Thirty Years of Sales Tax

A 30th Anniversary reflection by Diane Yetter.

Thirty years. Three decades. Almost 800 clients, 79 people who’ve called this place their professional home, and the original sales tax nerd who still can’t quite believe the ride.

August 6, 1996, to August 6, 2026. Here’s some of what we’ve seen along the way — in the world, in sales tax, and in this company.

I started Yetter Consulting Services as a sole proprietorship, working out of my condo in Chicago. I had to get my building’s bylaws changed because they wouldn’t sign off on my business license application — nobody was running a business out of a condo in 1996. I didn’t have a smartphone but did have a large portable cell phone. I had a travel agent, because booking a flight online wasn’t a thing yet. I had a website – one of the only ones with sales tax information, and my research tool of choice was Lexis Nexis, because nobody else had put state tax information online. Our first client was Vertex, where I worked as a contract trainer and our first consulting client was Microage Computer (thanks to a prior co-worker).

I could not have told you, back then, that thirty years later we’d have worked with clients in 17 countries, taught sales tax to people who couldn’t tell you what “nexus” meant, or that I’d have built not just one business but one that includes three distinct recognizable brands under one roof.

The Milestones

By the Numbers

Some of this still doesn’t feel real when I write it down.

People. We’ve had 79 employees pass through this company over 30 years — including 13 interns, five of whom stuck around and became full-time team members (that’s a pretty good hit rate). John Londay holds the record for tenure at just under 18 years, and he’s also held more roles here than anyone else — office admin, financial ops, webmaster, marketing, technical writer, and consultant. Our current team numbers 14 (largest ever) and as a 100% remote business we have staff stretching from New Hampshire to South Florida and to Portland, OR and Orange County, CA with places in between.  The largest concentration is 4 people in Chicago.  We’ve paid out more than $10 million in salaries, invested over $530,000 in training our team, and put more than $813,000 into their retirement.

Clients. We’ve worked with 792 clients over the years and currently serve 94 — everything from pre-launch startups to some of the largest companies in the world. Our clients are located in 17 countries and virtually every U.S. state.

Education. We’ve held live courses in 19 states and one foreign country. Consulting has generated about 80% of our revenue over the life of the company, and — for the record — my first billing rate was $150 an hour.

Reach. Since 2017, we’ve had over 9,000 registrations across our webinars, All-Access, and Sales Tax Nerd Community programs. Our consulting leaders are highly sought after to speak to a variety of organization. We’ve presented to more than 80 different organizations, including the U.S. Senate, the Kansas House of Representatives, the Multistate Tax Commission, and law schools and business schools across the country in addition to the leading tax, finance and sales tax technology organizations.  But we are extremely grateful to COST – who since 2001 invites us back to share our knowledge with their members at their schools and conferences.

Revenue. Across three decades, we’ve generated significant revenue for a company our size — built one client project, one class, one webinar at a time. Some of our education offerings that started as experiments turned into real pillars of the business: Jumpstart alone has trained 545 new sales tax professionals since 2018, and our Sales Tax Nerd Community has brought 181 sales tax nerds together since launching in July 2020.

What Hasn’t Changed

The tools have changed almost beyond recognition. In 1996, sales tax automation meant Vertex and Taxware (now Sovos), installed on-premise, and that was it. There was no cloud, no Streamlined Sales Tax, no economic nexus, no marketplace facilitator laws — just physical presence and Quill. Today we’re talking about how AI is going to change tax research, compliance, and risk, and I find that a little bit thrilling.

But some things haven’t moved an inch. We still believe in giving people real, usable answers instead of hedged non-answers. We still believe education should be built by sales tax pros, for sales tax pros. And I still believe that a small, values-driven company can do work that rivals — and sometimes outpaces — much bigger firms.

When I sat down with our staff to talk about this milestone, they had questions of their own — the kind that don’t usually come up in a client meeting. I wanted to answer a few of them here, publicly, because you’re part of this too.

What was the most surprising thing you encountered when you started the business?

Honestly? How much I already instinctively knew about how to run a business, even without any formal training in it. I credit my education at the University of Kansas School of Business for this – what a well-rounded program where I earned a double major in Accounting and Business Administration.

