Section 5: Electronic File 


Step 1: Electronic File


  • If you file your Forms W-2 with the SSA electronically, the due date is extended. Refer to the IRS W-2 Forms Instructions for the due date. RDA recommends submitting the file to the SSA after W-2s have been printed, and employees have had a chance to review them. For instructions on submitting the file, see Section 7: Submitting the W2 Electronic File to SSA.


  1. Go to HR → Payroll W2 Processing → Print/File tab → Electronic File 
  2. Employer Information:
    • Employer ID– select the appropriate ID; fields on the screen default based on information in the Payroll Setup → Employer Master
      • Kind of Employer - Choose the Kind of Employer that is appropriate for the organization. S - State and Local Government will show in this field as a default, however, use the drop down to choose the correct choice if S does not apply. For more information on the five choices and qualifications for each choice, please visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and search for the most current General Instructions for forms W-2 and W-3, under the section titled Specific Instructions for form W-3.
      • Address 2 (Delivery Address) - This field is no longer required to populate and if blank will default to Address 1 field. If Address 1 and Address 2 are the same, be sure to remove Address 2 on the Employer Master to avoid the employer address line printing twice on W2s and archived W2s
      • User ID - Enter User ID for SSA BSO; This field is required
      • Password - Type in SSA BSO Password; This field is required
      • Password Expiration Date - Type in password expiration date; This field is not required
    • Click EFW2 Electronic File located at the bottom of the screen.
  3. File Name – leave blank to default to file name W2FILE.txt. If you must make additional files, and do not want to overwrite the original file, enter a different name.
  4. Range Criteria - Normally no ranging to include all W2s or Range on Employee ID or Control Number to limit those included on the electronic file.
  5. Tax Month:
    • Defaults to December for W-2 purposes; if using Electronic Filing for Unemployment reporting, the month would need to be changed accordingly.
    • Calendar Year – defaults to W-2 processing year, but if a default is set with a different year, change to the correct W2 year.
    • Computer Type – defaults to IBM; do NOT change.
  6. Contact Information:
    • Name – REQUIRED
      • Name of the person at your organization to be contacted in the event the SSA needs additional information.
      • Allowed characters are A-Z, 0-9, spaces, hyphens, periods and apostrophes, no commas.
    • Phone/Fax Numbers – REQUIRED
    • Email Address – REQUIRED
  7. IRS Information:
    • Resub Indicator:
      • If this is the first time you are submitting the file for this year, set to First Time.
      • If your first file was rejected, select Resubmitting.
    • Resub Wage File Indicator (WFID) – field activates if you select Resubmitting in the Result Indicator field; enter the number provided to you by the SSA.
    • Skip Federal Records:
      • Normal setting is FALSE.
      • Set to TRUE if not including Federal wages and withholding information; might be TRUE if using program to file quarterly State reports.
    • Skip State Records:
      • Normal setting is FALSE.
  8. Run Report:
    • Click Run Report.
    • In Xpert the file is created and stored on your server or workstation in your rda/xpert directory. In OpenRDA the file will be downloaded and saved in your downloads.
    • File name is W2FILE.txt, or the name you assigned.
    • The file created is what you will electronically submit to the SSA.
    • If the User ID is missing in the W2 Employer Master, an error message will display, and the file will not be created; if this is the case, correct the W2 Employer Master, and retry.
    • In Xpert the DOS Copy Window displays. The file is now on your server. You can send from the server (if you work off the server), or use CoreFTP to move it from the server to your workstation. Contact RDA for assistance or questions.  In OpenRDA the file can be submitted by browsing to your download directory or wherever the file is saved (Refer to Section 7 for submitting the file to the SSA).


Step 2: AccuWage Verification


  1. It is highly recommended to log into the SSA's Business Services Online site and use the W-2 verification software called AccuWage to test the accuracy of your electronic file.
  2. If you contracted RDA to print your W-2s, RDA will run your electronic file through AccuWage before printing W-2s. If errors are detected, you will be required to correct the errors, and possibly reload W-2 Amounts, remake the electronic file. For this reason, you may find it beneficial to run AccuWage.



  • Instructions for using AccuWage can be found on the SSA website at www.ssa.gov/bso. User must log into the BSO website.
  • Once logged in to the BSO site, click on Report Wages to Social Security and then accept the validation agreement
  • Will be brought to a page where you click on the AccuWage Online and click on the Accuwage Online link
  • Click on Submission Type of W-2(Regulars) and then click on Start Testing. It will immediately browse for a file to load and give immediate test results



Notes Regarding the Electronic File


  1. If you have more than one EIN, you will need to complete the following steps for each EIN.
  2. If the User ID is missing in the W2 Employer Master, an error message will display, and the file will not be created. Correct the W2 Employer Master, and retry.
  3. EFW2 Amounts must be loaded, and EFW2 Control Numbers Set.
  4. IRS regulations state that organizations filing 10 or more Forms W-2 must file forms electronically.
  5. Filers with less than 10 forms may also transmit electronically, once an application is made to the IRS, and approval has been received.
  6. Use this process to make the Electronic File for Federal, State and Local governments.
  7. Although all alpha characters should be uppercase, the W-2 program will convert any lowercase to uppercase.
  8. Hyphens in the Employer ID are stripped out.
  9. Electronic Filing does NOT allow commas in the employee's name.
  10. Allowed characters are letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), spaces, hyphens, periods and apostrophes.
  11. Suffixes (ex: JR) should be in the Lineage field, and not in the Last Name field. For example, if you have an employee in payroll with SMITH, JR. in the Last Name field, this record will be rejected if you create the Electronic File and send the W-2 electronically.
  12. If you correct the name in Payroll, you will need to reload the W-2s for the corrected employees. If you correct the name in the W2 Master, you will at some point need to correct it in Payroll, as the records will be wrong each time you reload W-2s.
  13. RDA recommends that no screen defaults be saved, as they would then need to be deleted the next year. Otherwise, the screen would show the wrong year next year.
  14. The URL to www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm (accessed by clicking on Other → W2 Setup) also allows you to easily access the SSA's Business Services Online website.