Avalara AvaTax is an integrated third-party application where companies can determine the amount of tax to charge on their invoice depending on the location. AvaTax is a tool used in tax compliance that can calculate taxes for more than 12,000 jurisdictions in the U.S.

It helps businesses save time and avoid the complicated computation of taxes across different jurisdictions. At the same time, they can focus on what they are offering to the market.

How Does Avalara Work?

Tax Calculation

  • Real-Time Calculations: Avalara determines the tax amount required when a person sells a product or buys something. It does this immediately, depending on where the sale takes place, what the person is selling, and the current tax laws governing the sale.
  • Local Tax Rates: Taxes may vary depending on the region of the country. Avalara understands the rates for various locations and uses the right rate for a particular transaction.

Tax Rate Lookup

  • Up-to-date Information: Avalara has a vast and dynamic comprehensive database that has all the tax rates and regulations from across the globe. This way, it is easy to be certain that the tax that you are calculating is being done according to the current laws.

Integration

  • Connecting with Systems: As a cloud-based compliance platform, RM Avalara is integrated with various business platforms, such as e-commerce platforms, accounting tools, and ERP solutions. This makes sense since data from these systems will otherwise need to be input for tax calculations.
  • Seamless Experience: As it links to other systems in use, you do not have to key in tax details one at a time. Everything works together smoothly.

Compliance and Filing

  • Preparing Returns: Avalara does all the work for you, so you do not need to deal with paperwork. It complies with your tax returns and submits the same to the relevant tax departments.
  • Managing Compliance: It assists you in meeting all the legal requirements on taxes and their time of compliance, hence reducing cases of penalties and fines.

Audit Trail

  • Record Keeping: Avalara also records all transactions and the taxes that you pay, and all these records are kept well arranged. This is handy if, for instance, you are compiling some records or one day you wake up to find that you have been selected for an audit.
  • Easy Access: These records can be easily obtained, and therefore, one is in a position to monitor many of the activities that he/she undertakes in connection with taxes.

In conclusion, Avalara makes it easy to work with taxes, calculate, collect, and file them using integration with your business systems and the most relevant data, as well as taking care of compliance.

Products & Services of Avalara

Avalara provides a variety of services and products to help businesses with countless aspects of tax compliance.

Here is the following list of services they offer:

1. United States sales tax compliance

  • Automation of Sales Tax: Avalara offers solutions to automate sales tax computation, collection, and remittance in the United States. It guarantees that companies charge the appropriate sales tax according to the kind of goods or services and the area.
  • Filing and Remittance: It pays the relevant state authorities and files sales tax reports. As a result, businesses will have less administrative work to do, and errors will be prevented.

2. Cross-border sales tax compliance

  • International Tax Solutions: Avalara helps businesses manage sales tax and VAT for international transactions. This includes calculating taxes for sales across different countries and ensuring compliance with international tax regulations.
  • Customs and Import Duties: It assists with calculating customs duties and managing compliance for goods imported into different countries.

3. VAT (Value Added Tax) Compliance

  • VAT Calculation: Avalara offers resources to compute VAT for purchases and transactions. It guarantees that the appropriate VAT rates are applied based on the transaction’s location and type.
  • VAT Reporting: It assists companies in producing the VAT reports and returns needed by different national tax authorities.

4. Electronic Invoicing (E-Invoicing) under GST

  • Automated Electronic Invoicing: Avalara facilitates electronic invoicing for companies subject to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in nations such as India. Complying with regulations entails electronically generating, transmitting, and receiving bills.
  • Connectivity to GST Systems: It combines with official systems to guarantee accurate validation and recording of electronic invoices.

5. Electronic Way Bills (E-way Bill) Solution

  • E-Way Bill Processing: Avalara provides solutions for creating and maintaining electronic waybills, which are necessary for some countries for the transportation of goods subject to GST. This facilitates organizing and tracking shipments and guarantees adherence to transportation laws.

