Top 4 TaxJar Alternatives for Seamless Sales Tax Management

 "Change almost never fails because it's too early. It almost always fails because it's too late." ~Seth Godin.

Are you using TaxJar to automate your sales tax but facing some challenges that prompt you to consider other alternatives? Or maybe you just opened your e-commerce business and are considering getting TaxJar but want to know the other available options after coming across some negative reviews about the provider.

TaxJar is generally well-received, but there are better choices out there. We have learned that while small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) love the provider for its automation capabilities, many were also unhappy because they felt that TaxJar failed to deliver what it promised. Switching brands or providers could be part of your business' growth, so you should not be afraid of the change because many do so for several reasons.

If you are looking for TaxJar alternatives, here are four options available for you -- Avalara, Zamp, Anrok, and Kitsugi. In the next section, I will discuss how these four sales tax automation providers address the pain points that TaxJar customers experience. But first, let’s look into TaxJar and see why many turn to it for sales tax automation.

What’s Good About TaxJar?

 

TaxJar was founded in 2013, and it was designed to help e-commerce businesses automate their sales tax from calculations and nexus tracking to reporting and filing. The company has been operating for over a decade, making it a popular choice in the market due to its tenure. 

It's probably why you or some customers turn to it for sales tax automation. After all, the longer the company has been in the business, the more stable they are, or so we thought. However, that doesn't equate to the quality of service they offer. Are they consistent in delivering quality service? 

As for TaxJar, there are certain things that customers love about it -- it works! Yes, TaxJar is designed to help its customers automate sales tax and it does so.  It makes reporting and filing easy, fast, and convenient, so customers are left with more time to focus on growing their business instead of stressing over tax issues.

TaxJar has satisfied numerous customers, who are pretty satisfied with its service. One was very pleased because TaxJar helped them save hours. “TaxJar is a fantastic solution for tracking sales tax. It has saved me hours of time, prevented hundreds of errors, and probably saved a few penalties too!“ the customer wrote.

Another happy customer said, “Taxjar is worth every penny.“ The sales tax automation app has reportedly helped them put their “US taxes on autopilot, [so] we can focus time instead on our our business.”

A third user considered TaxJar their “invisible helpers.“ “Best support to handle sales taxes with omni channel businesses,“ Tilmann G wrote. “TaxJar just does the job.“

However, not all TaxJar customers are happy with the service they received. Some were not satisfied with the customer service, integration, pricing model, and more. You are probably experiencing the same or have heard some complaints from unhappy customers. You will understand more about this in the next section.

4 Pain Points TaxJar Customers Experience

TaxJar is a popular choice when looking for sales tax automation providers. However, despite its popularity, some customers have raised concerns because there are some aspects in the business that is no longer serving them, resulting in a strained relationship with TaxJar.

Among the four popular pain points that TaxJar customers have been complaining about are the following – pricing and cost structure, limited features, customer support, and integration issues. I will discuss each in detail in the following section.

1. Pricing and Cost Structure

 

 

Many SMBs in e-commerce and companies expanding into multi-state sales turn to TaxJar because they feel the platform is affordable. Unfortunately, the price could quickly increase, and some feel it doesn't scale well as their business grows.

TaxJar offers Starter and Professional plans. They also allow potential customers to sign up for a free trial. However, one should be careful because after 30 days, they charge a fee based on the number of orders per month.

Additionally, even those who paid for the service no longer feel they get their money’s worth.

One user said they used to like TaxJar, but it became an “overpriced poorly supported app.“ “This company only cares about profits, not quality products/services,“ the customer said.

Another TaxJar user claimed that there are “a lot of hidden charges that they won’t tell you.“ The unhappy customer even called TaxJar a “scam.“

“They charged me $950 for filing $0 in returns no one has EVER told me that I will be paying this amount. This is a complete scam,“ TAY Online Store said about TaxJar.

A third user warned others to consider their review as a “serious caution,“ adding that “I wish it were possible to rate this app with zero stars.“

According to the TaxJar customer, they paid for the $349 monthly Pro Plan and the subscription was set to increase to $499 at the time, but no SST service was included.

