Step 1: Create a TaxCloud Account

• If you have an account, proceed to step 2.
• If you have not created a TaxCloud account, Sign Up. Creating an account can be completed in minutes.

Step 2: Configure Your TaxCloud Account

Now that you have a TaxCloud account, you need to ensure that your company profile is set up correctly for your unique company requirements. Log in to your TaxCloud account and review the onboarding checklist below. Your company profile determines when and how sales tax is calculated.

• WooCommerce Store: All stores default to a test environment. Transactions in a test store will not be included in sales tax returns or sales tax summary reports. See Step 7 about going live.
  • To add a new store, select Stores → red +Add button. Select WooCommerce as the store type. Input the store name and URL.
    • Select a default Taxability Information Code (TIC) if your product or service varies in taxability to ensure TaxCloud calculates tax correctly throughout the US. Otherwise, it will default to TIC 0 and tax fully. See Step 5 about product taxability.
  • If you created a new Store during the TaxCloud account setup and need to make changes, select Stores → Get Details to change the Store name or default TIC.
  • Note the API Login ID and API Key numbers within Stores → Get Details. You’ll need this for Step 4.
• Add business locations: If your business has a physical location in the United States, you must add each to TaxCloud. Include all types of locations, brick-and-mortar stores, warehouses, and distribution facilities. To do so, select Settings → Locations and click “Add Location.”
• Select registered States for Tax Calculations: To add states, select Settings → Manage States → select the State via map or scroll → Manage to edit and add your State license number. TaxCloud does not validate license numbers. If anything is inputted, calculations will start immediately. Adding the filing information will not turn on TaxCloud Returns. Contact TaxCloud Sales or Support to have TaxCloud file and remit taxes on your behalf.

Step 3: Install Simple Sales Tax within WordPress

• Download TaxCloud’s Simple Sales Tax WordPress plugin to integrate WooCommerce with TaxCloud.
• Within WordPress → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, Choose plugin. Select the simple-sales-tax.ZIP file that you previously downloaded. Do not select the unzipped file. To finish, select Install Now.

Step 4: Configure Simple Sales Tax within WordPress/WooCommerce

• Existing tax rates: If there are tax rates in the WooCommerce tax rate tables, a notice displays when you log in to WordPress. Only keep existing WooCommerce tax rate tables for tax types not handled by TaxCloud. Otherwise, delete all existing tax rate tables so customers are not taxed twice.
• API Credentials: Settings → Integrations → Simple Sales Tax, enter the TaxCloud API Login ID and API Key from Step 2. Click Verify Settings to validate the API credentials. After entering and validating your credentials, click Save Changes to import your business locations from TaxCloud.
• Business Addresses: Settings → Integrations → Simple Sales Tax → TaxCloud Settings → below Address Settings, you should now see a list of your TaxCloud locations in the Shipping Origin Addresses field. Select all of the addresses you ship your products from.
  • Updating/changing locations: If you update your business locations anytime, you must add/update locations within TaxCloud. Next, update the WooCommerce Store Address under General Settings → select Save Changes. Select the new address(es) in the Shipping Origin Address field. 
• Exemption Settings: If you have tax-exempt customers, enable tax exemptions and fill out the fields under the Exemption Settings heading.
  • Optionally change the default settings under Display Settings and Advanced Settings. Do not change Advanced Settings unless you’ve reviewed all effects.
  • Click Save Changes to finalize your changes.

Step 5: Configure Your Products

If you sell products or provide services that vary in taxability throughout the United States, assign a Taxability Information Code (TIC) to each product or service. For your convenience, Simple Sales Tax provides three methods by which you can do this:

• Category-level TIC assignment: To assign a TIC to all items in a category, navigate to Products → Categories and select the category you want. Click the button next to Taxability Information Code, select the TIC, and click Save Changes.
• Bulk TIC assignment: To assign a TIC to a group of products, go to Products → select the checkbox next to each product → select Edit under Bulk Actions → Apply. You’ll see an option to set a TIC for the selected products.
• Single Product TIC assignment: To assign a TIC to a single product, go to Products → Edit → scroll until you see the Product Data box → under the General tab → select the TIC → select Update to save your changes.

Step 5b: For Multi-State Businesses Only

If you ship items from multiple business locations, you must indicate the shipping origin addresses for each item. These locations are Shipping Origins. This is important as a handful of states use the origin address to determine the sales tax.

By default, all products in your store will use the Shipping Origin Addresses you’ve selected on the Simple Sales Tax settings page. If you need to change the default origin addresses for individual products, go to Edit Product under Product Data > Shipping > Origin addresses.

Step 6: Perform Test Transactions

You must complete at least one test order by creating mock transactions to ensure you get the expected sales tax results. Add items to your cart and go through the checkout process. After checking out, go to the WooCommerce -> Orders page to mark your test order as Completed.

Review your transactions within TaxCloud by logging in and selecting Transactions -> Details. Select Filter to display Test Transactions. 

Step 7: Mark your TaxCloud Store Live!

Now that you have tested your website and verified that Simple Sales Tax is working properly, it is time to switch your TaxCloud account from a test to a live environment.

Log into TaxCloud -> Store -> green Go Live button. If you don’t see a Go Live button, you’re Store has already been marked as live. Review your transactions and confirm that all test transactions have a Test status. If test transactions display as Captured, you can click on the transaction to edit and mark it as Returned so it’s excluded from any sales tax returns & reports.