Benefits of Using Avalara

Keeping track of regulations and ensuring the following of industry standards may be difficult and demanding in the context of business-to-business (B2B) relations. Businesses’ responses to these problems have completely changed since Alvara was introduced. 

Cloud-based compliance and regulation software, Alvara, is intended to assist business-to-business (B2B) enterprises in managing risk and guaranteeing adherence to various rules, such as those concerning AML and CTF (counterterrorism financing). This article will discuss Alvara’s advantages for B2B companies.

Make things Simpler

Adherence to RegulationsCompliance standards are intricate, and companies must remain current on legal developments to make sure they are adhering to the rules.

By automating the administration of compliance procedures and the tracking of changes in regulations, Alvara helps organizations streamline the compliance process. Alvara offers a unified platform that automates document management, processes, and reporting to help firms stay compliant with laws.

Enhances Hazard Takeoff

Financial, legal, and reputational risks are just a few of the hazards that B2B companies must deal with. By spotting possible dangers and weaknesses and offering data analytics for risk monitoring and analysis, Alvara is a helpful tool for organizations to manage these risks. Alvara can give companies the resources they need to develop risk-reduction plans, such as implementing improved due diligence procedures.

Increases Productivity

Large amounts of data and paperwork are a common problem for B2B companies, and managing them may be expensive and time-consuming. By automating these procedures, Alvara may increase the productivity of B2B companies by reducing mistakes, streamlining workflows, and saving money and time.

Promotes Openness

Transparency is essential in B2B transactions to foster excellent business connections and establish trust. By offering clear documentation of compliance procedures and making it simpler for companies to share this information with partners and consumers, Alvara may assist businesses in being more transparent.

This shows a company’s dedication to following regulations and best practices, which may help them gain the trust of partners and clients.

Offers an edge Over Competitors

Maintaining a competitive edge is crucial in the modern corporate environment. By allowing B2B companies to exhibit their dedication to adherence and best practices, Alvara may provide them with an edge.

By doing this, companies may set themselves apart from the competition and establish a reputation as dependable and trustworthy partners.

Key Features of Avalara

1. Easy Setup

Getting started is a breeze! With just a click of a button and a few simple steps, you’ll be ready to collect and pay sales tax in your local area within minutes.

2. Automatic Tax Code Classification

Taxes can get complicated, especially when different items are taxed at different rates. Avalara simplifies this for you. Upload your product list, and our system will automatically calculate the correct tax for each item, handle collection, and even submit the payment for you.

3. Customer Location Heat Map

We help you track where your customers are located. As your sales expand to new regions, Avalara will notify you when it’s time to consider registering for taxes in other states, ensuring you stay compliant as your business grows.

4. Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border

Selling internationally? With Avalara’s Cross-Border feature, you can easily calculate import duties and tariffs for your international customers. No more guessing—our system ensures you’re charging the right amount every time.

5. Avalara Returns

With AvaTax in place, you can add Avalara Returns to automate the entire tax filing process. Whether you’re an ecommerce seller or running a larger business, this feature ensures your tax returns are submitted accurately and on time.

6. Real-Time Updates

Stay up to date with the latest tax changes! Avalara constantly updates its tax rate database, so you’ll always charge the correct rate, no matter where you’re selling.

7. Seamless Integration

Avalara works with most major ecommerce platforms, accounting software, and ERP systems, making it easy to integrate with your current setup without hassle.

8. Nexus Alerts

Avalara keeps an eye on your business’s sales patterns and alerts you when you’ve reached a threshold where new tax obligations (nexus) are required in other states, so you won’t be caught off guard.

What features are included with Avalara?

Avalara AvaTax
Product tax code catalog
Exemption certificates
Address verification API
Economic nexus checker
Economic nexus notifications
Single state tax filing
Streamlined Sales Tax (STT) discounts
Transaction detail reports
Jurisdiction-level reports
CSV import
Email support
Phone support
Chat support

What Other Apps Integrate with Avalara?

Maintaining the sync of all business-related applications is essential if you want your back-end activities to function smoothly. If everything is in sync, mistakes, and false information will be discovered and fixed promptly.

