKOUT would all need to be added as well. A version with bug fixes was forked by Numinix and can be found here: https://github.com/numinix/TaxCloud (note: TaxCloud released a new version after our fork but doesn't look like they've implemented all/any of our fixes so you may need to merge the two versions).