Avalara Tackles Sales Tax
(Link to Article)
By Rochelle Garner CRN
3:00 PM EDT Fri. Jul. 15, 2005
From the July 18, 2005 CRN
In the world of small-business software, Intuit's QuickBooks reigns supreme. But even though Intuit built its kingdom on software that's easy to use, small-business owners can still get into trouble, especially when it comes to collecting and reporting on sales tax.
Avalara's newest on-demand service for sales-tax compliance aims to help small companies breathe easier, even as it gives resellers and CPAs new revenue streams. The Bainbridge Island, Wash., company already ties its AvaTax ST hosted service directly into Microsoft's Great Plains and Sage Software's Accpac and Mas 90/200 accounting engines. Now the ISV has integrated its service with QuickBook Pro, Premier and Enterprise editions.
"It's never easy to know all of the sales-tax rates, whether you're a midmarket company or a mom-and-pop shop. I think it's even more difficult for small businesses, which don't have the time to do the necessary tax research," said Mark Giddens, Avalara's Director of Sales and marketing.
AvaTax ST verifies and corrects customers' addresses according to the U.S. Postal Service's database. It also contains county and state tax rate information.
"With AvaTax, we can make sure their financials are what they are supposed to be," said Jeff Torpey, a QuickBooks adviser at Barsa Technology Solutions, San Diego. "It's about tracking the sales tax, making sure they're charging the right amount, and figuring out where taxes have to be sent."
Available for download in late July, AvaTax ST for QuickBooks is priced at $9.95 per month with a per-transaction and activation fee. For $29.95, customers can handle 1,000 transactions per month.
