· Reviewed by Nimra Khalid
What are sales tax preparation services?
Sales tax preparation services gather the sales, exemption and collected-tax data from your selling channels, reconcile it to the general ledger, and prepare draft returns for each state and local jurisdiction where you are registered. The service also monitors economic nexus thresholds so new registrations are not missed. The business or its CPA reviews, files and pays; the provider prepares.
-
Sales tax support: what we do and how it runs
Sales tax preparation services gather the sales, exemption and collected-tax data from your selling channels, reconcile it to the general ledger, and prepare draft returns for each state and local jurisdiction where you are registered. The service also monitors economic nexus thresholds so new registrations are not missed. The business or its CPA reviews, files and pays; the provider prepares.
01 / 06 -
What it is
Sales tax preparation services gather the sales, exemption and collected-tax data from your selling channels, reconcile it to the general ledger, and prepare draft returns for each state and local jurisdiction where you are registered. The service also monitors economic nexus thresholds so new registrations are not missed. The business or its CPA reviews, files and pays; the provider prepares.
02 / 06 -
What you get
Economic nexus tracked by state against sales and transaction thresholds
03 / 06 -
How it runs
Collected tax reconciled to the ledger before any return is drafted
04 / 06 -
Discovery call
A 20-minute call about your selling channels, current registrations, filing frequencies, exempt customers and who files today: you, your CPA or a tax service.
05 / 06 -
A named accountant, a backup and a team lead
Inside your own software, on a fixed close calendar, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or start a quote.
Get a custom quote 06 / 06
Who it is for
E-commerce sellers on several channels
Shopify, Amazon and a wholesale channel each report tax differently. You want one reconciled number per state and a draft return ready to file.
Service and SaaS businesses crossing state lines
Remote customers in 20 states raise the nexus question. You want someone tracking thresholds so registration happens before a notice arrives.
Owners who file in a rush on the due date
Filing happens at the last minute from a report you do not fully trust. You want the draft on your desk five days early, with a reconciliation attached.
What's included
- Nexus tracking by state: sales and transaction counts against each threshold
- Registration data compiled when a threshold is crossed; you or your CPA submit
- Collected tax reconciled from Shopify, Stripe, Amazon, Square and invoicing to the ledger
- Exempt sales tracked with resale and exemption certificates on file
- Marketplace facilitator sales separated so they are not double-reported
- Draft returns prepared in Avalara, TaxJar or the state portal format
- Sales tax payable account reconciled monthly to returns filed and paid
- Filing calendar with monthly, quarterly and annual frequencies by state
- Use tax review on purchases where no tax was charged
- Notice and correspondence support: we assemble the facts, you or your CPA respond
- Rate and product-taxability changes flagged for your review
- Year-end sales tax summary for your income tax preparer
Deliverables and KPIs
| Deliverable | KPI we report | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Draft sales tax returns | Every return drafted at least 5 business days before its deadline | Per filing period |
| Nexus tracker | Sales and transactions by state updated and compared to thresholds | Monthly |
| Collected-tax reconciliation | Channel tax reports agree to the ledger before drafting | Per filing period |
| Sales tax payable reconciliation | Liability account ties to returns filed and payments made | Monthly |
| Exemption certificate log | Every exempt sale backed by a certificate on file or flagged | Quarterly |
| Filing calendar | All jurisdictions, frequencies and due dates maintained in one place | Updated as registrations change |
KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement.
How it works
-
Discovery call
A 20-minute call about your selling channels, current registrations, filing frequencies, exempt customers and who files today: you, your CPA or a tax service.
-
Nexus and registration review
We pull twelve months of sales by state from your channels, compare them to each state's economic nexus thresholds, and list where you are registered, where you should be, and where marketplace rules apply.
-
First reconciled period
A named accountant reconciles collected tax to the ledger for the current period and prepares the first set of draft returns with a reconciliation you can check line by line.
-
Calendar-driven filing support
Each period the drafts arrive five business days early with the reconciliation. You or your CPA review and file; we reconcile the payable account and update the nexus tracker monthly.
Software we work in
How much does sales tax support cost?
Sales tax support is priced as a flat monthly fee based on the number of states and filing frequencies, the number of selling channels to reconcile, and whether nexus monitoring is included. Avalara or TaxJar subscriptions stay in your name. Pricing depends on volume and scope, so we send a custom quote within 1 business day.
