Item: Vertex
Rating: 7
Author: Timothy Rowe

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

This cloud service is used to calculate the sales tax on the orders that we have on our website. Also, this service is used to file sales tax returns in multiple states. With this, it also gives us a funding report and lets us know what funds are required to go where at the conclusion of each period.

Pros and Cons

The calculation of sales tax - Vertex does this on the fly when you set up your products correctly on Vertex. It is used to collect the correct amount of sales tax to charge the customer.
The filing of your tax return - They complete this on a monthly basis for us, as we have the premium option. This saves time at the end of the month when it is time to file these reports.
Easy to navigate dashboard - All the information is easily accessible on your online dashboard.

Pricing - There are other services out there that charge a lot less - particularly to a website such as ours that has a low volume of sales per month (about 200-300 per month). The fixed cost they charge is too much for low volumes.
They charge extra for live phone support. Only email support. Although during the onboarding process I was able to get phone calls, you have to resolve your issue with email and not with a live person on the phone.
Reporting could be better in the way that you can not easily find the apportionment of your sales. (But it can be done).

Return on Investment

I'm sure I could find someone to file this for the cost that Vertex charges (about $500-$800 per month). So I would say the ROI is minimal. Again fact is magnified by the fact that we do not do 1000s of transactions per month; this cost would be mitigated.
You need to pay sales tax as this service helps us maintain compliance, and file our taxes. No one likes a sales tax audit. This lets us concentrate on other aspects of our online business.
The cost per transaction cuts into our bottom line as one of our largest cost of selling online.

Alternatives Considered

TaxJar

While I have looked at these services on a surface level, and I know it would save us over 50% on the costs of sales tax, I have to have more time to make sure they align with our goals. The steps I would need to change sales tax vendors are great. My suggestion is to put a good amount of research at the start of your website, and then you can set it and forget it later

Other Software Used

Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, QuickBooks Pro, Microsoft Access

Likelihood to Recommend

Does Vertex do its job, and do its job well? Yes. But the truth of the matter is that Vertex Cloud is a system, and it will run the way it is programmed. The system is programmed great. My only spiff is that we can find the same systems out there at a more competitive rate. Bottom line is that yes it works correctly and I haven't had a problem but... I would tell my colleagues to also look at other options when looking for a sales tax solution.

Usability

The dashboard works well well in showing me frontline information that I can look to see how my business is doing at a low level. This also gives you an interactive map where you can hover over and see what sales are to where. This only does it for the month, not YTD.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

Reporting
Filing Taxes
Paying Taxes

Difficult Tasks

Apportionment of sales
Setup (They help you--- but still takes time)
To change filing in one state

Vertex Gets it Done. Right Fit For the Right Website

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Vertex