AvaTax: Installation and Setup
This section provides instructions for setting up Avalara AvaTax for your dealerships. Topics in this section are:
Prerequisite
Feature 6238 must be licensed for the AvaTax service to work. The dealer needs to obtain an Account Id, License Key and Company Code from their Avalara implementation specialist.
You can find out if you are licensed for Avalara Tax on the 
Verify your Location
The dealership's address is an important component in determining tax. This address represents where a customer would take possession of a good if they walked into the dealership to buy it.
Perform these steps for each dealership location:
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Navigate to Configuration > Miscellaneous > Other > System Settings.
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Click the Location tab.
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Validate your dealership address in the Location Address Line 1 - 4 fields.
Warning: The Location Address Lines must only contain address data, otherwise the incorrect tax may be applied. Do NOT put the name of the dealership into any of the Location Address Lines.
If the dealership location is in the United States, the system automatically checks to see if there is a latitude/longitude loaded in the Location tab. The latitude/longitude takes precedence over the address.
Configure Connection Credentials
Configure the connection credentials in the Configuration > Interfaces > AvaTax option.
Credentials can be configured at a company, division or location level. This gives you the flexibility to match how your locations are registered with the government. It also grants you the ability to use the interface for only some companies, divisions, and locations, and not others. However, the system does NOT support the ability to calculate for some states but not others. See AvaTax Interface.
Test Connection
After loading the information, use the Test Connection button to ensure that you can successfully connect to the AvaTax server. Use this to troubleshoot any suspected connectivity issues.
If the credentials are not validated and you attempt to use the Avatax service in a quoting or invoicing application, you may receive the an error stating that the system cannot authenticate the account.
If you receive the error (300) when attempting to use the Avatax service in a quoting or invoicing application, either the Company is not configured or it is not active. Check the Avatax configuration or consult with your Avalara representative.
Download the AvaTax Codes
Import Codes from Avalara
Navigate to Configuration > Interfaces > AvaTax. Click Update Product Codes to download product codes from Avalara. These codes populate the lists available on part-related screens.
Product codes are updated automatically on Monday at 11pm Eastern time. Click the Update Product Codes button anytime you need an earlier update. The process updates all companies, divisions, and locations in the dealership.
Click Update Entity Use Codes to download entity use codes used on customer, ship-to, and transaction screens, and by the AvaTax Use Exemption field on part profile. See Download Entity Use Codes.
Note: Only press each update button once, regardless of the number of companies, divisions, or locations you have.
Product Codes
The AvaTax Product codes are assigned to products being sold in IntelliDealer. See Product Codes.
Entity Use Codes
AvaTax Entity Use Codes are assigned to customers in IntelliDealer.
Download Entity Use Codes
Entity use code selection lists in IntelliDealer are loaded from Avalara into the AVATAXE file. A successful download includes:
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Standard AvaTax entity use codes returned from Avalara.
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Codes tied to active Exempt Entity Rule tax rules in your Avalara companies (including many custom codes created for dealer-specific exemption rules).
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Additional IntelliDealer system codes used for special tax processing.
Codes added or changed only in the Avalara admin portal are not available in IntelliDealer until the next successful download. After you add or change an Exempt Entity Rule or custom entity use code, click Update Entity Use Codes on Configuration > Interfaces > AvaTax for an immediate update.
The Avalara - Update Codes Weekly batch job also downloads entity use codes and product codes. It runs at 11:00 PM every Monday (server time) when the AvaTax feature is licensed. See Avalara batch jobs.
Note: Click Update Entity Use Codes or Update Product Codes only once per download, regardless of how many companies, divisions, or locations you have. The weekly job performs both downloads in one run.
For how downloaded codes apply on customers and transactions, see How entity use codes are applied.
The options for maintaining customer exemptions are:
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manually entering Entity Use Codes in IntelliDealer.
This is a list of all the valid AvaTax Entity Use Codes:
| AvaTax Entity Use Code Selection | |
|---|---|
| A | Federal Government |
| B | State Government |
| C | Tribal Government |
| D | Foreign Diplomat |
| E | Charitable / Exempt Org |
| F | Religious / Educational Org |
| G | Resale |
| H | Agriculture |
| I | Industrial Prod / Manufacturers |
| J | Direct Pay |
| K | Direct Mail |
| L | Other / Custom |
| N | Local Government |
| P | Commercial Aquaculture |
| Q | Commercial Fishery |
| R | Non-Resident |
| TAXABLE | Not exempt - Taxable customer |
Tax Rates
Download the tax rates for the dealership locations so that if the AvaTax service is down, the system can still calculate taxes.
Note: Only press this button once, regardless of the number of company, division, or locations you currently have. However, this should be done whenever you add a new location or if one of your existing locations physically moves to new location.
Canadian GST
For dealers doing business in Canada, the invoice overlay must contain the GST number. Previously, some dealers specified their GST number in the description of the tax but once AvaTax is implemented this is no longer supported. Contact the VitalEdge Client Services help desk for more information on having your overlays modified.
