*Extensions › AvaTax*

# AvaTax Extension

Sales tax at checkout from Avalara, every order recorded in Avalara so your returns include your store’s sales, and tax-exempt customers handled from certificate to filing. 21 parts.

Quick links

- [Getting started](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#setup)
- [Connection](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#connection)
- [Company](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#company)
- [Ship from](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#ship-from)
- [What shoppers see](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#shoppers)
- [Tax codes](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#tax-codes)
- [Checkout](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#checkout)
- [Tax-exempt customers](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#exempt-ways)
- [The customer’s card](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#customer-card)
- [Exemption certificates](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#certificates)
- [Tax exemption at checkout](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#exemptions)
- [Claiming at checkout](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#claiming)
- [Reviewing a claim](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#exempt-review)
- [Orders in Avalara](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#orders)
- [How an order moves](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#order-life)
- [The order screen](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#order-card)
- [Sending missed orders](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#send-orders)
- [Test before you go live](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#test)
- [Find it in Avalara](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#in-avalara)
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#troubleshooting)
- [Logs and data](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#advanced)

**Where to find it:** WP Admin › EasyCart › Extensions › AvaTax

*Getting started*

## Connect Avalara

What you need, your Avalara account, the company you sell as and where you ship from.

### Getting started

Where AvaTax stands, and what is left to do.

**What you need.** A WP EasyCart Premium license, with AvaTax installed from EasyCart › Extensions, which also installs WP EasyCart Premium. WP EasyCart 6.0.2 or newer and WP EasyCart Premium 1.1.0 or newer. WP EasyCart PRO 6.0.2 adds the Avalara tax code field in the product editor and Avalara tax on orders you create in the admin. And an Avalara account; the Status line links to Avalara’s free trial if you have none. Exemption certificates ( below ) also need Avalara’s certificate storage, which comes with AvaTax Pro and Avalara’s exemption certificate plans.

**The checklist.** The top of the page walks you through it, ticking each step as it is done: connect your Avalara account, pick the company, enter where orders ship from, choose tax codes, and make AvaTax the store’s tax service. **Use Avalara AvaTax** does that last step here; **Use AvaTax** on Settings › Taxes does the same.

**Try an address.** Once connected, enter any address, an item price, shipping and a tax code, and press **Ask Avalara**. You see the tax, the tax on shipping, the combined rate and every jurisdiction. Nothing is recorded.

**Go live.** When the answers look right, press **Start recording**. Orders are recorded in Avalara from that moment. Orders placed before are never sent on their own; the Send orders tool can add them. [Test before you go live](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#test) walks through a first order end to end.

A status line above the checklist reads **Live**, **Test mode**, **Setting up**, **Paused** or **Not answering**, and warns when calls to Avalara failed in the last day.

![Getting started, the checklist of what is left to do.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-01-getting-started.png)

> **💡 Note:** Without a current Premium license the settings are read-only, but tax is still calculated and orders still recorded. If WP EasyCart Premium is deactivated, the license key cannot be read: AvaTax pauses and checkout uses your own rates until Premium is active again.

### Connection

Your Avalara Account ID and license key, from Avalara › Settings › License and API keys.

**Calculate tax with Avalara** ( default: On )

Asks Avalara for the tax at checkout. Off, checkout uses the rates on Settings › Taxes and nothing goes to Avalara.

**Avalara account** ( default: Production )

Which Avalara account the ID and key belong to. Most stores only have **Production**, and Avalara’s free trial is one too. A **Sandbox** is a separate, paid Avalara account. Changing it forgets the companies read from the old one.

**Account ID** ( default: Empty )

The ten-digit number from Avalara › Settings › License and API keys. Anything that is not a digit is removed. Saving checks it with Avalara and warns you if Avalara turns it down.

**License key** ( default: Empty )

Generate it on the same Avalara page and paste it here. WP EasyCart Premium keeps it encrypted, so after saving the box shows dots and the last four characters. Generating a new key in Avalara stops the old one working everywhere, so update it here straight away.

