Avalara - A great do it all Tax solution
December 18, 2018

Avalara - A great do it all Tax solution

Brandon Samuels | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • AvaTax
  • Returns

Overall Satisfaction with Avalara

We used it for all aspects of tax consolidation. From returns and excise tax to consolidation and reporting. it its mostly being used by the tax department but we do engage our central teams when they are looking for and asking for various tax information in their analyses across products.

Pros

  • Really good interface for users to look at.
  • The reporting aspect is one of the best I have ever seen from a financial software.
  • Security access and changes is simple and straightforward.

Cons

  • User workflow for processes is not straightforward.
  • integration with other systems could be improved.
  • leaving notes within the tool for other uses to pick up would be a nice add on other systems have.
  • We were able to reduce headcount.
  • First year implementation expense is obviously higher.
  • The reporting analysis allows us to run scenarios on what our tax rate should be.
It was expensive. It is a complicated system that does take some time to get it implemented correctly from start to finish. As a like to say the juice was worth the squeeze. Spend the time on the up front so that you get a long lasting product that works.
  • SAP
  • Hyperion
  • Excel
It was difficult and not seamless.
Very good overall usability. There is a bit of start up time to get a new user up to speed. Overall I gave it an 8 for this factor. If it could integrate multiple users across platforms it would move up to a 10 but right now this is very difficult.

We don't currently use any of these capabilities at this point in time. There is some discussion to get these implemented but we like our offline excels. The biggest hurdle is the workflow aspect as Avalar does not handle workflow change very well. If we can get passed this hurdle we would like use all of these capabilities.


Avalara is great compared to its peers but still needs to improve its workflow. With improved workflow you may be able to save additional headcount. Now the processes just take too long. Just like its peers though as tax is obviously a complicated area. Overall a great tool that could use some slight improvement.
It is very well suited for larger complicated global tax companies with a sole admin. As stated before when you get multiple users working in here it is not as efficient as it could be. When you need to transfer workflows or have multiple people working on he same thing it becomes difficult.

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