How to Set Up Sales Tax in PhotoBiz

Overview

PhotoBiz allows you to create Sales Tax lines in your ECommerce settings that can be used anywhere PhotoBiz provides a supported checkout. This includes ECommerce orders, Client Gallery orders, Scheduler bookings, Form Payments, and Quotes & Invoices.

Your Sales Tax lines define the tax rates and locations PhotoBiz can use when calculating sales tax. PhotoBiz does not automatically look up or create tax rates based on a customer's ZIP code or address. Instead, PhotoBiz uses the Sales Tax lines you configure and applies them to items or payments you have set to charge tax.

This guide walks you through creating a Sales Tax line, choosing where it applies, and understanding how those settings work across PhotoBiz checkout areas.

PhotoBiz provides tools for configuring, calculating, and reporting sales tax. You are responsible for determining the tax rates and rules that apply to your business. Consult a qualified tax professional or your local tax authority if you need help determining your tax requirements.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, determine the sales tax rate you need to collect and the geographic area where that rate applies.

Creating a Sales Tax line does not automatically make every product, service, booking, payment, or invoice item taxable. You must also enable sales tax on the item or payment where applicable.

STEP ONE

This opens the ECommerce Dashboard, where you can manage your payment, tax, shipping, product, and sales settings.

STEP TWO

At the top of the ECommerce Dashboard, hover over PAYMENT and click TAXES from the dropdown menu.

This opens your Sales Tax settings. You can view your existing Sales Tax lines or create a new one.

STEP THREE

Click NEW TAX LINE.

The new Sales Tax line form will open so you can enter the tax rate, location, and other settings.

STEP FOUR

Enter a DESCRIPTION for your Sales Tax line. This is the tax name customers can see during checkout, so use a clear description such as North Carolina Sales Tax.

Enter the SALES TAX RATE as a percentage. For example, enter 7.25 for a 7.25% tax rate.

Under CHARGE SALES TAX FOR CUSTOMERS LOCATED IN:, select the country where the tax applies. Then select the appropriate STATE/PROVINCE.

For most businesses, a single Sales Tax line for the state or province where you collect tax is all you need. If your tax requirements are more specific, PhotoBiz also allows you to configure county-level tax settings.

Under APPLY SALES TAX TO SHIPPING?, select YES if shipping should be included in the taxable amount or NO if shipping should not be taxed.

Review your settings and click ADD TAX LINE.

FINAL STEP

Your Sales Tax line is now saved and available for supported PhotoBiz checkout areas.

PhotoBiz will use the location and tax settings you configured when an applicable item or payment is set to charge sales tax.

Before accepting live payments, test your setup using customer information that matches the location configured on your Sales Tax line. Confirm that the expected tax appears during checkout.

Where Can Sales Tax Lines Be Used?

Sales Tax lines are managed in the ECommerce Dashboard, but they can be used across PhotoBiz wherever a supported checkout allows sales tax.

This includes:

ECommerce orders
Client Gallery orders
Scheduler bookings
Form Payments
Quotes & Invoices

The tax rates used in these checkout areas come from the Sales Tax lines you configure under ECOMMERCE → PAYMENT → TAXES.

Individual products, services, payments, or invoice items must also be configured to charge tax.

How Customer Location Affects Sales Tax

PhotoBiz compares customer location information with the locations configured on your Sales Tax lines.

For example, if you create a Sales Tax line for North Carolina, the customer's location must match North Carolina for that tax line to apply.

If the required location information is missing or does not match one of your configured Sales Tax lines, that tax will not be charged.

For Quotes & Invoices, review the location information saved for the contact receiving the invoice. The appropriate location information must be available for PhotoBiz to match the invoice to your Sales Tax settings.

PhotoBiz Does Not Automatically Look Up Tax Rates

PhotoBiz does not automatically determine a sales tax rate from a customer's ZIP code or address.

You create the Sales Tax lines your business needs and enter the rates that should be available during checkout. PhotoBiz then uses those configured settings when the customer's location and taxable item meet the requirements of the Sales Tax line.

If a tax rate changes, you are responsible for updating the corresponding Sales Tax line in your ECommerce settings.

Make Sure Your Items Are Set to Charge Tax

Creating a Sales Tax line establishes a tax rate and the location where it can apply. You must also configure the product, service, payment, or invoice item to charge sales tax.

Depending on where you collect payment, review the tax settings for your:

ECommerce products, prints, and packages
Scheduler services
Form Payments
Quote or invoice items

Client Galleries use price lists built from products, prints, and packages configured in your ECommerce settings. If you want to collect sales tax on a Client Gallery order, make sure the applicable ECommerce items are configured to charge tax.

If your Sales Tax line is set up correctly but tax does not appear, confirming that the item is taxable should be one of your first troubleshooting steps.

Optional County Tax Settings

Most PhotoBiz users only need a standard Sales Tax line for the state or province where they collect tax.

