CPA Practice Advisor - 11

SALES TAX SYSTEMS: REVIEW
Avalara TrustFile
www.trustfile.avalara.com
Designed for ecommerce sellers, Avalara
TrustFile helps automate the sales tax
preparation process, and can be used
in all 45 states that currently impose
sales tax. TrustFile syncs with popular
online selling platforms to reduce the
amount of data entry needed in order
to complete accurate, ready-to-file sales

tax returns. TrustFile does not provide
tax calculations, so if calculation is
necessary, users should consider using
Avalara AvaTax, which can provide
accurate sales tax calculations for all
U.S. taxing jurisdictions.
TrustFile is currently available in
two editions: Standard, which is ideal
for smaller businesses that only do

business in a few states, and Premium,
which is ideal for those that have to file
in multiple states.
A free demo is available to download
for those interested in trying out the
application prior to purchasing. Mentioned earlier, TrustFile is available in
two editions: Standard, which runs $240
annually, with an $18 fee assessed for

www.taxtools.com
CFS Tax Software Inc. offers sales tax
software for accounting professionals
that need to calculate, print, and file
California and/or New York state sales
and use tax returns for their clients. In
fact, CFS is billed as the first sales tax

application that allows electronic filing
of California sales tax returns. In addition to the sales tax preparer applications, CFS also offers a number of other
resources including payroll, W2/1099
form processing, and TaxTools, which
offers complete tax planning capability.

CA Sales Tax Preparer for a firsttime user is currently priced at $119,
with the annual renewal running $99.
The NY Sales Tax Preparer is currently
priced at $84.50 for a first-time user,
with the annual renewal running
$74.50. A network upgrade for either

efileSalesTax
www.efilesalestax.com
efileSalesTax.com is a web-based application that offers sales tax compliance
and filing for four states: California,
Colorado, Florida, and Illinois. efileSalesTax.com is best suited for small
to mid-sized businesses as well as
accounting professionals that need to
file sales tax exclusively for these four

states. Completely online, efileSalesTax.
com works with PCs, Mac, and Linux
operating systems.
Those interested in efileSalesTax.
com can register from the website at
no cost, with fees only assessed when
a return is processed and filed. Pricing
for California and Illinois are the same,
with 1 filing running $7.95, 4 filings

running $29.95, and 12 filings running
$89.95. An unlimited filing option is
also available for California and Illinois which runs $229 per year. Florida
pricing is structured differently, with
a $39 fee for a single company, while
those filing for multiple companies,
such as accounting firms, will need
to use the Pro version of the software,

Avalara AvaTax
www.avalara.com

Avalara also offers a special program
for accounting professionals that manage sales tax for clients, which includes
Avalara Licensing, Avalara AvaTax,
TrustFile for Accountants, and Avalara
CertCapture, with the ability to sign up
as an Avalara Partner.

CCH Sales Tax Office
www.cchgroup.com
CCH Sales Tax Office from Wolters
Kluwer is a stand-alone system wellsuited for larger corporations that need
to manage sales and use tax for business entities in a variety of locations.
CCH Sales Tax Office is deployed as

an on-premise application, and offers
seamless integration with CCH Sales
Tax Returns Online for those interested
in e-filing reports and forms.
CCH Sales Tax Office is designed
to provide accurate, behind-the-scenes
sales and use tax calculations. For

those that wish to e-file returns, the
optional CCH Sales Tax Online offers
complete form completion and e-filing
capability, and integrates with CCH
Sales Tax Office. Users can visit the
CCH Sales Tax Office website to sign up
for a demo or request pricing informa-

NOVEMBER 2019 ■

Read the full review
for this product online at:
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21113629

4.25

2019
OVERALL
RATING

product is also available for an additional $50.00.

Read the full review
for this product online at:
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21113631

4.25

2019
OVERALL
RATING

which starts at $129 per year. Those
interested in Colorado filing will need
to contact efileSalesTax.com for pricing
information.

Read the full review
for this product online at:
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21113620

2019
OVERALL
RATING

Read the full review
for this product online at:
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21113621

2019
OVERALL
RATING

tion directly from the vendor.

Read the full review
for this product online at:
www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/
21113626

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

AUTOMATED SYSTEMS

Avalara AvaTax is well suited for retail
businesses of any size that wish to
truly automate sales tax calculation.
The product, when used in conjunction with Avalara Returns, can also
prepare and file returns and remit

payment. For those that need to better manage exemption certificates,
the optional CertCapture application
can ensure that customers are taxed
or not taxed appropriately. AvaTax is
available as a subscription with pricing
available upon request from Avalara.

each return filed, and Premium, which
works best for businesses that sell products in a variety of states, and includes
one return filing per state, per month.

AFTER-THE-FACT

CFS Tax Software Inc. [CA and NY Sales Tax Preparer]

4.75

2019
OVERALL
RATING

http://www.trustfile.avalara.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21113629 http://www.taxtools.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21113631 http://www.efilesalestax.com http://www.efileSalesTax.com http://www.efileSalesTax.com http://www.SalesTax.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21113620 http://www.avalara.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21113621 http://www.cchgroup.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/21113626 http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

CPA Practice Advisor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPA Practice Advisor