Here’s is an edited Press Release about an interesting new service that I suspect will crop up everywhere. I can’t imagine the release getting too much play since it’s all fluff and no substance.

At around $1200/yr there should be plenty of room for competition for such a service.

On-Demand Sales Tax Calculation Service Now Integrates With Great Plains 8.0 Accounting System

Avalara’s Innovative AvaTax ST Sales And Use Tax Solution Offers Instant Answers To Key Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Bainbridge Island, Washington – February 17, 2005: Avalara, the first on-demand sales and use tax provider to serve the small and medium-sized business market with integrated ERP solutions, today announced the release of AvaTax ST sales and use tax calculation service for Microsoft’s award-winning Great Plains accounting system, version 8.0.

“Releasing AvaTax ST for Great Plains 8.0 demonstrates our continued commitment to the thousands of businesses using Great Plains by offering them a way to deal with sales and use tax that’s sophisticated, accurate and affordable. We are proud to be demonstrating the utter simplicity and power of AvaTax ST within Great Plains 8.0 at Convergence, the Microsoft-hosted event, March 6-9,” noted Rory Rawlings, President and Founder of Avalara. AvaTax ST for Great Plains versions 7.0 and 7.5 were released in 2004.

“AvaTax ST works behind the scenes in Great Plains to instantly validate the customer’s address,” Mr. Rawlings added. “Then, AvaTax ST automates critical jurisdiction research and tax calculation for each of the more than 8,000 sales taxing jurisdictions in the US. This allows end-users to ensure total tax compliance, and create remittance reports, saving hours of businesses’ valuable time and helping them to avoid the cost and nuisance of sales tax audits.

“For Great Plains users, especially those selling into multiple states or jurisdictions, this is significant: With AvaTax ST you have only ONE schedule and TWO details – instead of hundreds, or thousands. Instead of researching and assigning each customer to a specific tax schedule, one single schedule applies to all customers: AvaTax. Each calculation takes into account the complex dimensions of sales tax, including customer exemptions, product taxabilities, amnesties, and sourcing rules. Those hassles are removed for the business, for good.”

Moveable Cubicle, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based business running Great Plains, concurs: “We knew from the beginning that we needed an accurate, automated, sales tax solution that would provide up-to-date jurisdictional information to our ERP without manual work. AvaTax ST for Great Plains was the most powerful, least expensive way to go,” noted Richard Whelan, Moveable Cubicle’s President.

“AvaTax ST is a stellar example of the evolution of web-service technology,” Jared Vogt, Chairman and CEO of Avalara noted. “Web-service solutions, such as AvaTax ST, offers small and mid-sized businesses flexible, on-demand services at a fraction of the price of purchasing and maintaining software in-house.

“Our clients never have to deal with sales and use tax again,” Vogt added. “And why should they? It’s a cost to their business that has no strategic value other than fulfillment of a statutory requirement, and we eliminate that cost – replacing it with a cost-saving benefit that drops directly to the bottom line.” AvaTax ST for Great Plains monthly subscription prices start at $99.95 per month.

—delete all the rest of the release