**Test the connection** ( a button )

**Test now** asks Avalara whether it accepts the Account ID and license key, and reads the account’s companies. The Status line then reads **Connected**, or **Not accepted** with Avalara’s reason. An account with one company has it picked for you.

![Connection, before the Account ID and license key are added.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-02-connection.png)

### Company

The Avalara company this store sells as, and the addresses it taxes.

**Company** ( default: Pick one )

The Avalara company this store sells as. Tax follows the states and countries this company collects in, which you set up in Avalara. Below it, **Collects tax in** lists them, or reads **Nowhere yet**.

**Addresses Avalara taxes** ( default: United States )

Which shipping addresses Avalara taxes. **United States** only; **United States and Canada**, with GST, HST and PST from Avalara; or **Every country**, with VAT from Avalara too. Other addresses use the rates on Settings › Taxes. If your prices already include VAT, VAT countries stay on your own VAT settings so they are not taxed twice.

**Order number prefix** ( default: Empty; advanced setting )

Orders show in Avalara as PREFIX-1042 ( without a prefix, just 1042 ). Give each store that shares an Avalara company its own prefix. Letters, digits, dashes and underscores, up to 20. Change it only before orders are recorded.

**Location code for online orders** ( default: Empty; advanced setting )

Sent as the reporting location of orders that ship. Fill it in only when your Avalara company files by location, with the location code you set up in Avalara. Pickup orders report their store location ( LOC and its number ).

**Refresh companies** ( a button )

**Refresh** reads the companies and the places they collect in from Avalara again. Use it after adding a company or a state in Avalara.

![Company, before a company is chosen.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-03-company.png)

> **⚠️ Careful:** A company that collects tax nowhere reads *Nowhere yet*, and Avalara charges no tax. Add the states where you collect in Avalara, then press Refresh.

### Ship from

Where your orders ship from. Some states tax by where an order starts, so Avalara needs it. Pickup orders use their store location’s address.

**Street address** ( default: Empty )

The street address your orders ship from.

**Apartment, suite, unit** ( default: Empty )

Optional second address line.

**City** ( default: Empty )

Your city.

**State or province** ( default: Empty )

The two-letter code, such as CA or ON.

**ZIP or postal code** ( default: Empty )

Your ZIP or postal code.

**Country** ( default: United States )

The country you ship from.

**Fill in from my store** ( a button )

**Fill in** copies the origin address you gave TaxJar or TaxCloud, or your first store location, into the fields above.

![Ship from, the address orders are taxed from.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-04-ship-from.png)

*At checkout*

## Tax every cart

What shoppers see, what each product is, and what happens when Avalara is down.

### What shoppers see

How Avalara’s tax shows up in the cart and at checkout.

**The tax line.** Once the address has a state and a postal code, checkout asks Avalara for the tax on every line, the shipping and the handling, and shows it in the totals like any other tax. It works the same on the classic checkout, the one-page checkout and the subscription checkout. The answer is reused for 30 minutes while the cart and address stay the same, so moving between steps is quick.

**Where the tax comes from.** Orders that ship are taxed from your Ship from address to the shipping address. Pickup orders are taxed at the store location they are picked up from. Products not marked taxable go as not taxable ( NT ), and gift cards used as payment never lower the tax.

**Address suggestions.** With Suggest address corrections on, a US or Canadian shopper whose address Avalara knows more precisely sees **We found a more precise version of this address**, with **Use this address** and **Keep mine**. Use this address fills in Avalara’s version, often a corrected street or a ZIP+4. Nothing changes without the shopper’s click, and the tax is right either way.

**Tax-exempt customers.** Customers whose exemption is on file pay no tax and see a note saying so, and customers can claim exemption as they check out. [Tax-exempt customers](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/#exempt-ways) covers every way to set them up.

**When Avalara is slow.** Checkout waits up to eight seconds for Avalara. After that it follows When Avalara can’t be reached ( below ), and the order is recorded in Avalara later with the tax it charged.