One of Avalara’s main advantages is its ability to combine its software solution with a wide range of well-known software programs.

Among the most well-liked ones are:

  1. WooCommerce
  2. Shopify
  3. BigCommerce
  4. Amazon
  5. eBay Walmart
  6. Etsy
  7. intuit QuickBooks
  8. Sage Xero
  9. Salesforce
  10. Netsuite and Oracle
  11. Workday SAP
  12. Stripe Square: Microsoft Dynamics Epicor
  13. PayPal

Naturally, this is a partial list. Many, many more exist.

How Avalara Helps B2B Businesses

Avalara offers a whole suite of solutions dubbed Avalara Global Compliance for companies that operate internationally.

This is what it consists of:

GST, VAT, and Additional Taxes

Coverage: In more than 100 countries, Avalara Global Compliance assists with the management of indirect taxes such as GST (Goods and Services Tax) and VAT (Value Added Tax).

Updates in Real Time: Companies always apply the right tax amounts since the system gives the most recent tax rates and regulations for these nations.

Tax Management Automated

Tax Calculations: It automatically determines the appropriate tax amount for each transaction using the most recent rates and regulations.

Reporting and Filing: The system automates the preparation and filing of tax reports and returns to save human labor and guarantee timely compliance.

Management of Exemption Certificates

Prevent Overspending: Avalara has tools for handling exemption certificates. Companies may avoid paying tax on transactions that are excluded from tax or qualify for a rate reduction by doing this.

Apart from these solutions, Avalara offers several tools to assist companies in remaining up to date with tax laws:

  • Blog: Provides articles on VAT, sales tax, and other indirect taxation subjects, informing companies about recent developments and recommended procedures.
  • Podcast: Offers professional perspectives and debates on tax-related subjects.
  • White Papers and Guides: Offers comprehensive papers and manuals on a range of tax matters to assist companies in comprehending and navigating intricate tax laws.

These tools are intended to assist companies in keeping up with tax regulations and maximizing their approaches to tax compliance.

Pros and Cons of Avalara

Compared to most of its rivals, Avalara has essentially mastered the art of fusing technology and compliance. As with any other product on the market, though, there are advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Pros of Avalara

  • The program automatically monitors current location-based tax rates and adjusts your store’s rates appropriately, keeping your eCommerce business compliant with tax laws.
  • Errors in taxes filed by hand are eliminated. This implies that businesses and clients won’t have to be concerned about missing deadlines or paying the wrong amount of taxes.
  • Reports on transaction data and sales tax liabilities are always exportable.

Cons of Avalara

  • A portion of users have complained that some integrations need to be adjusted because they aren’t functioning correctly.
  • The majority of the software is targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises, while enterprise solutions are available upon request.

Nonetheless, Avalara continuously improves and updates its software to meet consumer concerns. Problems that arise now could be fixed tomorrow.

Alternatives of Avalara

Avalara has a number of competitors that offer comparable company tax compliance solutions.

Here is a collection of well-liked choices:

1. TaxJar 

Focus: This platform automates sales tax computations and primarily caters to e-commerce companies.

Features: 

  • Sales tax computations for US purchases in real-time.
  • Report sales taxes automatically.
  • Connections to websites like WooCommerce, Amazon, and Shopify.

Strengths: Easy to set up and designed with small to medium-sized internet companies in mind.

2. Sovos 

Focus: Provides solutions for worldwide tax compliance, including sales tax, VAT, and other indirect taxes.

Features: 

  • Management of sales taxes for both domestic and foreign transactions.
  • Tax calculation, VAT reporting, and electronic invoicing.
  • Telecom, retail, and other industry solutions.

Strengths: All-inclusive for big companies with a worldwide footprint.

3. Vertex 

Focus: specializes in tax technology for companies of all sizes, with a focus on manufacturing and retail.

Features: 

  • Tax computations in real-time.
  • Tax management tailored to an industry.
  • Connections to e-commerce and ERP platforms such as Magento, SAP, and Oracle.

