Getting started with TaxEqual

What the app does for you automatically, and the steps we need from you — in order.

Generated: Sep 8, 2026

What this document covers

1	What TaxEqual does for you — the work that runs automatically
2	What we need from you — the setup steps, in order
3	Your ongoing routine — what happens each filing period
4	Who does what — our responsibilities and yours
5	Menu reference — where everything lives

1 · What TaxEqual does for you

Once the setup in section 2 is complete, all of the following runs on its own. You do not have to trigger any of it.

Capability	What happens	Where you see it
Order & refund sync	Every order, line item and refund is imported as it happens, plus a historical backfill from the start date you choose. Products and locations sync too.	Dashboard
Tax calculation	Each order line is resolved to its state, county, city and special districts, and taxed by product category. We record what you collected against what was owed, so shortfalls and over-collection are visible.	Tax Reports
Economic nexus tracking	Running sales and transaction totals per state, measured against that state's own threshold and measurement window. You are alerted as you approach one and again when you cross it.	Nexus Report
Filing-ready reports	Per state, per filing period, on that state's own frequency and due dates: summary, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown, and the underlying transactions. Exportable as CSV or PDF.	Tax Reports
Filing history	Every period you mark as filed is recorded with the amount and the date, so a state can be reconciled later.	Nexus Setting
Alerts	In-app and email notices for approaching and crossed nexus thresholds, returns coming due and overdue, filing confirmations, and sync failures.	Notifications
Multi-store & other channels	Nexus is measured across every store you link and across the off-platform revenue you record — because a state measures your total sales into it, not just this storefront's.	Settings
Data protection	Your customers' names, email addresses, phone numbers and street addresses are discarded on arrival and never stored — only the city, region and postal code that decide which tax applies. What is kept is encrypted, and Shopify's data-deletion requests are honoured automatically.	—

2 · What we need from you

Nine steps. Steps 2 and 4 are required before the numbers can be trusted; the rest sharpen the results. Each step says where to go and why it matters.

1	Install the app and let the first sync finish Dashboard Nothing to fill in. On install we create your organisation, register the webhooks, and begin importing products, locations and orders. A large catalogue or a long order history can take a while — the Dashboard shows progress.

Set your sync start date — REQUIRED

Historical Sync

Choose the earliest date you want tax history from — normally the start of the current tax year, or the date of your first sale if you are catching up on past periods.

Why it matters: every figure in the app is bounded by this date. Periods before it are empty because no orders were fetched, not because none were made. The app holds you on this screen until it is set, precisely so you are never shown a confident zero for a period we have no data for.

Complete your business profile

Business Profile

Fill in the details a state return asks for, and upload the documents you already hold:

Legal business name and tax ID / EIN
Owner name, email and phone
Filing contact name, email and phone
Business address — street, city, state and ZIP
Registration certificates, sales-tax permits and state correspondence

Why it matters: these are the identifiers a state expects on a return, and your address is what establishes home-state (physical) nexus.

Tell us the states you are registered in — REQUIRED

Nexus Setting → Add state

Add one entry per state where you hold a sales-tax permit, and give us:

The state
Your filing frequency there — monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual, exactly as the state assigned it
The date nexus was established / your registration took effect
The business name on the permit, if it differs from your legal name

Why it matters: we can see where you are selling, but only you know where you are registered and on what schedule. Without this, filing periods and due dates cannot be produced for that state. Where we detect that tax is already being collected in a state, we will ask you to confirm it — confirming turns a detection into a registration you have asserted.

Map your product types to tax categories

Settings → Product types

Match each of your own Shopify product types to a tax category — general merchandise, apparel, grocery, digital goods and so on.

Why it matters: states tax these differently. Left unmapped, everything is treated as general merchandise, which overstates tax owed in states that exempt clothing or food.

Record sales made off this platform

Settings → Off-platform sales

Enter revenue and transaction counts, per state and period, for channels this app does not sync — a marketplace, a second cart, wholesale or in-person sales.

Why it matters: economic nexus is measured on all your sales into a state. Leaving these out understates your position against the threshold and can hide a state you are already required to register in.

Link any additional stores

Settings → Linked stores

If you run more than one Shopify store under the same legal entity, generate a link code on one and redeem it on the other.

Why it matters: a state measures the entity, not the storefront. Linked stores are rolled up into one nexus position and one set of returns.

8	Choose your plan Plan & Usage Pick the plan that covers the number of states you file in and your order volume. Approving the charge happens in Shopify's own billing screen. Why it matters: the number of states you can track, and the export features available to you, are set by your plan.

9	Set your notification preferences Notifications → Notification settings Choose which alerts you want, and the email address they go to. Why it matters: nexus thresholds and filing deadlines arrive whether or not you are logged in. Email is how you find out in time to act.

3 · Your ongoing routine

Once you are set up, this is the whole of the recurring work.

When	What you do	Detail
Continuously	Nothing	Orders sync and are taxed as they are placed. New states appear in the nexus report as you start selling into them.
When alerted	Act on a nexus warning	When a state is approaching or has crossed its threshold, register with that state, then add it under Nexus Setting with the frequency the state assigns you.
Each period end	Review the report	Open Tax Reports, pick the state and period, and check the summary and jurisdiction breakdown against what you collected.
Then	File and pay with the state	Export the report as CSV or PDF and use it to complete the state's own return. Payment is made to the state directly.
Finally	Mark it filed	Marking the period filed records the amount and date, clears the reminder, and keeps your filing history complete.
As needed	Keep the inputs current	Add off-platform sales for the period, map any new product types, and update a filing frequency whenever a state changes yours.

4 · Who does what

TaxEqual does	You do
Sync orders, refunds, products and locations	Set the sync start date the history is measured from
Resolve every line to its jurisdictions and compute tax collected vs. owed	Map product types so category exemptions apply
Track each state's economic-nexus threshold and warn you	Register with the state, and tell us the registration and frequency
Produce the return figures, period by period, with due dates	Submit the return and pay the state
Keep the filing history and send the reminders	Mark each period filed once it is done
Maintain the rate and rule data behind the calculations	Record sales made through channels we do not sync

Please note. TaxEqual prepares the figures and the filing calendar; it does not submit returns or remit tax to a state on your behalf, and it does not register you with a state. The app is compliance software, not tax advice — for a position that turns on the facts of your business, confirm it with a qualified tax professional.

5 · Menu reference

Menu item	What it is for
Dashboard	Sync status, headline figures, and a resync or recalculation if you need one
Tax Reports	Filing periods by state — review, export, and mark as filed
Nexus Setting	The states you are registered in, their filing frequency, and filing history
Nexus Report	Where you stand against every state's economic-nexus threshold
Plan & Usage	Your plan, what it includes, and your charge history
Business Profile	Legal entity details, contacts, address and uploaded documents
Historical Sync	The sync start date, and requesting an import of older orders
Notifications	Your alerts, and which ones you want by email
Document	This guide