Common Errors Returned by Avalara.

Common errors returned by Avalara AvaTax are: 1) Description length must be between 0 and 255 characters 2)An incomplete or invalid origin or destination address was given. Read below to learn more about these messages.

Once Acctivate has been integrated with Avatax, some common error messages may be returned when the tax call is made by saving a sales order, quote, or transaction in Acctivate. Below is a list of common errors that are returned by Avatax when Acctivate is not properly configured:

1. Description length must be between 0 and 255 characters.

This error refers to the length of the description field on the product record. If it exceeds 255 characters, you will need to edit the product and shorten the description, then refresh the order to apply the changes.

2. An incomplete or invalid origin or destination address was given.

This error refers to one of the address fields related to the transaction. According to Avalara, a taxable address must include a (line, city, and region (state)) or a (line and zip) or a (region (state) and postal code). The invalid data could be in one of three locations:

  • The Customer Ship To address
  • The Customer Bill To address
  • The address for the warehouse of the related products
    • The address for the branch is used when an order line does not contain a warehouse.

Avalara's website contains a complete list of errors returned by Avatax, along with a brief explanation of the error. For issues related to connecting an Avalara AvaTax account or URL to Acctivate, see this article.  If you encounter an error in Acctivate when saving an order and are not sure how to proceed, contact our support team.