SARS easyFile Employer Thin Client – Installation

Version 8.0 replaces all previous versions of the e@syFileTM Employer, effective 01 March 2025. Please download version 8.0 timeously to familiarise yourself with the new features. See the enhancements, system requirements and more detail here.

You’ll need to have the old 7.4.5 version installed to access your historical data but going forward you will use the new version 8.0.
SARS recommend “For the first two years it is recommended that both e@syFile™ Employer applications remain installed on the Employer’s PC, even when submissions are made via the new e@syFile™ Employer application. This will allow you to refer back to historical submissions and process amendments.”

Keep track of what’s new here. Guide here.

FYI: For me to figure out how the software works requires me to attempt to fix actual issues. Without the people willing to let me try fix whatever issue they are having, I have no way or documenting or working out what works.

Grant Day

This page is my reference and a free resource in which I’ve attempted to explain in the simplest way possible something that is rather complex. It is for those who want to do it on their own. If you can’t come right on your own, with these instructions as a guide, do not call me, to get me to explain how it works.
Don’t call me if you not prepared to pay, “quick questions” are never “quick”, as I need enough information to make an informed decision and that usually takes time.
I have not “saved” any tips or tricks although I use a different more technical method myself. Absolutely everything I use to fix easyFile is somewhere on this page. Need help but don’t want to pay, then read carefully and post a question if you can’t find an answer or take a look at the easyFile facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/easyfile/

Please understand people, I’m no psychic and I do not practice voodoo or magic. Figuring out what is wrong is just like any other profession. I have to know what the situation is.
It is like you asking me, “How do I get to Timbuktu?”, without me knowing where you are and more crucially, you not knowing where you are, I cannot possibly direct you. At least half of what I do when I get on people’s PC’s is figuring out where the PC is at.
So it is not that I won’t give you an answer, it is that I often can’t give a meaningful single sentence answer.

Want to say thank you for help, please post a review to any of the following sites

• https://www.facebook.com/ekahsdnah/
• Google Business Review
• LinkedIn

Are you tired of fighting with easyFile? Contact me on my cell 084 584 7268 to schedule a time to get it fixed. R850.00 (I am not VAT registered) for a guaranteed fix. No fix, no fee! Work on servers or Mac’s with Parallels is 1.5x the fee

Minimum System Requirements

If your system does not meet or exceed the system requirements it will not run the new version of easyfile.

• Windows 10 Version 1809 (64 bit) or newer, including Windows 11
• 8GB RAM
• 2GB hard drive space (for download and installation to C:/ drive; additional space will be required as employer data increases)

How to install easyfile 8.0.0

PAYE-easyFile-G01 – e@syfile™TC Employer Guide – External Guide – https://www.sars.gov.za/paye-easyfileg01-esyfiletc-employer-guide-external-guide

Installation Instructions

• Backup (No need if it is first time install)
• Uninstall all McAfee products, unless you are paying for one of their products. If you don’t you’ll need to edit your hosts file to fix it after installing. [I consider McAfee products malware, see the end of this page for my reasoning if you are curious.]
• Reboot your PC
• Download 8.0.0_258 via SARS Direct Link, Google Drive, DropBox – (8.0.0 Release Notes) [17.02.2025]
• Once downloaded right-click the filename & at the bottom select Unblock – if there is no Unblock move to the next step
• Right click the SetupEasyFileEmployer_800_258.zip file and Extract Files, from the extracted folder double-click SetupEasyFileEmployer_800_258.exe to run
• If you get the message Windows protected your PC click on More info and Run
• Installs EasyfileEmployer v2.5.8 which includes EasyFileServer, as well as EasyScan 2.0.0.
• then installs e@syFileTC v1.0.2
• Should open e@syFileTC once installed

Installing to older Windows versions

archiveint.dll

Appears to be a version of the libarchive library used by tar.exe. It looks like it is included from Windows 10 (1809), 11 and from Windows Server 2019.

For Server 2016: Copy the archiveint.dll Files from C:\Windows\System32 on a Windows 11 PC to the same folder on your server as well as the archiveint.dll from C:\Windows\SysWOW64 to the same folder on your server.

tar.exe – Entry Point Not Found

If you get the error – The procedure entry point archive_match_set_inclusion_recursion could not be located in the dynamic link library C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\Java\tar.exe.