“They fail to offer SST service as they aren’t a certified service provider, which is concerning given the seriousness of sales tax compliance and the risks associated with non-compliance,“ Lemyn wrote. “I strongly advise avoiding this service.“

 

2. Limited Features

 

Some companies feel that TaxJar is less flexible and comprehensive than other sales tax automation providers because it lacks advanced features to handle certain cases. Larger businesses might feel it is better suited for SMBs because it can't manage exemptions or complex tax scenarios.

STC Watches said TaxJar is not for them due to the limited marketplaces it supports. TaxJar supports Amazon, Etsy, Walmart and eBay.

“Great app but working with limited marketplaces - No good enough for me,“ Stc Watches wrote.

Another said TaxJar was not helpful because the trial period was only limited to 60 days and didn’t allow a 90-day trial import. They file sales tax quarterly and wanted to compare the software’s results with their manually generated Q2 report but couldn’t do so.

“It’s clear from the 5-star reviews that this app works for some people, but my experience with the app and with TaxJar’s rigid, offhand, and unhelpful support staff makes it obvious that it won’t work for me,“ they wrote.

Meanwhile, Carlton H. felt that paying for TaxJar was just a waste of money and would only serve as a “great way to overpay your taxes“ because it failed to handle some tasks. “It is unable to handle certain types of very legitimate tax exemptions (like partial R&D exemptions), thereby leaving you with the choice of filing manually (in which case TaxJar is COMPLETELY USELESS), or overpaying,“ Carlton wrote.

 

3. Customer Support

 

 

Customer service is a significant element in a business. It influences customer retention and brand reputation, builds customer loyalty, and attracts referrals, to name a few.

Today, 63% of the customers expect a quick response, 57% want a fast resolution to their issues, 49% expect to be accommodated by knowledgeable support, and 43% want to talk to a polite and empathetic rep, per Intercom [2].

It is essential that every customer receives the support they need because they could switch brands or providers after a bad experience. Yes, every company has one chance to keep those customers who are not willing to give them second chances.

 

However, even if this is already general knowledge, some companies or brands fail to deliver quality customer support, and TaxJar is among them. Several TaxJar customers felt that its customer support was not helpful and responsive, with one saying it was “non-existent.”

One customer who paid $19 for TaxJar’s service said the software remitted “incorrect amounts to incorrect counties and cities.“ They contacted customer support, but it led to a more frustrating experience.

“I tried to notify them and work with Customer Support to get the issue resolved and they’re completely incompetent and won’t speak with me and have repeatedly asked the same questions email after email after email, and every time I answer exactly what they ask,“ per Lmtless Life Nutrition.

 

Another paying customer discouraged others to contact support because they are reportedly “ghosts.“ “Don’t contact support they are GHOSTS,“ Little Miss Marmalade wrote.

Bill G., the president of an electrical/electronics manufacturing, also said TaxJar had “very poor customer service.“ Bill was expecting to receive support since he was paying $19.99 per month, but to his dismay, the plan he was paying reportedly didn’t include it.

“Being new to retail taxes, I was hoping to get assistance, but I have been told that ‘they don’t have time to help all customers who pay $19.99/[month],“ Bill wrote.

 

Luke W. also had a poor customer experience with TaxJar. He even called them “classic bait and switch sales“ with “non-existent support.“

“Unbelievably poor support once the sales transaction was complete. No communication, automated or otherwise, when serious issues happen that result in large transactions drafting from your bank accounts,“ Luke wrote.

 

 

4. Integration Issues

 

 

Integration is a key element in sales tax automation to make accurate real-time automated tax calculations, save time, and minimize errors. Also, integration allows seamless data synchronization and automatic updates for tax rates and laws, enabling businesses to remain compliant because it automatically applies the correct tax rates and rules for different states and localities.

All sales tax automation providers allow integration to give users the best experience. However, only some of them deliver. Even TaxJar customers encountered several integration problems.

One customer was convinced TaxJar was useful, but it didn’t integrate with their online store, so it was no use for them.

