Setting Up the Avalara Integration in Aspire

Overview

The Avalara integration allows Aspire to calculate Sales Tax and Use Tax automatically based on property addresses, tax-exempt settings, and Avalara Tax Codes assigned to your items and services. By connecting Aspire to Avalara, you reduce manual tax maintenance and improve accuracy across your tax jurisdictions.

Things to know

• When Avalara is enabled, it completes your tax calculations in Aspire.

• Use Tax calculation is configured separately from Sales Tax calculation within your Tax Integration settings.

Requirements

• To configure the Avalara integration, you need System Administration permission added to your user role.

• The Avalara integration requires Invoicing Refactor to be turned on for your account.

• In order to use this integration, you need to have an active Avalara account and subscription with access to your Avalara credentials which include an Account Number, License Key, and Company Code.

  • Reach out to your CSM to get started with the Avalara integration.

Important:

If there are any draft invoice batches, they must be completed before Avalara is turned on. Attempting to process these pre-existing batches after enabling Avalara will result in an error. Make sure all outstanding batches are completed or cancelled before activating the integration.

Available Tax Codes and Exemptions

Avalara Tax Codes

Tax Codes tell Avalara what type of product or service is being sold so it can determine the correct tax rate. For example, landscaping services, fertilizer, and equipment rentals may each have different tax treatments depending on the jurisdiction.

Tax Codes are assigned at the item and service level in Aspire. Before enabling sales and use calculations, review the item and service catalog to ensure every item has the appropriate Avalara Tax Code assigned.

Entity Use Codes to calculate tax exemptions

Entity Use Codes are used when a property is exempt from paying tax (for example, a government agency or a non-profit organization). These exemption codes are assigned to the property record in Aspire. When an Entity Use Code is set on a property, Avalara will automatically reduce or eliminate the tax on transactions for that customer based on the exemption type and jurisdiction rules.

Steps

Use these steps to set up the Avalara integration in Aspire.

1. Select your user profile in the bottom left-corner of Aspire.

2. Go to Administration> Configuration > Tax Integration.

3. Select Enable Avalara Tax Services. 

4. In the Tax Integration Settings, enter your Avalara account information:

   • Account Number

   • License Key

   • Company Code

5. Choose your tax automation preferences:

   • Select Enable Sales Tax Calculation to automate tax on customer estimates and invoices.

   • Select Enable Use Tax Calculation to automate accrued liabilities on vendor purchase receipts.

6. Select Save to test the connection. If the test is successful, Aspire saves the configuration automatically. If the test fails, an error message displays. Review your settings and try again.

Set up a Use Tax Vendor

If you enabled Use Tax calculation, you must set which vendors require Use Tax.

1. Go to Administration > Application > List and select the Vendor.

2. Select the Mark as a ‘Use Tax Vendor’ checkbox.

3. In the address section, enter the vendor's physical location. Address Line 1, City, State, and ZIP are required when a vendor is marked as a Use Tax Vendor.

4. Select Save.

Assign Avalara Tax Codes to items and services

Assign an Avalara Tax Code to each item and service so Avalara can classify them correctly. If an item or service does not have a code assigned, Avalara applies a generic tax code by default.

Use these steps for both items and services:

1. Select your user profile, then go to Administration > Estimating > Item Catalog or Service Catalog.

2. Open an existing item or service, or select New. In this example, we will use a material item and review the screen below.

3. In the Avalara Tax Code field, enter a code or description and select the correct code from the list.

4. Optional: Select Find Tax Codes to open Avalara’s tax-code lookup in a new tab.

5. Select Save.

Tip:

Map high-volume items and services first, then run a quick test invoice to confirm results.

When Aspire sends service and item information to Avalara, it follows a hierarchy to determine which tax codes are used:

Service with no items: If a service on the estimate does not contain any items, the tax code assigned to the service itself is sent to Avalara. The service-level tax code determines how that service is taxed.

Service with items: If a service contains items, Aspire sends the individual line items to Avalara instead of the service. Each item’s tax code is used for the tax calculation. This allows for more granular tax treatment when different items within the same service may be taxed differently.

Example:

A lawn maintenance service with no items would use the service’s tax code like for the entire landscaping service. However, if that service includes items like fertilizer and mulch, each item’s individual tax code is used instead, since materials and services can be taxed at different rates.

Bulk update Avalara Tax Codes

You can also update Avalara Tax Codes for multiple services in both the Item Catalog and the Service Catalog using the Bulk Action dropdown.

Bulk updates are useful when:

• Assigning tax codes across large catalogs

• Standardizing tax classifications

• Updating codes after tax rule changes

Example of bulk action option for the Avalara Tax Code assignments in the Item Catalog:

Example of bulk action option for Avalara Tax Code assignments in the Service Catalog:

Set a Non-Taxable Tax Entity Code on a property for using Avalara entity codes

Follow these steps to mark a property non-taxable and add its Avalara entity code for Sales Tax.

