Overview
This article covers everything related to sales tax and purchase tax for USA dealerships using Blackpurl — from initial setup and configuration through to running tax reports and controlling tax calculations on Customer Orders. If you are unsure about any tax settings at any time, contact Blackpurl Support and they can arrange a call or meeting to walk through your specific concerns.
How Tax Works in Blackpurl
Understanding how Blackpurl handles tax with your accounting package is important before making any changes to your tax settings.
Both QuickBooks Online and Xero do not allow third parties like Blackpurl to integrate directly with their Tax General Ledgers or tax defaults.
At activation, your dealership was set up with dedicated BP Tax Collected and BP Tax Paid General Ledgers in your accounting package, which were then mapped in Blackpurl.
When a Customer Order invoice or a vendor invoice with tax integrates from Blackpurl to Xero or QuickBooks Online, the tax appears as a line item pointing to the relevant BP Tax Collected or BP Tax Paid General Ledger.
For tax reporting, use Blackpurl rather than Xero or QuickBooks Online to pull the relevant reports.
When remitting tax to the relevant government authority, you will need to allocate payment to the BP Tax Collected or BP Tax Paid General Ledgers in your accounting package.
Blackpurl uses a third-party tax specialist to keep your tax rates current and ensure the correct rates are applied.
Accessing Tax Settings
All tax settings for your dealership are located under Admin > Tax Activity in the Blackpurl header.
To access this section, users must have the Tax Management user permission enabled on their account.
For information on managing user permissions, see User Permissions in Blackpurl Reference.
Tax Activity & Settings
The Tax Activity & Settings screen is reached by navigating to Admin > Tax Activity in the Blackpurl header. The screen contains four tabs: ACTIVITY, SETTINGS, TAX CODES, and MANUAL TAX RATES.
Each tab is covered in detail below.
A. Activity
The Activity tab is where you run the Tax Activity report (also known as the Tax Detail Report). Enter a From and To date range, then click Search to generate the report.
By default, the report excludes internal invoices. To include internal invoices, uncheck the Exclude Internal Invoices? checkbox and run the report again.
The Tax Activity report summarises:
Your Tax Collected on Sales, including a breakdown of each individual sales tax that makes up that total
Your Tax Paid on Purchases, including a breakdown of each individual purchase tax that makes up that total
The results are specific to your dealership. The following fields appear in each section of the report.
Tax Collected on Sales
Tax Name | Lists the total of all Tax Collected on Sales, along with each individual sales tax that makes up that total. |
Transaction Count | The number of transactions that make up this tax. |
Taxable Amount | The taxable amount that this tax was calculated on. |
Tax Amount | The tax amount that was calculated. |
Non Taxable Amount | Any non-taxable amount associated with this tax. |
TOTAL: Tax Collected on Sales | The total of all your sales taxes. Each individual sales tax is listed below this line with its own transaction count, taxable amount, tax amount, and non-taxable amount. If you have multiple sales taxes they will all be listed individually. |
Tax Paid on Purchases
Tax Name | Lists the total of all Tax Paid on Purchases, along with each individual purchase tax that makes up that total. |
Transaction Count | The number of transactions that make up this tax. |
Taxable Amount | The taxable amount that this tax was calculated on. |
Tax Amount | The tax amount that was calculated. |
Non Taxable Amount | Any non-taxable amount associated with this tax. |
TOTAL: Tax Paid on Purchases | The total of all your purchase taxes. Each individual purchase tax is listed below this line with its own transaction count, taxable amount, tax amount, and non-taxable amount. If you have multiple purchase taxes they will all be listed individually. |
Use the Print and Export buttons at any time to print or export the report — this will include both the summary and the individual transactions that make up each section, depending on which screen you are on.
To drill down into the transactions that make up a particular sales or purchase tax, click on the Tax Name. Blackpurl will display a list of the individual transactions. Use the back arrow to return to the main Activity search results screen.
