13 Things to Ask Any Potential Sales Tax Partner Before you say YES

By Robert Dumas on Thu, Dec 05, 2019 @ 10:45 AM

Topics: sales tax compliance

Another tax notice just landed on your desk. Ouch. You thought you had this solved with the “fully-integrated, simple, seamless, comprehensive, customized sales tax solution” that you paid an arm and a leg for. It sure sounded great at first. This was going to make sales tax unbelievably easy – and free up your time for more strategic stuff. So why are you still scrambling to correct errors, confirm nexus, send payments, manage tax calendars, and double check everything your provider does?

Don’t let this be you – if you’re looking to make a change in your sales tax partner or starting the search to find a sales tax partner for the first time – make sure you know all the “hidden gotchas” before making your final decision. We’ve compiled a list of questions to ask your new potential partner to help decide who is the right fit.   Use these questions as a guide to find out who will leave you hanging when you need help the most and who will truly take sales tax off your plate.

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  1. Will you tell me where I have nexus, or do I have to figure that out myself? And if my nexus liability in a state changes, will you automatically alert me?

  2. Will you handle all my registrations and renewals in every state?

  3. Will you accept data in any format? And will you charge me extra to reformat it?

  4. Will you pay for postage and processing, or will I have to pay for it?

  5. Exactly how will we work together? Will I have to re-review and approve our return every single time I want to make a small change?

  6. If there’s an error on the return, will you pay the penalties and interest, or will I?

  7. If I have a question, can I call anytime to speak to someone who knows my business and has an answer – or will I get an overseas help desk with a stranger and a script?

  8. Do you have experienced sales tax professionals who can advise me on what to do?

  9. How much liability am I actually signing up for when I check the box to approve your tax preparations?

  10. If I ever get audited, what exactly will you do to help? Will you conduct a pre-audit review to identify gaps and risk factors? Will you help determine the best approach for the audit? Will you advise me on what to share with the auditor?

  11. Do you provide annual SOC reports so I know that the processes and returns you prepare for us are being handled correctly?

  12. How many of these services/capabilities are included in your standard fee, and how many are add-ons that you charge extra for?

  13. Will you manage 100% of all payments and tax remittances, or is this a separate charge or fee you will send me after the fact?

If you’re looking to make a change – talk to us. We can give you all of this, because when you work with TaxConnex, it’s all on us. This means you get all the know-how, all the backup, and none of the risk. That’s why everyone from big corporations and accounting firms to the latest online boutique all turn to TaxConnex. Contact us to learn more.

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Robert Dumas

Written by Robert Dumas

Accountant, consultant and entrepreneur, Robert Dumas began his public accounting career on the tax staff at Arthur Young & Co., followed by a brief stint at Grant Thornton. In 1998, Robert founded Tax Partners, which became the largest sales tax compliance service bureau in the country, and later sold it to Thomson Corporation. Robert founded TaxConnex in 2006 on the principle that the sales tax industry needed more than automation to truly help clients, thus building within TaxConnex a proprietary platform and network of sales tax experts to truly take sales tax off client’s plates.