“Didn’t integrate very well with my particular website, so we had to uninstall,“ Christian H. wrote. “Our online store and tax type didn’t work well with the software.“

Trevor F., an accountant, was happy that TaxJar allows integration with accounting software like Xero. However, the integration wasn’t smooth and seamless. “I think that the integration could be cleaned up to avoid duplicate transactions,“ he wrote.

Kelly H. finds TaxJar helpful in filing nexus state taxes. However, she encountered issues with “Integration with other services and systems.“

“Works well with some not all with Shopify (but that is on Shopify not TaxJar),“ she added.

Another user said that TaxJar did not integrate with PayPal. “PayPal does NOT integrate with this app,“ Red Jacket Boutique wrote. “Would not recommend to anyone. HUGE waste of money.“

Meanwhile, Carlton also tried to integrate their order system with TaxJar. However, it didn’t work.

“We did custom API work to get our order system integrated such that we could get all our data into it, only to find out that it was going to totally fail flat on its face,“ Carlton wrote.

 

In the next sections, I’ll show you the top four TaxJar alternatives and what people love about them. I’ll also include the common complaints to help you weigh in on what’s best for your business.

Avalara

 

 

Avalara is one of the market's most popular sales tax automation providers because the company has been around since 2004, so they have been in service for 20 years already. 

Avalara customers love its extensive range of tax automation features. The company offers flexible service and can handle complex tax scenarios, including international taxes (value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST)) and exemption certificate management.

In addition, Avalara allows a wide array of integrations with e-commerce platforms, ERP systems, and accounting software, attracting growing businesses. However, its comprehensive features come with a premium price tag. Avalara's pricing is on the higher side.

Several customers found themselves paying thousands more than they initially expected. A number even felt Avalara stole their money and one called the move a "horrible" scheme.

One user said she used Avatax on her Bigcommerce store and it was free when she installed it. However, to her surprise, her account was upgraded to a $897 plan without her approval, even if her business was closed.

"THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY I'VE EVER USED! I closed my business down at the beginning of the year - I used avatax on my BigCommerce store and it was FREE when I installed it. Come to find out they got rid of that and auto-upgraded my account to an $897 plan despite my business being closed," the angry customer said. "I never authorized being upgraded and now I've been trying to get a refund as I reached out within 3 days of the charge going through and they are telling me they can't give me a refund."

Eden C added that it took over 10 days to get a response from Avalara's customer support. She also felt Avalara charged her $897 for a zero service.

Many experienced unwanted and unapproved changes in plans with Avalara. Dodie said they also started with a free account that was changed without notifying them.

"Somehow I went from a free account to being billed $50/year, $240/year, to suddenly $7K/year with no notice," he wrote. "And when I canceled my account per their knowledge base/support article, they still charged me. Horrible service! They never really answer your question."

Another common complaint against Avalara is its terrible customer service. Some even paid extra for "premium support," but they were left disappointed because Avalara's customer support was non-responsive.

"Premium support is 24 hours per email response," Adam S. said. "Support will close tickets without providing a solution and claim that the issue was a user error."

Understandably, there are high expectations from Avalara. However, some customers also encounter integration issues and miscalculated taxes, aside from poor customer service.

Weiwei D. said they didn't know why their former accountant used the platform because it was reportedly "designed to do nothing." Avalara also changed their representatives four times, and they were "extremely irresponsive."

"They messed up our sales tax collection a big time and refused to take any responsibility," she wrote. "The software is designed to do nothing. The tax holding and payment are all wrong. Their rep made lots of mistakes on our tax study, and when our accountants point them out, they have an extremely bad attitude, and it is consistent across their entire team. We have not paid much attention to our sales tax until we realized their software is not functionig at all."

Zamp

Zamp is another great TaxJar alternative. The company was founded in 2022. It's still new in the market but is making waves because many love its AI-driven automation and user-friendly interface.

AI-driven automation reduces manual workloads and improves accuracy in tax calculations and filings. They also offer transparent pricing, and their service charge is lower than Avalara's. 

