WooCommerce empowers merchants with sales tax connector from Avalara
Results
Expanded product adoption
Increased merchant satisfaction
Improved merchant confidence
Summary
Client challenges
- Tax complexity
- Process inefficiency
- Compliance risk
Partnership focus
- Sales tax integration
- Tax compliance expertise
Results
- Expanded product adoption
- Increased merchant satisfaction
- Improved merchant confidence
Company overview
Customer
WooCommerce
Industry
Ecommerce
WooCommerce is a flexible, open-source, ecommerce solution built on WordPress™. The WooCommerce platform allows merchants to build a fully customized online store while maintaining full rights and access to their data. In short, WooCommerce empowers anyone to sell anything, anywhere — and it is free to use.
With millions of users worldwide, WooCommerce is localized in dozens of languages. As an open-source ecommerce platform, there are extensions that customize everything from payments to shipping to marketing, connecting solutions to meet merchant and shopper needs in every region and industry. WooCommerce is used by merchants of every size, from individual sellers to large enterprises.
Tax challenges
WooCommerce partners with Avalara to offer advanced tax solutions that surpass the basic core functionality of the platform for merchants who need it. “We rely on external partners to fill gaps,” says Aurélien Leftick, Head of Shipping and Tax Partnerships. “Sales tax is one of those critical places where merchants need to have a strong solution.”
The combination of a fast-growing user base and a tax landscape that is increasingly complex created a challenge for WooCommerce. “The more merchants you have, the more questions you’re going to get,” says Aurélien. “Add to that the constant changes in tax compliance requirements in thousands of jurisdictions, and merchants’ needs become more acute, more sophisticated, and more urgent.”
Why Avalara?
Avalara has built an extension that allows merchants to automate the calculation and presentation of sales tax at checkout. The solution also enables merchants to manage sales tax reporting, which is critical.
“Merchants are used to installing extensions to expand their stores,” Aurélien explains, “so they simply find the Avalara extension in the WooCommerce extension store and click ‘Install.’” Once the merchant activates the extension and connects it to an Avalara account, they are up and running.
“Any time we can connect our merchants to something that can improve their store — with a solution that’s built by a leading partner in the space — that’s a win for us,” says Aurélien.
Client challenges
- Tax complexity
- Process inefficiency
- Compliance risk
Partnership focus
- Sales tax integration
- Tax compliance expertise
Results
- Expanded product adoption
- Increased merchant satisfaction
- Improved merchant confidence
“We have to be increasingly creative to meet merchants’ evolving needs, and Avalara is the partner I explore new possibilities with.”
—Aurélien Leftick
Head of Shipping and Tax Partnerships
“We have to be increasingly creative to meet merchants’ evolving needs, and Avalara is the partner I explore new possibilities with.”
—Aurélien Leftick
Head of Shipping and Tax Partnerships
Results
“Our merchants have been adopting the WooCommerce Avalara extension at a consistently increasing rate,” says Aurélien. “In fact, the growth rate is very healthy compared to other solutions in our general partner ecosystem, so we know that it’s resonating. Merchants have to be happy to continue adopting and using it at this rate.”
In addition to the increasing number of happy merchants, Aurélien and his team are finding unexpected value in the partnership with Avalara. “We have a great relationship that’s built on trust,” he explains, “and that has led to a unique collaboration in which Avalara helps us innovate continuously. We have to be increasingly creative to meet merchants’ evolving needs, and Avalara is the partner I explore new possibilities with. Many great ideas have grown out of our collaboration, some we have executed and others that we’re actively working on.”
“We’re always trying to find new ways to drive a positive and successful merchant experience that provides WooCommerce customers with confidence in the safety and security of their tax compliance,” says Doug Marrone, a partner strategist at Avalara. “And we strive to do that in a very simple, effective, and affordable way.”
“Avalara is both proactive and responsive,” says Aurélien. “As a result, our customer support tickets have decreased, which is great news for us. If those numbers are coming down while adoption is going up, we’re in a good place. We’re doing something right.”