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Avalara AvaTax For Enterprise For Windows

Configuration Guide

Avalara AvaTax is a cloud-based solution that automates transaction tax calculations and the tax filing process. Avalara provides real-time tax calculation using tax content from more than 12,000 US taxing jurisdictions and over 200 countries, ensuring your transaction tax is calculated based on the most current tax rules.

This setup presumes that you have already created a tax code in Macola for AvaTax; for this example, we presume the tax code is AVA.

Connect to AvaTax

To configure Enterprise for Windows to use AvaTax, you need to:

  1. Go to Maintain > Setup > Tax Accounts
  2. Click Add
  3. Enter your Avalara AvaTax Credentials
    • Account Number: Provided during your AvaTax account activation process.
    • Service To Use: AvaTax should be selected in this dropdown list.
    • License: Provided during your AvaTax account activation process
    • Company Code: Company profile identifier in the AvaTax Admin Console. This is provided by Avalara and will show on the AvaTax Admin Console.
    • Tax Service Code Default: Default Code to use for items that do not have a Tax Service Code set to assign them to the appropriate tax group.
    • Tax Service Code for Freight: Code to use when sending freight charges to Avalara AvaTax to assign it to the appropriate tax group. The tax service code of FR is used if this is not set.
    • Tax Service Code for Miscellaneous: Code to use when sending miscellaneous charges to Avalara AvaTax to assign it to the appropriate tax group. No tax service code is used if this is not set.
    • User Name: Provided during your AvaTax account activation process
    • Password: Provided during your AvaTax account activation process
    • Description: Not required. For this example, we plugged in ‘AvaTax tax service.’
    • Test Account: Check this box if you are using a test account.
    • Tax Included: Check this box only if ALL of your items include sales tax in the price. We will then write sales tax as a negative amount to the miscellaneous field. Your invoices will need to be customized to hide Sales Tax and Miscellaneous.
    • Send transactions for customers where they have a valid sales tax exemption certificate: Without this checked, transactions for customers with a valid sales tax cert will not be sent to Avalara.
    • Only Send Transactions For Taxable States: With this checked, orders generated that do not have states marked as taxable will not be sent to Avalara; a state is considered "taxable" by having a tax code or schedule configured for that state in Enterprise>Countires / Sub Divisions / Locations setup.
  4. Click the Test Connection button. Resolve any observed errors.
  5. Once you are satisfied with your setup, click Save.

Set AvaTax as your tax service

  1. Click Maintain > Setup > Tax Accounts
  2. Check the AvaTax account you just setup above
  3. Click on the Set as Global Calculation button

 Setup a Tax Code with Tax Rate of 0%

  1. In Exact Macola, create a new tax detail code to use for AvaTax: G/L > Taxes > Tax Detail Codes. We generally recommend using the code AVA if possible. Accept all defaults when entering the tax code. Enter zero for the percent. For information about setting up tax detail codes, refer to Exact Macola help topics Tax Detail Codes and Defining a Tax Detail Code. Any settings on the tax code have no effect in AvaTax.
  2. Note that, outside of the Canada tax schedule, using tax schedules for this is unsupported for software before version 23.1.15.

 

Assign an Avalara Entity Use Code to a customer

  1. Click Maintain > Customers
  2. Enter a Customer Number and click on Tab or use the Search option to edit a customer.
  3. Click on Financial
    • In the Tax Exempt No field, enter the customer’s exemption number.
    • In the Tax ID field, enter the customer’s tax ID. Typically used for VAT Registration ID.
    • In the Tax Service Entity Use Code field, input the entity or use code for tax services. Used to explain in more detail how a transaction should be taxed.
  4. Click Save.

Assign an AvaTax Tax Service Code to an Item

  1. Go to Maintain > Items
  2. Enter an Item Number and click on Tab or use the Search option to bring up an item.
  3. On the Main Setup tab, enter the applicable AvaTax System Tax Code in the Tax Service Code
  4. Click on OK.
  5. To see a listing of all available AvaTax System tax codes, click (http://taxcode.avatax.avalara.com).