Item: Avalara
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Avalara provides a turn-key solution beginning with exemption certificate management for approximately 1,500 customers through the Cert Capture product. For customers that are taxable, Avatax ensures that the appropriate sales tax is charged on each invoice. Finally, Avalara Returns is utilized to prepare and file the recurring sales tax returns.

Pros and Cons

Accurate sales tax rates.
Exemption Certificate Campaigns.
Complete and accurate sales tax return filings.

Quicker and more knowledgeable when responding to open cases/issues.
Improved product taxability charts.
Updates on sales tax changes, news and legislative changes.

Key Insights

Do you think Avalara delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Avalara's feature set?

Yes

Did Avalara live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Avalara go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Avalara again?

Yes

Return on Investment

Significant time savings over manual return preparation
Audit savings thanks to Cert Capture exemption certificate management
Improved accuracy over a manual process

Systems Integrated With

ERP Software

I was not involved at the time of integration.

Usability

Avalara has a very user-friendly interface. I find navigating Avalara very intuitive and easy to access help whenever an issue arises. I have had to train a few employees working at remote locations and with minimal experience on Avalara processes and found that to be a relatively easy task.

Additional Capabilities

Avalara Returns
CertCapture

In addition to the tax calculations, our business utilizes Avalara for exemption certificate management as well as managed returns preparation. The biggest benefit of these additional capabilities is realized during sales and use tax audits in the form of both time and cost savings. The robust exemption certificate management product, CertCapture benefits us the most as it helps us avoid having to campaign for certificates during the audit and helps eliminate any exposure from missing or invalid certificates.

Alternatives Considered

Vertex

I've used similar products, but I find the user interface to be more user-friendly with Avalara. In our organization, we have many non-tax experienced personnel handling responsibilities involving Avalara. In this situation, an easy-to-use interface is extremely important and Avalara meets that goal. I will say that there are some features I prefer with the competitor, but I do not feel that the overall experience across our business and users would be as positive as we've experienced using Avalara.

Likelihood to Recommend

Having used other software packages, Avalara seems best suited for organizations with minimal in-house sales tax expertise. Avalara's user interface is very user friendly and easy to navigate. I have used products that seem more robust from a technical standpoint but lack the ease of navigation that Avalara provides. I would say that Avalara is the superior product for the majority of business situations.

Great Sofware

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Avalara