Managing sales tax exemption certificates is a crucial but often complex aspect of tax compliance. From collecting certificates to ensuring their validity during audits, manual processes can drain resources and increase the risk of errors. Avalara’s Exemption Certificate Management (ECM) offers a powerful, automated solution to simplify this process and help businesses scale efficiently.
What Is Avalara ECM?
Avalara ECM is a next-generation exemption certificate management platform built on the technology of its predecessor, CertCapture. ECM offers enhanced features like AI-driven validation, improved usability, and robust integrations, making it a scalable solution for businesses of any size. It ensures compliance with tax-exempt sales requirements while streamlining certificate collection, validation, and storage.
Key Benefits of ECM
- Ensure Compliance for Tax-Exempt Sales: Advanced machine learning validates certificates, ensuring they are accurate and up-to-date.
- Enhance Customer Experience: Reduce credit memos, re-bills, and buying friction, fostering smoother transactions.
- Track Economic Nexus: Together with Avalara AvaTax, ECM helps monitor nexus obligations for exempt sales, ensuring complete compliance.
- Save Time and Resources: Automating certificate management frees up your team for higher-value tasks and minimizes risk during audits.
ECM Solutions for Businesses
Avalara ECM comes in three tailored packages to meet the needs of businesses, from SMBs to large enterprises:
1. ECM Essentials
Ideal for small businesses with fewer than 1,000 certificates to manage, this entry-level package offers:
- Digitized certificate storage.
- Integration with AvaTax for applying exemptions.
- Certificate collection via CertExpress.
2. ECM Pro
Designed for SMBs and larger organizations, ECM Pro provides advanced features such as:
- Automated certificate validation using OCR.
- Bulk certificate requests and renewals.
- Enhanced integrations for eCommerce and APIs.
- SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 security certifications.
3. ECM Premium
The most robust solution, ECM Premium is tailored for enterprises with complex needs. It includes all Pro features plus:
- Customizable workflows and reporting.
- Advanced search capabilities.
- Retail integrations and configurable exemption rationales.
Avalaras’ ECM vs. CertCapture: What’s New?
While ECM builds on CertCapture’s foundation, it introduces significant upgrades, including a modernized interface, deeper integrations, and AI-powered validation. Existing CertCapture customers will transition seamlessly to ECM Pro or ECM Premium without the need for data migration.
Why Automate Exemption Certificate Management?
Manual processes for managing exemption certificates are not only time-consuming but also error-prone. Expired or missing certificates can lead to audit penalties, while inefficient workflows slow down operations. ECM eliminates these challenges by automating key tasks, ensuring accuracy, and providing a centralized system for tracking and reporting certificates.
Take the Next Step
Are your exemption certificates audit-ready? Avalara’s Sales Tax Risk Assessment is a free tool that helps businesses identify compliance gaps. Visit now to evaluate your current processes and learn how Avalara ECM can optimize your exemption certificate management.
Automate. Simplify. Grow. Get started with Avalara ECM today.
