How do I set my system to use rates from Avalara for taxes, and send my tax information to Avalara?
Response:
The Avalara integration is used to query sales tax rates down to the street level. During the checkout process, Nexternal will query sales tax rates from Avalara and apply them to each line item as appropriate. After the order has been completed, the order will be imported into Avalara automatically for tax reporting purposes. Any updates to the order pertaining to sales tax will also automatically be imported into Avalara.
To activate the Avalara integration, navigate in your OMS to Settings / Compatible Software - Edit / Avalara, and enter your Account Number and License Key as defined by Avalara. Additionally, you will need to define a Company Code matching the Company Code you entered in the Avalara Admin Console. This field will be used to differentiate orders coming from your Nexternal account from orders that may be importing from other tools.
If you wish to use Avalara's tax reporting services (in addition to using their tax rates), checking the "Use Avalara Tax Reporting" option will enable Nexternal to pass tax related order data to Avalara throughout the life cycle of the order. This includes order creation, updates to tax related order data and status updates such as returning or canceling of the order.
The Web Service URL can be used to define the URL that Nexternal will use to query sales tax rates, import orders and validate addresses. Nexternal recommends keeping the default setting unless instructed otherwise by a representative of either Nexternal or Avalara. The ability to set a non-default Web Service URL is only available as a way to fall back on a backup Avalara Web Service in the event that the default Avalara Web Service is not functioning correctly. If such an event occurs and the default Avalara Web Service starts returning errors, Nexternal will automatically use our default Sales Tax Provider until Avalara is functioning again or a new Web Service URL is defined. At any point, you may manually enable or disable the Avalara integration on the Sales Tax screen by selecting Use Default from the Third Party Sales Tax Provider field (Settings/Sales Tax/Third Party Sales Tax Provider).
Notes:
After entering the Account Number and License Key, the integration is not enabled until you select Avalara as a Third Party Sales Tax Provider (Settings/Sales Tax/Third Party Sales Tax Provider). In order to get the most accurate sales tax rates possible, Nexternal recommends contacting Avalara to make sure that your sales tax tables are set up correctly and accurately. You may optionally define a Tax Code for each product (Products/Product Detail/Tax Code) to assist you in setting up sales tax tables in Avalara.
For more information on Customer Usage Type, please refer to the Help Documentation on the Edit Customer & Activity Types screen (Customers/Types).