Similar to the error before. Appears to be a version of the libarchive library used by tar.exe. It looks like it is included from Windows 10 (1809), 11 and from Windows Server 2019.

You need to upgrade your Windows 10 to Version 1809 or later. Read more about Windows 10 Version 1809 at the bottom of this page.

Uninstalling

Uninstalling an older version of easyfileTC if it won’t allow you to install a newer version.

Go to Control Panel>Uninstall a program find e@syFileTC, select it and click Uninstall. Then do the same for EasyFileEmployer version 2.5.X

NOTES

The start of understanding how the new version functions

Firewall

The software creates firewall rules to open port 42690
It does this when in the DOS prompt during the install

Installed Folders

Some of the locations files are installed to. I’ll add to these as I discover more.

• C:\EasyFileEmployer
  • App
    • EasyFileServer
      • DesktopClient-2.5.X
        • bin
        • data
          • log
      • Java – location of Temurin
      • karaf
        • win64 – location of NSSM
      • Output
• EasyFileEmployerDB
  • MainDB
  • tempFiles
    • Compressed
• %appdata%\e@syFile Thin Client
  • Local Storage
    • leveldb
• C:\Program Files (x86)\easyFileTC
  • easyfileTC.exe
• %temp%
  • path where install files are extracted to before installing

Add-on Software

Helper applications that easyfile TC installs.

Apache Karaf

Version 4.4.1 – current is 4.4.7

https://karaf.apache.org
https://igene-docs.genialgenetics.com/app_management/installation/clean_install

NSSM – the Non-Sucking Service Manager

Version 2.24.0.74 – dates from 2014

https://nssm.cc

Eclipse Temurin

Installs Temurin Java JDK 17.0.7+7 in C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\Java\bin
https://github.com/adoptium/temurin17-binaries/releases/tag/jdk-17.0.7%2B7
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/java/openjdk/older-releases#openjdk-17

EasyFileServer runs as a service. You can see if it is running by typing services.msc into the search bar and hitting enter. Search for EasyFileServer.

Importing data from an earlier version of easyfile

I get the question “I download the new Easyfile TC but it wont let me import my backup from the old easyfile. It gives me an error, what do I do?” or “
I import my backup and it says completed but when I open the new version of easyfile it’s completely empty and I dont find any of my data.”

ANSWER: Because you can’t import your old data directly. The old and the new easyfile software applications are two distinctly different platforms. For more information, please read the new G01 manual linked above.
You can however Retrieve Certificate History, look under section 5.5 of the G01.

Personally I’m hoping SARS gets their act together to enable users to import using the old backups as many practitioners have more than 20 clients and doing each one at a time is an epic waste of time.

Errors

e@syFile – System Unavailable

Things to try …

Run As Administrator

Right-click on the e@syFileTC icon on the desktop and click Properties, select the Compatibility tab & then click the checkbox next to Run this program as an administrator and finally click OK.

Wait

This is not an error! Depending on your system there may be a short waiting period for the creation of the main database or for the e@syFile server to Start up. You can either close the e@syFile Thin Client bowser page and reopen after a minute or two.

Restart/Reboot

Close & open works for some. Rebooting has worked for some people.

Hosts File

Webroot SecureAnywhere Endpoint Protection seems to block editing of the hosts file. You can right click on the WSA icon in the system tray and Shut Down, then edit the hosts file, if Shut Down is not available go here.
Kaspersky & Bitdefender seem to block the edit by the installer to the hosts but you can edit manually.

The install adds a line, but might not add it correctly.

127.0.0.1 easyfile.sars.gov.za

Make sure it’s on its own line. I’ve seen machines with 0.0.0.1 mssplus.mcafee.com127.0.0.1 easyfile.sars.gov.za
Which will not work.

