This blog was last updated on September 1, 2021
GoKeyless Journey
3-part Q&A blog series
This three-part blog series will cover the journey of GoKeyless as they struggle to deal with the initial impact of the South Dakota vs. Wayfair ruling. Told from the vantage point of Skip Graham, network administrator at GoKeyless, this series is an inside look at how manual compliance processes were no match for the onslaught of changing tax regulations, and what ultimately led them to pursue outside options. This series covers the criteria, consideration and implementation phases of the technology that enabled GoKeyless to solve their Wayfair problems for good.
Q: What were your priorities in selecting a partner to solve your tax problems?
A: First, we needed an all in one solution. We had already tried the route of hiring somebody with a financial CFA background to come in and manage all the taxes in all these different jurisdictions. In fact, we had tried a lot of different approaches to varying degrees of failure which is what ultimately led us down this path.
We needed a solution that was not only extremely accurate in tracking all the various tax rules and regulations, but also one that would be efficient for us to operate. Our goal was to solve our tax problems and get back to focusing on our core business.
Q: Were there any technical specifications or requirements that needed to be considered?
A: The short answer is yes. As a company, we want to keep as much as we can inside NetSuite. And when we can’t, we look to third party applications that will support it. The ability of Sovos to integrate with NetSuite was big for us.
We had previously operated a separate e-commerce platform. We had our sales reps operating out of our ERP system and we wanted to be able to streamline everything and keep things running smoothly. The ability to execute on this was a requirement as well.
Finally, we needed to ensure that whichever solution we selected had the ability to scale along with our business. Year-over-year growth as a company is something that’s always at the forefront of our minds and a primary reason why we selected NetSuite to begin with. As a result, any solutions we choose to implement into NetSuite must have the same capabilities of scale.
Q: What was your implementation experience like?
A: We probably had one of the more unique implementations you will find. Not due to anything from the Sovos side, but rather some internal changes and challenges here at GoKeyless.
When we started this process, I was not the NetSuite administrator. I came on later to manage the project through to completion. This is highly unusual to switch administrators mid- implementation.
My experience tells me, what can make or break an implementation is the kind of support and customer service you get throughout the process. I’ve worked with the many different implementation teams over the years and have been very impressed with the support and consistent resources that were provided by the Sovos team. It’s been amazing. Despite all our internal challenges and circumstances, it went as smoothly as possible. We are all very thankful for that.
Now that the process has been completed, I wish we had done it sooner. Life with a high-functioning tax engine has changed the way we are able to manage our business.
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Continue reading about the GoKeyless journey in
Part I: We thought we were ready for Wayfair, we were wrong
Part III: Life with sales tax automation
