Kintsugi vs Vertex and TaxJar: The True Customer Experience
Barkin Doganay · September 23, 2024 · 8 min read
You're a business owner who's used to wearing many hats – juggling day-to-day operations, managing your team, and making sure everything runs smoothly. And as your business grows, so do your responsibilities.
But then, suddenly, tax season hits.
You realize that your current systems can't keep up with your company's growth and you begin to consider automated solutions. Vertex and TaxJar seem like the obvious choices; after all, they are some of the biggest legacy brands in the industry.
According to a survey by PayStream Advisors, 43% of businesses say tax compliance is one of their most significant challenges as they grow. Tax Foundation Report, 2024 [1]
But let’s get into the nitty AND the gritty. Are they actually the right fit for your business?
You need more than just software that calculates taxes — you need reliability, scalability, and 24/7 support. You need a solution that's truly end-to-end; one that takes care of back taxes easily at onboarding and goes all the way to filing on your behalf.
Both Vertex and TaxJar constantly struggle to meet this requirement, leading to plenty of frustrated customers. Sound familiar?
In this article, we’ll dive into the experiences of real business owners who relied on Vertex and TaxJar — only to be frustrated by inefficiencies, delays, and unresponsive customer support. More importantly, we’ll show you why Kintsugi is the solution you’ve been searching for — a tax compliance platform that scales with your business and has learned from these headaches to build a more intelligent, next-generation solution for sales tax compliance.
72% of sales tax automation customers expect support teams to be available 24/7. Zendesk Report, 2023 [2]
Customer Support: A Critical Weak Point for Both Vertex and TaxJar
Customer support is often the dealbreaker for businesses relying on tax compliance software. A report by HubSpot revealed that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies offering excellent customer service. [4]
Unfortunately, both Vertex and TaxJar have fallen short in assisting users in times of need. One major recurring complaint from users is the lack of 24/7 support and long delays in getting any resolution.
Take, for instance, this Vertex user who explains how difficult it was to get answers:
"Once you save a configuration, you are locked out of Vertex for an indefinite amount of time where you can’t add anything. This causes problems when exempt customers try to place orders. You have to open a support ticket to get anyone to talk to you."
Caption: Vertex's support fails when it matters most.
TaxJar users share similar frustrations. One user noted:
"There is no way to contact them by phone when they overpay on your taxes. Emails were sent daily to resolve the issue, but I received no response after weeks of waiting."
These aren’t isolated incidents. The screenshots clearly show the dissatisfaction users feel when support isn’t there during critical times, leading to costly delays.
Kintsugi fixes this problem with dedicated Slack support, offering real-time communication so that clients never feel left in the dark instead of relying on email tickets and waiting for days for a response.
Kintsugi users can talk to a support expert within minutes, ensuring that time-sensitive issues are resolved before they become expensive problems.
83% of business buyers expect companies to respond instantly when contacted. Salesforce Report 2022 [3]
Performance and Pricing: The Painful Trade-Offs with Vertex and TaxJar
One of the most frequent complaints customers have about Vertex and TaxJar is the high cost and inconsistent performance. Vertex, in particular, has been criticized for being overpriced for small businesses and not delivering on critical functionalities.
For example, a Vertex customer shared this frustration:
"The pricing structure is terrible for small businesses. There are other services that charge a lot less—especially for smaller companies that don't need high volume. The fixed cost they charge is too much for low-volume users."
Small businesses often lack the financial resources for such expensive tools, which puts more pressure on their cash flow. A 2021 QuickBooks survey showed that 39% of small businesses have cash flow issues, and expensive tax software only adds to the burden.
Another TaxJar user echoes similar sentiments:
"It was not a great experience using TaxJar. I wouldn’t recommend it. The platform was difficult to navigate, and the lack of pricing flexibility made it hard for smaller businesses to justify the cost."
One of Kintsugi’s standout features is its ability to offer affordable, scalable pricing, making it accessible to both small businesses and larger enterprises.
