Optional integration
This integration is optional to add to your existing workflows.
Feature availability: Reach out to your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to enable this feature. It requires set up in Aspire and an active Avalara subscription.
This feature uses the Avalara integration to automatically identify and calculate Use Tax on purchase receipts for designated vendors. It helps bridge the gap between sales tax paid and tax estimated based on the destination of goods.
What’s changing with Avalara Use Tax?
Before, determining Use Tax for goods received across state lines or from vendors that don’t collect sales tax relied on manual entry. Accounting teams often performed detailed month-end reviews to identify these transactions and manually calculate tax amounts. This process was time-consuming and increased the risk of discrepancies.
Now, Aspire automates this process through the Avalara integration. When you create a purchase receipt for a designated Use Tax Vendor, Aspire calculates the estimated tax based on the goods’ physical destination and displays the Use Tax Total directly on the receipt. The Use Tax Total is shown separately and does not change the purchase receipt total.
Before & after
Before (current)
A crew picks up materials from a vendor in a different state (for example, a Georgia business purchasing in Alabama).
The vendor doesn’t charge sales tax due to lack of nexus or exemption status.
The receipt is entered in Aspire with $0.00 tax.
Accounting teams manually review receipts at month-end to identify cross-state purchases.
Staff manually calculate the Use Tax and update records.
Impact: This manual process is labor-intensive and increases the risk of unrecorded costs or reporting errors.
After
An administrator flags specific vendors as Use Tax Vendors in Administration, and enters a physical address in the Vendor record.
Your team creates a purchase receipt for the vendor.
Aspire requires a Ship To address to identify the tax jurisdiction.
When the receipt is saved, the Avalara integration automatically calculates the tax based on the destination.
The Use Tax Total displays directly on the receipt for review. The Use Tax Total is shown separately and does not change the purchase receipt total.
Impact: Improves job costing accuracy, reduces manual data entry, and supports more consistent tax reporting.
Who uses this feature
Businesses that purchase goods from out-of-state vendors or vendors that can deliver to multiple locations.
Administrators, accountants, and controllers
Region availability: Currently only for tax jurisdictions across the United States.
How to prepare
Contact your Customer Success Manager to get connected with the Avalara team.
Train your team who manages purchasing to select the correct Ship To address when creating receipts for these vendors. This field is required for tax calculation.