Exactor Module
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Overview
Exactor is a service that can calculate tax for any or all states in the U.S. (Canada coming soon we're told.) They can also, optionally, file all of your tax compliance reporting with each taxing district. Charges for their service are based on approximate order volume and the number of states you have to collect tax for. Additional charges apply if you want them to file your tax reports. Each customer must be quoted separately based on these criteria.
This module is currently in beta with several CMS clients. Additional testers will be considered. No release date has yet been set.
How it works
You start by configuring CMS for 'Nexus States' which are those states which you'll be collecting tax for.
With Exactor integration enabled, all CMS internal calculations are disabled. Instead we've added a 'Get Tax' button on the Money and Returns screens which must be clicked before save or after any financial edit of an orders shipping to a Nexus state. CMS enforced this to ensure tax is calculated. Tax does not dynamically recalculate as it does with CMS's internal tax calculations.
Tax calculations are performed in two steps, a "request" followed by a "commit". The request is to obtain the total tax for the order in its current state. The commit is to lock in the sale and tell Exactor that you are now responsible for paying the tax. A commit could be when the order is saved, paid or shipped (usually based on shipped, but up to you.)
The requests can be performed as many times as needed and will not affect how you are charged for the Exactor service.
Presently CMS only supports the requests. The commits can be done by performing a custom export from CMS for upload to Exactor and that export will take into account the your chosen logic for when to declare a sale. Currently this must be written custom for or by you.
Products are configured on Exactor's site so they know what categories each product is in (food, clothing, alcohol, etc.) and they just match the code CMS is passing to their internal list to determine tax.
Customer that are exempt from tax must be setup in Exactor first. They are otherwise considered taxable.
Where it works
- Order Entry
- Returns
- Verify Imports
- CommerceV3 (CV3) also supports Exactor so accurate taxing can be obtained on your website and will match what CMS will calculate for imports.
Where it doesn't work
- CMS Reports - When CMS reports on taxes, it relies on the underlying data structure to know the makeup of a tax (tax districts and rates) for state and local. When working with Exactor, CMS only receives a total combined tax back from their API with no breakdown of how the tax was calculated. As such, any CMS reports that reference state or local taxes will report 0 since we have no data at that level. Tax reporting will instead come from Exactor.