B. Settings
The Settings tab is divided into the following areas:
General Settings
Account Types / Tax Exemptions
Automatic Tax Rate Controls
Accrued Tax Controls
Default Applicable Tax Codes
General Settings
Tax Id on documents | If your government requires your Tax ID to appear on Customer Order documentation such as invoices, record your dealership's Tax ID number here. |
Prices include sales tax | Indicates whether prices in Blackpurl include sales tax. For USA dealerships, this is typically set to No as US dealers are not required to include sales tax in the displayed price. |
Trade tax credit cannot exceed unit tax | When you take a trade-in on a Unit Deal, the trade-in tax credit cannot exceed the amount of unit tax payable. For further detail, see Trade In Tax Credit cannot exceed Unit Tax (no longer available). |
Unit options that are taxed like the unit | Select which unit options are to be taxed at the same rate as the unit sale. Click the field to see the available options and make your selections. |
Group Individual Taxes on Sales | When disabled, all sales taxes on Customer Orders are listed separately on customer documentation such as invoices. When enabled, all sales taxes are grouped as one line item and you can choose what to call the grouped amount (for example, "Sales Tax"). |
Group Individual Taxes on Purchases | When disabled, all taxes on vendor invoices are listed separately. When enabled, all purchase taxes are grouped as one line item and you can choose what to call the grouped amount. |
Account Types / Tax Exemptions
The Account Types / Tax Exemptions section lists the account types and tax exemptions currently set up in your Blackpurl. A default set is created during activation in consultation with your activation team, but you can amend or add more as required. For full details on how to create and manage account types, see Setting up Account Types (includes the control of tax exemptions) (no longer available).
Automatic Tax Rate Controls
State Tax / County Tax / City Tax / District Tax | Lists each tax category so you can control the Tax Category and the Forms Label used on documentation. These are typically discussed and configured at activation. |
Tax Category | For each of State Tax, County Tax, City Tax, and District Tax, select the tax category you want to use. This is usually set up at activation. |
Forms Label | The name given to each tax as it appears on printed documentation. This is usually set up at activation. |
Current Default Tax Rates | Lists the default taxes based on your dealership's location. |
Check for updates | Blackpurl uses a third-party tax specialist to keep tax rates current. If you believe rates are incorrect or a known change is not yet reflected, click Check for updates to trigger a review. Blackpurl also checks for updates automatically on a regular basis. |
States which you collect & remit sales taxes for | Lists the states your dealership collects and remits sales taxes for. If a customer's state is not on this list, the user cannot select tax based on that customer's address — the dealership's default taxes will apply instead. To add a state, click the states field and select the state from the list. Once selected, it is added to the list automatically. |
For deals, auto enable Tax based on customer address | When enabled, each new Unit Deal will automatically have the Tax based on customer address toggle enabled by default. If the customer lives in a state the dealership does not collect and remit sales taxes for, the tax will automatically revert to the dealership's default taxes and the toggle will remain disabled. |
Accrued Tax Controls
The Accrue input tax until units are sold (NITC) setting is only applicable for certain locations such as Australia. If your dealership requires this configuration, contact Blackpurl Support.
Default Applicable Tax Codes
The Default Applicable Tax Codes section lists the default tax codes set up in your Blackpurl. These are configured during activation. To change a default, click into the relevant field and select from the available options in the dropdown.
If you are unsure what changes are needed or what the impact of changing these defaults will be, contact Blackpurl Support before making any changes.
D. Manual Tax Rates
The Manual Tax Rates tab is covered before Tax Codes (tab C) because understanding tax rates is required before tax codes can be explained. This tab is divided into Sales transaction manual tax rates and Purchase transaction manual tax rates.
Sales transaction manual tax rates — tax rates that apply only to sales transactions such as parts sales, Unit Deals, and service jobs.
Purchase transaction manual tax rates — tax rates that apply only to purchase transactions such as vendor invoices for parts and units.
What are tax rates?
For USA dealerships, tax can be complex — some states require multiple rates that are combined together into a single Tax Code. Tax rates are usually configured during activation, but you may need to create new ones over time.
