Throttle + Avalara AvaTax

What the integration does

Connect your AvaTax account to an application and Throttle calls Avalara wherever tax is decided, then keeps the filed record in step with what happens to the order afterwards. It is the tax integration that has been driven end to end against a real Avalara account.

When	What Throttle sends to AvaTax
Cart, checkout, and order totals	A read-only quote (SalesOrder), so estimates never file anything
Payment captured or recorded	A committed SalesInvoice, with your order number as the document code
Refund or partial refund	A RefundTransaction against the original invoice
Order cancelled	The document is voided
Order edited	The filed document is adjusted

Every call is kept in a call log with the full request and response for 90 days, next to a ledger of the documents Throttle has filed, so a finance team can answer “what did we tell Avalara?” without opening a support ticket.

Beyond the basic quote

• Exemptions. Entity/use codes, exemption certificate numbers, and VAT numbers on the customer.
• Exemption certificates (ECM). Mirror customers into AvaTax ECM, send CertExpress invitations, and view or unlink certificates from the customer record.
• Tax codes. Search Avalara’s tax codes from the dashboard. A code resolves per line item, then the application default, with a separate code for shipping. Your AvaTax item catalogue overrides both.
• Address validation. Optional ResolveAddress checks for US and Canadian addresses.
• Cross-border. EU VAT fields and reverse-charge wording on invoices, plus customs duty and import tax (HS classifications and landed cost) when your Avalara plan includes it.
• B2B details. Buyer PO numbers and reporting locations flow onto the filed document.

Setting it up

Add the connection from Shipping & Tax → Providers with your Account ID and License Key, then pick your company from the list Throttle pulls from Avalara. On save, Throttle pings AvaTax and warns you if the company has no nexus or its currency doesn’t match the application.

Each workspace environment has its own connection. Non-production environments always talk to Avalara’s sandbox; production talks to the live AvaTax service — you never pick the wrong one by hand. The AvaTax setup guide walks every field.

When AvaTax is unavailable

Tax fallback is strict by default: if Avalara can’t be reached when a buyer finalizes checkout, Throttle stops before charging rather than collect the wrong tax. Cart estimates keep working with a fallback warning. After five consecutive failures the connection is marked unhealthy and Throttle sends a webhook and an email to your admins.

Good to know

• A company with no nexus in the buyer’s region returns $0 tax — that is AvaTax answering correctly, not an error.
• Customs duty needs Avalara’s landed-cost subscription and the seller marked as importer of record.
• Choosing a shipping method doesn’t trigger a fresh tax calculation on its own.