Automate Sales Tax Calculations with Avalara

This feature uses the Avalara integration to automatically calculate Sales Tax on estimates and invoices based on property address, tax status, and Avalara Tax Codes assigned to items and services.

Before, Sales Tax calculations relied on Aspire’s native tax logic and manual configuration of tax rates. Accounting teams were responsible for maintaining jurisdictional rates, updating changes, and reconciling discrepancies. This increased administrative overhead and created risk when tax rates or rules changed.

Now, Aspire integrates directly with Avalara as the tax engine. When an estimate is completed or an invoice is generated, Aspire sends the transaction to Avalara, which determines taxability and calculates Sales Tax using validated addresses, entity-use codes, item tax codes, and invoice date. The calculated tax is automatically applied to the invoice total.

Before and after

Before (current)

1. A team completes an estimate or generates an invoice.

2. Aspire calculates tax using the Tax Entities and Tax Jurisdictions set up in Administration.

3. Accounting teams manually maintain tax tables and monitor jurisdiction changes.

4. Adjustments may be required if rates are outdated or taxability rules differ by item.

5. Month-end reconciliation may reveal inconsistencies between invoiced tax and actual liability.

Impact: Manual rate maintenance increases compliance risk and administrative burden, especially across multiple jurisdictions.

After

1. An administrator enables Sales Tax Calculation in Tax Integration settings.

2. Items and services are mapped to appropriate Avalara Tax Codes.

3. When an estimate is completed or an invoice is generated, Aspire sends the transaction to Avalara for tax calculation.

4. Sales Tax is calculated at the line-item level based on:

   1. Property address

   2. Property tax status and Avalara Entity Code

   3. Avalara Tax Code assigned to each item

5. The updated invoice total (invoice + Sales Tax) displays automatically.

6. If an invoice is edited, voided, or credited, Aspire synchronizes updates with Avalara to maintain reporting accuracy.

Impact: Improves tax accuracy, reduces manual rate maintenance, supports jurisdiction-level compliance, and strengthens audit defensibility.

Who uses this feature?

• Businesses operating across multiple tax jurisdictions

• Administrators configuring tax settings

• Account managers generating invoices

• Accounting and finance teams responsible for reconciliation

How to prepare

• Contact your Customer Success Manager to enable the Avalara integration and get connected with the Avalara team.

• Ensure items and services are mapped to the correct Avalara Tax Codes. Accurate tax codes are required for proper tax calculation.

• Review and confirm that property addresses are complete and accurate. Avalara requires a valid postal code or full street address, city, and state to calculate Sales Tax.

• Train account managers and billing staff to verify property tax status (including Non-taxable settings and Avalara Entity Codes) before completing estimates or generating invoices.

Resources

• Setting up the Avalara Integration in Aspire

• Using Avalara for Sales Tax

• Using Avalara for Use Tax on Purchase Receipts