Avalara

Avalara Reviews

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Ratings and Reviews (541)
Features Scorecard
Product Details

Ratings and Reviews
(1-25 of 196)

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November 10, 2020

Helpful tool, but requires caution

Verified User
Director in Finance and Accounting
Information Technology and Services Company, 51-200 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

9
Overall, the implementation process was very positive. However, it would help if Avalara could offer additional support (even at additional charge) related to verifying that we are choosing the correct tax items, checking off the correct states and/or counties where we are registered, etc'.
We found ourselves struggling with it, and the response was that Avalara can't help with that and we should reach out to an external tax advisor.
August 19, 2020

Making the calculation of sales taxes untaxing

EW
Elaine Ware
Accounting Ma
Digital Ally Inc (Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 51-200 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

9
The Avalara staff had a definite game plan tor implementation, and were very knowledgeable. The setup process took a little time and a few phone calls, but that was nothing compared to the time we were going to be saving from no longer calculating taxes manually.
August 13, 2020

Tax compliance made easy

Rebecca Fortman, MBA | TrustRadius Reviewer
Rebecca Fortman, MBA
Manager Angola & Accounting
TydenBrooks SPG (Transportation/Trucking/Railroad, 201-500 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

6
We implemented back in 2014 and I wish the team that had set us up had spent more time showing us why certain values were selected and how to set up or change items on our own. There have been several areas since implementing the actual tax filing module last year that we have needed to go back to the support team to change things that we should have known (had they spent more time with us at the beginning of initial Avalara set up).
August 21, 2020

Look no further than Avalara for your sales tax needs!

Verified User
Director in Finance and Accounting
Information Technology and Services Company, 51-200 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

9
There were some bumps in the road in implementation, as there always are with new software. Some patience is required, especially if you need to set up custom tax rules as our corporate parent required. The other issues we had were around how to correct invoices if the sales tax was incorrect.
February 13, 2020

Avalara is worth considering for your business

Yolie Nguyen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Yolie Nguyen
Senior Accountant
3 Day Blinds LLC (Retail, 201-500 employees)
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

7
Avalara focuses a lot of its integration with larger ERP systems such as Quickbooks, Great Plains, Sage, etc. However, for other one-off ERP systems, such as e-PIC, the integration was quite challenging and there was a lack of support and knowledge on behalf of Avalara.
February 04, 2020

The good, the bad and . . .

Kathleen Gage | TrustRadius Reviewer
Kathleen Gage
Sr. Accountant
DVL Group Inc (Environmental Services, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

7
Our company management did not allow enough time for implementation. I was also very disappointed that the implementation team were not available on day one of go-live; we had a lot of issues the first week of go-live, and that more direct support should have been available. Waiting over an hour on the phone to get problems addressed only to be told the issue would have to be escalated to another team was extremely frustrating.
February 14, 2020

AvaTax for Calculating only

Verified User
Employee in Finance and Accounting
Building Materials Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

7
Implementation should involve more time taken to see where a company has legitimate nexus. Consumers with little to no knowledge clicking boxes of states/localities can cause unneeded sales tax liabilities.
May 10, 2019

Orange You Glad You Chose Avalara

Jordan Keil | TrustRadius Reviewer
Jordan Keil
Corporate Controller
United Tactical Systems, LLC (Law Enforcement, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

6
The rating of a 6 was not because I was displeased with Avalara's service or implementation team. The implementation process and implementation team were great. The issue I had with implementation was finding the time of an implementation specialist to devote to our account. With the fast growth of Avalara, my specialist always felt rushed which made me feel I did not get adequate time or support.
May 14, 2019

Avalara helps, but could use some help

SL
Sandy Labun
Staff Accountant
Kendall Electric (Wholesale, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Review Source

Implementation Rating

5
Make sure to do customer and vendor address cleanup before implementation. This will help avoid calculation errors. A lot of certificate clean up should also be done before uploading exemption certificates to CertCapture especially if using managed services to validate the certificates. We used managed services to validate our certificates and we experienced a 60% error rate and needed to go back and redo the work they had done. Most of the errors were noting a certificate as signature missing when there was a signature or expired date when there was a valid date on the certificate.

