Challenge

A Stripe customer since 2014, buyolympia initially chose Stripe for its technology-forward approach to payment processing. “The API-driven idea of payments was really the thing that made Stripe the most attractive option,” said Aaron Tuller, cofounder of buyolympia. “It felt like Stripe was a payments company tacked onto a technology company.”

While Stripe solved its payment processing needs, buyolympia faced a new challenge as it expanded: managing complex sales tax compliance across multiple states. Changes in tax regulations in 2018 and the complexity of shipping taxable goods to various jurisdictions made manual calculations obsolete. Tuller and his cofounder Pat Castaldo sought an easy-to-use automated tax solution, but they struggled to find suitable options that could integrate easily with buyolympia’s existing Stripe setup.

Solution

When Stripe released the Stripe Tax API in 2023, it was a natural fit for buyolympia, given its existing relationship with Stripe. Tuller quickly began integrating Tax, which automates global tax compliance from beginning to end—including obligation monitoring, filing, and remittance.

“Since we were already using the Stripe API, it was so easy to plug it in. We already had the credentials set up and the sandbox available to test the integration. I was already familiar with the API design, so it really made sense compared to a lot of other solutions,” said Tuller.

With Tax, buyolympia was able to offload sales tax registration in nine states. “A lot of states use the same registration forms, so in theory, it should be straightforward. But nothing in sales tax is easy, so it was a huge time-saver for Stripe to register on our behalf in nine states,” said Tuller.

In addition to registration support, buyolympia now uses Tax to manage its sales tax calculation, collection, and remittance in 11 states. The seamless integration with its existing Stripe setup simplified buyolympia’s transition to automated tax compliance, boosting operational efficiencies and ensuring accurate, worry-free management of its tax obligations—for retail, wholesale, and tax-exempt customers.

Results

Hundreds of hours saved with simplified multistate tax compliance

With Tax, buyolympia now efficiently manages its sales tax obligations across 11 states, saving hundreds of hours each month. The company leverages TaxJar, a Stripe subsidiary, to file in each jurisdiction—allowing the team to focus on revenue-generating activities.

“I don’t even know how I would manage this without Tax,” said Tuller. “The way some of these state tax laws are written, it can make tax compliance really difficult.” By streamlining compliance, buyolympia has established a strong sales tax strategy that frees up time for core business operations.

Comprehensive financial management streamlines operations

Managing the entire financial stack in one place has been invaluable for buyolympia’s small team. They can access their Stripe Dashboard for a holistic view of their financial and revenue health, further simplifying financial processes.

With Tax, buyolympia has transformed its sales tax compliance process, saving time and resources while ensuring accuracy across multiple states. This efficient solution allowed the company to focus on its core mission of supporting artists and growing its business.