Avalara Review
May 09, 2019

Avalara Review

Kandace Atherton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • AvaTax

Overall Satisfaction with Avalara

Avalara is used across the organization through two separate platforms, our ERP system and our e-commerce platform. We use AvaTax so that we do not have to manage tax rates and rules for all 45 states we are registered to collect sales tax in.
  • Return Reports are more thorough than sales tax software we've used in the past.
  • Integration with our e-commerce platform was smooth and fast.
  • Importing mass amounts of tax exemption certificates is easy.
  • Support has been slow to answer questions we've had in the past.
  • Transaction navigation. I feel like it's cumbersome to drill down into a single transaction to get to line item detail.
  • Less staff time spent on researching and inputting rates.
  • Cloud computing -- we no longer manage the software on our servers.
  • 24-hour support is essential for the IT department.
I gave it a 7 because our e-commerce integration was smooth and easy -- we loved it! I would rate that a 10. However, integrating with our ERP system was much more challenging. Tons of staff were needed to test and implement. There were lots of problems that popped up. Dealing with the third-party implementation team was super knowledgable, but it was tough to navigate all the people needed to communicate with!
  • Magento
  • Oracle
Magento was super easy and fully integrated. Oracle also fully integrated, but much more complex. We have an e-commerce platform there as well, and our operating system and financial transactions all run through there. A third-party provider was brought in, so it was a challenge.
Easy to use. Downloading reports, reconciling issues, and setting up jurisdictions are all very easy to do.
No, but we look into it often. Exemption certificate management is definitely one on our radar. However, I work for a nonprofit, and cost is always the underlying issue.
Avalara was better for our IT department. They wanted the cloud computing (not to maintain on our servers) and 24-hour support.
If you have nexus in a lot of jurisdictions, AvaTax is much better at maintaining all the rates and rules than doing it in house. If you're in more of a service industry than goods sold industry, I do not feel they are as necessary.

Avalara Feature Ratings

Sales and Use Taxes
10
Cross-border Taxes
Not Rated
VAT / GST Taxes
Not Rated
Energy and Fuel Taxes
Not Rated
Geolocation for Tax Assessment
10
3rd-Party Software Integrations
7
Tax Data Reporting
8
Compliance Administration Management
Not Rated
Tax Exemption Processing
7
Tax Document Management
Not Rated
Complex Tax Scenario Management
Not Rated