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June 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 15 SALES & USE TAX SYSTEMS Reviews BEST FIT Avalara ofers a variety of sales tax and related products that are well suited to end users such as small to mid-sized businesses, e-commerce sellers, as well as accounting frms and CPAs that are handling client sales tax calculations and returns. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Variety of products well suited for small to large businesses and accounting frms • Cloud based product of fers anytime – any where access • Product is afordably priced • Offers integration w ith over 500 ER P, Point of Sale, and e-Commerce systems POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Tough any Avalara products can be used as stand-alone products, they ofer increased functionality when used together SUMMARY & PRICING Avalara products are all available by subscription, with a starter subscription to AvaTax running $103 per year, for 180 transactions. Typical pricing is $1,250 per year and includes 3,300 annual transac- tions. Accountants can participate in the Partner Program which ofers product discounts and marketing programs aimed at accounting frms. With a wide assortment of products aimed at everyone from the small business owner to the accountant with hundreds of clients. Avalara tax products are suitable for just about anyone look- ing to automate sales and use tax calculations, fling, and remitance. www.AvaTax.com BEST FIT TrustFile from Avalara, is an ideal ft for small businesses and e-commerce merchants looking for an automated way to process, fll, and fle tax forms for all 50 states. TrustFile works closely with AvaTax to calculate accurate sales and use tax for all transactions processed by the small business owner. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Product is extremely easy to use, and ofers fast form processing • Te product is afordably priced for even the smallest business or e-commerce merchant • Users can choose to e-fle returns, and even pay tax liability electroni- cally is available through the state • Product ofers users a report that outlines whether the correct tax has been collected to-date POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • More functionality is available if used with AvaTax for calculating tax liability accurately SUMMARY & PRICING Especially useful for the newer business owner or online merchant, TrustFile provides these entities with a lighting quick way to process tax forms and remit tax payments. New uses can get started for free, with TrustFile ofering a free 30-day trial. Afer the trial, pricing is $24.00 per month for unlimited transactions. For business owners looking for tax calculations, AvaTax (reviewed separately) works with all billing and e-commerce platforms to automate tax calculations for all 50 states. Avalara offers a tremendous amount of resources, tools, and help options for new product users, including access to the new Forum, where users can communicate with other users, access FAQs, and get product assistance if needed. www.TrustFile.com BEST FIT Mid- to large-sized businesses, accounting frms and tax preparers that require real-time tax rates along with fllable tax forms. Te solution is ideal for generating rate fles to upload into third-party applications such as billing or POS systems, or maintaining rate tables manually by comparing changes in Excel. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Te majority of tax rates are updated every 30 days to ensure accuracy, however, some changes are pub- lished as they become available • Te product ofers an intuitive interface and provides users with several tools that can automate the lookup and rate monitoring process considerably • Good export capability allows users to easily export rates for rev iew and compare to other sources or import into third party accounting applications • Ta x forms can be easily com- pleted online, w ith automatic calculations and the ability to save all forms as a PDF fle POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • E-Filing and electronic payment capability is not supported at this time SUMMARY & PRICING Product users will have access to free, unlimited toll-free support during regular business hours. Tere are also a variety of online training courses available that users can access at their convenience, and the company ofers the option of onsite training if desired. Another good resource for users is the BNA Resource Center provides users with convenient online access to a wide array or white papers, webinars, resource guides, articles and eBooks. BNA Sales Tax Rates is highly recommended for both accountants and tax preparation professionals that handle multiple clients and their tax liabilities. Te product is also well suited for mid-sized to larger businesses that desire solid tax management capabilities in-house. Te product is available as an online subscription, with pricing starting at around $2,500per year. www.BNASoftware.com BEST FIT CCH Sales Tax Ofce from Wolters Kluwer is suited to larger corpora- tions that have more complex sales and use tax needs, while also requiring smooth integration with third-party accounting sofware products. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Ofers great fexibility for corpo- rations with more complex sales and use tax needs • Integrates with common ER P systems and other accounting/ fnancial applications • Integrates with CCH Sales Tax Returns Online to automatically process and fle tax forms • Product is highly customizable POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Product is not particularly well suited to accounting frms or CPAs that handle tax calculation management for clients SUMMARY & PRICING Sales Tax Ofce ofers an excellent sales and use tax solution for larger businesses that require a product that can handle more complex sales tax calculations. Pricing for Sales Tax Ofce is based on the number of transactions processed each month. www.SalesTax.com Avalara AvaTax Avalara TrustFile BNA Sales Tax Rates CCH Sales Tax Offce from Wolters Kluwer Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211385 Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211384 Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211409 Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211446 5 4.75 4.5 4.75 2016 OVERALL RATING 2016 OVERALL RATING 2016 OVERALL RATING 2016 OVERALL RATING