Atmos International seeks faultless tax compliance solution

Atmos International (Atmos) is a world-leading pipeline leak detection company with a range of unique software and hardware solutions that has seen the business grow rapidly since it was founded in 1995. The business has six offices in the UK, US, Costa Rica and China. Its clients operate in the oil, gas, chemical, water, aviation and mining industries, and they span 60 countries.

The Atmos finance team has worked with Avalara since 2016, when they chose to implement AvaTax to overcome the challenge posed by increasing sales tax complexity. Improving accuracy and compliance were the overriding business objectives.

Geoff Gill, Head of Finance at Atmos explains, “Before we started working with Avalara, we were managing our tax compliance using spreadsheets and data from our Sage ERP. The process was time-consuming and as the business expanded internationally, we recognised the need for an automated solution to guarantee accurate calculations, and help us stay compliant.”

With activity currently in 14 US states, keeping on top of the huge number of rates and thresholds would be extremely time-consuming if it were still handled manually. Using AvaTax means the correct sales tax rate is applied automatically, and the team is alerted when transaction volumes are approaching a level that will trigger economic nexus. With sales growth at approximately 20% per annum, automation is seen as the only viable option.

The team wanted a solution that could integrate with the Sage X3 ERP system. AvaTax’s pre-built connector made the implementation quick and painless. Ease of use was also important – the team did not want to have to grapple with complicated functionality.

Geoff Gill continues, “We found the software really easy to set up and start using. My team received brilliant training from Avalara, which allowed us to hit the ground running. The software provides a lot of detailed information, the user interface is well-laid out, and it’s easy to pull the reports we need. Avalara’s helpdesk is always available if we have any specific queries.”

In 2020 Atmos added two more Avalara cloud-based solutions to the service: Avalara Returns and CertCapture. These tools work seamlessly together with AvaTax to provide end-to-end sales tax compliance, from sales tax calculation and exemption certificate management to filing and remitting tax returns.

Working with a trusted partner means that Geoff and the team can focus on other more valuable non-compliance work, safe in the knowledge that Avalara’s software is as robust and reliable as Atmos’ own engineering solutions.