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Company Settings

Tax Group Settings

Tax groups in Helm WMS hold the tax rates you charge in each country or region, so the right rate is applied to the products and orders they're linked to.

How Tax Groups Work in Helm

A tax group is a named set of tax rates, one for each country or region you sell into. Link products to the right tax group and Helm applies the right rate for wherever an order is going, so totals and invoices are correct without anyone working tax out by hand.

Tax is based on where the order is shipped to, not where it is sent from. If a tax group has a rate for the order's destination, Helm applies it; if it has no rate for that country, no tax is added.

Example: a tax group called "Standard Rate" holds 20% for the United Kingdom and 19% for Germany. A £100 item going to Manchester is taxed at £20; the same item going to Berlin is taxed at £19.

Before You Start

  • Where to find it: go to Settings and, under Company Settings, choose Tax Group Settings.

  • Know your rates: list the tax rates you charge in each country or region, and which products they apply to.

  • Plan one group per tax treatment: for example standard rate, reduced rate and zero rate, each holding the rates for all your destinations.

How to Create a Tax Group in Helm

  1. On Tax Group Settings, click Create Tax Group.

  2. Enter a Tax group name your team will recognise, such as "UK VAT 20%" or "EU Zero-Rated".

  3. Optionally add a Tax group description explaining when to use it.

  4. Leave Group status set to Active so the group can be used.

  5. Under Country Tax Rates, choose a Country & Region and enter the Tax (%), for example 20.00.

  6. Click + in the Country Tax Rates header to add another country, and repeat.

  7. Click Create.

Note: the bin icon removes a single country row, and Reset All clears the whole form so you can start again.

Managing Your Tax Groups

The list shows each group's Tax Group Name, how many Countries it covers and its Status.

  • See the rates without opening a group: hover the info icon beside the country count.

  • Change a group: click the ... button in the Actions column and choose Edit. Update rates here when tax rules change.

  • Retire a group: edit it and switch Group status off, rather than deleting it, so its history stays clear.

  • Find a group: use the search bar or Filters at the top of the list.

Linking Tax Groups to Products

Products carry a tax group. To save choosing it every time, set a default in Settings > Company Settings > System Defaults under Inventory Creation Defaults. Every new product then starts with that tax group, and you only change it for products taxed differently.

Tip: set your most common tax group as the default, then create separate groups only for the exceptions, such as children's clothing or books.

Example: UK & EU Standard Rates

  1. Click Create Tax Group and name it "Standard Rate".

  2. Add United Kingdom at 20.00.

  3. Click + and add Germany at 19.00, then France at 20.00.

  4. Click Create.

  5. In System Defaults, set Tax Group to Standard Rate and click Save Changes.

New products now pick up the right rate for UK, German and French orders automatically.

Best Practices & Notes

Name Groups by Treatment, Not by Product

"Reduced Rate" stays meaningful as your range grows; "Kids' T-shirts" does not.

Keep Shipping Addresses Accurate

Because tax follows the destination, a wrong country on an order means the wrong rate.

Review Rates When Rules Change

When a country changes its tax rate, edit the group once and every linked product follows.

FAQ

The product's tax group has no rate for the order's destination country. Add that country to the group.

Yes. Add a row for each country under Country Tax Rates, each with its own rate.

Go to System Defaults and choose it under Inventory Creation Defaults.

If tax is not appearing as you expect, contact Helm support with an example order number.

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