To create a new tax rate, click Add new tax rate. The New selling tax rate window will open with the following fields:
A. Tax Name | Type in the name for this new tax rate. |
B. Category | Allocate a category to the new tax rate for accounting integration purposes. |
C. Type | Select from three options:
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D. Rate | Enter the percentage rate. The format depends on the Type selected in field C. |
E. Forms label | The name that will appear on Customer Order invoices and other documentation when this tax is printed. |
F. Minimum tax | Applies when the Type is Escalating or Tiered. Enter the minimum tax amount if one applies. |
G. Maximum tax | Applies when the Type is Escalating or Tiered. Enter the maximum tax amount that can be charged if one applies. |
H. SAVE | Click SAVE when you have completed the new tax rate. |
To edit an existing tax rate, click the edit (pencil) icon on the relevant line item. Blackpurl will open the tax rate for you to make changes.
To delete a tax rate, click the delete (trash) icon on the relevant line item. You will be asked to confirm the deletion.
Once you have the required tax rates available, you can create Tax Codes — see the next section.
C. Tax Codes
Tax Codes allow you to combine two or more tax rates together to produce the total tax applicable for a given situation. For example, if a customer is in a location where the dealership must charge a State Tax of 5% and a GST of 8%, both would be set up as individual tax rates (using Manual Tax Rates), and then joined together as a Tax Code to ensure the correct combined tax is calculated and charged.
Tax Codes are split into two sections:
Tax Codes for sales transactions — applicable to sales transactions such as parts sales and Unit Deals.
Tax Codes for purchase transactions — applicable to purchase transactions such as vendor invoices.
Tax Codes are usually configured during activation, but you may need to create new ones. To create a new tax code, click Add new tax code. You will be prompted to create either a New selling Tax Code or a New Purchase Tax Code.
The New selling Tax Code window contains the following fields:
A. Tax Code name | Type in the name for this new Tax Code. |
B. Active | Enable the toggle to make this Tax Code active and available for selection in Blackpurl. |
C. Default | Enable the toggle if this Tax Code should be the default. |
D. Automatic Rates | Enable or disable the toggle for each tax type as required. You can also set a Maximum Taxable Amount if applicable. |
E. Applicable manual rates | Add any applicable manual rates to this Tax Code. |
F. Assign rates | Assign rates to the Tax Code as required. |
G. Save | Click Save when you have finished configuring the Tax Code. |
To delete a Tax Code, click the delete (trash) icon on the relevant line item and confirm the deletion.
To review or edit a Tax Code, click the edit (pencil) icon on the relevant Tax Code line item.
Tax Options on Customer Orders
Within a Customer Order, the Unit Deal, Parts & Accessories, and Service Job sections each provide tax options including the ability to calculate taxes based on the customer's billing address or shipping address.
Unit Deal Section
Each time a new unit is added to the Unit Deal section, the default tax setting loads automatically. The user can leave it as-is to apply the dealership's default taxes (usually based on the dealership's address), or select an alternative tax calculation method.
Tax settings set in the Summary section apply as the default for all units on that Unit Deal. Tax settings can also be adjusted on a per-unit basis within each individual unit section.
Summary section tax controls
1. Sales Taxes | Lists any sales tax attached to the whole Unit Deal. A Unit Deal may include multiple units. Click the info icon to see a full breakdown of the taxes applied. |
2. Calculate taxes based on: Billing Address | Enable this toggle to calculate tax based on the customer's billing address. Blackpurl reads the billing address on the Customer Record to determine the applicable tax. The full billing address must be recorded on the Customer Record. If the customer's state is not in the list of states the dealership collects and remits sales taxes for, Blackpurl will show the error: You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address, and the default dealership taxes will apply instead. You can set billing address tax as the default — see item 37 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls in this article: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
2. Calculate taxes based on: Shipping Address | Enable this toggle to calculate tax based on the customer's shipping address. Blackpurl reads the shipping address to determine the applicable tax. The full shipping address must be recorded. If the customer's state is not in the list of states the dealership collects and remits sales taxes for, Blackpurl will show the error: You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address, and the default dealership taxes will apply instead. |
Per-unit tax controls
Within each individual unit sold on the Unit Deal, additional tax controls are available.
