> This page is for Documentation, version Integration guides (default).
> For other versions, use one of these documentation indexes:
> - Integration guides (default): https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/integration-guides/llms.txt
> - Refactor guides: https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/refactor-guides/llms.txt
> - Get certified: https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/get-certified/llms.txt
> - Agent to Agent (A2A): https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/agent-to-agent-a2a/llms.txt
> - AI use cases: https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/ai-use-cases/llms.txt
> - API versioning: https://avalara.ferndocs.com/docs/api-versioning/llms.txt

> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://avalara.ferndocs.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://avalara.ferndocs.com/_mcp/server.

# Design the transaction workflow

This section describes some best practices when designing your document workflow. Before beginning, consider the following questions:

* What kind of ERP system are you designing?
  * Will your workflow [include a posting process](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/erp-workflow-with-posting), or will the workflow [not include a posting process](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/erp-workflow-without-posting)?
  * [Does your ERP support credit memos?](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/credit-memos-without-posting)
* [When is it appropriate to call AvaTax for tax calculation?](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/calculating-tax)
* [When should you record (commit) a transaction?](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/when-to-commit)
* How will you validate addresses? Will you be using Avalara's service? If so, review the [Address Validation](https://developer.avalara.com/certification/avatax/address-validation-badge/) requirements. If not, we still require that your environment includes an address validation service (for example, Google Maps™).

[Previous](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/designing/demo-document-install)

[Next](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/design-transaction-workflow/erp-workflow-with-posting)

> **Note**
>
> Part of the **AvaTax and ECM** integration guide. [Open the full "Design the transaction workflow" milestone on Avalara](https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/) to see every page in this section.