What users are saying about
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Top Rated
567 Ratings
Avalara
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Top Rated
567 Ratings
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Based on 567 reviews and ratings
QuickBooks Online
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Top Rated
1294 Ratings
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Based on 1294 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
Type of tax

7.3
Avalara
73%

QuickBooks Online
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

6.0
60%
20 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Tax Reporting & Compliance

7.8
Avalara
78%

QuickBooks Online
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

8.0
80%
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

7.1
QuickBooks Online
71%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 5/5 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 5/5 features
Pay calculation

N/A
0 Ratings

7.1
71%
68 Ratings
Benefit plan administration

N/A
0 Ratings

6.2
62%
30 Ratings
Direct deposit files

N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
73%
64 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management

N/A
0 Ratings

7.2
72%
44 Ratings
Reimbursement management

N/A
0 Ratings

7.6
76%
45 Ratings
Customization

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

7.3
QuickBooks Online
73%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 2/2 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 2/2 features
API for custom integration

N/A
0 Ratings

7.4
74%
54 Ratings
Plug-ins

N/A
0 Ratings

7.2
72%
57 Ratings
Security

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

8.2
QuickBooks Online
82%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 2/2 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 2/2 features
Single sign-on capability

N/A
0 Ratings

8.2
82%
80 Ratings
Role-based user permissions

N/A
0 Ratings

8.2
82%
101 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

8.0
QuickBooks Online
80%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 3/3 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 3/3 features
Dashboards

N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
120 Ratings
Standard reports

N/A
0 Ratings

8.4
84%
123 Ratings
Custom reports

N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
112 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

7.4
QuickBooks Online
74%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 21/21 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 21/21 features
Accounts payable

N/A
0 Ratings

8.2
82%
117 Ratings
Accounts receivable

N/A
0 Ratings

8.5
85%
126 Ratings
Cash management

N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
73%
114 Ratings
Bank reconciliation

N/A
0 Ratings

8.4
84%
132 Ratings
Expense management

N/A
0 Ratings

7.6
76%
119 Ratings
Time tracking

N/A
0 Ratings

5.9
59%
55 Ratings
Fixed asset management

N/A
0 Ratings

6.9
69%
52 Ratings
Multi-currency support

N/A
0 Ratings

6.3
63%
23 Ratings
Multi-division support

N/A
0 Ratings

6.4
64%
42 Ratings
Regulations compliance

N/A
0 Ratings

7.7
77%
37 Ratings
Electronic tax filing

N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
73%
61 Ratings
Self-service portal

N/A
0 Ratings

6.6
66%
63 Ratings
Global Financial Support

N/A
0 Ratings

5.8
58%
15 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers

N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
73%
32 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

7.5
75%
28 Ratings
Localizations

N/A
0 Ratings

8.6
86%
19 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations

N/A
0 Ratings

8.0
80%
70 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

8.4
84%
25 Ratings
Configurable Accounting

N/A
0 Ratings

7.6
76%
37 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework

N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
23 Ratings
Standardized Processes

N/A
0 Ratings

6.9
69%
47 Ratings
Inventory Management

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

7.2
QuickBooks Online
72%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 4/4 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 4/4 features
Inventory tracking

N/A
0 Ratings

6.6
66%
45 Ratings
Automatic reordering

N/A
0 Ratings

7.5
75%
20 Ratings
Location management

N/A
0 Ratings

6.7
67%
21 Ratings
Manufacturing module

N/A
0 Ratings

8.0
80%
16 Ratings
Order Management

Avalara
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

7.3
QuickBooks Online
73%
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 7/7 features
QuickBooks Online ranks higher in 7/7 features
Pricing

N/A
0 Ratings

7.9
79%
55 Ratings
Order entry

N/A
0 Ratings

8.1
81%
52 Ratings
Credit card processing

N/A
0 Ratings

7.4
74%
64 Ratings
Cost of goods sold

N/A
0 Ratings

7.2
72%
67 Ratings
Order Orchestration

N/A
0 Ratings

7.4
74%
19 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility

N/A
0 Ratings

7.1
71%
19 Ratings
Order exception Resolution

N/A
0 Ratings

5.9
59%
18 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Avalara is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability
- QuickBooks Online is rated higher in 6 areas: Likelihood to Renew, Availability, Performance, Support Rating, Implementation Rating, Product Scalability
Likelihood to Recommend

