How Firewire Surfboards Uses Avalara to Tackle Sales Tax Complexity Across New Markets

Managing Sales Tax Complexity: Firewire Surfboards and Avalara

In the rapidly evolving landscape of retail and commerce, businesses face the multifaceted challenge of managing tax compliance, particularly as they expand into new markets. Recently, Firewire Surfboards, a prominent name in the surfing industry, announced its partnership with Avalara, a leader in tax compliance automation software. This collaboration aims to streamline the complexities of managing sales tax obligations across various jurisdictions and markets, a critical step as Firewire enhances its direct-to-consumer (DTC) and wholesale channels.

About Firewire Surfboards

Since its inception in 2006, Firewire Surfboards has emphasized environmentally conscious product development while enhancing the surfing experience. The brand’s commitment to sustainability and quality has secured its reputation in the surfing community, and as they expand their market presence, they face the intricate task of adhering to diverse sales tax laws.

The Challenge of Growing Markets

As Firewire Surfboards broadens its reach globally, the company finds itself encountering a myriad of sales tax compliance regulations, especially with the rise of e-commerce. Each state—and indeed, each country—has its distinct tax regulations, which complicates the navigation of compliance as the company grows. Managing these new obligations and ensuring compliance without the requisite manpower can be daunting for any business.

Solutions Provided by Avalara

To address these challenges, Firewire incorporated Avalara's tax compliance solutions into its existing cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Acumatica. This integration brings significant improvements, particularly in automating sales tax calculations and managing state sales tax registrations.

Within just a month of implementing Avalara’s solutions, Firewire Surfboards reported a seamless transition that resulted in automated sales tax calculations. This transformation has proven essential for the company, which has seen its wholesale operations impacted by the complex nature of tax compliance. In the words of Franklin Shiraki, CFO of Firewire Surfboards, “As we've grown over the years and triggered new nexus thresholds, we needed to find a scalable, single source of truth solution to accurately and efficiently navigate the complex tax landscape.”

By partnering with Avalara, Firewire Surfboards can now operate with the sophistication of a larger enterprise while retaining the agility typical of small to medium-sized businesses.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency

One of the standout features of Avalara’s offerings is the Avalara AvaTax solution. This flagship software empowers Firewire's finance team to effortlessly reconcile sales tax liabilities without needing to expand their resources. Additionally, Firewire Surfboards has made use of Avalara's Exemption Certificate Management tool, which allows the organization to manage over 100 different exemption certificates. This has streamlined a traditionally manual process that was previously conducted only once every three years.

“Customers like Firewire Surfboards can rely on automation from Avalara to grow and expand into new markets without additional personnel and costs associated with the headaches of manual tax compliance,” remarked Liz Armbruester, Executive Vice President of Customer and Compliance Operations at Avalara. This partnership not only mitigates the risks associated with incorrect tax reporting but also significantly enhances the operational efficiency of Firewire Surfboards.

Conclusion

As Firewire Surfboards continues to carve out its niche in the global surfing industry, leveraging tax compliance solutions from Avalara showcases a model of innovation and foresight. With the complexities of sales tax regulations only set to increase as businesses adapt to a post-pandemic world, having automated systems in place is crucial for sustained growth and compliance. Avalara's solutions allow Firewire to focus on what they do best: creating high-quality surfboards while navigating the ever-changing waters of tax compliance with ease.

For more information about avalara and their tax compliance solutions, visit avalara.com.