![The checkout's totals, with the tax from Avalara.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-09-checkout-tax.png)

*The checkout’s totals, with the tax from Avalara.*

![An address suggestion at checkout.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-10-address-suggestion.png)

### Tax codes

A tax code tells Avalara what kind of product each line is. Products not marked taxable always go as NT ( not taxable ).

**Default tax code** ( default: P0000000 )

For products without a code of their own. P0000000 is general merchandise. A code Avalara’s list does not have saves with a warning, so check it before orders use it. Below the codes, the section counts taxable products still on the default. **Review products** groups them by suggested code or by category, so you can give a whole group its code at once. For one product, use the **Avalara tax code** field in the Tax card of its Pricing section. A numeric TaxCloud or TaxJar code in that field is not an Avalara code, so the default is used.

**Shipping tax code** ( default: FR020100 )

Shipping and handling go to Avalara as their own line with this code. FR020100 is shipping by a common carrier, FR030000 is shipping and handling together, FR010000 is delivery in your own vehicle, and NT is not taxable.

**Download tax code** ( default: D0000000 )

For downloadable products without a code of their own. D0000000 is digital products in general; DC010500 is software downloads. Leave it empty to use the default code.

**Gift card tax code** ( default: PG050000; advanced setting )

For gift cards you sell. Gift cards used as payment never lower the tax.

![Tax codes, with the products that still use the default.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-05-tax-codes.png)

### Checkout

What shoppers see, and what happens when Avalara can’t be reached.

**Suggest address corrections** ( default: On )

US and Canadian shoppers see Avalara’s version of their address when it differs, such as a corrected street or ZIP+4. **Use this address** fills it in; **Keep mine** leaves theirs. Nothing changes without the shopper’s click, and tax works either way.

**When Avalara can’t be reached** ( default: Backup, then stop )

What checkout does when Avalara does not answer within eight seconds. **Use backup rates; stop checkout when there is none** is the default. **Use backup rates; take the order without tax** never stops a sale. **Stop checkout until Avalara answers** never guesses. Orders taxed without Avalara are recorded in Avalara once it answers, with the tax they were charged. The **Backup rates** line below shows what you have to fall back on.

**Keep Avalara’s ZIP code rate table** ( default: Off )

Downloads Avalara’s rate for every US ZIP code each week, to use during an outage. Needs Avalara’s AvaTax Pro plan. Without it Avalara refuses the download and this switches itself off.

**Download the ZIP code rates now** ( a button )

**Download** fetches the ZIP code table now instead of waiting for the weekly run. It takes a minute.

![Checkout, with address suggestions and the plan for when Avalara cannot be reached.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-06-checkout.png)

> **💡 Note:** Tax is only asked for once the address has a postal code and a state. With a state but no postal code, checkout shows a backup estimate when it has one.

*Tax-exempt customers*

## Exemptions, three ways

Mark a customer exempt yourself, keep their certificates in Avalara, or let them claim exemption at checkout. Use any mix of the three.

### Which way fits your store

Each way tells Avalara why an order was not taxed, so the sale is reported as exempt, not missing.

| Way | Best for | Set it up in | What Avalara gets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mark the customer exempt | A few customers you already know | The customer’s Avalara AvaTax card | The exemption reason and number on every order they place |
| Avalara exemption certificates | Customers whose certificates you keep, state by state | Exemption certificates, then the customer’s card | The customer and their certificates. Avalara exempts their orders in each state a valid certificate covers |
| Tax exemption at checkout | New customers who claim exemption as they buy | Tax exemption at checkout | The order recorded as exempt with the reason chosen, and the certificate added to the customer when certificates are on |

They work together. A certificate sent from checkout lands on the same customer in Avalara, and a customer whose exemption is already on file sees a note at checkout instead of being asked again.

### The customer’s Avalara card

EasyCart › Customers › a customer › Tax & Preferences, under Tax & Shipping Preferences.

**Tax exemption.** Pick an **Exemption reason** ( Avalara’s list, such as Resale, Charitable organization or Federal government, or **Another code…** for a code your Avalara account added ), add the **Exemption number** if there is one, and press **Save exemption**. Every order the customer places from then on goes to Avalara with that reason and number, and Avalara exempts it by its own rules for the state. The chip reads **Exempt · G Resale** or **Taxed as usual**.

