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There are a lot of different reasons why you might mark a sale, or part of a sale, tax exempt. Often, sales to non-profit organizations and charities are typically exempt from sales tax. Be sure to familiarize yourself with your state’s tax laws before using tax exemptions. Take a look below to see how quick it is to mark all or part of an order as tax-exempt, how to set up a customer with a tax ID so that their invoices are automatically exempt from sales tax, and how to review tax exempt information in your LifeSaver Software software.

Using Tax Exemption on an Invoice

To get started, you will need to access the Invoice page. Do so using one of the following methods. 

• Click the Write Work Orders button on the Home page and add your work order details. Then, click the Add To Invoice button. 
• Click the Write Invoice button on the Home page. 
• On the Home page, click the Invoice Search button. When the Invoice Search page loads, search for an active existing Invoice using whatever information you have, then click the Search button. When you find the invoice you want, click the Edit button. The Editing Work Order window will open, click the Full Edit button, and the invoice’s page will open.
• On the Home page, click the Browse Invoices button, find the active existing Invoice you want and click the Open button. The Editing Work Order window will open, click the Full Edit button, and the invoice’s page will open.
• Start a new invoice by clicking Write Invoice on the Home page.

On the Invoice page, click the Tax Exempt option at the top of the page to mark the entire invoice exempt or click the Tax Exempt option on each line item that is exempt. 

Pro Tip: If a customer’s account record already includes a Tax ID, the Tax Exempt check box will be selected for you once you’ve added them to the invoice. You can deselect it if you want to charge tax on individual items or the entire order.

Taking payment on an invoice with exempted sales tax is exactly the same as taking payment on any other invoice. Simply click the Save button on the Invoice page to begin finalizing your payments. In the pop-up window that opens, click the Yes button in response to the Take Payment question. 

Proceed with your usual steps for completing the sale, selecting the payment method and noting that the Tax charge is $0.00 (or reduced to exclude any exempted items on the invoice). Then, click Apply Payments to finalize. 

Pro Tip: If your store collects partial payments, remember to mark the invoice as tax exempt before applying any payment so the system correctly excludes tax.

 

Add a Tax ID to a Customer

Tax IDs are added for customers from the Add New Customer page. To access it, go to Home > Customer Database and complete one of the following:

• For existing customers, search for the customer and click the Edit button. 
• For new customers, click the Create New button. 

Once on the Add New Customer page, enter the customer’s tax exempt tax ID in the Tax ID field and click Save.

Pro Tip: When you enter a tax ID here, the Tax Exempt check boxes are automatically selected when you assign this customer to a work order or invoice. 

Later, when you view the customer details, you’ll see a Tax ID listed in the Business section of the Customer Details page.

 

Add a Tax ID to a Customer From an Invoice

You can add a Tax ID to a customer record while working on an Invoice. To do so, click the Select Customer button on the Invoice page and select either option from the drop-list. Depending on your selection, you’ll do one of two things to access the Customer Expanded View window. 

• From the Add New Customer window:
  Enter the customer’s basic demographic information and then click the Customer Details button at the bottom of the Add New Customer window to open the Customer Expanded View window.
  
• From the Select Customer window:
  Search for the customer on the Select Customer window and click the View Details button.
  
  

Once you are in the Customer Expanded View window, enter the customer demographic information (if this is a new customer) and enter their Tax ID in the Tax ID field at the bottom of the window. Then, click OK to save.

 

Tax Exempt Reports

LifeSaver Software Software provides specialized reports for tracking tax exempt transactions. You can access these reports by clicking the Reports button on the Home page and then clicking Tax Exempt.  

• The Tax Exempt Order Summary Report lists all tax exempt invoices (by date, invoice, customer, and order total).  
• The Tax Exempt Delivered Order Summary Report shows tax exempt invoices that were delivered within a chosen date range.  
• The Tax Exempt Payment Summary Report details payments for tax exempt invoices.  
• The Tax Exempt Paid in Full Report displays invoices flagged as tax exempt that have been fully paid.  

 

Related Topics

Working With Customers

Tax Exempt Reports

Create an Invoice

Working With Work Orders

Process a Payment on an Invoice

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I always have to click “Tax Exempt” for returning customers?  

A: If the Tax ID is already saved in the customer’s profile, the system will automatically mark invoices as tax exempt. You can verify in the upper right side of the Invoice Window.

 

Q: Do I have to mark an entire invoice as tax exempt, or can I exempt only certain items?  

A: You can exempt the entire invoice or just specific items. Check the Tax Exempt field for the line item or for the entire invoice.  

 

Q: Where do I enter the customer’s Tax ID?  

A: You can create or edit a customer profile in the Customer Database. Enter the Tax ID there, and the software will automatically apply tax exemption whenever you create a new invoice.  

 

Q: How do I see a summary of tax-exempt payments for a specific time frame?  

A: Go to Reports > Tax Exempt > Tax Exempt Payments. Enter your date range and click View Report or Print. 

 

Q: I have a question, but I can't find my answer here, how do I get more assistance?

A: You can ask any question at the link below, once received one of our technicians will be in touch! If you need immediate assistance, the LifeSaver Software team is available Monday through Friday, from 9:00am to 6:00pm Eastern time. Feel free to contact our support team at: 1-800-381-0600, extension 2. Or you can email us at support@lifesaversoft.com and we will respond within 24-hours.