8.1
Avalara
81%
328 Ratings

7.5
QuickBooks Online
75%
154 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

9.2
Avalara
92%
20 Ratings

10.0
QuickBooks Online
100%
22 Ratings
Usability

8.3
Avalara
83%
320 Ratings

7.9
QuickBooks Online
79%
70 Ratings
Availability

8.4
Avalara
84%
14 Ratings

10.0
QuickBooks Online
100%
7 Ratings
Performance

8.5
Avalara
85%
14 Ratings

10.0
QuickBooks Online
100%
5 Ratings
Support Rating

4.2
Avalara
42%
23 Ratings

6.9
QuickBooks Online
69%
67 Ratings
In-Person Training

8.0
Avalara
80%
2 Ratings

QuickBooks Online
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

7.3
Avalara
73%
3 Ratings

QuickBooks Online
N/A
0 Ratings
Implementation Rating

6.5
Avalara
65%
389 Ratings

10.0
QuickBooks Online
100%
7 Ratings
Product Scalability

8.4
Avalara
84%
7 Ratings

10.0
QuickBooks Online
100%
1 Rating
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 Online
QuickBooks has long been a standard when it's come to small business accounting. Their tools work, the user interface is fairly intuitive to navigate, and it has suited the needs of our small business (11-20 employees) for the past 10 years. However, as we continue to grow and come into a greater need to control our branding, we find that QuickBooks Online often limits us in customization and branding. Plus, it just has some odds quirks in the coding of how the invoices are setup up that often requires us to "fight against the system" in order to accomplish what we want in our invoice structure.
COO (Chief Operating Officer) / Creative Director
MileshkoMedia Production, 11-50 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 Online
- It enables me to do a P&L for each specific program as requested by the county for the grant money that they give us.
- It enables me to do [an] organizational budget as well as a budget for each specific program
- It enables the accountant and the auditor access at any time for transparency
Executive Director
Grandma's Place, Inc.Non-profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees
Cons
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 Online
- The budgets feature leaves a lot be desired - difficult and clunky to populate and maintain.
- Reporting for Budget vs Actual is available but the ability to reforecast based on updated data is not.
- The rules function to default common types of expenses isn't perfect and will get confused if like amounts or a number of similar items present.
Chief Operating Officer
19 IDEASMarketing & Advertising, 11-50 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
Avalara Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—QuickBooks Online
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
$15 per month
QuickBooks Online Editions & Modules
Edition
Simple Start | $251 |
---|---|
Plus | $751 |
Advanced | $1501 |
Self-Employed | $151 |
- per month
Additional Pricing Details
—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 Online
QuickBooks Online 10.0
Based on 22 answers
It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
Principal
Adair Advisory GroupAccounting, 1-10 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 Online
QuickBooks Online 7.9
Based on 70 answers
Do NOT use their premium payroll. It's expensive and [I feel like] their customer service is horrible. I spent almost 4 hours trying to get an answer to a simple question about a 941 form they filed. They kept transferring me around to various people and every single time they couldn't find the 941 form I had a question on. I had to do a screenshare to show them where it was! I got disconnected three times and they never called back. They also told me that I would have to talk to the IRS at one point. I refused and told them that they were filing these forms on our behalf, they were doing the calculations so they should be able to answer my questions. I asked several times to talk to a supervisor and they wouldn't transfer me to one. They just said that they could put in a request for a supervisor to call me back in 24-48 hours! It was just unbelievable how horrible it was.
Finance Manager
Michelle Jones Accountant, LLCAccounting, 1-10 employees
Reliability and Availability
Avalara
Avalara 8.4
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 Online
QuickBooks Online 10.0
Based on 7 answers
We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.

Verified User
Manager in Finance and Accounting
Accounting Company, 11-50 employeesPerformance
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 Online
QuickBooks Online 10.0
Based on 5 answers
There are tab issues. When I tab the field doesn't highlight and I have to backspace or delete what is in the field. Happens on the memo field and sometimes other fields. Very time consuming.
Owner
Number Control Services LLCAccounting, 1-10 employees
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 Online
QuickBooks Online 6.9
Based on 67 answers
Support is great, all incidents been resolved. Quickbooks Online forum is very well organized and helpful. I like the fact that they let the community contribute in resolving issues. Most or many of your answers can be found online. You can also get help on YouTube, but the easiest way to get assistance is through their chat system.

Verified User
Manager in Customer Service
Cosmetics Company, 1-10 employeesIn-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 Online
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 Online
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 Online
QuickBooks Online 10.0
Based on 7 answers
The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
Principal Engineer
Adicot, Inc.Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering, 1-10 employees
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 Online
I have used Wave Accounting for another business. I selected QuickBooks Online over Wave because of the features available from QuickBooks. Wave is great since it is free, but I feel that paying for QuickBooks Online is worth it for the features. In addition there is such a robust support network and training available for QuickBooks.
Founder
Sunderful Consulting, LLCAccounting, 1-10 employees
Scalability
Avalara
Avalara 8.4
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 Online
QuickBooks Online 10.0
Based on 1 answer
As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
Principal Engineer
Adicot, Inc.Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering, 1-10 employees
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 Online
- Overall, QuickBooks Online is a great investment for the company of our size (small software startup).
- QuickBooks Online supports all the key functions of our company's accounting team.
- QuickBooks Online definitely made the life of our accounting team much easier which let us focus on more important issues outside of bookkeeping.
Accounting Manager
ManyChat Inc.Computer Software, 51-200 employees