**Exclude from tax**, WP EasyCart’s own switch just above, stops tax at checkout. Those orders go to Avalara with the reason here, or with the store’s **Reason for tax-exempt customers** ( Orders in Avalara ) when the card has none.

**Exemption certificates.** With certificates on, the card also shows whether the customer is **In Avalara**, with **Send to Avalara** or **Update in Avalara** and **Refresh**. Each certificate lists its state, its reason, **Valid**, **Expiring soon** or why it is not valid, and its expiry date, with **Details**, **View**, **Save PDF**, **Request a new one** and **Unlink**. Unlinking takes the certificate off this customer only; past orders are unchanged.

**Request a certificate.** Pick the states ( none lets the customer choose ), a reason to fill in, and **Email from Avalara** or **A link I send**. Avalara emails the customer a form to fill in and sign; the certificate shows on the card once they send it. **Ship-to states** lists where the customer receives goods besides their own address, so Avalara asks for the right certificates.

![A customer's Avalara AvaTax card, with a certificate in Avalara.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-11-customer-card.png)

*A customer’s Avalara AvaTax card, with a certificate in Avalara.*

### Exemption certificates

Avalara keeps your customers’ exemption certificates and applies them to their orders ( Exemption Certificate Management ).

**Use Avalara exemption certificates** ( default: Off )

Keeps customer accounts in Avalara. When a customer has a valid certificate for the state an order ships to, Avalara exempts the order on its own, with nothing to set on the order. Each customer’s certificates show on their customer card. Below the switch, a chip reads **Ready**, **Being set up** or **Not set up**, with a link to Avalara’s certificate dashboard.

**Customers kept in Avalara** ( default: Every customer account )

**Every customer account**, or **Only tax-exempt customers and customers asked for a certificate**. Accounts are sent when they are created or changed. **Send customers to Avalara**, under the settings, sends the accounts already in your store, 25 at a time with a running count.

**Wait for the certificate service** ( default: 20; advanced setting )

Seconds the admin waits for Avalara’s certificate calls, from 5 to 120.

**Test the certificate service** ( a button )

**Test now** checks the Account ID and license key, and whether certificate storage is set up for this company.

**Set up certificate storage** ( a button )

**Set up** asks Avalara to set up certificate storage for this company. You only do it once, and it can take a few minutes.

![Exemption certificates, ready, with customers to send.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-12-certificates-settings.png)

> **⚠️ Careful:** Avalara finds a customer’s certificates by their customer code ( Customer code in Avalara, under Orders in Avalara ). Keep that setting as it is once customers are in Avalara. With email addresses as codes, a customer who changes their email is sent again under the new one and their certificates follow; account numbers never change, so they are the steadier choice for a store starting with certificates.

### Tax exemption at checkout

Let customers claim tax exemption as they check out: a reason, their exemption number and their certificate.

**Ask at checkout** ( default: Off )

Adds a **This purchase is tax exempt** box after the addresses, on the classic and one-page checkouts, whenever the cart has a taxable product. Certificates are kept privately: only staff can open them, from the order screen.

**When an order is tax free** ( default: At once )

**At once, on the customer’s word**: tax comes off as soon as the claim is complete, and you can review it later. **At once, but the order waits for my review**: tax comes off, but the order only goes to Avalara once you approve or reject it. **Only after I approve**: tax is charged on this order, and approving makes the customer’s next orders exempt.

**Reasons customers can choose** ( default: 12 reasons )

Avalara’s exemption reasons. Each order goes to Avalara with the reason its customer chose. Twelve are offered at first: federal, state, tribal and local government, foreign diplomat, charitable, religious or educational organization, resale, agricultural production, industrial production, direct pay permit and direct mail.

**Exemption number** ( default: Optional )

**Required**, **Optional** or **Don’t ask**.

**Certificate file** ( default: Required )

**Required** or **Optional**. A PDF, JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB.

**Send certificates to Avalara** ( default: On )

With exemption certificates on, a customer’s certificate is added to them in Avalara for the state the order ships to: as the order is placed when orders are tax free on the customer’s word, otherwise when you approve it.

