DAVO by Avalara is proud to partner with Toast to help restaurant groups grow their operations and streamline sales tax from multiple locations. 

In a recent webinar, we spoke to Keith Santangelo, COO and CFO of Serafina Restaurant Group, about how he uses DAVO to collect, file, and pay sales tax from all 22 of the group’s locations. 

Read on to learn about how DAVO and Toast work together, and how this partnership has helped Serafina Restaurant Group overcome their growing pains.

DAVO and Toast go together like butter and toast

What do you get when you pair a powerful POS like Toast with a simple to use solution like DAVO? An easy way to eliminate the headache of sales tax.

One spot for all your sales tax needs

When DAVO is integrated with Toast, DAVO will automatically collect the correct sales tax amount for every purchase made on Toast’s platform. Sales tax is set aside daily, so you never have to worry about not having enough money set aside to pay sales tax when it’s due.

All of your filings are in one place, so in the case of a tax audit you’ll have all of the information you need. 

DAVO guarantees filing and paying sales tax on time and in full, whether you pay quarterly or monthly. 

DAVO costs just $54.99 per month per location. But did you know that in 27 states there is a discount for filing your taxes on time? The amount of that discount can significantly reduce the cost of DAVO. 

Collect sales tax on DoorDash with DAVO and Toast 

Toast seamlessly integrates with DoorDash, which is why so many restaurants choose Toast as their POS. When you add DAVO, your sales tax will automatically be collected even on orders made through DoorDash. With other systems, restaurants have to go into the delivery platform to calculate and collect sales tax, and may risk paying the wrong amount in sales tax. 

Automatically collect sales tax from every location

Franchises and restaurant groups often struggle to collect sales tax consistently from every single location. With DAVO and Toast, sales tax is automated. 

DAVO works closely with franchises and restaurant groups to ensure proper onboarding and set up, so you’ll never have to worry again that your sales tax isn’t being collected from one or more of your locations. As long as your locations are using Toast and DAVO together, sales tax will be collected, filed, and paid automatically.

Get caught up on past due sales tax

Often restaurant groups will switch to a new POS because they are looking to address inefficiencies in their operations. This can include being behind on sales tax. With Toast Capital, you can quickly apply for a loan to help you pay your overdue taxes. And with the DAVO integration turned on, you won’t have to worry about falling behind again. 

How DAVO and Toast helped eliminate the stress of sales tax for Serafina Restaurant Group 

The idea for Serafina started – of all places – while founders Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato were stranded at sea together. Serafina Fabulous Pizza, their first restaurant, opened in New York City in 1995. 

Since then, Serafina has expanded with 13 locations in New York, 4 more locations around the U.S., and 12 locations globally. 

We spoke to Keith Santangelo, COO and CFO of Serafina, about how he uses Toast and DAVO to manage sales tax across all of Serafina’s U.S. locations.

Like many restaurant groups of their size, Serafina’s corporate team is relatively small, which means that everyone in the team wears a lot of hats. With their many locations, collecting, filing, and paying the correct sales tax is important for everyone on the teams.  

“Toast has been a great partner, as has DAVO. I can’t overstate the convenience of the two together and wish I had found it years and years ago.” – Keith Santangelo, COO & CFO, Serafina

Keith uses DAVO and Toast to ensure the correct management of sales tax across all platforms. “I never have to worry about sales tax again unless there’s a minor issue, which I usually am alerted to by DAVO.” As an example, Keith talked about one location that was under construction but still set up on Toast. DAVO reached out to make sure it was correct that no sales or taxes were being collected from that location. 

Collecting and setting aside sales tax daily helps Keith save hours a week on reconciliations and preparing files. In addition, New York State requires each location and user to have a separate log in for tax collection. DAVO helped him set this up. 

Every month, Keith’s accounting team can log into the DAVO dashboard to make sure everything is working correctly. Other than the monthly check-ins, his team doesn’t have to worry about sales tax. 

When sales tax is filed, DAVO sends Keith an email, so he knows that Serafina is always filing on time and in full. 

One of the most useful tools that Keith points out is the daily emails he gets from DAVO. This one email contains information from all U.S. locations about what the sales were, and what sales tax were collected and set aside. 

“DAVO is like my silent partner in the tax field” – Keith Santangelo, COO & CFO, Serafina 

“DAVO is like my silent partner in the tax field,” Keith summarizes. DAVO as an extra member of the team has allowed Serafina to stay on top of their sales tax despite their rapid growth. 
Are you a Toast user and want to automate your sales tax? Learn more about how DAVO and Toast work together.