Avalara Scorecard Summary

Feature Scorecard Summary

Type of tax (4)
85%
8.5
Sales and Use Taxes (190)
92%
9.2
Cross-border Taxes (36)
89%
8.9
VAT / GST Taxes (30)
77%
7.7
Energy and Fuel Taxes (16)
83%
8.3
Tax Reporting & Compliance (7)
85%
8.5
Geolocation for Tax Assessment (103)
88%
8.8
3rd-Party Software Integrations (141)
80%
8.0
Tax Data Reporting (160)
86%
8.6
Compliance Administration Management (118)
84%
8.4
Tax Exemption Processing (129)
84%
8.4
Tax Document Management (122)
87%
8.7
Complex Tax Scenario Management (81)
81%
8.1

What is Avalara?

Avalara aims to help businesses get tax compliance right. Avalara customers can manage tax obligations from state, local, and other tax authorities around the world through the platform. Avalara states that the value proposition for users is that its tool provide efficient and more accurate solutions for managing those requirements.

The Avalara Tax Compliance Suite — Avalara AvaTax, Avalara Returns, and Avalara CertCapture — offers solutions for various transaction taxes, including sales and use, VAT, excise, communications, and others. Through the suite, users can calculate taxes, file and remit returns, and comply with document management requirements. More than 700 integrations are available for accounting systems, ERP and CRM providers, ecommerce platforms, and more. The company also offers Professional Services including Tax Advisory Services, Implementation Services, Managed Services, and Support Plans and Training to help customers prepare for and achieve compliance.

Avalara Features

Type of tax Features

  • Supported: Sales and Use Taxes
  • Supported: Cross-border Taxes
  • Supported: VAT / GST Taxes
  • Supported: Energy and Fuel Taxes

Tax Reporting & Compliance Features

  • Supported: Geolocation for Tax Assessment
  • Supported: 3rd-Party Software Integrations
  • Supported: Tax Data Reporting
  • Supported: Compliance Administration Management
  • Supported: Tax Exemption Processing
  • Supported: Tax Document Management
  • Supported: Complex Tax Scenario Management

Additional Features

  • Supported: Centralized tax management: Unify sales and use tax calculation, document management, and returns preparation under a single platform.
  • Supported: Geospatial location: Tax calculations delivered on-demand, with geospatial location technology to map rates to exact locations.
  • Supported: Integrations: AvaTax connects with more than 700 prebuilt integrations to connect with your accounting, ecommerce, POS, and other systems, plus an advanced API.
  • Supported: Cloud-based: A software-as-a-service solution, AvaTax updates take effect as soon as they are deployed, helping to ensure you are using the most current information.
  • Supported: Exemption management: Request certificates from vendors and store them electronically for easy access and to effectively track expiration dates. Send automatic renewal requests before certificates expire.
  • Supported: Returns filing and remittance: Returns preparation and remittance in multiple jurisdictions. Avalara Returns can track and manage due dates and payment requirements, enabling you to pay all your returns with a single source of payment.
  • Supported: Excise tax: Calculate tax, prepare signature-ready returns, and track exempt customers efficiently for petroleum products, including excise, environmental, and sales and use taxes in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Supported: Lodging: Manage lodging tax for your hotel or rental property with a solution that plugs into your reservation software to deliver lodging tax calculations in real time as well as prepares, files, and remits your lodge tax returns.
  • Supported: Communications: Delivers tax calculations on a broad array of communications transactions by directly connecting to your current billing or ERP system, or to an in-house build via API.
  • Supported: VAT, India GST, and Brazil: Master the complexity of selling overseas with solutions for global businesses; from complete European VAT solutions to full compliance in Brazil, or GST in India.
  • Supported: Cross-border: Cross-border sales are riddled with complex taxes, duties, shipping costs, and fees. With Avalara, you can calculate the final cost of global commerce transactions so your customers aren’t surprised by hidden costs.
  • Supported: Beverage Alcohol: Simplifying regulatory compliance for suppliers, distributors, and retailers in the beverage alcohol industry.

Avalara Screenshots

Avalara Video

Taxes happen -- everywhere and every day. Good thing Avalara technology makes sure you pay the right amount of tax, every time. Isn't it time we did the same for your business?

Avalara Downloadables

Avalara Integrations

Avalara Competitors

Avalara Pricing

Avalara Technical Details

Deployment TypesSaaS
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationMobile Web

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

What is Avalara's best feature?

Reviewers rate Sales and Use Taxes highest, with a score of 9.2.

Who uses Avalara?

The most common users of Avalara are from Mid-size Companies and the Computer Software industry.