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Avalara

Score8.8 out of 10

944 Reviews and Ratings

What is Avalara?

Avalara AvaTax connects to the software that businesses already have and delivers sales tax decisions based on precise geo-location in more than 12,000 taxing jurisdictions in the U.S.

Categories & Use Cases

Media

the Avalara portal homepage
returns, appearing in the Avalara portal
transactions
reports
jurisdiction details

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Top Performing Features

  • Sales and Use Taxes

    Software is capable of calculating and filing sales and use taxes.

    Category average: 9.1

  • Geolocation for Tax Assessment

    Ability to use geolocation, which is more precise than zip codes, for mapping taxes to specific jurisdictions.

    Category average: 8.9

  • Cross-border Taxes

    Software is capable of calculating and filing taxes, such as customs, across countries.

    Category average: 8.3

Areas for Improvement

  • Tax Exemption Processing

    Ability to generate, track, exemption certificates from sales invoices.

    Category average: 8.3

  • VAT / GST Taxes

    Ability to calculate and manage VAT and GST taxes.

    Category average: 8.1

  • Complex Tax Scenario Management

    Ability to automate handling of tax holidays and other anomalies.

    Category average: 7.3

Avalara Review

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

As a credentials tax professional I need Avalara on a daily basis. I am so pleased that they partnered with Xero so that small businesses get the right support for their everyday sales tax needs. They also have a product that helps me immensely helpful for me at year end or beginning of year when 1099s and W2s are due and a client needs a one off to 10 or more. So costly software, just the forms available immediately or safely mailed out for you at a small nominal fee. I have been using this company successfully for over 5 years and feel honored to know many employees that started out with the company. As long as they keep customer support in the US I believe they will always be the number 1 in their sector.

Pros

  • Ecommerce nexus between states
  • Return filing and paying of sales tax for multiple states
  • 1099 and W2 forms for small businesses

Cons

  • When website updates happen they would loose important tax filing info in the portal
  • If filing has gone form paper to e-filing, send out a notice so compliance is smooth and timely
  • Partner commission even if I brought them on before the program existed

Return on Investment

  • The time saved in manual submission and payment of tax
  • The cost per volume could be readjusted based on time of use and quantity of needs
  • Grouping package may be easier for small business to utilize

Usability

Other Software Used

Xero, Handshake by Shopify (discontinued), QuickBooks Online Advanced

Avalara is a must for growing companies expanding across multiple jurisdictions

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The automation of determing the correect tax rate based on jurisdiction and product has allowed our company to grow while focusing on critical business issues versus tedious sales tax compliance issues. Avalara is a must for growing and expanding companies.

Pros

  • Assigns correct tax rate based on the address where the service was provided
  • Allows for application of taxes at a granular product level
  • Provides system to manage exemption certificates from customers

Cons

  • Experts by industry with cross state knowledge could enhance customer experience
  • Longterm Sales Reps with more indepth product knowledge is always helpful
  • Quicker support turn around during the busy report filing period of the month. Customers understan that this is the busy time for Avalara, but this is also the time when customers run into issues on returns and need timely responses.

Return on Investment

  • Using Avalara had supported our company's revenue growth of 130% over the past 8 years.
  • Avalara has improved the accuracy of our sales tax calculations.
  • Avalara has provided a consistent exemption certificate management system.

Usability

Other Software Used

Accounting Seed, Salesforce Agentforce Field Service, ADP Workforce Now

If your e-commerce is growing, it helps to know what your owing! Avalara does it all.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize Avalara as a key tool within our online e-commerce platform. As a national distributor of lab products and supplies, we have met the economic Nexus thresholds in a majority of states. AvaTax is a vital part of our assessment and remittance process, starting with the shopping experience of our customer, all the way to managing sales tax exemptions, closing out invoices and filing returns.

Pros

  • Assesses up-to-date sales tax at the local jurisdiction.
  • Manages sales tax exemptions through the CertCapture Module
  • Provides ongoing information of changing regulations in individual states.
  • Allows for easy reconciliation of transactions.
  • Provides easy registration for SST states.

Cons

  • Reconciling errors in transactions of SST states is often difficult.
  • Sometimes support can be a bit slow or not provide as good of information as might be needed.
  • Scaling up services and what the cost is to do so at renewal can be confusing/fuzzy.

Return on Investment

  • We went from assessing and filing in 3 states to over 20 and did not need to hire additional staff.
  • We significantly reduced the amount of work needed by our accounting firm to file monthly returns.
  • Human error has been reduced to less than 5%.
  • Much of the process is automated so it eliminates hours and hours of manual processes and entries.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

TaxJar

Other Software Used

HubSpot CRM

Easy to use Avalara has saved me time and frustration!

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are a small business with few employees. Avalara is helping us stay compliant with the 35 states that we have to file sales tax in and make sure we remit correct and accurate information. They also are going to be integrated into our software which will take that many more processes off my plate.

Pros

  • Easy to navigate the website
  • Quick support responses
  • Easy downloads for record keeping

Cons

  • Tax rate calculator in an easy to access location
  • The ability to customize my dashboard to my needs
  • Predicted costs based on previous sales tax data

Return on Investment

  • We have been able to keep staffing the same even though business has more than doubled.
  • Avalara filing my returns has cut down on my time spent by hours.
  • I hopeful our new integrations will soon help the rest of the sales staff as well.

Usability

Other Software Used

Macola, SPS Commerce, HubSpot CRM

Convenient. Affordable. User Friendly.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My staff accountant, Tenisha C., uses Avalara to prepare Form 1099s for our clients who need to provide such forms to the contractors they pay. Avalara makes the process simple, and it is very user friendly.

Pros

  • Avalara is clear on when the forms will be emailed or mailed to recipients and filed with the IRS.
  • Avalara provides immediate downloads of forms for our records.
  • Avalara's dashboard allows us to view all our clients, see how many completed or outstanding forms need to be filed, and breaks down the forms based on email or mail.

Cons

  • Avalara would be even better if it offered live agents via chat to answer any questions.

Return on Investment

  • Avalara has positively impacted our business by allowing us to provide another service to our small business clients.

Usability

Other Software Used

QuickBooks Online