Left On Friday Makes a Splash Across 37+ States with Zamp

About Left On Friday

Women, athletes, and lovers of adventure Shannon Savage and Laura Low Ah Kee met at lululemon, where they both worked on the product team for over 11 years. One evening, while hot tubbing and chatting about their most recent surf and kiteboarding trips, the two got to talking about their frustrations with swimwear. 

They had separate suits for surfing, laps in the pool, and hanging out in the hot tub, but none of them were versatile enough to keep up with all of their different adventures. So, they took matters into their own hands and built the perfect swimsuit themselves. 

In 2019, they launched Left On Friday with swimwear women could depend on and feel amazing in, no matter the occasion. With rave reviews across Vogue, Forbes, Oprah Magazine, and more, it’s safe to say they’ve made quite a splash in the industry. 

Challenges 

As the brand continued to grow, so did their sales tax obligations.

With sales all over North America, and companies in both the US and Canada, Left On Friday was growing fast. One of the side effects of their far-reaching success was an increase in their sales tax reporting obligations. 

Being from Canada, Corporate Accounting Manager Kelly Tuohey wasn’t all that familiar with US sales tax requirements. Additionally, she inherited sales tax management after her predecessor had done an analysis on what states they needed to sign up for. 

She began to take over the process and quickly realized that getting registered for all of the states was extremely tedious. While some were straightforward and took around an hour, states that didn’t have a good backend system could take several hours to complete. 

"I really wanted a hands-off approach with sales tax, because it's not my area. With our previous provider, I was struggling to get extra assistance when I had to answer different state letters. We were coming up to the annual renewal term, and Zamp was recommended to me."

Solution

After partnering with Zamp, Kelly and her team now benefit from:   

Benefit #1: A human element to managing sales tax

Kelly no longer has to worry about registering and managing sales tax across the US. With Zamp, she knows it’ll be taken care of, and she has immediate access to a team of experts who are always ready to help.

"I've been super happy with the onboarding support. Christine and Gabrielle are both lovely to work with. They're really persistent and I really appreciate that."  

Benefit #2: Efficiency and major time savings

From previously spending hours and hours managing sales tax, Kelly now spends roughly ten to fifteen minutes each month approving what Zamp sends over. She receives a monthly email from the team and reviews it. That’s it!

"The process of registering for sales tax is tedious. To be able to be led through that especially across multiple states, it’s not like I'm just registering for one state and it's one and done. It's over and over. They had the familiarity and I didn't need to dig in."

Benefit #3: A feeling of security when it comes to sales tax compliance  

Getting started with fully managed sales tax was quick and easy. All she had to do was meet with Zamp’s onboarding specialists and follow these steps:  

1. 1. Grant access to Left On Friday’s transactional data.
2. 2. Zamp determined their sales tax requirements.
3. 3. Zamp handles all things sales tax going forward, and the team is always readily available by phone or email if she has any questions.

"It was fully managed. We’ve got your back, don't worry. We'll deal with everything that will be in your account and look for letters if they come through."

Results

Left On Friday receives ongoing sales tax management that is always consistent and reliable.  

Since Left On Friday has partnered with Zamp, they’ve had:  

• 5 months of accurate and timely filing
• 37 registrations completed
• 37 state accounts managed  

Kelly and her team don’t have to think twice about sales tax management across the US. This means they can fully dive into empowering women as they level up the swimwear industry.

"Sales tax is totally not worth it to do it yourself. It's such a lifesaver to have a company fully manage your sales tax obligations for you. Definitely reach out and have a chat, because you guys are so friendly and knowledgeable."

If you’re in e-commerce, you know how complicated and time consuming sales tax management is— and let’s be real, your to-do list is already longer than you’d like it to be.  

Stop stressing over sales tax and start getting back to what you love doing most. Stay compliant and ditch the sales tax stress with Zamp as your partner.