**Include guests’ certificates** ( default: On )

A guest’s certificate goes to Avalara under their email, the customer code their orders already carry, with a customer made from the order’s billing address. A customer Avalara already has is left as it is. Off keeps guests’ certificates in the store.

![Tax exemption at checkout, switched on.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-13-exemption-settings.png)

> **💡 Note:** Orders waiting for a decision are listed under these settings ( **Waiting for your review** ), and each one shows a **Tax exemption to review** step on its order screen. If the older WP EasyCart Tax Exempt plugin is active, Ask at checkout replaces its box, and the orders it marked keep their documents on their order screens. Deactivate it after a test order.

### Claiming exemption at checkout

What a customer sees, step by step.

**Step 1. Tick the box.** After the addresses, the customer ticks **This purchase is tax exempt**. A short line says what happens next: tax comes off once the details are complete, or, when you approve claims first, that tax is charged on this order and their future orders are tax free once you approve.

**Step 2. Fill it in.** They choose a **Reason for exemption**, enter their **Exemption or resale certificate number**, and drop their certificate on the box or choose a file. A line under the fields says what is still missing, such as **To remove the tax, choose a reason and add your certificate**. A returning customer is offered **Use your exemption from your last order?** with **Use it**.

**Step 3. Tax comes off.** On the one-page checkout the totals update as soon as the claim is complete. On the classic checkout the review step shows **Tax exempt: Resale. Change** above Place order. Place order reminds the customer to finish the details or untick the box if they stopped halfway.

**After the order.** The order confirmation page, the receipt email and the order in My Account show the claim: **Tax exempt: Resale.**, or, when you approve claims first, that you will review the certificate for future orders, then that it was approved or not accepted.

**Already on file.** A customer whose account is marked exempt sees **Your tax exemption is on file, so this order is not taxed** and nothing to fill in. A customer with a valid Avalara certificate for the ship-to state sees **Your exemption certificate for Texas is on file, so this order is not taxed**, and can still tick **Claim a different exemption for this order**.

![This purchase is tax exempt, filled in at checkout.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-14-checkout-exemption.png)

![A customer whose certificate is already in Avalara.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-15-checkout-on-file.png)

### Reviewing a claim

The Tax exemption card on the order screen, and what each choice does.

|  | On the customer’s word | After my review | Only after I approve |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tax on this order | Removed at checkout | Removed at checkout | Charged |
| The order in Avalara | Recorded as exempt right away | Held until you approve ( exempt ) or reject ( taxable ) | Recorded with its tax right away |
| Certificate to Avalara | As the order is placed | When you approve | When you approve |
| Their next orders | Exempt if you approve and save it to their account | Exempt if you approve and save it to their account | Exempt once you approve ( saved to their account ) |

**The Tax exemption card.** Every order with a claim has a **Tax exemption** card showing the reason, the exemption number, the certificate with **View**, and the ship-to state. Its chip reads **Not reviewed**, **Waiting for review**, **Waiting for approval**, **Approved** or **Rejected**, and who decided and when.

**Approve** accepts the claim. Tick **On approval, save it to the customer’s account** to make their next orders exempt ( it starts ticked when you approve claims first ), and add a note for the order history if you like. With certificates going to Avalara, approving also adds the certificate to the customer there; **Add to the customer in Avalara** does it on its own, and **Try Avalara again** shows after a failed try.

**Reject** turns it down. If the order was tax free, Avalara then records it as taxable, and the tax was never collected: the Avalara card offers to add Avalara’s tax to the order or to keep it as it is. If tax was charged, the order keeps it.

**Guests.** A guest’s claim works the same way at checkout, but there is no account to save it to. Their certificate still reaches Avalara under their email while **Include guests’ certificates** is on.

![An order's Tax exemption card, waiting for review.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-16-order-exemption.png)

*An order’s Tax exemption card, waiting for review.*

*After checkout*

## Record every order

Orders in Avalara, what happens to each one, the order screen, and catching up on missed orders.