If your tax requirements vary by county, PhotoBiz also allows you to create more specific tax settings.

When you select a specific STATE/PROVINCE, the COUNTY TAXES (OPTIONAL) field becomes available. Use this option when a Sales Tax line should apply only to customers in a particular county.

If you need different rates for multiple counties, create the appropriate Sales Tax lines for each county where you collect tax.

For more information, see How to Set Up Different Tax Rates Per County.

Applying Sales Tax to Shipping

The APPLY SALES TAX TO SHIPPING? setting controls whether shipping charges are included in the taxable amount.

Select:

YES if shipping should be taxed
NO if shipping should not be taxed

Tax rules for shipping vary by location. Consult a qualified tax professional or your local tax authority if you are unsure whether shipping should be taxable for your business.

Updating Your Sales Tax Settings

You can update a Sales Tax line when your tax rate or requirements change.

Updated Sales Tax settings can be used for new transactions after you save your changes.

Existing invoices do not automatically change when you update a Sales Tax line or ECommerce item after the invoice has been created. Review existing invoices separately if they need to reflect updated tax information.

See Will My Invoice Amounts Change If I Update Sales Tax or ECommerce Items? for more information.

Using Multiple Sales Tax Lines

You can create multiple Sales Tax lines when you need different tax rates for different locations.

If more than one Sales Tax line could apply to the same transaction, pay close attention to APPLY IN ADDITION TO ANY APPLICABLE SALES TAX. Enabling this option allows that Sales Tax line to be charged in addition to other applicable Sales Tax lines.

Only enable this setting when your tax requirements call for multiple tax lines to be included in the same transaction.

Sales Tax Reports

You can use the PhotoBiz Sales Tax Report to review sales tax collected through your account for a selected period.

The report reflects the sales tax collected through PhotoBiz based on the Sales Tax lines and taxable settings configured in your account.

See How to Access Sales Tax Reports for instructions.

Additional Options or Helpful Notes

Sales Tax lines are configured in the ECommerce Dashboard but can be used across supported PhotoBiz checkout areas.
You can create multiple Sales Tax lines for different countries, states, provinces, or counties.
PhotoBiz does not automatically create or look up tax rates based on a customer's address or ZIP code.
Use a clear DESCRIPTION because customers can see the tax name during checkout.
Selecting ALL and selecting a specific STATE/PROVINCE display different tax options.
County tax settings appear after you select a specific state or province.
A Sales Tax line only applies when the transaction matches its configured location requirements.
The item or payment must also be configured as taxable.
Test your Sales Tax setup before accepting live payments.
PhotoBiz calculates and applies sales tax using the Sales Tax lines and taxable settings you configure. You are responsible for determining and reviewing the tax requirements that apply to your business.

Troubleshooting or FAQs

Does PhotoBiz automatically determine the sales tax rate from my customer's address or ZIP code?

No. PhotoBiz does not automatically look up or create tax rates based on a customer's address or ZIP code.

Sales tax is calculated from the Sales Tax lines you configure in your ECommerce settings. Customer location information is used to determine whether one of those configured Sales Tax lines matches the transaction.

Why is sales tax not appearing?

First, confirm that you have an applicable Sales Tax line and that the product, service, booking, payment, or invoice item is configured as taxable.

Next, verify that the customer's location information matches the Sales Tax line. State or province-specific taxes require matching country and state/province information. County-specific taxes also require the appropriate county.

For invoices, review the location information associated with the contact receiving the invoice.

See Why Sales Tax Is Not Appearing on Your PhotoBiz Invoice for additional troubleshooting.

Why don't I see the County Taxes option?

The COUNTY TAXES (OPTIONAL) field appears after you select a specific STATE/PROVINCE.

If ALL is selected, PhotoBiz displays APPLY IN ADDITION TO ANY APPLICABLE SALES TAX instead.

Why isn't my county tax applying?

Verify that the customer's country, state/province, and county match the location configured on the Sales Tax line.

If the required location information is missing or does not match, that county-specific Sales Tax line will not apply.

What does Apply in Addition to Any Applicable Sales Tax do?

When available, this setting determines whether a Sales Tax line is charged in addition to other applicable Sales Tax lines configured in your account.

Only enable this setting when your tax requirements call for multiple Sales Tax lines to apply to the same transaction.

Will changing my Sales Tax settings update existing invoices?

No. Existing invoices do not automatically update when you change a Sales Tax line or an ECommerce item after the invoice has been created.

Review and update an existing invoice separately if it needs to reflect your new tax settings.

Where can I see how much sales tax I collected?

Use the PhotoBiz Sales Tax Report to review sales tax collected through your account for a selected period.

See How to Access Sales Tax Reports for instructions.

Related Sales Tax Guides

After you create your Sales Tax lines, use the guide for the checkout area where you want to collect tax:

Need Help?

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Phone: 866.463.7620

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