What users are saying about
Avalara
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Top Rated
567 Ratings
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Based on 567 reviews and ratings
109 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.8 out of 100
Based on 109 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
Type of tax

7.3
Avalara
73%

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Avalara ranks higher in 4/4 features
Avalara ranks higher in 4/4 features
Sales and Use Taxes

8.7
87%
214 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Cross-border Taxes

7.6
76%
45 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
VAT / GST Taxes

6.8
68%
38 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Energy and Fuel Taxes

6.1
61%
20 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Tax Reporting & Compliance

7.8
Avalara
78%

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Avalara ranks higher in 7/7 features
Avalara ranks higher in 7/7 features
Geolocation for Tax Assessment

8.0
80%
119 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
3rd-Party Software Integrations

7.7
77%
158 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Tax Data Reporting

8.1
81%
180 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Compliance Administration Management

7.4
74%
133 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Tax Exemption Processing

8.1
81%
147 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Tax Document Management

8.1
81%
139 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Complex Tax Scenario Management

7.3
73%
95 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Payroll Management

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

9.9
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
99%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 5/5 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 5/5 features
Pay calculation

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
9 Ratings
Benefit plan administration

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
6 Ratings
Direct deposit files

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
8 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
5 Ratings
Reimbursement management

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
7 Ratings
Customization

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

6.1
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
61%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 2/2 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 2/2 features
API for custom integration

N/A
0 Ratings

6.0
60%
7 Ratings
Plug-ins

N/A
0 Ratings

6.2
62%
10 Ratings
Security

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

9.8
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
98%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 2/2 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 2/2 features
Single sign-on capability

N/A
0 Ratings

9.8
98%
20 Ratings
Role-based user permissions

N/A
0 Ratings

9.8
98%
17 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

9.7
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
97%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 3/3 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 3/3 features
Dashboards

N/A
0 Ratings

9.6
96%
19 Ratings
Standard reports

N/A
0 Ratings

9.8
98%
22 Ratings
Custom reports

N/A
0 Ratings

9.8
98%
22 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

5.2
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
52%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 21/21 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 21/21 features
Accounts payable

N/A
0 Ratings

6.8
68%
24 Ratings
Accounts receivable

N/A
0 Ratings

6.8
68%
23 Ratings
Cash management

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
18 Ratings
Bank reconciliation

N/A
0 Ratings

7.1
71%
24 Ratings
Expense management

N/A
0 Ratings

5.8
58%
20 Ratings
Time tracking

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
12 Ratings
Fixed asset management

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
14 Ratings
Multi-currency support

N/A
0 Ratings

1.6
16%
10 Ratings
Multi-division support

N/A
0 Ratings

5.5
55%
11 Ratings
Regulations compliance

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
10 Ratings
Electronic tax filing

N/A
0 Ratings

6.7
67%
15 Ratings
Self-service portal

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
13 Ratings
Global Financial Support

N/A
0 Ratings

1.5
15%
7 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
13 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

5.4
54%
14 Ratings
Localizations

N/A
0 Ratings

1.1
11%
6 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations

N/A
0 Ratings

5.8
58%
17 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

5.5
55%
5 Ratings
Configurable Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

5.5
55%
9 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework

N/A
0 Ratings

5.5
55%
9 Ratings
Standardized Processes

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
13 Ratings
Inventory Management

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

7.6
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
76%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 4/4 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 4/4 features
Inventory tracking

N/A
0 Ratings

5.7
57%
14 Ratings
Automatic reordering

N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
10 Ratings
Location management

N/A
0 Ratings

7.0
70%
9 Ratings
Manufacturing module

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
8 Ratings
Order Management

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

8.2
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
82%
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 7/7 features
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac ranks higher in 7/7 features
Pricing

N/A
0 Ratings

9.7
97%
17 Ratings
Order entry

N/A
0 Ratings

9.9
99%
16 Ratings
Credit card processing

N/A
0 Ratings

9.7
97%
17 Ratings
Cost of goods sold

N/A
0 Ratings

9.7
97%
16 Ratings
Order Orchestration

N/A
0 Ratings

5.7
57%
6 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility

N/A
0 Ratings

6.7
67%
7 Ratings
Order exception Resolution

N/A
0 Ratings

5.6
56%
6 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Avalara is rated higher in 4 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Usability, Implementation Rating
- QuickBooks Desktop for Mac is rated higher in 2 areas: Availability, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend

8.1
Avalara
81%
328 Ratings

7.1
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
71%
32 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

9.2
Avalara
92%
20 Ratings

8.0
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
80%
9 Ratings
Usability

8.3
Avalara
83%
320 Ratings

5.3
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
53%
6 Ratings
Availability

8.5
Avalara
85%
14 Ratings

9.0
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
90%
2 Ratings
Performance

8.5
Avalara
85%
14 Ratings

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

4.2
Avalara
42%
23 Ratings

5.3
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
53%
5 Ratings
In-Person Training

8.0
Avalara
80%
2 Ratings

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

7.3
Avalara
73%
3 Ratings

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
N/A
0 Ratings
Implementation Rating

6.5
Avalara
65%
389 Ratings

5.0
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
50%
2 Ratings
Product Scalability

8.5
Avalara
85%
7 Ratings

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Avalara
I haven't used other sales tax service providers, so I can't compare it to others. However, I have found it to be extremely necessary as we grow and expand into other states so that we aren't spending all our time figuring out the complex tax laws, jurisdictions, rates, etc. for our customer sales. It gives us peace of mind that the correct taxes are being filed and we are compliant. There are definitely areas for improvement, but it's a great service.

Verified User
Employee in Finance and Accounting
Wholesale Company, 51-200 employeesQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
Owner/Producer/Audio Engineer/Musician/Entrepreneur
Harmony Studios Inc.Music, 1-10 employees
Pros
Avalara
- Avatax stays current with all the changes in rates and does an excellent job of calculating the correct sales tax to charge.
- The reporting interface for sales tax reports is easy to use and once you set up a report you can save it as a favorite and rerun it any time with one click. Their UI on the reporting is simple and provides a minimum number of clicks to get the data you want and export it to Excel where every number lives whether it belongs there or not!
Chief Financial Officer
US DigitalElectrical & Electronic Manufacturing, 51-200 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
- The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
- It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
- Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.

Verified User
Employee in Professional Services
Environmental Services Company, 1-10 employeesCons
Avalara
- In the beginning our programmer wished to speak directly with a programmer at Avalara so he could have some specific questions answered. Instead he was referred to a forum where he had to post his questions. This delayed our implementation of Avatax.
- I'm not sure if there is help available to assist in learning how to reconcile sales tax returns or not. We basically had to figure out how to do that ourselves.
Senior Accountant
AdventSource Inc.Religious Institutions, 11-50 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
- The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
- If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
- It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
- QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
Intuit Accounting Professionals Trainer/Writer specializing in QuickBooks for Mac, Meetup Groups Organizer/Founder, Adjunct Instructor at Bellevue College
The QuickSourceAccounting, 1-10 employees
Pricing Details
Avalara
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
$21 per month
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Avalara
Avalara 9.2
Based on 20 answers
I have not been able to find a company that does it better than Avalara. I still have lots of problems, but we are working through them. Based on other demos i have seen and talking with peers in other companies, this is the best.
Accounting Manager
Cavender's Boot CityRetail, 501-1000 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 8.0
Based on 9 answers
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
Senior Accountant
CAI Capital Accountant Inc.Accounting, 11-50 employees
Usability
Avalara
Avalara 8.3
Based on 320 answers
I give Avalara a rating of 10 because of how easy it has been to train various, lower level employees to use the platform with fidelity. Even in my own training as an Account Executive who is responsible for calculating taxes on new deals, I was able to pick up the Avalara platform fairly quickly because of how easy and intuitive it is to use.
Account Executive
Albert | Learn By DoingComputer Software, 11-50 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 5.3
Based on 6 answers
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
Owner
Smithson Bookkeeping & Business ServicesAccounting, 1-10 employees
Reliability and Availability
Avalara
Avalara 8.5
Based on 14 answers
I have been using Avalara for years and do not remember ever having an outage during working hours. The service is accurate and dependable.
Accounting Ma
Digital Ally IncElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 51-200 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 9.0
Based on 2 answers
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
President
Forrest & Blake Marketing AdvertisingMarketing and Advertising, 1-10 employees
Performance
Avalara
Avalara 8.5
Based on 14 answers
We do have trouble tying Avalara's reporting back to our POS, but we just got a new POS system and there are bugs we are still trying to work out within the POS system. I do not believe this is an Avalara issue
Accounting Manager
Cavender's Boot CityRetail, 501-1000 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Avalara
Avalara 4.2
Based on 23 answers
Avalara is not consistent in giving us information timely. For instance, right now, we have a help desk ticket with them that's been open since October. They are still trying to figure it out and we haven't gotten any feedback on where they are at or what is going on. That seems to me a very excessive amount of time to be working on a problem. Was it forgotten? Is there something bigger going on? Do they need something from us? An update would be helpful.
Also, many times when we call with an issue or concern (wrong tax rate for instance) we generally feel like the help desk assumes it's of our doing instead of theirs and doesn't truely listen when we explain the problem because we end up repeating it over and over as well as sending examples. We expect more respect on our end.

