Differences Between Sandbox and Production Environments in Symmetry Tax Engine

Introduction

The Symmetry Tax Engine offers two main environments for users and developers: the Sandbox environment and the Production environment. Understanding the differences between these environments is crucial for effective integration, testing, and live payroll processing.

Sandbox Environment Overview

The Sandbox environment is a safe testing space that simulates real-world API responses without affecting actual payroll data. It allows developers to validate their integrations, test workflows, and troubleshoot without processing live calculations or tax compliance data.

Key characteristics of the Sandbox environment include:

• Isolated test data that is separate from production data.
• Simulation of tax calculations and API responses without real-world effects.
• Distinct API keys and authentication tokens are required and differ from production.
• Limited to the features and access levels allowed by your subscription plan for testing purposes.

Production Environment Overview

The Production environment handles live payroll tax calculations and compliance for your organization. Data processed here impacts actual payroll and tax reporting, so reliable and accurate operation is critical.

Key characteristics of the Production environment include:

• Processes real payroll data and generates legally compliant tax calculations.
• Requires production API keys that differ from those used in Sandbox.
• Offers the full feature set according to your subscription plan or license tier.
• Is subject to compliance, audit, and data security standards governing payroll tax processing.

Comparing Sandbox and Production Environments

Aspect	Sandbox	Production
Purpose	Testing integration and API workflows without affecting real data.	Processing live payroll tax calculations and compliance.
Data	Simulated and isolated test data only.	Actual payroll and tax data.
API Keys	Separate keys needed; different from production keys.	Separate production keys required.
Impact	No impact on live payroll or compliance.	Direct impact on payroll tax reporting and compliance.
Access and Features	May have restricted features based on testing plan.	Full access to subscribed features.

Subscription Plans and Feature Access

Your subscription plan or license tier defines the functionalities and access levels you have in both Sandbox and Production environments. While the Sandbox allows safe testing of these features, the Production environment activates them for live payroll processing. For details on your specific plan, please refer to your subscription agreement or contact Symmetry support.

Getting Started with Each Environment

To set up your account and begin working with the Symmetry Tax Engine:

1. Request access to the Sandbox and/or Production environment via your Symmetry account manager or admin portal.
2. Generate API keys separately for Sandbox and Production environments, following the authentication guidelines.
3. Integrate your payroll platform or HR system with the APIs using the appropriate environment endpoints.
4. Perform testing in Sandbox to validate requests and responses before switching to live Production data.
5. Monitor API usage and transaction counts separately for each environment via your organizational dashboard.

Contacting Symmetry Support

If you encounter issues or have questions about Sandbox or Production environments, please reach out to Symmetry support through your account portal or via email at [Insert support email]. For urgent outages or service disruptions, use the hotline [Insert support phone number].