CivilGEO engineers worry-free tax automation with Avalara
Results
Enabled growth
Improved processes
Integrated systems
Increased compliance
Summary
Results
- Enabled growth
- Improved processes
- Integrated systems
- Increased compliance
Tax challenges
- Company growth
- Compliance risk
- Process inefficiency
Products used
- Avalara AvaTax
- Avalara Returns
- Avalara Exemption Certificate Management
Company overview
Customer
CivilGEO
Industry
Construction
Tax type
Sales and use
Integrations
QuickBooks
Founded in 2010, CivilGEO develops advanced engineering and environmental modeling software for civil engineers worldwide. Engineering consultants, public utilities, government agencies, and educational institutions rely on CivilGEO software to automate their engineering workflow and double their productivity.
Tax challenges
CivilGEO relied on its accounting firm, RSM, to manage sales tax in its home state of Wisconsin. As CivilGEO’s growth began to accelerate in recent years, economic nexus thresholds in other states became a concern.
“We had already crossed the threshold in a couple of states,” says Chris Maeder, the company’s engineering director, “so I reached out to RSM and asked, ‘When do we need to start worrying about sales tax in other states?’ And they said, ‘Well, you should start worrying about it right away.’”
Why Avalara?
RSM was keenly aware of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. and its potential impact on clients like CivilGEO. The accounting firm offered to implement Avalara’s software to automate the sales tax compliance process.
“We looked at a couple of different solutions,” Chris remembers, “but Avalara quickly emerged as the obvious choice. It’s easy to learn and use, it integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks, and RSM offered to install it for us.”
The integration with QuickBooks was a key factor in Chris’s decision. It enables CivilGEO to calculate rates, prepare returns, manage exemption certificates, and more from the accounting software the company is already using. Avalara University, a web-based training program, helped CivilGEO get up to speed. “It didn’t take us more than a week or two to become very comfortable using it,” Chris says. “Avalara pretty much runs itself.”
Customer
CivilGEO
Industry
Construction
Tax type
Sales and use
Integration
QuickBooks
Tax challenges
- Company growth
- Compliance risk
- Process inefficiency
Products used
- Avalara AvaTax
- Avalara Returns
- Avalara Exemption Certificate Management
Results
- Enabled growth
- Improved processes
- Integrated systems
- Increased compliance
“It didn’t take us more than a week or two to become very comfortable using it. Avalara pretty much runs itself.”
—Chris Maeder
Engineering Director, CivilGEO
“It didn’t take us more than a week or two to become very comfortable using it. Avalara pretty much runs itself.”
—Chris Maeder
Engineering Director, CivilGEO
Results
CivilGEO now automates sales tax calculations, returns filing, and exemption certificate management with Avalara AvaTax, Avalara Returns, and Avalara Exemption Certificate Management, respectively.
“With Avalara and its integration with QuickBooks, we’re saving about three-and-a-half hours per state per month,” says Chris, “and we’re currently filing in four states. It used to take about four hours to prepare a monthly state filing, but now we spend about 30 minutes running a report and validating Avalara’s calculations.”
Saving fourteen hours per month allows the CivilGEO accounting team to focus on tasks that require human judgment. But the primary benefit of sales tax automation, according to Chris, is peace of mind, particularly as the firm continues to grow and establish nexus in new states.
“We’re more confident in our compliance,” Chris explains, “and we spend so little time and energy worrying about it. That’s a big thing, I think. A big advantage.”
