John Pinto, the founder of BoomBoom, grew up in a family of holistic, naturopath chiropractors. Surrounded by essential oils from a young age, John was no stranger to their benefits. However, when he discovered a life-changing product during college basketball, the idea for BoomBoom was born.

"I tried a nasal stick when I was 22, and I was completely blown away by how amazing it made my nose feel. Also, it's refreshing. And I was wondering, why is this not normal here in the US?"—John Pinto, founder of BoomBoom.

Inspired by the widespread daily use of nasal sticks in Southeast Asia, John set out to bring this concept to the United States. In 2015, he went all-in with BoomBoom, creating daily-use nasal sticks made with menthol and essential oils to help people breathe better through their noses.

"We create nasal sticks that help people breathe better through their noses daily. It's made with a blend of menthol and essential oils. And the original concept comes from Thailand, Southeast Asia, where daily use of nasal sticks is already prevalent."

From 2015 to 2020, BoomBoom focused on direct-to-consumer sales, leveraging the power of Instagram direct messages to test the concept and gather feedback. 

John's grassroots approach involved handing out samples at bars in Los Angeles, generating organic shares and word-of-mouth marketing. In 2018, a game-changing appearance on Shark Tank opened the door to a broader audience and sparked the company's push into retail.

Challenge: Sales tax compliance in multiple states

As BoomBoom expanded, the complexities of handling sales tax across numerous states began to take their toll on John and his team. In the early days, the company struggled to keep up with sales tax remittance, often needing to catch up in figuring everything out.

"Early on, I don't think we were sending in sales tax in the first two years. I didn't know what we were doing. We were late the first year when we were figuring everything out."

John found himself holding onto this tedious task, spending time handling sales tax remittances every quarter with just days left to submit. As BoomBoom grew, the team realized they were approaching nexus thresholds in multiple states. They knew they needed to find a solution. 

John first turned to TaxJar to handle his sales tax needs. However, he quickly grew frustrated with their lack of pricing transparency and poor communication.

"I can't remember what happened, but they annoyed me by not being transparent. There was just something not transparent about the pricing."

John then switched to Avalara, hoping they could fully handle his sales tax compliance. Unfortunately, he again faced poor communication and many unresolved issues. 

"Avalara was frustrating because they'll get to you. They say they get you signed up for each state. But they don't. They only do some of it, and then there's still a lot of manual work they just send back to you."

John became burdened by dealing with Avalara for sales tax filing and management. The service simply was different from what he expected.

"They billed us as if they were handling the complete state sales tax, and that was not the case."

Avalara focused only on the simple filing of returns. Any problems or communication from tax authorities fell back on John to resolve. Getting support from Avalara to fix these issues was nearly impossible.

After struggling with Avalara for over a year, John knew he had to make a change. Avalara's service was incomplete, leaving John with too many sales tax issues to handle alone. He needed a service to take the sales tax burden off his shoulders.

Solution: Numeral, the sales tax solution

John discovered Numeral through LinkedIn and was immediately drawn to the platform's ease of use and automation capabilities. The onboarding process with Numeral was straightforward, and John appreciated the hands-off approach that allowed him to focus on growing his business. 

"It was effortless and straightforward onboarding, which was great.”

One of John's standout features was the minimal effort required. Numeral handled the entire registration process in the necessary states, ensuring compliance with local tax laws. Now, he simply clicks the "approve" button when monthly or quarterly remittances come in, with auto-approval set up in some instances. This streamlined process has significantly reduced the time and effort required for sales tax compliance.

"It was obvious early on that we wouldn't have to do anything anymore, which was fantastic. You guys connected directly to our Shopify; you connected directly to our was as simple as signing a few documents where you guys could go and, and kind of register in certain states we needed to register in."

The most valuable aspects of Numeral for BoomBooms include:

• Direct integration with Shopify and Amazon
• Automated registration in states where Boom Boom met crossed nexus thresholds
• Monthly and quarterly remittance of sales tax on behalf of Boom Boom Naturals
• Auto-approval of sales tax filings, eliminating the need for manual review

Impact: Less than five minutes a month on sales tax compliance

Since partnering with Numeral, John and his team have experienced a significant reduction in the time and energy spent on managing sales tax. The once tedious and time-consuming task has been virtually eliminated, providing them with much-needed relief and allowing them to focus on growing the business and exploring new opportunities.

"It's completely removed the nuisance of remitting sales tax. I don't think about it at all. It's amazing, which is fantastic."

The automation and ease of use provided by Numeral have proven invaluable for Boom Boom Naturals. John no longer has to worry about the time-consuming process of manually handling sales tax across multiple states, which gives him peace of mind and the freedom to pursue new opportunities for his business.

"You guys are definitely my favorite. I won't dive too deep into many different SaaS products because they are added monthly. We've stripped some of that back over the years, and then sometimes we'll build stuff back in, but it is the best thing we've added recently."

By the numbers

Throughout the conversation, John shared some impressive growth numbers for BoomBoom:

• Started as a side project in 2015, went all-in with the business the same year
• Focused on direct-to-consumer sales from 2015 to 2020
• Appeared on Shark Tank in 2018, opening the door to a broader audience
• Expanded into retail over the last few years
• Now present in over 13,000 retail stores

Numeral's sales tax experts handled all compliance aspects, from registrations to reconciliations. With the sales tax burden lifted off his shoulders, Tom can drive BoomBoom's growth to new heights.