Linking Avalara AvaTax as a source
Let AI connect your sources for you
Skip the manual setup — run this in your project and the wizard auto-detects your databases and APIs and connects them to PostHog.
This source is currently in alpha. The interface and available tables may change.
The Avalara AvaTax connector syncs companies, transactions, nexus, and more into the PostHog data warehouse, so you can analyze them alongside your product data.
Prerequisites
Credentials that can read the data you want to sync. PostHog only reads data, so read access is enough.
Adding a data source
- In PostHog, go to the Sources tab of the data pipeline section.
- Click + New source and click Link next to this source.
- Enter your credentials (see Configuration below) and click Next.
- Select the tables you want to sync, choose a sync method and frequency, then click Import.
Once the syncs are complete, you can start querying this data in PostHog.
Connect your Avalara AvaTax account to pull tax transactions, companies, nexus, customers and exemption certificates.
Use your AvaTax account ID and a license key (found under Settings > License and API Keys). Generating a new license key immediately revokes the previous one. Sandbox and production credentials only work against their matching environment, so pick the one your account was created in.
You'll be asked for:
- Environment: choose between Production and Sandbox.
- Account ID
- License key
Sync modes
Each table can be synced in one of several modes, depending on what the source supports:
- Webhook (when available) – the source pushes changes to PostHog in real time. Fastest freshness, lowest ongoing cost, and the only mode that reliably captures updates and deletes.
- Incremental – only new or updated rows are synced on each run, using a cursor field (such as an
updated_attimestamp). Cheaper than a full refresh, but deletes aren't captured. - Append only – new rows are appended using a cursor field; existing rows are never updated. Ideal for immutable, append-only tables like event logs.
- Full refresh – the whole table is reloaded on every sync. Use it when a table has no reliable cursor or when you need deletions reflected.
See sync methods for a full explanation of how each mode works and how to choose between them.
All Avalara AvaTax tables are full refresh. Each sync replaces the contents of the table.
Configuration
| Option | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
Environment | select | Yes |
Account ID | text | Yes |
License key | password | Yes |
Supported tables
| Table | Description | Sync method | Incremental field | Primary key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Companies | A company (or subsidiary) registered in your Avalara account that AvaTax calculates and reports tax for. | Incremental, Full refresh | modifiedDate | — |
Transactions | A recorded taxable action (sale, purchase, return, or inventory transfer) with its calculated tax detail. | Incremental, Full refresh | modifiedDate | — |
Nexus | A jurisdiction where this company has a legal obligation to collect and remit tax. | Incremental, Full refresh | modifiedDate | — |
Customers | A customer of this company, used to apply exemptions and track exemption certificates. | Incremental, Full refresh | modifiedDate | — |
ExemptionCertificates | A tax exemption certificate a customer has provided to this company. | Incremental, Full refresh | modifiedDate | — |
Troubleshooting
- If the connection fails with an authorization error, the license key is wrong, expired, or has been revoked. Create a new one, then reconnect the source.
- If a table syncs no rows, the credential may not have access to that data. Check its permissions, then reconnect the source.
If your sync is failing or data looks wrong, see the Data warehouse troubleshooting guide. If that doesn't help, contact support – we're happy to help.