Create and activate a company

The Avalara Help Center provides detailed information about how to set up a company, including the information you need to collect, adding your company information, and specifying where you will collect taxes.

For the purposes of this integration guide, we will walk through the setup process for creating a company in the Sandbox environment and configuring the company so that you can run the examples in this guide.

This company will have a location in Seattle, WA and will enable outbound sales to other countries.
This company will collect VAT/GST in Germany.
This company will collect customs duty in Germany.

Create a company with a Seattle, WA address

Sign in to your AvaTax Sandbox environment.
1. Check your email for the confirmation you received from Avalara when you signed up for your account.
2. Sign in to your account using the username and link in your confirmation email.
3. Follow the prompts to create a new password.
4. Click I accept to the Terms and Conditions.
Click Get Started to begin the walkthru for adding a company. The first step is to specify a name and taxpayer ID for the company.
- The examples in this guide use a company named BARTZTREASURES. This information is not verified, so technology partners can specify a generic name and taxpayer ID.
- Click Next when you are done.
Enter a mailing address for your company. The examples use an address in Seattle, WA.
255 S King St Ste 1200, Seattle, WA 98104
Validate the address, and then click Next.
Once you've validated your company's primary address, AvaTax enables tax collection in that jurisdiction.

Enable VAT/GST collection in Germany

The next step is to enable VAT/GST collection in Germany.

Click on Settings > Where you collect tax.
Select the VAT/GST tab.
Click the Add a country where you collect VAT/GST link.
Select the checkbox for Germany, then click Add selected countries.

Enable customs duty collection in Germany

Now enable customs duty collection in Germany.

Click on Settings > Where you collect tax.
Select the Customs duty tab.
Click the Add a country where you calculate customs duty link.
Select the checkbox for Germany, then click Add selected countries.

Activate your company

When you are done enabling tax collection and customs duty calculation, the final step is to activate your company. Once activated, you can begin testing with this company.