Kintsugi doesn't penalize small users with high fees or excessive service charges, and users consistently report smooth, reliable performance without the server issues that often plague Vertex and TaxJar.
Features: Kintsugi's Competitive Edge
When comparing features, Kintsugi clearly offers functionality that Vertex and TaxJar struggle to match, especially for businesses looking to streamline tax processes and save time.
Free Address Validation
Many users have found that Vertex's address validation process is either non-existent or difficult to integrate. One review noted that getting address validation to work correctly took up a lot of valuable time.
Kintsugi offers free address validation, eliminating errors and ensuring accurate tax calculations—especially critical for multi-state businesses.
According to Bloomberg Tax, address validation errors are a leading cause of miscalculated tax rates, resulting in fines or compliance issues. [5]
Advanced CSV Importing
Several TaxJar users noted that the platform struggled with importing large or complex data sets, leading to more manual work.
Kintsugi solves this with advanced CSV importing, allowing users to upload complex files seamlessly without running into issues.
Free VDAs (Voluntary Disclosure Agreements)
While Vertex and TaxJar provide standard tax calculation tools, they often require premium add-ons for critical features, which drives up the cost. For example, Vertex’s premium integration and consulting services come at a steep price.
Voluntary Disclosure Agreements can save businesses thousands of dollars in penalties by helping them comply with tax requirements they were unaware of.
In contrast, Kintsugi offers free VDAs, giving users peace of mind without worrying about additional costs.
Slack Integration for Real-Time Support
As mentioned earlier, both Vertex and TaxJar are often criticized for slow or poor support. Kintsugi offers Slack support, which allows for immediate and direct responses. This is particularly valuable when troubleshooting time-sensitive tax issues. One Vertex user shared their frustration about being left without support during a critical week:
"I was left to fend for myself during go-live week three months ago, and I’m still dealing with issues!"
The Downsides of Vertex and TaxJar: Real Customer Stories
The actual pain points of Vertex and TaxJar lie in user experiences. Take a look at these common complaints, which point to significant product quality issues:
Vertex users frequently complain about how complicated the system is. One reviewer mentioned:
"Reporting is difficult to understand. The system will generate returns for both sales and use tax when we are only set up for one tax in the system."
TaxJar users share their challenges with incorrect tax rates and poor user experience. One user wrote:
"We discovered the software was not calculating tax rates correctly, so we had to stop using it."
These problems are not just minor annoyances—they are business-critical issues that can lead to costly mistakes and compliance errors.
Kintsugi, on the other hand, offers streamlined, intuitive reporting and reliable tax rate calculations, ensuring that businesses don't have to deal with such errors.
In the End, Kintsugi Wins in Every Category
After looking into the actual customer experiences with Vertex and TaxJar, it’s abundantly clear that both platforms have severe issues with customer support, pricing, performance, and core features. Whether customers are overcharged, deal with inefficient systems, or don’t get the help they need when they need it, these platforms fail to meet the needs of many businesses.
Kintsugi solves these problems with:
- Real-time support through Slack
- Affordable, scalable pricing
- Free address validation and CSV importing
- Reliable performance with no hidden fees
With Kintsugi, you get a platform that actually delivers on its promises. We’ve built Kintsugi to solve the problems that so many Vertex and TaxJar users find frustrating. We are constantly innovating with new features that our customers ask for so that all our customers benefit from a better product.
Real-time support, transparent pricing, and reliable performance—that’s what you get with Kintsugi.
So, if you're tired of tax compliance headaches and are looking for a better solution, it’s time to switch to Kintsugi. Your business deserves a platform that works as hard as you do.
Sources
[1] taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/us-business-tax-compliance-costs-survey
[2] zendesk.com/blog/customer-experience-in-banking
[3] salesforce.com/eu/blog/future-of-customer-service
[4] blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-service-tips
[5] btax-help.bloombergtax.com/docs/bth-000-getting-started.html
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