Case Study: How GoTo Strengthened Sales & Telecom Tax Compliance Beyond the Big Four Model

The Challenge

As a fast-growing company operating in every state, GoTo faced increasingly complex sales tax compliance requirements across their various entities. While being a SaaS-focused company, they also have businesses that provide telecommunications services.

Both SaaS and telecom taxation varies significantly by jurisdiction, with some states fully taxing software subscriptions, others exempting them, and many applying nuanced rules depending on how the software is delivered, bundled, or used. Similar complexity exists on the telecommunications side of their business. Frequent product updates, new feature releases, and evolving state guidance can quickly change how solutions should be taxed, increasing the risk of misclassification or noncompliance.

This complexity is compounded when each corporate entity has a different nexus footprint, product offerings, customer bases, and registration requirements across state and local jurisdictions. Ensuring full compliance across entities requires strong oversight and proactive guidance to avoid gaps or duplication in compliance.

While already working with TaxConnex for two of their entities, the company previously relied on a Big Four provider to support sales tax filings for their SaaS business, but the relationship lacked the responsiveness and personalized attention needed to keep pace with constant tax law changes, new product launches, and expansion into additional jurisdictions.

GoTo needed a partner that could support both sales tax and telecom tax and do more than prepare returns. They needed proactive guidance, audit support, and a team that would work closely with them to identify risks and opportunities while helping make their internal process more efficient.

Why TaxConnex

Reliable. Forward-Thinking. Personalized.

GoTo was first introduced to TaxConnex in 2017 and utilized the solution for a few smaller subsidiaries. Over time, TaxConnex demonstrated high-quality output, strong technical expertise, and a highly responsive service model.

Through ongoing collaboration, including monthly compliance work and interactions at industry tax conferences, GoTo developed a strong working relationship with the TaxConnex team. After evaluating several other providers for broader compliance support, they discovered that this was the best solution for their business and moved the vast majority of their sales tax work over to TaxConnex.

“For me, it’s all about the team. The most important aspect to hiring a firm is, ‘Will they help make our job easier?’ TaxConnex has done just that... We have a great relationship with Terry Fontaine {their dedicated practitioner}. We feel that she is a part of our GoTo tax team! On top of that, TaxConnex is very reasonable with fees and are competitive with the market” – Michael Rubin, VP of Tax, GoTo

The Results

After transitioning the majority of its indirect tax compliance to TaxConnex, GoTo gained a partner that moves at the same pace as the business. Said best by Rubin - “GoTo is a fast moving company. Our nexus footprint is always expanding. TaxConnex moves with us and partners with us along the way!”

The TaxConnex team works closely with GoTo to answer questions quickly, provide guidance on new tax laws, provide audit support, and help ensure compliance across jurisdictions. This responsiveness and partnership have helped reduce internal burden while giving GoTo confidence that its compliance process can scale alongside continued growth.

Today, GoTo views TaxConnex as more than a service provider, but as part of its tax team, delivering reliable, forward-thinking support and the personalized service the company was previously missing.

About GoTo

GoTo, the leader in cloud communications and IT, is dedicated to powering a world of work without limits. Featuring flagship products GoTo Connect, LogMeIn Resolve, and LogMeIn Rescue, the GoTo portfolio offers secure, reliable, AI-enabled solutions that are simple to adopt for small and midsize businesses, and scalable to enterprises worldwide. GoTo continuously improves human experiences for AI-enabled workforces across hundreds of thousands of customers. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately $1 billion in annual revenue and 2,500 employees throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.