However, one of the drawbacks of Zamp is its limited market presence and track record. If you want to look for reviews to gauge its performance, you can hardly find any, suggesting its lack of an extensive customer base.

Zamp also offers 24/7 support via Help Scout. However, their average response time is less than an hour. So, yes, you must wait nearly an hour to get your needed help.

Imagine this: It's 9 p.m. and you are home about to sleep when you check your sales tax application due tomorrow and notice something has to be fixed. You immediately panic and call them. You want your filing to be on time as you dread the penalties for late filing tax returns. The hour-long wait to be connected to a tax expert is torture. 

Also, according to their website, the average onboarding time is 2.5 hours. For others, that might be short enough and it's fine with them. However, if the software is simple and intuitive, users will have a shorter onboarding time. You will understand more of this later, as another TaxJar alternative offers an easier and faster onboarding experience.

 

Anrok

 

Anrok is another great TaxJar alternative, specializing in Software as a Service (Saas) sales tax compliance. The platform is specifically tailored for SaaS companies to help them handle sales tax. Yes, Anrok did in-depth research about SaaS to help them with their recurring billing and navigate the complex world of digital product taxation across different jurisdictions.

Anrok generally has a positive response from its customers. Many were impressed with its integration with various tools like Stripe and NetSuite.  However, despite being a great TaxJar alternative, some limitations remain. 

If your business is not SaaS, you should think twice about whether Anrok is the best for you.

“A potential downside of Anrok is that it might not fully meet the needs of companies with more complex, non-SaaS business models, which could limit its applicability for diverse use cases,“ one wrote.

Amy M, another Anrok user recommends it for SaaS companies. However, she feels that Anrok “may be too simple for companies that have more complex sales tax arrangements.“

In her case, the software could be more flexible. It does not allow them to "pick and choose a different product in one state and use a different product in another state." Additionally, "The software does not allow for allocation between products."

"We would like to allocate a % to services and another % to data processing, but Anrok does not allow that. Also, sometimes, we bundle with hardware, but Anrok does not have a product for physical goods," Amy added.

Aside from the limited feature, there are issues reported with integration. Several Anrok customers struggled to integrate the software with the tools they were using to process their sales tax, like Quickbooks payroll, Xero, and NetSuite, which was a hassle for them.

"It doesn't perfectly integrate with Xero as we were told it would. This has caused some issues in our reporting and sales tax calculated on invoices," one verified user shared.

Another encountered the same issue with NetSuite. While it integrates, the process wasn't as seamless as they expected as they still had to do some work for it.

"I dislike that if a customer sends us an exemption certificate after invoicing (which happens frequently), we can't make the adjustment in Anrok or have NetSuite updates flow into Anrok. We need to fully delete the transaction, which is an issue when we've already closed a period, as we then need to re-run revenue recognition," the customer said before suggesting that "It would also be very helpful to get email notification when a transaction errors out in the sync between NS and Anrok."

A third user had integration issues between Anrok and QuickBooks online. 

"I think Anrok could do a better job at providing a simpler and cleaner reconciliation for QBO. To start, I think the tax rate that Anrok set up and uses in QBO is a little bit glitchy and we have had our issues with it," Deanna G. wrote. "Even now, when we create invoices in QBO, the invoices do not always default to the Anrok tax rate. I've seen a few cases where each time I save the invoice, it changes between the QBO tax rate and Anrok tax rate."

Aside from limited features and integration, some Anrok customers complained about the long wait when they reached out to customer support for assistance. One said the support was helpful because they received “in-depth and accurate“ answers. However, “It can be difficult to get responses from the customer service team.“

Another Anrok user, Gabe H., had a similar experience. “The support is sometimes hard to find and the platform itself is at times not super intuitive on what thresholds we meet or don’t meet,“ he wrote. According to Gabe, they tried to register in Canada and it was “[wildly] complicated,“ so they were hoping for “more support“ around the issue.

 

Kintsugi

Another TaxJar alternative that is growing in popularity is Kintsugi. It also uses AI to automate sales tax like Zamp, but Kintsugi is a year ahead of Zamp in the market because it was founded in 2022.