### Orders in Avalara

Recorded orders are what Avalara reports and files. Each order is recorded once and follows its changes, cancellations and refunds.

**Record orders in Avalara** ( default: Off )

Off is test mode: tax is still calculated at checkout, but nothing is saved in your Avalara account. On, every order to an address Avalara taxes is recorded under its order number and follows its changes. It starts off, so you can try things first.

**Commit orders when** ( default: When paid )

Committed orders are the ones Avalara files. **They are paid**, **They are shipped or picked up**, or **Never**, when you commit them in Avalara yourself. Unpaid orders wait, and cancelled ones are voided.

**Customer code in Avalara** ( default: Email address )

The code each sale is filed under in Avalara: the customer’s **Email address**, or their **Customer account number** with the email for guests. Exemption certificates in Avalara are matched to customers by this code.

**Reason for tax-exempt customers** ( default: L · Other )

Customers marked tax exempt in WP EasyCart without a reason of their own, and other orders placed tax free without one, go to Avalara with this exemption reason, from A · Federal government to R · Non-resident. Pick None to have Avalara tax them as usual.

![Orders in Avalara, with recording still off.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-07-orders-in-avalara.png)

### How an order moves through Avalara

Everything happens in the background, so checkout and your order screens never wait for Avalara.

| In WP EasyCart | In Avalara |
| --- | --- |
| The order is placed | Recorded right after checkout, usually within a minute, as a sale coded with the order number. It is priced exactly as checkout priced it, so Avalara keeps the tax the customer paid. |
| It is paid | Committed, so Avalara reports it. Choose shipped instead, or commit in Avalara yourself, under Commit orders when. A bank transfer order waits, recorded but not committed, until it is paid. |
| Staff edit it | Recorded again a minute after the edit. If Avalara’s tax for the new lines differs from the order’s, the order’s Avalara card says **Tax differs**. |
| It is refunded | A refund is recorded as its own return, 1042-R1, then 1042-R2, for the whole order or its share of it. Refunds made on the order screen count, and so do refunds Stripe or PayPal report back. |
| It is cancelled or deleted | Voided, with any refunds recorded for it. |
| A subscription renews | Recorded with the tax the renewal charged. |
| Avalara was down at checkout | Recorded once Avalara answers, with the tax the order charged from backup rates. |
| You create the order in the admin | With WP EasyCart PRO’s New order, Avalara prices it, and it is recorded like any other. |

A call that fails is tried again after 5 and 15 minutes, then 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours. After eight tries the order waits for you, counted under **need attention** on the settings page.

### The order screen

Where an order stands in Avalara, at a glance in the totals and in full on its card.

**The totals line.** Under the order’s Tax, an **Avalara** line shows the order’s state in Avalara and the tax Avalara has for it, such as **Committed · $8.25 in Avalara**, or **exempt** for a tax-free order. Click it to jump to the card.

**The Avalara AvaTax card** shows the transaction code and company, the tax charged and the tax in Avalara, where the tax came from at checkout ( Avalara, backup rates, none while Avalara was down, the order’s own tax, or none because the order was placed tax exempt ), and any refunds recorded. Its state sets the buttons:

**Not in Avalara**: placed before AvaTax recorded orders, or while it was off. Send to Avalara.
**Test mode**: placed with recording off. Send to Avalara.
**Waiting to send**: goes to Avalara in the background, and the card says roughly when. Send now.
**Waiting for the exemption review**: goes once the claim is approved or rejected.
**Recorded**: in Avalara, not committed yet. Commit now, or Void.
**Committed**: filed with your returns. Void.
**Voided**: Send again.
**Could not send**: Try again, with the last error shown.

**Tax differs** means Avalara worked out a different tax than the order charged, usually after an edit. **Use Avalara’s tax on the order** changes the order’s tax and total; **Record the tax charged** tells Avalara to keep what the customer paid. **Filed** means Avalara has already reported the sale, so make the change in Avalara.

