E-Commerce
CPG
SaaS
Multi-Channel Sellers
Accounting Partners
Getting quality sleep is essential for optimal energy and overall wellness. However, a major challenge for people struggling with fatigue is staying and falling asleep. That's where MoonBrew comes in.
The company was founded by Allan Shen and his co-founder Andrew Case in 2021, initially launching as NoonBrew before pivoting to focus entirely on sleep wellness in early 2024. They realized that true energy begins the night before, and that most people's energy problems stem from poor sleep quality. MoonBrew's sleep products are designed to help people achieve restorative sleep naturally by focusing on ingredients like superfoods and adaptogens.
Since their rebrand and focus shift, they've sold over 10 million servings nationwide and built a loyal customer base who have transformed their sleep and energy levels.
Challenges
Growing businesses can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by multi-state sales tax complexity.
As MoonBrew scaled, their sales tax situation became increasingly complex. What started as manageable sales tax compliance became a major challenge as they reached nexus in more and more states—and had to register and file in each of those states to stay sales tax compliant.
The problems began when third-party bookkeepers were entrusted to set up and manage their accounts with each state, in addition to filing sales tax returns. As they cycled through various bookkeepers and firms, login credentials were lost in the process, leaving MoonBrew locked out of several state accounts.
Co-founder Allan Shen found himself spending hours each day on phone calls with state tax departments, trying to regain access to accounts. States refused to provide information to company officers who weren’t the original registrants, requiring power of attorney documents and an extensive verification process.
After regaining access, Allan realized that sales taxes were not filed timely under their former bookkeepers, causing back taxes to accumulate. He realized they needed a truly managed sales tax service, not just another vendor. That’s where Zamp came in.
And so, at some point, we were just like, look, this is not going to work because this is not a white glove service as they described. And that’s when we called Zamp. The Zamp team was able to prepare an estimated view based on our sales history, their Shopify integration, and then slowly regain access to our accounts.
Solution
Not spending time on sales tax allows Allan and his team to focus on helping more customers achieve better sleep and improved energy levels.
Benefit #1: A completely managed service
With Zamp, Allan knows that sales tax compliance is taken care of by experts from start to finish. The Zamp team stays on top of registrations, filing, and more for Allan and the MoonBrew team. All he has to do is click approve each month.
At the beginning of the relationship with Zamp, I made it very clear to the team about the issues that we were looking to resolve and we needed a resolution to this. And they got it done. That’s what gave me the utmost confidence in continuing our partnership with Zamp.
Benefit #2: Clear communication with sales tax experts
Allan doesn’t have to wait around for a response to his sales tax questions. He’s able to speak with Zamp’s experts whenever he needs to.
Anytime I have a question, I can just reach out on Slack, and I know someone will get back to me about it. I'll get emails from different states as well and I'll just forward it directly to the Zamp team. All these little nuances just makes it a breeze to work with Zamp in that manner, versus having to chase someone down.
Benefit #3: One price, no surprises
Price is always a concern for any startup, and many sales tax solutions don’t offer transparent pricing that includes what you need to stay sales tax compliant. Allan doesn’t have to worry about paying extra for filings or any of the day-to-day sales tax work.
Pricing is always a big one. As a startup, we’re very prudent with any of these partnerships that we go into. So price is a big factor.
Results
Allan spends just minutes on sales tax each month, since Zamp handles everything from registrations to filing.
See how the MoonBrew team’s sales tax requirements have been taken care of since partnering with Zamp:
- 14 months of accurate and timely filing
- 45 registrations completed
- 45 state accounts managed
With freedom from the stress of sales tax, Allan and the MoonBrew team can focus on revolutionizing the sleep wellness industry with natural solutions for their growing customer base.
Here’s his advice to other businesses that are evaluating sales tax providers:
It’s really about when you reach scale and what the support may look like. Think in advance, you know, two, three years down the road, this business is really scaling. Things become more complex. Think about what type of service your existing firm or whatever firm you're using would offer you and see how scalable that is.
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