Verified User
Manager in Finance and Accounting
Veterinary Company, 201-500 employeesQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 5.3
Based on 5 answers
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
Executive Director
Dayton Dist. Academy Osteopathic MedicineNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
In-Person Training
Avalara
Avalara 8.0
Based on 2 answers
I wasn't here when they first started with Avalara.
Sales Tax Administrator
The Merit Distribution Group, LLCWholesale, 201-500 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Avalara
Avalara 7.3
Based on 3 answers
The videos go too fast; I kept having to pause them and go back. They don't allow for any practice transactions or provide training materials.
Sr. Accountant
DVL Group IncEnvironmental Services, 51-200 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Avalara
Avalara 6.5
Based on 389 answers
The implementation team from Avalara was very knowledgable and did a good job of passing along information so that we could maintain the system and be able to make future changes ourselves. We had asked for some custom tax setup and they worked with us to get additional taxes set up that they didn't previously have. They worked with us to pull our documentation on tax rules and make sure those were included. I had hoped more scenarios would be there out of the box to cut down on the configuration time.

Verified User
Manager in Human Resources
Wholesale Company, 1001-5000 employeesQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac 5.0
Based on 2 answers
No answer on this topic is available.
Alternatives Considered
Avalara
We've looked at some other products but have been satisfied enough with Avalara that we've never had an interest in moving to another platform. It integrates well with our systems and does a great job for us. We have had some relationship management turnover and unmet expectations along with that experience, but generally have been able to resolve the issues.
CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
The Lab Depot IncConsumer Goods, 11-50 employees
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.

Verified User
Employee in Finance and Accounting
Wholesale Company, 1-10 employeesScalability
Avalara
Avalara 8.5
Based on 7 answers
There is no change that has to happen as your company grows, Avalara continues to do it's job for any size company

Verified User
Employee in Finance and Accounting
Building Materials Company, 501-1000 employeesQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Avalara
- Prior to Avalara, we had two full-time people doing nothing but tax returns. Now, we only review data via reports within Avalara and it takes one person about 2 hours a month.
- Certificate exemption was a manual process we tracked on an excel spreadsheet. It was not always easy to read and wrought with human error. CertCapture has made this process digital and saved us countless amounts of time.
- With Avalara managing the taxation through our ERP, we rarely have to worry about the taxation not being correct on our invoices to our customers. This saves time in having to investigate tax rates by state, county, and jurisdiction.

Verified User
Supervisor in Finance and Accounting
Industrial Automation Company, 501-1000 employeesQuickBooks Desktop for Mac
- The ROI was good for when we were a smaller company because it is a lot cheaper than other more sophisticated programs.
- The negative impact is that it caused a lot of extra manual entering and data entry that too often resulted in mistakes.
Finance Assistant
Team RehabilitationMedical Practice, 1001-5000 employees