**The order history** notes each step: Recorded in Avalara, Committed in Avalara, Changed in Avalara, Refund recorded in Avalara, Voided in Avalara, Avalara could not take the order, and each tax exemption claimed, approved, rejected or added in Avalara.

![The Avalara line under the order's tax.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-17-order-totals.png)

*The Avalara line under the order’s tax.*

![The Avalara AvaTax card on an order.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-18-order-card.png)

### Sending orders Avalara missed

The Send orders tool: outages, test mode and past orders.

Orders in Avalara opens with counts: recorded in the last 30 days, waiting to send, needing attention, taxed with backup rates, and placed in test mode.

With recording on, the **Send orders** tool below them records orders Avalara does not have yet, with the tax each was charged. Pick **Paid orders not in Avalara**, **Taxed with backup rates**, **Need attention** or **Placed in test mode**, set a date range, and press **Find orders**. It shows how many orders, their sales and their tax. Send them, and they go ten at a time with a running count.

Stores moving over from AvaTax 1.0 use it to add past paid orders, since 1.0 never recorded any.

> **⚠️ Careful:** Only send orders you have not already reported to Avalara another way, or they are counted twice. After updating from AvaTax 1.0, recording stays off until you turn it on.

*In Avalara*

## Check it in Avalara

Test a first order end to end, then find your orders, refunds, exemptions and certificates in your Avalara account.

### Test before you go live

One order, end to end, before your customers place theirs.

**Step 1. Ask Avalara.** In Getting started, try a real address in a state you collect in, with one of your products’ tax codes. Check the rate and the jurisdictions look right.

**Step 2. Place an order in test mode.** With recording off, place an order on your store. Checkout shows Avalara’s tax, and the order’s Avalara card reads **Test mode**. Nothing is in Avalara.

**Step 3. Start recording, and place another.** Press Start recording, then place an order with Pay by bank transfer ( Bill later ), so no card is charged. Its card reads **Recorded** within a minute. Mark it paid and it reads **Committed**. Find it in Avalara ( below ).

**Step 4. Refund it, then cancel it.** A partial refund shows in Avalara as 1042-R1. Cancelling the order voids it and the refund, so the test never reaches a return.

**Step 5. Try an exemption.** Give a test customer an exemption reason on their Avalara card, or tick This purchase is tax exempt at checkout. Tax comes off, the order’s totals line says exempt, and Avalara shows the reason on the transaction. Cancel it when you are done.

> **⚠️ Careful:** Committed test orders count on your returns until they are voided. Cancel test orders when you are done, or test on a sandbox account.

### Find it in Avalara

Where each order, refund, exemption and certificate shows in your Avalara account.

**Step 1. Find the order.** Sign in to Avalara, open **Transactions** and search for the order number, with your prefix if you set one. The transaction carries the customer code ( the email, or the account number ), the ship-from and ship-to addresses, each line with its tax code, and the tax.

**Step 2. Read its status.** A recorded order is uncommitted until it is paid or shipped, as you chose, and Avalara does not file it yet. A committed order goes on your returns. A cancelled order is voided. Refunds are their own return transactions, 1042-R1, 1042-R2.

**Step 3. Check an exempt order.** Its tax is zero and Avalara shows why: the exemption reason ( entity use code ) and number, or the certificate that applied. Avalara reports the sale as exempt.

**Step 4. Check a customer’s certificates.** Open Avalara’s certificate dashboard ( the link is on Exemption certificates and on each customer’s card ), search for the customer code, and open the certificate: its states, reason, dates and file. Certificates sent from checkout are there, guests’ under their email.

![The order in Avalara's Transactions.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-19-avalara-transaction.png)

*The order in Avalara’s Transactions.*

![An exempt order in Avalara, with its exemption reason.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-20-avalara-exempt.png)

![A customer's certificate in Avalara's certificate dashboard.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/avatax-21-avalara-certificate.png)

*A customer’s certificate in Avalara’s certificate dashboard.*

*Troubleshooting*

## Fix it fast

The usual causes when tax, orders or certificates do not look right, and the log that shows every call.