This might sound odd to some, especially to those who believe that nothing is perfect, but Kintsugi has ticked all the checkboxes for an ideal sales tax automation provider from the price, smooth onboarding, seamless integration, and 24/7 knowledgeable and responsive customer support. There is nothing to complain about, and this is evident in the tons of reviews that are accessible online. Clearly, Kintsugi is keen to keep its five-star ratings.

Among the things that the Kintsugi customers love about it are the fast onboarding process, no-code integration, and intuitive user interface. Yes, Kintsugi integrates to a number of accounting tools like Quickbooks online and Netsuite to name a few, several marketplaces like Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay and BigCommerce, and more.

Even those who are not into technology will experience this from the get-go. Onboarding takes minutes and not hours because Kintsugi's goal is to help customers save time so they don't take much of your time to get the hang of the software. 

"Fast onboarding experience," Caelin S. said about his Kintsugi experience. "Super easy to set up and use Kintsugi, and everything worked perfectly."

 

Another user shared a similar experience, writing, "Getting started was a piece of cake." Arjun S also noticed Kintsugi's dedication to an enjoyable user experience. "Kintsugi was super easy to set up. It's clear they've invested a ton in a good user experience," he added.

 

Several business owners who used other sales tax automation providers like Avalara, Zamp and TaxJar switched to Kintsugi experienced the same seamless transition.

"Kintsugi made switching from Zamp seamless and stress-free," one said. "Their user-friendly app and outstanding customer support have been invaluable. Sales tax compliance is now effortless."   "Transitioning from Avalara to Kintsugi was quick and easy," Fancy Shop wrote. **"The app's intuitive design and excellent customer support have made managing sales tax simple and efficient, "**Fancy Shop wrote.  

A former TaxJar customer had also switched to Kintsugi and the transition was reportedly smooth. "Transitioning from TaxJar to Kintsugi was straightforward and easy. The app's user-friendly design and exceptional customer support have made managing sales tax a breeze. Highly recommended!" Infinity Ideas added.

 

Another factor that customers love about Kintsugi is the accuracy of the software. Yes, Kintsugi does not just excel in the smooth onboarding process and integration. We also made sure that everything worked as expected.

"It accurately calculates and files sales tax across multiple states, saving me hours of manual work each month," Toyseepk said about Kintsugi.

"I've been impressed by the accuracy and speed of the sales tax calculations," Idea Shop added.

However, one of the things that Kintsugi excels in is the quality of customer service it provides. The company is dedicated to giving its clients a white glove treatment, and it delivers. Kintsugi’s dedicated 24/7 customer support via Slack makes it convenient for customers to reach out for assistance, and within minutes, we connect them to a knowledgeable support or sales tax expert. Yes, Kintsugi will not let you wait for hours because we understand how precious your time is.

"It's such a relief that Kintsugi has my sales tax covered across all my sales channels. Their customer service is also quick to respond and very helpful," one customer said.

 

"Great app! Business tax filing is quick and easy with Kintsugi, and their support staff is both knowledgeable and helpful A+ service!" another added.

 

Best TaxJar Alternative: Choosing the Right Solution

TaxJar is a good sales tax automation provider, but if you are considering switching to another provider, it's probably time for you to do so. You are looking for TaxJar alternatives because something in it doesn't satisfy you. Avalara, Zamp, Anrok, and Kintsugi are great alternatives.

However, if you want a smooth onboarding process, seamless transition, reliable and efficient no-code integration, and top-notch customer service, then Kintsugi is the way to go. Kintsugi also offers several free services, including a free plan, free nexus monitoring, free address validation, free advanced CSV importing, and free VDAs. It is also more affordable than other providers because it uses AI to automate the system. Most importantly, Kintsugi software delivers accurate tax calculations and is a good value for money.

So, book a demo now or sign up for free.

 

Sources

[1] Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1418330/reasons-customers-switch-brands-united-states/

[2] Intercom. https://www.intercom.com/blog/customer-service-trends-report-2024/

[3] Zendeks.https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-service-statistics/

[4] HubSpot Research. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/live-chat-go-to-market-flaw