Avalara Acquires Portway International Assets to Help Merchants Accurately and Efficiently Navigate Cross-Border Compliance

SEATTLE, WA — August 1, 2019 — Avalara, Inc. (NYSE:AVLR), a leading provider of tax compliance automation software for businesses of all sizes, today announced it has acquired the business of Portway International Inc., a Canadian company that provides customers with Harmonized System classifications and outsourced customs brokerage services.

As global commerce continues to grow, it’s currently estimated that cross-border ecommerce sales will top $1 trillion by 2020. Accurate product information and classification is necessary to efficiently navigate customs, duties, and compliance worldwide. With the addition of Portway International’s expertise, Avalara will offer the most complete cross-border solution to help merchants navigate the complex compliance requirements governing global trade.

An effective cross-border compliance solution demands massive amounts of product information, nuanced understanding of cross-border coding and classification, and advanced technology to deliver and scale the offering. With the addition of Portway International’s expertise, Avalara can now seamlessly offer all three to its customers.

“Selling globally is the next frontier for many merchants. Customs compliance can be a hidden barrier to reaching new geographies, and we want to remove that barrier for our customers,” said Scott McFarlane, co-founder and CEO of Avalara. “By combining Portway’s experience and knowledge of cross-border compliance with Avalara’s advanced technologies and expansive product content, we can help businesses reach new customers in new regions with confidence.”

“Understanding the compliance requirements at every stage of global trade is Portway’s specialty,” said Jonathan Robinson, co-founder and CEO of Portway International. “Effective management of product and compliance data is critical to an efficient trade strategy. We are proud to integrate our knowledge into Avalara’s existing cross-border compliance tools and systems for businesses looking to grow their global sales.”

Avalara pioneered cloud-based tax automation and has continued to innovate to keep its customers ahead of tax and technology changes. With this acquisition, Avalara continues its strategy to acquire leading content, technologies, and expertise required to drive the global compliance revolution.