How USAMM replaced manual tax remittance with a compliance partner they trust

Introduction

Veteran-owned. Nexus in 50 states. And one bookkeeper managing compliance in Excel.

USAMM is a veteran-owned company based in Killeen, Texas, that sells military medals, ribbon racks, and full uniform accessories, alongside a patriotic lifestyle brand. They are proud to employ a large number of veterans across their team. About 99% of the business is ecommerce, with sales running through a Shopify storefront and multiple marketplace channels, reaching customers in all 50 states.

When Carl Cringle joined as COO in 2024, he came in looking at the whole operation. One of the first things he found: the company’s manual approach to sales tax compliance was the weak link. It was time for USAMM to get serious about the back office.

“I wanted USAMM’s tax remittance to be more professionalized, more matured.”

Challenge

When an accounting error takes three people a week to solve.

Before Carl joined the company, USAMM had been managing sales tax remittance entirely in-house. One bookkeeper. Excel spreadsheets. All 50 states, every month.

It worked until it didn’t.

One month, a minor discrepancy in a single state’s filing turned into a week-long investigation. Three people, pivot tables, formula audits. They found the error eventually. But Carl had seen what he needed to see.

“There’s got to be something better,” he said. “Something that’s not as human error prone as Excel spreadsheets are.”

He called it a double negative: too much time spent, and no confidence in what was actually being submitted. The bookkeeper was burning roughly one week per month on remittance alone, every month, with no guarantee the output was right.

“With end of month close and a week of tax remittance to do, there’s no time for my bookkeeper to come up for air for anything else. That’s not tenable.”

It was only going to get harder as USAMM continued to expand.

“Our compliance process was a double negative: it took too much time, and we had no confidence in what we were actually submitting.”

Solution

Audit support, SST benefits, and a proactive vendor that acted like a partner.

Carl evaluated the market the way he approaches most operational decisions: with clear criteria. User reviews. Price point. Reliability. Who would assume responsibility if something went wrong.

“TaxCloud floated to the top as the number one company recommended for us.”

When Carl put a number on what the bookkeeper’s time was actually costing each month, outsourcing to TaxCloud was the more cost-effective option. TaxCloud also enrolled USAMM in the Streamlined Sales Tax program, giving them free filing across 24 SST-member states.

And audit support was a specific ask. Carl had already found errors on his own. He wanted coverage in place before a notice arrived.

“Having the audit resource capability with TaxCloud is kind of rainy day insurance for us,” he said. “Before TaxCloud, it was going to be completely on us.”

He expected to find a vendor. A reliable system that would take the function off his plate and stay out of the way.

What the sales process actually felt like was something different. The conversations felt less like a pitch and more like a partnership.

“To me, working with TaxCloud felt like working with a partner, not a vendor,” Carl said.

He wasn’t sure that would hold after the contract was signed.

It held.

“Having the audit resource capability with TaxCloud is kind of rainy day insurance for us.”

Results

The platform delivered. Expert support exceeded every expectation.

USAMM went live in under two weeks, during an active bookkeeper transition between offices. The implementation required nothing from Carl’s team except getting out of the way.

“The limiting factor was never TaxCloud. The onboarding was smooth. We were in a transition period between bookkeepers and it was the least of our concerns.”

The operational change was immediate. A function that had consumed a week of the bookkeeper’s month became, in Carl’s words, an afterthought.

“I have the peace of mind that the function is being taken care of, and that it’s being taken care of accurately. That was an issue even when we were spending the time. It was a horrible model to sustain.”

Then came the part Carl hadn’t put in his evaluation criteria.

He had done the math. He had checked the boxes. He had a rational case for TaxCloud before he signed. What the criteria couldn’t capture was what it would feel like to hand off a compliance function for the first time — one that, if handled badly, could create real problems for the company.

“The customer service and their friendliness makes you feel like you’re meeting with a friend rather than a company,” he said. “TaxCloud has been someone that is there looking out for your best interests. Not looking for ways to upsell you.”

“Not only was the product as advertised, but the customer service helps buy down on the anxiety of outsourcing something that’s an important issue to the company’s day to day.”

“TaxCloud never treated us like a money-making opportunity. That’s rare.”

Looking ahead

Sales tax compliance is one less thing for USAMM’s future CFO to think about.

When USAMM brings on a CFO, tax remittance won’t be part of the conversation.

“The price point can’t be beat. The reliability can’t be beat. To ever bring that back internal would be a mistake on our part,” Carl said. “When the CFO comes in, that’s just one less thing they have to handle.”

For any ecommerce business still managing compliance in-house, Carl’s view is direct: “You’re a fool if you don’t go with TaxCloud.”

The week per month the bookkeeper used to lose to remittance is now spent focusing on the financial work a growing business actually needs. And if USAMM had waited another year?

“We would be severely behind in the other financial requirements of day to day. It would just be untenable.”

“You’re a fool if you don’t go with TaxCloud.”