What is Multi-Rate Tax Configuration?
By default, each product, service, or sale line in Digitail carries exactly one tax rate. Turning on Enable multiple tax rates per product/service lets a single product, service, or sale line carry several tax rates at once - for example GST and PST together. When more than one rate applies, Digitail adds the percentages together and applies the combined rate automatically whenever that product or service is charged. This is a clinic-wide setting, not a per-user preference.
Before you start
You need the Administration Settings permission
Know which tax rates are required before you start, since Percentage and Applicable Tax Area cannot be changed after a tax rate is saved
Step-by-step setup
Access the Tax Rates manager
Go to Administration → Clinic Account → Company Fiscal Info
Scroll to the Tax Rates section below the fiscal info form
Tax rates used to live under Preferences - that page now shows a link: Go to Company Fiscal Info.
Add a tax rate
Click Add Tax Rate
Optionally enter a Name (e.g. VAT, GST, Sales tax)
Choose an Applicable Tax Area: Products & Services, Products only, or Services only
Enter the Percentage (0-100)
Click Save
⚠️ Percentage and Applicable Tax Area are locked once saved - only the Name can be edited later.
Edit or disable a tax rate
In the Tax Rates table, find the rate and use the Actions column
Click the Edit (pencil) icon to rename it, or the Disable (archive) icon to retire it
Confirm the action in the dialog
⚠️ Disabling is permanent from the UI - there's no delete. Disabled rates are excluded from all reports, current and historical, and can't be selected on new products, services, or sales going forward.
Enable multiple tax rates per product/service
Go to Administration → Preferences → Inventory & Billing
Turn on Enable multiple tax rates per product/service
⚠️ This cannot be turned off from the UI once enabled. Contact support if you need to revert it.
Apply tax rates to a product, service, or sale line
Open a product's Tax field, a service or a sale entry
Select a tax rate from the list (only rates matching the item's Applicable Tax Area, and not disabled, will show)
If multi-rate is enabled, select additional rates as needed (maximum two rates allowed)
Save the item
Once a product or service is tagged with its tax rate(s), you don't need to do anything extra at the time of sale - Digitail applies the combined tax automatically whenever that item is charged. Manual selection on a line is only needed for one-off, untagged sale lines.
How to verify it works
Open a product or service and confirm the correct tax rate(s) show in the tax selector
If multi-rate is on, check that selecting a second rate is possible
Run a test sale for that item and confirm the tax amount on the invoice matches the selected rates and applied automatically with no extra step
If a rate doesn't appear as selectable, check its Applicable Tax Area and Status - it may be disabled or scoped to the wrong item type
Related settings
Company Fiscal Info tab - where the Tax Rates manager lives
Products / Services setup - where tax rates get attached and stored per item
Switch an Existing Clinic from Single-Rate to Multi-Rate Tax - migrating existing products once multi-rate is enabled
Bulk Update Tax - bulk-reassign a single tax rate across many products
Common Questions
Can I delete a tax rate instead of disabling it?
No. There's no delete option - tax rates are archived (disabled) to preserve historical accuracy on past reports and sales.
Can I turn off multiple tax rates once I've enabled them?
Not from the UI. Contact Digitail support to revert the setting.
Why doesn't a tax rate show up when I try to apply it?
Check that its Applicable Tax Area matches the item type (product vs. service), and that it isn't disabled.
Do I need to select tax rates every time I make a sale?
No. Once a product or service is tagged with its tax rate(s), the combined tax applies automatically at checkout. You only pick rates manually on ad-hoc sale lines that aren't already tagged.