Xero and Avalara Simplify Sales Tax Calculations for Small Businesses

San Francisco and Bainbridge Island, WA - Sept. 15, 2015 - Xero, Inc. (@Xero), and Avalara, Inc., today announced the launch of an automated sales tax rates and returns service for Xero customers. The integration provides tax rate data in real time, enabling quick and automatic access for inclusion in customer invoices.

Until now, Xero customers didn’t have access to updated sales tax rates or a way to quickly and easily file sales tax returns.  But with this new sales tax rates integration - built by Xero and powered by Avalara’s tax content - small business owners get regular updates and changes in tax rates and tax boundaries. Xero’s Avalara integration will make calculating and filing sales tax simpler in addition to saving time and helping small business owners use correct rates.

Additionally, Avalara has integrated its Avalara TrustFile® tax return offering with Xero, enabling Xero users to prepare sales tax returns in as little as five minutes. More information is available at trustfile.avalara.com.

Comments on the News
● “With more than 12,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the U.S., calculating correct sales tax rates is a daunting proposition for small business owners and accountants,” said Russ Fujioka, President Xero U.S. “Xero and Avalara make it easy by offering real-time tax, and by helping customers quickly prepare sales tax returns in as little as five minutes with TrustFile®.”
● “Manually managing governmental compliance requirements can be difficult, expensive and time consuming, and businesses can face stiff penalties if they don’t get it right,” said Marshal Kushniruk, EVP of global business development at Avalara . “Outsourcing removes this complex burden, allowing businesses to focus on their primary expertise.
● “Additionally, small businesses and their accountants spend hours every month preparing forms, filing returns and remitting sales tax in every state where they operate,” Kushniruk continued. “By partnering with Xero, Avalara is providing the fastest, easiest way for Xero users to automate this process. We’re excited to welcome Xero into our community.”

Avalara pioneered a service-based compliance platform for sales tax automation more than a decade ago and today works within a company’s own financial, billing, ecommerce, or point-of-sale system to provide an end-to-end suite of transactional tax compliance services for businesses of all sizes.

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About Avalara
Avalara helps businesses of all sizes achieve compliance with sales tax, excise tax, and other transactional tax requirements by delivering comprehensive, automated, cloud-based solutions that are fast, accurate, and easy to use.  Avalara’s end-to-end suite of solutions is designed to effectively manage complicated and burdensome tax compliance obligations imposed by state, local, and other taxing authorities in the United States and internationally. For more information, see at: www.avalara.com

About Xero
Xero is beautiful, easy-to-use online accounting software for small businesses and their advisors. The company has over 540,000 subscribers in more than 180 countries. Xero seamlessly integrates with over 400 third-party tools, and was ranked No. 1 by Forbes as the World's Most Innovative Growth Company in 2014 and 2015.