Filing each state

In short: The File screen has four steps for each state: register, lock the numbers you approve, enter them in the portal, then track the answer and the invoices. Everything you lock is kept in your archive. Packtally prepares each step; you register, submit and pay yourself, through your company's authorized representative.

Step 1: Register

Where you owe, register your company with Circular Action Alliance (CAA) and sign the producer agreement and the state's addendum. Then record it in Packtally's registration tracker: the date you registered and, if you like, your CAA producer or account number.

For California's small producer exemption, record the date you filed it with CalRecycle. California only counts the exemption once it's filed, and it has to be renewed every two years, so Packtally works out the renewal date and reminds you. Where you look exempt and there's nothing to register, Packtally says so and points you to step 2 to lock the exemption record as your proof.

The tracker comes with the Exempt plan and up.

Step 2: Sign and lock

When a state's numbers look right, lock them. You type the name of the person who reviewed them, add a note if you like, and check a box confirming that Packtally is a preparation tool and that your company alone is responsible for what's submitted. The words are stored with the version, word for word.

• Each lock is a numbered version with a data fingerprint and the rules version it used. The files are kept exactly as they were.
• Report states lock a filing (Report plan and up). Exempt states lock an exemption record with the numbers behind it (Exempt plan and up). A California exemption record includes your month by month California sales evidence.
• If the data year isn't over, later orders will still change the numbers. Lock again after December 31.
• With sample data on, anything you lock is marked as sample and is removed with the sample data.
• Locks open when your plan starts, not during the trial.

Step 3: Enter it in CAA's portal

The portal entry sheet (Report plan and up) shows the numbers from your locked version in the order the portal asks for them, each with a copy button:

• screens 1 to 3, obligation and low volume,
• screen 4, associated producers,
• screen 5, methodology and brands,
• screen 6, supplied quantities in pounds into the state, category by category.

Check each number against your own records as you enter it. If the portal's categories or precision differ, follow the portal. Prefer a file? The filing workbook on Reports follows the same order. See reports and checks.

Step 4: Track CAA's answer and your invoices

• Mark each version I submitted it, then CAA accepted it or CAA rejected it, with the date. CAA reviews each report and can reject it or ask questions in the portal, so check it after you submit.
• Reports can't be edited once submitted. If CAA rejects one, fix what it flagged, lock a new version and submit it again.
• The invoice tracker (Report plan and up) keeps each state's invoices with the amount, the due date and when you paid. On Pro, Packtally compares what you've been invoiced with its estimate at lock; a big gap is worth a question to CAA.

When numbers change after you lock

If you fix a weight or more orders come in after you lock or submit, File shows a warning with the categories that moved and by how much, or that the state's status changed. Packtally can also email you when it happens; see alerts and deadlines. Once you've submitted, Draft a correction request writes up what was submitted, what the numbers are now, and the difference by category, for you to add the reason and send through CAA's correction process. On Pro you can also prepare reports for a prior data year to correct it.

Your archive

Every version you've locked, with the files exactly as they were and who signed them. Downloads stay open on every plan, even after you move to Free. Download everything gives you one ZIP of every locked filing and your supplier documents.

Paperwork

Ready-made papers for registering and for California's exemption (Exempt plan and up). Fill in what Packtally doesn't keep, like your tax ID.

• Registration packet: everything CAA's producer registration asks about your company, on one printable page. You register in CAA's portal yourself.
• California sales evidence: the month by month record of California sales behind your small producer exemption, as a CSV.
• Summary for your team: where you stand in every state, the other product laws to look at, how the figures were made and what's locked, on one page for a co-founder, CFO or accountant.

Share with your accountant

On Report and up, create a read-only link to your summary and locked filings for an accountant, consultant or co-founder. No Shopify login is needed. Choose 7, 30 or 90 days; anyone with the link can view it until it expires, so send it only to people you trust. The link is shown once, you can see when it was last viewed, and you can turn it off at any time.

Want an expert to check it?

On Report and up, request an expert review of a locked version. We introduce you to an independent EPR consultant, who reviews it through a 30-day read-only link, then quotes and bills you directly. Packtally doesn't review filings or give legal advice.