On March 13, 2025, GTM hosted an insightful webinar titled “Get Your Hands Off Sales Tax,” featuring Jim Ford and Dave Hillegass, both Managing Directors of GTM’s State & Local Tax Practice. Both very familiar with the time-consuming and data-intensive nature of sales and use tax compliance, Jim and Dave walked through various approaches companies can take to streamline this critical process.
The monthly sales tax compliance cycle presents significant challenges for tax departments. They must quickly compile, reconcile, and transform sales and procurement data from multiple sources, then prepare returns, cut checks, and execute payments — all within a tight timeframe of just a few days.
With thousands of taxing jurisdictions across the United States and changing tax laws emerging each year, the complexity of compliance continues to grow. Add in the need for transaction-level detail and variations in reporting requirements, and it’s clear why many organizations are seeking more efficient approaches to manage this statutory requirement.
How tech can help
We don’t have to tell sales tax compliance professionals that the tech landscape is complex these days. There are two types of technology tax professionals can take advantage of:
- Sales & Use Tax technology includes tax calculation engines and compliance preparation software.
- Ancillary technology solutions can serve many purposes, including tax compliance when employed correctly. Data management/manipulation tools, robotic process automation (RPA), data storage solutions, and data visualization tools fall under this category. While these ancillary technologies aren’t tax-specific, they’re increasingly valuable for managing large data volumes and automating repetitive formatting tasks required for compliance.
The speakers outlined how these technological components fit within the broader seven-phase compliance process, presenting options for in-house and outsourced compliance models to address the challenges of managing obligations across U.S. taxing jurisdictions.
In-house vs. outsourced models
When managing sales and use tax compliance, organizations must choose between in-house and outsourced approaches, or some combination of both. In-house models rely on internal data systems, specialized return software, and constrained resources, requiring dedicated data manipulation tools and specialized skillsets, with some companies leveraging offshore resources for support. Outsourced approaches offer varying scopes depending on the provider, with payment processing either handled directly by the provider or through third-party services that can be integrated either directly or indirectly with the compliance workflow.
Seven phases of compliance to consider
The presenters broke down the sales and use tax compliance process into seven distinct phases, each of which offers opportunities for technological enhancement and/or outsourcing, including:
- Reporting
- Tax liability determination
- Return preparation
- Filing
- Payment and cash management
- Journal entries
- Account reconciliation
Considerations for choosing your approach
The balance of cost and time is key to deciding how “hands-on” you’ll be with your compliance approach. The webinar concluded with a discussion of key considerations for implementing a successful compliance process, emphasizing that the right approach depends on each organization’s specific needs, resources, and compliance complexity.
As sales and use tax compliance grows increasingly complex, organizations face a critical decision: maintain an in-house process or move to an outsourced model. The webinar provided valuable insights into both approaches, highlighting the technology, processes, and considerations necessary for success.
Whether you choose to keep your sales tax compliance in-house or “get your hands off” through outsourcing, the key is implementing a process that minimizes errors, meets statutory requirements, and optimizes your tax department’s resources.
Click here to learn more about GTM’s Sales & Use Tax Compliance Services or connect directly with practice leaders Jim Ford and Dave Hillegass. View the full webinar recording here.
