Avalara Tax Integration

NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and Stratus Desktop.

If you use Avalara® AvaTax™ to calculate sales tax, you can integrate this service with Spectra/Stratus. Note: AvaTax is a third-party tax calculator. You must have an account established with Avalara to use AvaTax with Spectra/Stratus.

Setting up the Integration #

1. Set up an account with Avalara.

2. Go to the Invoicing tab of Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences and set your tax method to Automatic Tax Calculation. See also: Company (Studio) Preferences – Invoicing 

   

3. Enter your Avalara credentials on the Integration tab of Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences. See also: Company (Studio) Preferences – Integration

   

4. Enter an AvaTax code on each item in your Spectra/Stratus pricelist(s). See also: Price List Reference

   

How it Works #

Calculating Sales Tax on an Invoice #

1. When you create an invoice in Spectra/Stratus, make sure to choose or enter the appropriate Shipping Address. Avalara will use this address to calculate the appropriate sales tax. 

   

2. Create the client’s order on the Order Detail tab. Click Get Tax (or Save on the ribbon) to display the calculated tax amount from Avalara.

   

3. Save and close the invoice when finished.

4. Post invoices in Spectra/Stratus. Note: The invoice remains in a pending state on your Avalara dashboard until it is posted in Spectra/Stratus. See also: End of Day Wizard

5. Once an invoice is posted, it will be included in your Avalara sales tax reports. 

Canceling a Posted Invoice #

1. Open the original invoice in Spectra/Stratus.

2. Open the File menu and click Create Credit Memo. 

3. Complete the credit memo and create a refund if necessary. See also: Creating a Refund

4. Save and close the credit memo.

5. Post invoices in Spectra/Stratus. 

6. When posted, the credit memo will by recorded in Avalara and the amount removed from the sales tax reports.