Strengths: Suitable for big, complicated enterprises, the advanced tax engine offers a wide variety of integrations.

4. Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE 

Focus: Software for tax compliance geared for complicated demands in businesses.

Features: 

  • Automated indirect taxes for usage, sales, and VAT.
  • Calculating taxes and managing compliance.
  • Analytics and reporting on taxes worldwide.

Strong worldwide compliance features, particularly for international firms, are a strength.

5. TaxCloud 

Focus: An e-commerce platform for sales tax automation focused on the United States.

Features: 

  • Compiling and submitting sales taxes.
  • Businesses registered in participating states are eligible for free sales tax services.
  • Integration with Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce systems.

Strengths: Free or inexpensive choice for small American companies.

6. QuickBooks Online Sales Tax 

Focus: QuickBooks customers benefit from integrated sales tax automation.

Features: 

  • Location-based automatic sales tax computations.
  • QuickBooks integration for invoicing and accounting.
  • Reporting of sales taxes.

Strengths: Best suited for small enterprises that already use QuickBooks for bookkeeping.

7. Xero Sales Tax 

Focus: Xero accounting software users’ sales tax automation.

Features: 

  • Tax calculations for transactions and invoices are done in real-time.
  • Automated filing and reporting of sales taxes.
  • Supports worldwide VAT/GST in addition to US sales tax.

Strengths: Excellent for small and mid-sized enterprises; seamless interaction with Xero accounting.

Important Things to Think About When Selecting an Alternative

  • Combination: Verify that the substitute seamlessly incorporates with your current systems (e-commerce, ERP, etc.).
  • Global Reach: Verify that various jurisdictions enable VAT, GST, and compliance if you conduct business abroad.
  • Cost: There are many different pricing schemes, some more affordable for smaller companies and others intended for larger organizations.

These substitutes provide solutions for both local and foreign tax compliance, catering to a range of business sizes and sectors.

Avalara’s Custom, A La Carte Pricing Model

Avalara offers its services à la carte, meaning you can pick and choose which services you need, such as:

  • Sales tax calculation
  • Sales tax registration
  • Filing and remitting sales taxes

While this might seem flexible, many customers report that Avalara can be more expensive—up to 30% or more—compared to other tax compliance software. This is due to the tailored nature of Avalara’s pricing, which varies based on the specific needs of each business.

In contrast, many of Avalara’s competitors offer transparent pricing directly on their websites, which makes it easier to compare options. For businesses looking for straightforward pricing, this can be a drawback when evaluating Avalara.

Long-Term Contracts and Discounts

Avalara often incentivizes businesses to sign longer contracts by offering discounts. While this might reduce the overall cost, it limits your flexibility to switch providers if you find a more affordable option or better services elsewhere. Longer contracts can lock you into using Avalara for an extended period, so it’s essential to carefully consider your business’s future needs.

Avalara’s Volume-Based Pricing

Avalara’s pricing is based on your business’s sales volume. Essentially, larger businesses that process higher volumes of transactions will pay less per transaction, while smaller businesses with fewer transactions may end up paying more per transaction. Unlike other tax software that may offer subscription-based pricing with a set number of transactions included, Avalara charges based on usage. So, as your business grows, your total cost may increase even though your per-transaction rate decreases.

This model is beneficial for businesses with high sales volumes but can be more costly for smaller or growing businesses as their usage increases.

Avalara’s Flat Fees

While most of Avalara’s services are priced based on volume, there are a few services with flat fees:

  • Sales tax registration: $349 per location
  • Business licenses: $99 per location
  • Single state filing: $42-$54 per filing, plus an activation fee

These flat fees apply uniformly, regardless of your business size, so you can predict these costs upfront for specific services.

Activation Fees

Unlike some sales tax software providers, Avalara typically charges an activation fee when you start using their services. The activation fee can vary depending on the specific services you choose and the size of your business. This is another cost to keep in mind when considering Avalara, as many competitors don’t charge this type of fee.