3. Calculate taxes based on customer: Billing Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's billing address for this specific unit. The full billing address must be on the Customer Record. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. You can set this as default — see item 37 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
3. Calculate taxes based on customer: Shipping Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's shipping address for this specific unit. The full shipping address must be recorded. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. |
4. Special tax | If a special tax applies to this unit, enable the taxable toggle and select the relevant special tax. |
5. Tax these options the same way | Choose whether to tax unit options at the same rate as the unit, or leave them to be taxed locally as per the dealership's setup. |
Unit Deal tax scenarios
The following common scenarios illustrate how to configure the per-unit tax controls.
Scenario 1 — Customer buys a unit / dealership default tax applies / no special taxes / all options taxed at the default rate.
Scenario 2 — Customer buys a unit / dealership default tax applies / a special tax also applies / all options taxed at the dealership's default rate.
Scenario 3 — Customer buys a unit / dealership default tax applies / a special tax also applies / all options taxed the same way (not locally).
Scenario 4 — Customer buys a unit / tax is based on where the customer lives / no special taxes / options taxed at the local rate.
Scenario 5 — Customer buys a unit / tax is based on where the customer lives / no special tax / options taxed at the same rate as the unit.
Scenario 6 — Customer buys a unit / the customer lives in a state the dealership does not collect and remit sales taxes for. If the user tries to enable tax based on the customer's billing address, Blackpurl displays the error: You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address. The Unit Deal automatically defaults to the dealership's default taxes.
For the list of states your dealership collects and remits sales taxes for, see item 36 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available).
Scenario 7 — Customer buys a unit / tax is based on where the unit is shipped to / no special taxes / options taxed at the local rate.
Scenario 8 — Customer buys a unit / tax is based on where the unit is shipped to / no special tax / options taxed at the same rate as the unit.
If you have a scenario not covered here, contact Blackpurl Support for assistance.
Parts & Accessories Section
The Parts & Accessories section loads with the dealership's default taxes. Additional tax options are available in the summary section of the order.
6. Calculate taxes based on customer: Billing Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's billing address. Blackpurl reads the billing address on the Customer Record. The full address must be recorded. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. For the list of applicable states, see item 36 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
6. Calculate taxes based on customer: Shipping Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's shipping address. The full shipping address must be recorded. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. For the list of applicable states, see item 36 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
7. Override how taxes are calculated? | Enable this toggle to override the default taxes with a special tax, then select the relevant tax. You will also need to select which Item Types the override tax applies to. |
8. Sales Tax Details | Lists all sales tax attached to the Parts & Accessories section. Click the info icon to see a full breakdown of the taxes applied. |
Service Job Section
The Service Job section loads with the dealership's default taxes. Additional tax options are available in the summary section of the job.
9. Calculate taxes based on customer: Billing Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's billing address. Blackpurl reads the billing address on the Customer Record. The full address must be recorded. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. For the list of applicable states, see item 36 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
9. Calculate taxes based on customer: Shipping Address | Enable to calculate tax based on the customer's shipping address. The full shipping address must be recorded. If the customer is in a state the dealership does not collect and remit for, Blackpurl shows the error You don't collect/remit sales taxes for the state indicated on the customer address and defaults to dealership taxes. For the list of applicable states, see item 36 under Settings > Automatic Tax Rate Controls: USA - Taxation including Reporting / Setup / Changing Tax on Customer Orders (no longer available). |
10. Override how taxes are calculated? | Enable this toggle to override the default taxes with a special tax, then select the relevant tax. You will also need to select which Item Types the override tax applies to. |
11. Sales Tax Details | Lists all sales tax attached to the Service Job. Click the info icon to see a full breakdown of the taxes applied. |