What moves the quote
- Number of registered states and local jurisdictions
- Filing frequency: monthly, quarterly or annual per state
- Number of channels: Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, Square, wholesale invoicing
- Exempt sales volume and certificate management needs
Market benchmarks
| Market | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | Outsourced bookkeeping runs $150 to $1,600 per month; sales tax support is typically an add-on; Avalara and TaxJar subscription fees are published on their sites | indinero, RadCity, NerdWallet (2026) |
Third-party ranges for orientation, not our prices.
Get a custom quote No setup fee. Month-to-month.
Sales tax support for your industry
Case study
14 months of payouts reconciled
Case studyReconciling 14 months of Shopify and Amazon payouts
An online retailer in the northeastern US sold through its own Shopify store and on Amazon. Deposits landed in the bank as lump sums net of fees, refunds, chargebacks and reserves, and the owner had been booking each deposit as sales. Fourteen months in, the books showed revenue that matched neither platform report, and the retailer's tax preparer would not work from them. The owner engaged LedgerBPO for payment-processor reconciliation, e-commerce accounting and catch-up bookkeeping. A named accountant, a backup and a team lead reconciled every payout for the 14 months back to the settlement reports and the bank, then put a monthly routine in place so the gap did not reopen. This ecommerce bookkeeping case study covers the first three months of payout reconciliation.
- Months of unreconciled payouts140
- Sales channelsShopify and Amazon, unreconciledShopify and Amazon, reconciled monthly
Security and compliance
- Preparer access to Avalara, TaxJar or state portals; you or your CPA submit and pay
- MFA on every login, per-client access log, no local downloads of customer data
- Exemption certificates stored in your document system, not ours
Full control list on the security page and country rules on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Frequently asked questions
How much do sales tax preparation services cost?
Pricing depends on volume and scope, and we send a custom quote within 1 business day. As a market reference, US outsourced bookkeeping runs $150 to $1,600 per month, and sales tax preparation is usually priced as an add-on by state count (indinero, RadCity, NerdWallet, 2026). Avalara and TaxJar publish their own subscription fees, which stay in your name.
Do you file the sales tax returns for us?
We prepare the drafts and the reconciliation. You or your CPA review, submit and pay through the state portal or your Avalara or TaxJar account. Keeping the filing and payment step with you means you always know what was filed, and we never move money.
What is economic nexus and how do you track it?
Since the 2018 Wayfair decision, states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once sales into the state pass a threshold, commonly $100,000 in a year. Some states also use a transaction count. We update sales by state monthly from your channels and flag any state approaching its threshold so registration is not missed.
How do marketplace sales on Amazon affect my returns?
Under marketplace facilitator laws, Amazon and similar platforms collect and remit sales tax on your behalf in most states. Those sales still often need to be reported as gross sales with a marketplace deduction. We separate marketplace sales from direct sales so nothing is paid twice or left off.
Why reconcile collected tax before drafting a return?
Because the tax report from Shopify or Stripe and the sales tax payable account in the ledger rarely agree on their own: refunds, gift cards, shipping rules and timing differences all create gaps. Reconciling first means the return reflects what was actually collected. Our sales tax reconciliation service covers this in depth.
Can you handle exempt and wholesale customers?
Yes. Exempt sales are tracked separately with the resale or exemption certificate attached in your document system. Any exempt sale without a certificate is flagged each quarter so you can collect one before an audit asks for it. Certificates with an expiry date are flagged before they lapse.
What happens if we get a notice from a state?
We assemble the facts: the return in question, the reconciliation, payment confirmations and the filing history. You or your CPA respond to the state. Through the Compliance Desk we can summarize what the notice is asking within 2 business days, but responding to the state is your or your CPA's call.
Do you give tax advice on taxability or nexus?
No. We track the numbers against published thresholds, prepare drafts and provide researched summaries with sources. Decisions on registration, taxability of a product, voluntary disclosure or audits are for you and your CPA or tax advisor. Where a question needs an opinion, we hand your CPA the facts and the reconciliation so their time goes on judgment.
Ask an AI assistant to summarize this page
Opens the assistant with a prefilled prompt so you can check our claims against the page yourself.