Sales Tax Calculations Made Easy For QuickBooks® Users With New, On-Demand Sales Tax Service

Las Vegas, Nevada - June 27, 2005.  QuickBooks users can now automatically calculate sales tax for each transaction, for any of the more than 8,000 North American sales tax jurisdictions, using Avalara's new edition of AvaTax ST" for QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise Edition 2004-2005 by Intuit (INTU).  This Web-based, on-demand service also automatically creates previously labor-intensive reports and tax returns.  With small businesses facing the constant challenge of minimizing operational tasks to focus on the bottom line, and state taxing authorities taxing more and different kinds of transactions than ever before, AvaTax ST for QuickBooks provides a long-needed service at a price that fits the budget of even the smallest business.

Avalara announced the new service for QuickBooks users at the start of the AICPA Tech 2005 Conference, where a "first look" at AvaTax ST for QuickBooks is being exhibited.

QuickBooks users who have previewed AvaTax ST are enthusiastic about the efficiencies this integration will bring.  "AvaTax ST is going to pay for itself with the first five to ten orders I process, or with the first return it automatically generates," Jerry Zimmer, Business Manager of WizWare Computers in Littleton, Colorado, said. "Right now, I first have to go online to find jurisdictions and rates based on ZIP codes, county and city names.  Then all the tax items - football district, cultural district, RTD district - have to be selected and combined into a tax item group.  This happens every time I set up a new customer, and because the rules and boundaries change I have to maintain the information too.  In my state, I not only have to collect the tax, I have to file returns with every taxing jurisdiction.

"Operational hassles are why small businesses fail," Zimmer continued.  "They don't have the right tools, they don't know what to do, and they fail.  If you worry more about running the back office than marketing or sales, something's got to go.  I always hear promises of features that save time.  This is one that will save time.  Automating sales tax will make a difference."  

Thousands of CPAs, QuickBooks Advisors and resellers serving small businesses using QuickBooks are keenly aware of this trade-off.  "We are very excited to bring AvaTax ST to our QuickBooks clients - there is definitely a need for this kind of functionality," according to Jeff Torpey of San Diego-based QuickBooks Advisor, Barsa Technologies.  "For the small and growing businesses we partner with, this is a great fit - it-s affordable, it gets them out of the details, and it scales to match the needs and budgets of companies as they grow." 

CPA educators agree: "CPAs know when their clients are not handling sales tax properly, but in many cases the level of detail makes compliance a challenge," according to Randy Johnston, CPA seminar leader and Executive VP of K2 Enterprises.  "AvaTax ST is a new and welcome way to help businesses comply with sales tax with ease and accuracy, and to my knowledge there's no other provider that does the same in this market space today."

This new integration follows a nine-month research study that Avalara performed in the small-business marketplace. "The less time a small business spends fulfilling the statutory requirement of sales tax compliance, the better off they are," according to Avalara CEO Jared Vogt.  "That's particularly true for smaller businesses using QuickBooks.  AvaTax ST is designed to meet the needs of firms that are running tight operations - the kind where the person processing orders and setting up new customers may be the same person who could also be out there making a sale or generating billable hours.  Sales tax automation needs to be both dead-simple and affordable for QuickBooks users, and with AvaTax ST, now it is."

The AvaTax ST integrated edition for Pro, Premier Editions, and Enterprise QuickBooks users can be ordered now at www.avalara.com, and will be available for purchase and immediate download late July, 2005.   QuickBooks users can order the service for as low as $9.95 per month with per-transaction and activation fee, or with transactions-included packages starting at $29.95 monthly plus activation fee.

About AvaTax ST
AvaTax ST is the only Web-service-based sales tax solution currently on the market that runs seamlessly integrated within commonly-used SMB accounting systems.  AvaTax ST automates the sales tax compliance function by instantly and accurately performing a variety of critical functions, including: address validation, jurisdiction and rate research, tax calculation, detailed reporting, and the automatic generation of pre-populated returns for any of the over 8000 North American taxing jurisdictions. 

Designed for small and medium businesses, AvaTax ST integrates with more SMB financial applications than any other sales tax solution on the market today.  The growing list of integrated editions includes AvaTax ST for Best Software's MAS 90® and MAS 200®, ACCPAC Advantage Series", Microsoft's (MSFT) Great Plains, Navision®, MS Small Business Financials, Scala, Open Systems- OSAS and Traverse (OEM), and QuickBooks.  AvaTax ST's affordable, subscription-based pricing means sales tax automation can fit the budget of any business, any size.

For businesses looking to custom-integrate sales tax automation into their e-commerce, third-party, custom-built, or any other system, Avalara's AvaTax On-Demand" makes the Avalara Web services API available, with Software Developer's Kit (SDK) and full testing and support, for easy integration with any system.

About Avalara
Headquartered on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington, Avalara is changing the sales and use tax landscape by delivering innovative and affordable solutions to small and medium businesses. Led by a team of industry experts in sales and use tax, and security and information technology, Avalara is focused on providing the easiest, most accurate and affordable way for businesses to address all their statutory sales and use tax requirements.  Additional news and information is available at www.avalara.com.

For more information, contact:
Avalara Media Relations:  Ned Barnett, ned@barnettmarcom.com, 720-696-1200

For WizWare Computers
Jerry Zimmer: jzimmer@wizwarecomputers.com, 303-225-3277

For Barsa Technologies
Mike Nottoli, mike.nottoli@barsaco.com, (858) 244-5047

For K2E Enterprises
Randy Johnston, M.C.S., M.C.P., randyj@k2e.com, (888) 542-9390

A Press Release From - Barnett Marketing Communications
Ned Barnett, APR
Marketing/PR Fellow, AHA 420 N. Nellis Blvd., A3-276 Las Vegas, NV 89110
Phone 702-696-1200 FAX 702-696-1211
Ned@barnettmarcom.com

For Immediate Release              For More Information, Contact: Ned Barnett