Use the following instructions if you’re running Windows 10/11

• Press the Windows key
• Type Notepad in the search field
• In the search results, right-click Notepad and select Run as administrator
• From Notepad, open the following folder: C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\
  Then change the File Type from Text documents (*.txt) to All files (*.*) and then select the hosts file
• Make the necessary changes to the file and then select File>Save to save your changes

Service Running

Check that the EasyFileServer service is running

• Type services.msc in the search field and hit Enter
• Search for EasyFileServer & make sure that under Status it says Running

Security

Go to C:\EasyFileEmployer select the EasyFileEmployerDB and see if you can open it with just a continue prompt.

If not, right-click and select Properties – Select the Security tab & click Edit, ensure your user has Full Control checked. Refresh or restart easyfile Thin Client and try now to see if you get the registration page.

Possibly

From the facebook group “You may need to register as the company representative again and send sars all your info , I was getting the same error , on easy file sars would not accept my efiling password. Sars told me to re register, even though I’ve been the company representative for over 15 years, they said it was a fica type thing. It would have been nice if they had requested the info not just blocked us, especially when the emp501’s were due!”

Developed & maintained by

Interfront SOC Pty Ltd

• A state-owned company wholly owned by the South African Revenue Service (SARS)
• https://interfront.co.za/
• https://za.linkedin.com/company/interfront-soc-ltd
• You can find more info on their future plans in the 2024 Annual Report

Windows 10 Version 1809

You should be updating Windows regularly as most updates are security fixes. Old versions stop receiving fixes and updates as per below.

The update has reached end of service on November 10, 2020 for Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations and IoT Core editions. The Enterprise, IoT Enterprise and Education editions have reached end of service on May 11, 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10,_version_1809

McAfee Malware

I guess it depends on how you define malware. If you define it as software that you did not ask for, which gets installed with other software (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader) which then tries to take over your computer and is extremely difficult to get rid of, then yes, it IS definitely malware.
I consider Windows 10 & 11’s inbuilt security better than any of the free AV packages.

The way that McAfee sneakily and insidiously installs without your consent, and without being upfront and clear, has made it malware in my eyes. Any company that can do stuff like that, should not be trusted with anything, much less your computer’s security.

Testing

Things I have or am trying on various systems. Sometimes so called clues end up being a wild goose chase.

CD C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\DesktopClient-2.5.8\bin
shell
karaf

To enable Unicode UTF-8 support in Windows Server, go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Region > Administrative tab > Change system locale, and check “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support”, then reboot.
https://activenetwork.my.salesforce-sites.com/hytekswimming/articles/en_US/Article/Setting-Language-for-Non-Unicode-Programs
Steps to Enable UTF-8:

You will be prompted to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Restart your server. 

Open Control Panel:

Click the Start button (or press the Windows key) and type “Control Panel” in the search bar.

Select “Control Panel” from the search results. 

Navigate to Region:

In the Control Panel, click on “Clock and Region”. 

Then click on “Region”. 

Open Administrative Tab:

In the Region window, click on the “Administrative” tab. 

Change System Locale:

Click the “Change system locale…” button. 

Enable UTF-8:

Check the box labeled “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support”. 

Apply Changes and Restart:

Click “OK” to save the changes. 

SET CHECK_ROOT_INSTANCE_RUNNING=false

cd C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\DesktopClient-2.5.8\bin

karaf.bat

“%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java” -version

Environment Variables
JAVA_HOME
C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\Java

echo %JAVA_HOME%

Command Line
setx /m JAVA_HOME “C:\EasyFileEmployer\App\EasyFileServer\Java”

UTF
Language settings
Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support

To enable Unicode UTF-8 support in Windows Server, go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Region > Administrative tab > Change system locale, and check “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support”, then reboot.

Bitdefender

How to Temporarily Disable Bitdefender on Windows
How to allow an app through Bitdefender Firewall

Open Port

1. Open Bitdefender:
   • Go to Protection > Firewall.
2. Add Rule:
   • Go to Rules > Add rule.
   • Name it and set Application to All applications.
   • Set Network to Any, Protocol to Any, and Direction to Both.
   • Specify Local ports (e.g., 161 for SNMP, 135 for WMI).
   • Click OK to save.
3. Allow Ping:
   • Go to Adapters tab.
   • Select your network adapter.
   • Set Stealth Mode to Off.
   • Uncheck Block ICMP.