How Avalara is working to help early stage companies get a head start on tax compliance — Avalara for Startups

The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on brick-and-mortar commerce. As a result, we’ve seen a mass pivot of businesses to online sales, with some experts expounding that 10 years of ecommerce acceleration happened over the span of three months. Many startups participated in this shift, moving either all or some areas of their business online, in addition to increasing their geographic footprint. These business model changes impact tax compliance. Many startups could use help understanding issues that sit at the intersection of tax and commerce, and impact the future growth of their companies.

That’s why Avalara today announced Avalara for Startups — a new program that provides startup companies access to resources to understand sales tax risk areas as well as technology tools to automate tax compliance. Program participants will have access to the Avalara AvaTax product for 90 days with zero payments.

Avalara embarks on this initiative with newly inked partnerships with two startup communities — Female Founders Alliance, a network of founders, investors, and startup allies dedicated to accelerating the success of highly scalable companies founded by women and nonbinary individuals, and 500 Startups, one of the most active early stage investors in the world.

Avalara for Startups is designed to offer early stage companies access to educational resources, including roundtables, webinars, mentorship opportunities, thought leadership from tax experts, as well as the latest automation tools to assist startups in getting a handle on government regulations and getting compliant. Avalara’s tax automation tools help startups:  

  • Decrease the time and resources spent managing tax compliance so a startup can focus on growth goals
  • Reduce the risk of incurring tax penalties uncovered during due diligence and potentially jeopardizing a startup’s ability to raise venture capital or complete an IPO
  • Protect startups against changes in a company’s tax compliance picture during expansion into new markets and new product introduction

Greg Chapman, SVP of partner management at Avalara said, “Avalara has spent years helping emerging businesses manage sales tax complexity by automating the most tedious and time-consuming tasks related to tax compliance. Avalara for Startups is a logical extension of our knowledge, experience, and technology solutions for the benefit of early stage businesses dealing with the most onerous aspects of omnichannel commerce. We recognize that startups are laser focused on growth and customer acquisition but must simultaneously address several areas critical to modern commerce, including tax compliance. We’re pleased to be working with Female Founders Alliance and 500 Startups to offer their members timely solutions to mitigate risk along their path to growth and success.”

“The support of our partners is what makes our work possible and our vision achievable. I’m excited to welcome Avalara into the FFA community as our first tax compliance partner. Thank you for sharing your thought leadership and joining our journey,” said Leslie Feinzaig Founder and CEO of Female Founders Alliance.

“We are committed to uplifting people and economies around the world through entrepreneurship,” said Rodrigo Mahs, executive director and head of global innovation at 500 Startups. “Partnering with Avalara to provide critical resources and expertise helps us better serve our companies as they build and grow their businesses.” 

Avalara is eager to help your startup check tax compliance off the to-do list. If your startup is ready to tackle compliance and focus on growing your business, get started with Avalara for Startups today.

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