AZURE Frequently Asked Questions and Responses

AZURE (pronounced AZ - ure) Bulk Filing is part of the Arizona UI Tax Bulk File Upload Project that was implemented by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES), Division of Employment and Rehabilitation Services (DERS), Unemployment Insurance (UI) Tax Office in July, 2010.  The Bulk File Upload Project uses a system, referred to as the AZ UI Tax Reporting for Employers (AZURE) system.  The AZURE system allows bulk filers (all referred to as Transmitters)  to upload quarterly Unemployment Tax & Wage Reports in a file using the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format via a secure server-to-server File Transfer Protocol (FTP) process.
  
The AZURE system:

• Receives XML-formatted file(s) containing tax and wage data
• Accepts the payment method of ACH Credit
• Sends two levels of acknowledgements for file receipt and file validation
• Stores Tax & Wage Report data in the Department’s imaging system
• Updates employer accounts on the Department’s Accounting mainframe system

Anyone who has the system capabilities to upload reports in the required XML format is open to use the AZURE system to file quarterly Tax & Wage Reports.  This includes employer representatives as well as the large-employer (999+ employees) populations.  All users, however, are required to enroll by submitting a Bulk Filer Application (52 KB PDF) in order to be allowed to file via the AZURE Bulk Filing system.

Once your bulk filing application has been approved, your company must successfully complete all levels of testing prior to filing ‘live’.   A Test & Production Schedule will be provided in the Welcome Packet that outlines testing timeframes.