As the economy recovers, you can help jump start your business success by focusing on what you do best and outsource critical business functions. One area many businesses do not realize they can easily and affordably outsource is sales tax management. If your business has to collect and remit sales tax, you understand how burdensome this process can be; and even if you are diligent with your research to ensure you are applying the correct rate, it is still easy to get it wrong. Additionally, if you are still using a ZIP code based approach to calculate sales tax, you could be putting your business at risk for a negative audit. ZIP Codes were created for the sole purpose of delivering the mail! ZIP codes were not created to calculate sales tax, but so many businesses have relied on this method for years because they did not know there was a better way. Using a ZIP code based system is only accurate some of the time because it is not unusual for a state to have multiple sales tax rates within a single ZIP code. In fact most states have multiple, overlapping tax jurisdictions that do not match the ZIP codes at all; and in some cases, states will impose specialty taxes for transit, stadiums, etc.
You may be asking yourself, how do I accurately calculate sales tax not using a ZIP code based system? The answer is easy, through automation using a tool like Sage Sales Tax, Powered by Avalara. AvaTax is a cloud-based sales tax automation solution that determines sales tax real-time using geo-spatial technology to pinpoint the correct destination or location of the transaction to ensure the correct tax is applied at the time of sale. AvaTax integrates with over 200+ accounting/ERP/eCommerce/POS solutions, including your Sage ERP application, so you can calculate the correct sales tax wherever you are taking an order or creating the invoice. AvaTax also provides address validation and calculates the sales tax based on a user’s exact physical location. AvaTax can also help you manage exemption certificates, as well as handle your sales tax filing and remittance.
If you are interested in learning more about why relying on ZIP Codes is risky when it comes to sales tax management, please register for a complimentary 15 minute webinar on Tuesday, February 26th:
Now’s the time to make a New Year’s resolution to stop relying on ZIP Codes for sales tax, and outsource this non-revenue generating business function to the experts in 2013! Avalara looks forward to helping your business to focus on what it does best, while at the same time helping you easily get sales tax right!