From Manual Forms to Frictionless Onboarding: 1stopVAT’s Journey with Ondato
1stopVAT is a global indirect tax compliance company that helps businesses manage cross-border tax compliance. In simple terms, they handle the VAT side of international growth so companies don’t get lost in country-by-country tax rules.
A dedicated tax partner for businesses expanding into new markets, 1stopVAT supports VAT registration, compliance, filing, consulting, and related services across more than 100 locations worldwide. So, instead of worrying about tax returns, regulations, and deadlines, 1stopVAT’s customers can focus on what they actually set out to do: build, sell, grow, and serve their customers.
Since its foundation in 2020, the company has grown quickly into a tax compliance startup serving over 1,000 clients and processing more than 18,000 VAT returns each year. Their mission is to make VAT compliance less stressful, more efficient, and easier to manage for businesses of all sizes.
The Challenge
As 1stopVAT grew internationally, onboarding new clients became harder to manage with the tools they had. Their process depended on static PDF forms that clients were required to complete manually and return, which worked at first, but quickly started to feel outdated.
For clients operating across borders, first impressions matter. So, using manual processes felt like lacking the professional, digitally-native experience that international clients increasingly expect. Not to mention that it also created more work for the team behind the scenes.
The bigger challenge was compliance. With clients coming from multiple jurisdictions, 1stopVAT had to keep up with changing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements manually. This made the process both error-prone and difficult to scale as the company’s client base grew.
“The absence of an automated, centralized system made it challenging for us to ensure consistent compliance standards across all client engagements,” admitted Donatas Stasytis, Chief Commercial Officer at 1stopVAT.
Finally, Identity Verification (IDV) and AML screening were particularly time-intensive processes before 1stopVAT implemented Ondato. The team had to manage these steps largely by hand: collecting documents, cross-checking details, and watching for AML-related changes over time.
It took up a disproportionate amount of internal time, creating onboarding bottlenecks and slowing down the speed at which the company could begin serving new clients.
The Selection
When 1stopVAT started looking for a better way to manage identity verification and compliance, they decided to look for a solution that would unite identity verification, robust AML and PEPs screening, and flexible KYB capabilities in one place.
Just as importantly, the solution had to fit the way their team already worked. It needed to be simple to use, adaptable to their processes, and not require extensive technical integration to get started.
After comparing the available options, Ondato stood out as the strongest fit. For 1stopVAT, the platform offered the right mix of functionality, flexibility, and ease of use, helping them meet operational needs while giving international clients the smooth, professional experience they expected.
The decisive “lightbulb moment” that signaled Ondato was the right choice was Ondato’s IDV functionality, which signed the deal in 2023.
As Donatas Stasytis explained it: “Seeing that Ondato enabled our company representatives to verify their own identities remotely and independently was a clear signal that this was the right direction. It meant we could offer our clients a self-service verification experience, removing the need for back-and-forth communication and making the entire onboarding process feel modern and frictionless.”
The Implementation
For 1stopVAT, bringing Ondato into their onboarding process felt refreshingly straightforward. The implementation was notably smooth, largely because the platform could be shaped around the way their team already worked.
Instead of forcing clients through complicated steps, 1stopVAT was able to build customized Know Your Business (KYB) forms that reflected their compliance requirements while staying intuitive and easy to complete. This meant they could collect everything they needed for proper due diligence without making the process feel heavy for clients.
Just as importantly, Ondato’s solution adapted to 1stopVAT’s existing workflows rather than requiring the team to rebuild their processes from scratch. The technical lift was minimal, too. Since the platform did not require deep integration, the rollout was managed entirely by the Legal team, without needing dedicated IT or development resources.
Here is how Donatas Stasytis described the implementation process:
“The process was straightforward and efficient, allowing us to get up and running quickly without the delays that often accompany more complex software rollouts. This ease of adoption was an important factor in ensuring a smooth transition for the wider team.”
Today, 1stopVAT uses a comprehensive suite of Ondato solutions: KYB forms, Identity Verification, AML screening, and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) checks.
The Results
With Ondato in place, 1stopVAT is now able to onboard its customers faster and more smoothly, and scale across borders more easily. The company’s customers can complete the KYB procedure and verify themselves entirely online, choosing the time that works best for them, no matter their location or time zone.
This shift removed a major friction point from the process. Customers no longer need to coordinate with the team during office hours or go back and forth over documents. Instead, onboarding feels more autonomous, convenient, and modern.
For the 1stopVAT team, Ondato also helped balance strong compliance with a better customer experience. AML and KYB checks now happen seamlessly within a user-friendly digital workflow, improving onboarding speed while strengthening the consistency and quality of compliance procedures.
“The qualitative improvements in our onboarding process are clearly evident: the reduction in manual handling, the removal of document chasing, and the ability for clients to self-serve through the verification process have all contributed to a noticeably more efficient operation,” outlined Donatas Stasytis.
Looking at the Whole Journey
For 1stopVAT, working with Ondato has been a positive and practical partnership from the start. The platform proved to be reliable, flexible, and well-suited to the needs of a business that serves clients across multiple jurisdictions.
What mattered most was that Ondato did not just solve one isolated problem. It became part of the entire way 1stopVAT manages client due diligence every day – from smoother onboarding to more consistent compliance operations.
“From the initial onboarding to day-to-day use, the cooperation with Ondato has been smooth, and the product has consistently delivered on what it promises. Ondato has become an integral part of how we manage client due diligence, and it continues to support our growth as we expand our international client portfolio,” concluded Donatas Stasytis.
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If your platform is navigating similar challenges around KYC, KYB, AML, or compliance at scale, Ondato can help.
Get in touch to explore how we can support your growth while keeping your users safe.
