VARC Solutions helps clients outsource sales tax compliance
Results
Improved processes
Increased compliance
Tax expertise
Summary
Results
- Improved processes
- Increased compliance
- Tax expertise
Tax challenges
- Process inefficiency
- Tax complexity
- Compliance risk
Benefits
- Increased client sales tax compliance to reduce risk
- Demonstrated partner ability to provide key tax solutions
- Reduced workload for more time to focus on core business efforts
Industry type
Accounting
Create efficiencies for your team while expanding sales tax services for your clients.
Company overview
Partner
VARC Solutions
Industry
Accounting
Tax type
Sales and use
In the late 1990s, Robin Hall created a firm designed to help other small businesses with operational management. Initially focusing on bookkeeping and payroll services, VARC Solutions expanded to offer fully outsourced payment processing, invoice management, consulting, implementation, and training. It helps more than 500 businesses per month across the U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas.
Tax challenges
Since the United States Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., and the subsequent adoption of economic nexus laws in most states, Robin has seen businesses slowly realizing they are at greater risk of noncompliance.
The Wayfair ruling requires most businesses, regardless of size, to comply with sales tax laws in any state where they have customers (if they meet or exceed certain thresholds). Since there are more than 13,000 sales and use tax jurisdictions in the U.S., and each makes its own taxability and reporting regulations, this task can be massive for larger businesses, and virtually impossible for smaller ones.
Why Avalara?
Robin notes that most business accounting software can’t handle the complexity of keeping up with sales tax across multiple jurisdictions compared with the efficiency and greater accuracy of Avalara’s automated sales tax engine. The cloud-based system integrates with most business accounting software solutions to automatically apply sales tax rates and rules, and it can then prepare, file, and remit payments to all the taxing jurisdictions. Comprehensive reporting features enable the business and its accountants to bolster compliance.
“We had a new, large client that had acquired a business with sales to customers in more than 40 states. They apparently had not been charging and remitting sales taxes. Fortunately, they saw they had to resolve this as soon as possible, and we were able to refer them to Avalara.”
She adds that many small businesses have a misconception that sales tax is easy if the business is only selling in one or two states. But it can still be complex. Robin explains, “Texas has 254 counties, each with different rates. And Louisiana’s parishes often have very different rules. Just keeping up with a few can be hard work, and with significant penalties for errors.”
Tax challenges
- Process inefficiency
- Tax complexity
- Compliance risk
Benefits
- Increased client sales tax compliance to reduce risk
- Demonstrated partner ability to provide key tax solutions
- Reduced workload for more time to focus on core business efforts
Industry type
Accounting
Create efficiencies for your team while expanding sales tax services for your clients.
“Partnering with Avalara allows us to be a one-stop tax compliance shop for our clients.”
—Robin Hall
President and Principal Consultant
“Partnering with Avalara allows us to be a one-stop tax compliance shop for our clients.”
—Robin Hall
President and Principal Consultant
Results
To manage this sales tax challenge, Robin and the VARC team have been recommending Avalara to their clients. Through its partnership with Avalara for Accountants, VARC Solutions can provide referral services to help clients adopt the right tax technologies for minimizing risk and increasing efficiency.
The VARC team has become Avalara Certified Implementers and is now qualified to implement Avalara software directly for clients.
Most of VARC’s clients are smaller businesses that may not know they’re at risk, or are just starting to realize it, perhaps after receiving a notice from a state agency. The VARC team usually starts with a sales tax risk assessment.
“When clients come to us needing help with bookkeeping or invoicing or payroll, we also guide the discussion through other critical areas of their business operations, and that increasingly includes sales tax compliance,” she says. “So many businesses are still noncompliant and would be hit hard by a sales tax audit. When they realize this, most are ready to take action. I think proactively helping clients with their sales tax needs will be a big part of our ongoing growth.”
Robin adds that when consulting with existing clients — especially when they’re expanding into new states — the reporting capabilities in the Avalara AvaTax application easily underscore the advantages of automated sales tax compliance.
“It’s so affordable to just let Avalara take over,” she says. “It’s seamless with the accounting programs; easy to set up; and handles state, local, and even special jurisdiction taxes. If it takes you an hour to do your sales taxes, with Avalara it will take about five minutes. If it takes you two days, how about one hour with Avalara?”
And that’s what Robin loves most: Referrals to Avalara allow her clients to get back to doing the work that moves their business forward, rather than devoting time to tax compliance.
“Avalara reduces your workload and dramatically decreases your risk,” she explains. “With Avalara’s proven integration with QuickBooks, it’s just a natural fit. Partnering with Avalara allows us to be a one-stop tax compliance shop for our clients, and I know that my dedicated account manager is always there for me.”
