canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/getsphere.com/getsphere

# Getsphere Sphere API

The Sphere API calculates sales tax for a transaction and records it against a customer and product you manage by external id. It bridges directly into Stripe, adding the right tax to a Stripe invoice or Checkout Session, and keeps a record of each transaction you can retrieve or cancel. Filing summaries roll the recorded transactions up by period so you can see what is owed.

## For AI agents

Calculate sales tax for a transaction, record it against a customer and product, add tax to Stripe invoices and Checkout Sessions, and read filing summaries.

## Scope

Does not handle payment capture, invoicing, or bookkeeping. Use for sales tax calculation, transaction recording, and filing summaries only.

## Capabilities

- Calculate sales tax for a transaction and record it against a customer and product
- Add sales tax to a Stripe invoice or a Stripe Checkout Session
- Create or update customers and products keyed by your own external ids
- Retrieve a recorded transaction or cancel one that was filed in error
- List filing summaries to see tax owed across reporting periods

## Use cases

### Agent-Calculated Checkout Tax

An AI agent prices a cart and needs the correct sales tax before it shows a total. It creates or updates the customer and product by external id, posts a transaction to calculate and record the tax, and reads the transaction back to confirm the amount. Jentic hands the agent each Sphere operation with its input schema so it supplies the external ids and line details on the first call.

Example prompt: Create a customer and product by external id, then post a transaction to calculate and record the sales tax and read it back to confirm the amount

### Stripe Tax Bridge

A store already billing through Stripe needs accurate tax on invoices and Checkout Sessions without re-platforming. The Sphere API adds tax to a Stripe invoice, creates a Checkout Session with Sphere tax applied, and cleans up after a bridge session completes. The store keeps its Stripe flow and gets tax calculated per transaction.

Example prompt: Create a Stripe Checkout Session with Sphere tax applied, then add tax to the matching Stripe invoice

### Filing Summary Reporting

A finance team needs to know what sales tax is owed before a filing deadline. The Sphere API lists filing summaries drawn from the transactions it has recorded, so the team can total obligations by period. Transactions recorded in error can be cancelled so the summary stays accurate.

Example prompt: List the filing summaries, then cancel a transaction that was recorded in error so the totals are correct

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| POST | `/transactions` | Create a transaction and calculate tax |
| GET | `/transactions/{external_id}` | Retrieve a recorded transaction |
| POST | `/transactions/{external_id}/cancel` | Cancel a recorded transaction |
| POST | `/customers` | Create or update a customer |
| POST | `/products` | Create or update a product |
| POST | `/stripe/checkout_sessions` | Create a Stripe Checkout Session with Sphere tax applied |
| GET | `/reports/filing_summary` | List filing summaries |

## Key resources

- **Customers** — Create, update, and retrieve customers keyed by your own external id
- **Products** — Create, update, and retrieve products keyed by your own external id
- **Transactions** — Create a transaction to calculate and record tax, retrieve it, or cancel it
- **Stripe bridge** — Add tax to Stripe invoices and Checkout Sessions and clean up after a bridge session
- **Reports** — List filing summaries of tax owed across periods

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 62 / 100
- **Maturity:** AI-Aware
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 100 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 64 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 43 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 50 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 65 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/getsphere.com/getsphere/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the Sphere API by hand means managing its X-API-KEY header, modelling customers and products by external id, and keeping your Stripe invoice and Checkout Session calls in sync with the tax calls. Through Jentic you install once, import Sphere from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Sphere's tax-calculation and record operations carry their target in the request body, so a rule bounds which operations your agent may call, such as calculating tax and recording transactions, not which customer. You choose the operations it may call, so cancelling a filed transaction is not included unless you add it.
- **Credential handling:** Your Sphere API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'calculate sales tax' or 'list filing summaries', and Jentic returns the matching Sphere operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Taxamo** — Taxamo calculates and settles VAT and sales tax across jurisdictions.
- **TaxRates.io** — TaxRates.io returns tax rate lookups by location.
- **Stripe** — Stripe captures the payment that Sphere adds tax to.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Sphere API use?

The Sphere API authenticates with an API key sent in the X-API-KEY header on every request per its OpenAPI spec. Through Jentic that key is stored encrypted by your own Jentic One instance and injected at call time, so it never sits in your agent's prompt or logs.

### Can I calculate sales tax with the Sphere API?

Yes. You post a transaction with the customer, product, and amount, and the API calculates and records the tax, which you can read back by external id. It can also apply tax inside a Stripe invoice or Checkout Session if you already bill through Stripe.

### What are the rate limits for the Sphere API?

The Sphere OpenAPI spec does not publish fixed rate limits. Because customers, products, and transactions are keyed by your own external id, a retried call updates the same record instead of double-filing, so your agent can retry safely rather than depend on a documented request ceiling.

### Is there a Sphere MCP server?

You do not need an MCP server to give your agent the Sphere API. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import it, store your API key once, and your agent calls its operations. Operations are discovered on demand, so your agent's context stays lean instead of loading a full tool list up front.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Sphere API?

Yes. Write a rule that allows only the tax-calculation, record, and transaction-read operations, so the agent can quote tax and record transactions but cannot cancel a filed transaction, and every call it makes is logged. Cancellation stays out of the allowed set until you add it.

### How do I calculate sales tax with the Sphere API through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'calculate sales tax on a transaction', and it returns the Sphere transaction operation with its input schema. Your agent posts the customer, product, and amount and reads the recorded tax back. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.