### If something looks wrong

The usual causes, in the order to check them.

**No tax at checkout**

Check that **Calculate tax with Avalara** is on and AvaTax is the store’s tax service ( Settings › Taxes ); that the company collects tax in the customer’s state ( **Collects tax in**, not Nowhere yet ); that the address is one Avalara taxes ( **Addresses Avalara taxes** ) and has a state and postal code; that the products are marked taxable and their tax codes are taxable there; and that the customer is not tax exempt.

**The tax looks wrong for a product**

Check the product’s Avalara tax code, then try it with that address in Getting started. Avalara’s answer lists every jurisdiction and rate.

**An order stays Waiting to send**

Orders go to Avalara through WP-Cron, which runs when someone visits the site. If your host switched it off ( DISABLE_WP_CRON ), the card says so: press Send now, and ask your host to run wp-cron.php every few minutes.

**An order stays Recorded**

It is not paid yet, or Commit orders when is set to shipped or never. Commit now on the order’s card commits it at once.

**Could not send**

The card shows Avalara’s last error. The usual ones: a license key generated again in Avalara ( paste the new one in Connection ), a company that was removed or renamed ( pick it again in Company ), or an address Avalara cannot place. Fix it and press Try again.

**A certificate did not apply**

The certificate must be valid, not expired, and cover the state the order ships to. The customer code must match: check the customer’s email did not change, and that Customer code in Avalara was not changed after customers were sent. Exemption certificates must read Ready.

**A certificate would not go to Avalara**

Avalara needs the customer’s street address, city, postal code and country, so add a billing address to the account. A guest order needs an email. Then press Try Avalara again on the order’s Tax exemption card.

**The exemption box does not show**

Ask at checkout must be on, AvaTax must be the store’s tax service, and the cart must hold a taxable product. A customer whose exemption is already on file sees a note instead of the box.

**No address suggestions**

They are for US and Canadian addresses, only when Avalara’s version differs from what was typed, and only while Suggest address corrections is on.

Still stuck? Set **Log Avalara calls** to Everything, try again, and open a ticket at [wpeasycart.com/my-account](https://wpeasycart.com/my-account) with the log entry from Settings › Logs.

### Logs and data

What is written to Settings › Logs, and what happens when the extension is deleted.

**Log Avalara calls** ( default: Errors only )

What goes to Settings › Logs under AvaTax: **Errors only**, **Everything** while you troubleshoot, or **Nothing**. Each entry has what was sent, Avalara’s answer and how long it took. Street lines and emails are masked unless everything is logged.

**Delete the order history when the extension is deleted** ( default: Off )

On, deleting the extension also deletes its record of which orders are in Avalara, your customers’ exemption reasons, and the exemptions and certificates claimed at checkout. Off keeps them in case you install it again. Settings and backup rates are always deleted.

**Forget saved tax answers** ( a button )

Checkout reuses Avalara’s answer for the same cart and address for 30 minutes. **Forget** makes it ask again, such as after changing a rule in Avalara.

![Logs and data.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/avatax-08-logs-and-data.png)

*Keep going*

## Related panels

- [Taxes](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/tax-setup-and-features/): Where AvaTax is chosen as the tax service, and your own rates.
- [Pricing](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/product-pricing-tax/): A product’s taxable switch and its Avalara tax code.
- [User Accounts](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/user-accounts/): Exclude from tax, and the customer’s Avalara card.
- [Order Management](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/order-management/): Where each order’s Avalara and Tax exemption cards live.
- [Log entries](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/log-entries/): Every call to Avalara that failed.

## AvaTax comes with WP EasyCart Premium

A Premium license includes AvaTax and every other WP EasyCart extension, with updates and support. You still need your own Avalara account; Avalara offers a free trial.

[Get WP EasyCart Premium](https://www.wpeasycart.com/premium/) · [See what is included](https://www.wpeasycart.com/wordpress-shopping-cart-pricing/)

![The WP EasyCart admin: orders and offers](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cta-wpeasycart-pro-v2.jpg)

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Source: https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/avatax-extension/ ( updated 2026-10-19 )