Item: Vertex
Rating: 9
Author: Lillian Zakos Paquette

Overall Satisfaction with Vertex

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Vertex is only being used in North America at my organization. Vertex has us calculate indirect taxes on our sales and purchasing invoices. We no longer need to update our ERP system with tax rates as Vertex provides us monthly tax rate updates. In addition our AP and Billing teams no longer need to make tax decisions, we are able to store all of the tax rules in Vertex.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Maintains tax rates
Current forms for the monthly returns
Ability to create and maintain customer exemptions
Ease of tax decisions

Cons

When creating tax rules you can not backspace
The mapping functionality is clunky and not easy to find specific mappings. For example the CA mfg. Even if you map to this field it doesn't bring it over to the create field on returns
Changing the tax jurisdiction too often, and having issues with updating them on POs

Return on Investment

Immediately able to see the benefits of a tax engine
AP processors were able to processor invoices faster without the need to focus on tax
No longer a need for space for file cabinets

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Vendor Reputation

Overall product features as well as product usability was important factor in our decision making processing.

Alternatives Considered

CCH Sales Tax

CHH was used to review tax compliance and assisted in help us configure Vertex O series. When using SAP to calculate tax is was important for us to use a tax engine versus manually maintaining the tax rules outside of the system.

Innovative Uses

We have been able to create 1 team that handles indirect taxes
Our AP and billing team no longer need to make tax decisions
Customer exemptions are update to date and no longer stored in file cabinets

Product Configurability

This really depends on the user that is doing the configuration and their knowledge. Some parts of the configuration can be tricky

Exceptional Examples of Vertex Support

Systems Integrated With

Overall the integration has been easy but we have also work with partners on the installs or upgrades.

Support Rating

Most of the time when I contact Vertex support I'm able to get a resolution on the 1st call. But like any support desk it depends on who answers the call or the ticket. I've had times when Vertex either couldn't get me an answer or didn't understand what I was asking. I would not hear back from them and they would close the ticket.

Vertex O Series Impact

The best way to measure the success of the O series is by audits. The past few audits we have had our tax exposure has significantly decrease. The ability to provide auditors with reports and documents during an audit has improved, we no longer need to reply on our ERP system to provide the reports they can now be pulled from Vertex.

Pre-Sale Experience

We purchase Vertex O series and VRA directly from the vendor both initially and during upgrades. During integration we primarily worked with our outside consultants during the purchase of Vertex. We did have a demo provided by the Vertex sales team and they also provided a list to us of suggested business partners. However, we still reach out to Vertex directly for post go-live support.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

Overall for the US we are happy with Vertex O series. When looking for a global tax solution we will keep our options open as I don't think Vertex is the number 1 leader in the global market. However at this time we are not looking for a global tax engine but I would anticipate when we are ready we will review Vertex's latest products capability.

Upgrade Process

Yes - The upgrade went smoothly when we did it a few years back. We ran parallel systems until we were ready to go-live with little system down time.

Likelihood to Recommend

Vertex is a great tool to calculate your taxes. We have seen our overall audit risk decrease significantly since we have implemented Vertex at our company. Before Vertex AP and our Billing teams would make the tax decisions and in some cases it was guessing. All of our customer exemptions were sitting in a file cabinet and it was a manual process.

Using Vertex

Users and Roles

10 - Our basis team applies the month updates, installed the software, and applies any patches. They also update the config file if needed. Our tax team sets-up customers exemptions, completes monthly returns, as well as maintains the tax research. The system admin maintains vertex, adds/removes users, adds/removes tax rules, completes tax mappings, creates tax assists rules, troubleshoots systems, creates imports and exports, and sets up taxability drivers.

Support Headcount Required

2 - The support needs to understand the call between the ERP system and Vertex, to under what is passing. They need the ability to read the SIC logs and see what errors are happening. In addition they need to understand system set-up including taxability drivers, tax rules, customer exemptions. In addition they need knowledge of the ERP system to OTC and PTP to help identify issues.

Business Processes Supported

Validity of the tax rates
Ability to file returns timely and accurately
Ability to remain tax compliant

Future Planned Uses

Global tax engine
Future upgrades to the latest platforms

Likelihood to Renew

We are satisfied with the overall performance of Vertex. The software has provided my company with many efficiencies. We have shorted our audits and found that many audits are happy that we are using Vertex to calculate our taxes. We no longer need to worry about updating our rates each month since Vertex sends us a file to upload.

Post-Sale Experience

On many occasions I've reached out to Vertex support for issues I've encountered. In most cases they have been successful in resolving my issue relatively quickly. There have been a few occasion where it took a longer time to resolve but they would reach out to me to keep me updated on the status.

Evaluating Vertex and Competitors

Products Replaced

Vertex Implementation

Implementation Rating

The implementation went relatively smooth, we spent months several months prior to the installation preparing and research the taxability of the products we buy and sell.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Third-party professional services

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

Installing the software

Vertex Training

Training Types Used

Online training
In-person training
Self-taught

In-Person Training

The training was sufficient. As I became more seasoned user I learned many tricks using the system. I've also attended a few of the Vertex annual conferences where I was able to strength my knowledge of Vertex. I also found that their online library and videos can be helpful in resolving issues and answering questions.

Online Training

Vertex has offered multiple webinars for the products we have purchased that are informative and helpful. I've also attended a few of the Vertex annual conferences where I was able to strength my knowledge of Vertex. I also found that their online library and videos can be helpful in resolving issues and answering questions.

Ease of Vertex Training

As I became more seasoned user I learned many tricks using the system. I've poked around in the system and found better ways to improve the process. I've learned out to import tax rules and create reports in VRA.

Configuring Vertex

Configuration Lessons

I would suggest using the knowledge center to see other users feedbacks.

UI Customization

Some - we have done small customizations to the interface - Our developers did the customization of the interface so that certain fields can be brought over into Vertex to determine taxability. At times the customization can be tricky and not always intuitive.

Extensibility and Customization

No - we have not done any custom code

Additional Customization Considerations

Vertex Support

Vertex Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None