+1 480 485 7373
Microsoft Teams
Excise tax instead of sales tax
Hawaii's general excise tax, administered by the Hawaii Department of Taxation, is levied on the business's gross income rather than on the customer, though businesses commonly pass it on in their prices or as a visible line on invoices. Counties can add a surcharge on top. Wholesale and retail activities are treated differently. Those features make it a poor fit for a copy-and-paste sales tax setup from the mainland.
In Business Central we build the general excise tax deliberately. If you pass it on to customers as a line item, the US sales tax functionality can calculate it by island or county using tax jurisdictions and tax areas. If it is built into prices instead, the tax becomes an expense you accrue from revenue by activity type, and revenue accounts or dimensions are organized so the return figures are easy to pull. Which approach, and the rates to apply, is a decision for you and your tax advisor; our job is making the system follow it consistently.
Hawaii also has a use tax on certain imports, which matters to companies bringing goods in from the mainland. We set up use tax handling on purchase documents once your advisor confirms how it applies.
Hawaii operating challenges Business Central can address
Ocean freight in product cost
Container and barge charges, handling and wharfage are assigned to receipts as item charges, so margins reflect what goods really cost on island.
Inventory across islands
Each island warehouse or store is a location, with transfer orders tracking goods in transit between Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai.
Long replenishment lead times
Lead times and safety stock on each item keep planning realistic when the next sailing is days away.
Tourism-driven demand
Hotels, restaurants and retailers use forecasts and budgets that reflect visitor seasons instead of flat monthly targets.
Who in Hawaii we build Business Central for
- ✓Food and beverage distributors supplying hotels, restaurants and grocers
- ✓Hospitality groups running several properties or restaurant concepts
- ✓Retailers with stores on more than one island
- ✓Coffee, macadamia and other agricultural producers selling locally and to the mainland
- ✓Construction and trades companies managing jobs and materials shipped from the mainland
- ✓Service contractors supporting the state's significant military presence
Working across the Pacific time gap
- 1
Morning Hawaii, midday Arizona
Our working sessions sit in your morning, which is early afternoon in Phoenix. That window holds most workshops and training.
- 2
Written scope first
Modules, excise tax approach, island locations, integrations and data migration are agreed in writing.
- 3
Sandbox testing by island
Your team tests transfers between islands, freight charges on a real container and excise tax on sample invoices.
- 4
Cutover timed to your sailing schedule
Go-live avoids weeks when large shipments land, so receiving and stock counts are manageable.
- 5
Visits by arrangement
When a warehouse layout or a training room needs us there, a visit is planned and agreed ahead.
Hawaii companies, frequent questions
Can Business Central calculate Hawaii general excise tax on invoices?
Yes, if you pass the tax on as a separate line, using jurisdictions and tax areas for the state rate and any county surcharge. If you build it into prices instead, we track it as an accrued expense based on revenue by activity. Rates, the pass-on amount and wholesale versus retail treatment should be confirmed with your tax advisor. We then configure the approach you choose and test it on real invoices.
How do we track stock moving between islands?
Each island site becomes a location, and goods move between them on transfer orders. Business Central can show inventory in transit while goods are on the barge. Freight between islands can be added to cost with item charges if you want it reflected in margins.
Is the time difference a problem for support?
It is manageable with planning. Hawaii is three hours behind Arizona all year because neither observes daylight saving time. Your morning overlaps our afternoon, and we schedule go-live support to cover your working day.
Are you based in Hawaii?
No, our office is in Phoenix, and Hawaii projects run remotely. Video sessions handle design, configuration and training well. On-site time can be arranged when a warehouse walk or a team session calls for it.
We are a small retailer. Is Business Central too much?
It might be, and we will say so. A single store with simple books may be better served by a point-of-sale system and a small accounting package. Business Central makes sense once you run several locations, meaningful inventory or more than one entity.
Talk to us about your project.
Tell us what you run today and what has to change. A senior consultant replies with a written next step.