What’s surprised me even more, talking to other entrepreneurs over the years, is how many small business owners try to do everything themselves. I’ve always believed in bringing in experts to handle what I don’t know how to do myself, because in the end that costs less than me fumbling through it alone. That mindset shaped this company from day one.

What opportunities are you most excited about, and how can our team prepare to be part of that future?

A few things genuinely excite me: exploring global locations for training and consulting, expanding our VAT support through direct work and partnerships, growing our brand internationally, and going deeper into the accounting community rather than just the corporate tax world. I’d also love to see us build out nano-learning formats and a subscription-based sales tax AI tool. The best way our team can prepare is to stay curious, get comfortable with new tools and keep building genuine depth — the kind that AI can’t shortcut.

Are there new technology partnerships or service offerings you’re considering?

The sales tax technology landscape keeps getting more crowded, and we’re actively working to vet the newer vendors entering the space and understand who they’re really built for. I’d also like us to look harder at ancillary tools — certificate management in particular is an area I keep wanting to get more traction on since in my intern summer after I graduated college, I built a tool using Lotus 1-2-3! I still don’t think full compliance filing is the right lane for us, but I am starting to evaluate whether there’s a smarter, more efficient way to support clients with one-off returns. And I’d love to invest in more internal tools — for reconciliation, use tax analysis, and audit support — to help our own team work better.

Was growth always kind of steady? What’s the next milestone?

Not even close. We’ve grown more than 1,200% since our first full year in business — but it was never a straight line. 2008–2009 brought real challenges, and 2014–2015 brought some significant shifts in our partner relationships. The Sales Tax Institute side of the business tells its own story: from 1997 to 2010, STI generated minimal revenue, and represented less than 10% of our income even in our strongest consulting years. Webinars changed that. Today, STI makes up roughly 20% of our revenue, and between consulting, education, sponsorship, and commissions, we have a genuinely diversified business — which is exactly what’s let us weather the ups and downs.

As for what’s next: revenue and headcount milestones are always the easiest to name and track. And, of course, there’s the next anniversary milestone at 35 years.

What are you personally most excited about for the next chapter of the company?

More thought leadership — speaking, writing, and continuing to help shape this industry. Being able to help more companies know what the right way to manage their sales tax and helping sales tax professionals grow in their technical expertise and maybe have some become full-fledged Sales Tax Nerds. And just as much, watching our team keep growing professionally.

Where do you see the company in the next 3 to 5 years? What should we focus on and develop for our brands?

I want our brands to be known for more than just me. We’re already working to get more of our team — like Trisha Davidson and Amanda Cusack — visible through association involvement and speaking opportunities, and I want that to keep expanding. I see us continuing to be thought leaders and a go-to resource, so if any of you have ideas for resources we should be creating, please speak up — I mean that. I’d also love to keep experimenting with more comprehensive, ongoing-support programs for clients as we build the tools and expertise to do that efficiently, and I want to see our Sales Tax Nerd Community keep growing.

I’ll also be honest: succession is something I need to start thinking about – I’m not getting any younger, and my battery can’t stay charged as long these days. It’s genuinely hard for me to wrap my head around this thought. I’m not ready to leave and that isn’t in the cards now. But I also want to make sure that what I’ve spent most of my professional life building keeps doing what we do best – serving our clients, teaching and providing resources to help companies manage their sales tax obligations.  We have developed an amazing team who is empowered to ensure these principles and core values are demonstrated every day and these remain vital to our brands and those we serve.  In the meantime, I’m working on getting a little more balance into my own life too — something I suspect a few of you can relate to.

Thank You

Thirty years in, I keep coming back to the same feeling: gratitude. To every client who trusted us with something as unglamorous but critical as sales tax compliance. To every student who’s sat through a class, a webinar, or joined the Sales Tax Nerd Community. To every faculty member who’s taught alongside us. To every partner that has helped us manage and grow our business, service our clients or trust us to support their customers. And most of all, to every single person who has been part of this team — whether for one month or seventeen years. We had an amazing time as a team learning, bonding and having fun (and some great food and wine) in Napa this month.  We took the time to focus on what it will take for us to continue to serve all of you – thank you for giving us that opportunity and understanding the importance of this time for our team.

We’re not done. Here’s to the next chapter — and to staying Sales Tax Nerds together.

Diane