1. Go to Properties and edit an existing property, or select New.

2. Locate the Non-taxable checkbox. New properties default to off. If the property is tax-exempt, select Non-taxable.

3. When Non-taxable is selected, enter or choose an Avalara Entity Code from the dropdown. This field is required when Non-taxable is checked.

4. Select Save.

Note: Avalara supplies the values for the Avalara Entity Code dropdown (these come from Avalara’s entity-use code list). If the list fails to load, retry or contact AspireCare.

How Aspire behaves during transition

Aspire uses different tax fields depending on your Avalara settings.

• When calculation settings are off: Aspire uses the native tax logic. All native and Avalara tax fields remain visible so you can prepare mappings.

• When Sales Tax calculation is on: Aspire hides legacy tax fields on properties, invoices, credit memos, and in the Item and Service catalogs. All new estimates and invoices use Avalara for Sales Tax calculation.

Once integrated, how sales tax is determined

Sales Tax is calculated by Avalara using the property’s validated address, the property’s tax status, the Avalara Entity Code, the Avalara Tax Code assigned to each item, and the invoice date. For more information, read the Using Avalara for Sales Tax article.

How Aspire structures transaction data

Avalara calculates tax based on the transaction details Aspire sends during estimate completion and invoice generation. The sections below explain how that data is structured.

Item-first calculation structure

Aspire prioritizes item-level tax codes over service-level tax codes.

Key rule: If a service contains items, Aspire ignores the service-level tax code and calculates tax based only on the items and kit components. This makes sure tax is calculated at the most detailed level as possible.

How price overrides affect tax distribution

If you override the total price of a service that contains multiple items, Aspire maintains the original value ratio of those items when sending data to Avalara.

Example:

Original pricing:

• Item 1: $400 (25%)

• Item 2: $1,200 (75%)

• Total: $1,600

If you override the total to $5,000:

• Item 1 is sent as $1,250 (25%)

• Item 2 is sent as $3,750 (75%)

Avalara then applies each item’s assigned tax code to its proportional value. This ensures accurate tax calculation even after pricing adjustments.

Item descriptions and custom tax rules

For each line item on an estimate or invoice, Aspire sends the item description to Avalara as part of the transaction record.

This helps identify transactions during audits and allows you to configure custom tax rules within Avalara based on keywords in the description. A good example of this is applying different tax treatment for “rental” versus “sale” items. If you edit a line item description directly on an estimate, Aspire sends the updated description to Avalara with the transaction.

Transaction lifecycle

Editing invoices after tax calculation

If you edit a draft invoice after Avalara tax has been calculated:

• The Sales Tax field temporarily displays TBD

• Select Save to trigger recalculation

• Aspire resends the updated transaction to Avalara

• The invoice updates with the correct tax total

This prevents native tax logic from overriding Avalara-calculated values. For more information, refer to the section in our Using Avalara for Sales Tax article.

Use tax

While Sales Tax applies to customer invoices, Use Tax applies to vendor purchase transactions.

Use Tax is calculated by Avalara based on:

• The vendor’s physical address (Ship From)

• The destination where the goods are received or allocated (Ship To)

This ensures tax liability is determined based on where goods are ultimately consumed, not where they were purchased.

For more information on Use Tax, read the Using Avalara for Use Tax on Purchase Receipts article.

Reporting in Aspire

Avalara data is available in the following locations:

• Invoice List: Displays taxable amount, and Avalara-calculated Sales Tax.

• Properties module: Shows the Non-taxable flag and Avalara Entity Code.

• Item Catalog and Service Catalog: Show assigned Avalara Tax Code values.

Note:

Primary tax reporting is handled within Avalara. With your active Avalara subscription, you can access comprehensive reports to review totals by jurisdiction, date, and filing period.

Month-end reconciliation examples

You can use Aspire’s reports alongside Avalara’s transaction data to confirm tax accuracy before filing.

Use these examples to reconcile Aspire and Avalara before filing.

Example 1 — cross-check with your general ledger

1. Open the Invoice list and filter by invoice date.

2. Export taxable and exempt totals.

3. Compare totals with your accounting general ledger entries for sales-tax payable.

4. Investigate and correct any discrepancies before closing the period.

Example 2 — verify voids

1. Filter the Invoice search list or Purchase Receipt list for voided or deleted invoices.

2. Confirm each displays as voided in Avalara to ensure liabilities are correctly reduced.

Compliance considerations

Check these items regularly to maintain accurate reporting:

• Items and services without an Avalara Tax Code.

• Properties marked Non-taxable without a valid Avalara Entity Code.

• Addresses that failed validation.

Warning messages on purchase receipts indicating the Use Tax is out of sync due to recent edits.