“It would have cost us around $40,000 a year to go with a company that wasn’t a SST program participant.”

— Chris Manduka, CEO & Owner of Cable Bullet

Industry

Manufacturing

Location

Indiana

Website

CableBullet.com

Integration

Shopify

Introduction

Cable railing built for strength — and a Shopify business scaling nationwide.

Cable Bullet is an Indiana-based manufacturer of residential cable railing systems, selling to DIY homeowners and small contractors across the U.S.

Founded in 2012, the company grew into a national Shopify business shipping to all 50 states — and sales tax grew more complex with every new filing.

CEO Chris Manduka moved from TaxJar to Avalara to keep up with address-level tax calculation. But instead of simplifying compliance, costs rose, visibility dropped, and notices piled up.

Staying with Avalara wasn’t sustainable. So Chris switched Cable Bullet to TaxCloud.

Challenge

Rising costs, missed SST savings, and legacy systems

Chris and his team weren’t just dealing with Avalara’s complexity — they were dealing with missed savings and rising costs, especially around the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) program.

Avalara’s biggest challenges for Cable Bullet included:

• Missed SST savings. Cable Bullet qualified for the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) program, but Avalara failed to expand their SST registrations as new states joined — leaving significant savings on the table.
• Costs that scaled faster than the business. Avalara’s credit-based pricing meant every new state and every increase in filing frequency drove costs higher.
• A legacy platform that slowed everything down. The UI was difficult to navigate and made compliance feel more complex than it needed to be.
• Support that created friction instead of fixing problems. Issues dragged on for weeks or months, and Cable Bullet was required to foot the bill for penalties — even when the mistakes were due to Avalara’s mishandling and lack of oversight.

“Avalara’s platform is very obviously a legacy system — it looks like ecommerce software from 15 years ago. We never really knew what Avalara filed or why.”

Solution

A sales tax partner that uncovered savings — and fixed what Avalara missed

Cable Bullet didn’t switch to TaxCloud just to lower costs. They needed a partner who could untangle legacy issues, surface missed opportunities, and make sales tax manageable again.

TaxCloud delivered that through a combination of hands-on onboarding, proactive review, and responsive support.

What changed after switching to TaxCloud:

• Consultative onboarding that fixed legacy issues. TaxCloud reviewed Cable Bullet’s existing footprint, identified errors they didn’t know existed, and corrected issues left behind by Avalara.
• SST eligibility re-evaluated correctly. Instead of accepting the “one-and-done” SST limitation, TaxCloud reviewed each eligible state and submitted new SST applications where allowed.
• Seamless Shopify integration. The TaxCloud Shopify integration was plug-and-play. No workarounds, no confusing configuration. “The integration took about 15 minutes to set up. It was exactly what you expect from a Shopify integration — seamless.”
• Modern interface, not legacy software. TaxCloud’s dashboard made it easy to see what was filed, what was pending, and what required action.
• Direct access to a knowledgeable support team. Instead of rigid case systems, Cable Bullet works with a small, consistent team that follows issues through to resolution. “When we send something in to TaxCloud, it usually gets resolved within 24 to 48 hours.”

“Working with TaxCloud is night and day from Avalara. For the first time, I actually feel confident we’re compliant.”

Results

Clear savings, reclaimed time, and confidence restored

After switching to TaxCloud, Cable Bullet saw immediate, measurable improvements in cost, time, and confidence.

What changed in practice:

• ~$40,000 per year in avoided sales tax costs. By re-evaluating SST eligibility and submitting applications Avalara had ruled out, TaxCloud eliminated unnecessary filing fees — cutting Cable Bullet’s total sales tax spend nearly in half.

• Hours of staff time reclaimed every week. Before switching, sales tax notices and discrepancies consumed multiple hours each week. With TaxCloud handling filings, notices, and follow-ups, that work largely disappeared. “We were spending two to four hours a week dealing with tax notices. The time savings and cost savings have made this well worth our while.”
• Clear visibility and proactive guidance. For the first time, Chris can see what’s been filed, what’s pending, and what’s coming — without chasing answers. “Even when I don’t ask the question, TaxCloud’s support team explains what’s happening, what to expect next, and how it’s already being handled.”

“With TaxCloud being significantly less expensive than Avalara, we ended up seeing around 40 to 50% in savings.”

Looking ahead

Sales tax handled — without slowing growth

With SST participation optimized and sales tax no longer draining time or budget, Cable Bullet can focus on what actually grows the business.

TaxCloud now functions as an extension of their team — monitoring filings, flagging issues early, and identifying ways to streamline compliance as their footprint evolves.

For Chris and the Cable Bullet team, sales tax is no longer a recurring fire drill. It’s handled, predictable, and built to scale. Just like the hardware they sell.

“TaxCloud doesn’t just respond to issues. They explain what’s been filed, what’s coming next, and what we can safely ignore — that kind of proactive thinking makes a huge difference.”