2020 Review of Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax

Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax is an application that offers complete sales and use tax compliance. Designed for businesses of any size that have the desire to automate the entire sales and use tax process, Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax is best suited for businesses that sell nationally or globally, although it offers specialized solutions for accounting and CPA firms through its partnership with CPA.com. Created to be used behind the scenes, Vertex Cloud provides automated tax calculations across all current systems, manages exemption certificates from initial collection of information to storing of all certificates. In addition, Vertex Cloud also generates signature-ready returns for easy submission.

Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax uses a series of connectors in order to integrate with numerous ERP systems as well as e-commerce platforms. Vertex Cloud calculates a variety of taxes including sales tax, consumer use tax, and value added tax from a single platform. The application can also be used as a stand-alone sales and use tax application, calculating sales and use tax for more than 10,000 U.S. taxing jurisdictions, and VAT is calculated for international transactions. In addition to accurate rate calculations, Vertex Cloud also handles various e-commerce rules, consumer use tax for accruals, asset and goods management, and retail-specific scenarios.

Vertex Cloud includes an intuitive user interface that offers easy navigation, with tax professionals able to view client activity directly from online dashboards. Along with accurate tax calculations, Vertex Cloud includes complete form preparation, generating PDF returns that are signature ready for submission. If users don’t want to submit forms themselves, they can opt to use the optional Vertex Cloud Returns Premium, which outsources the entire form preparation process including return preparation, filing, and payment remittance.

Vertex Cloud includes both jurisdictional identification as well as advanced address cleansing to ensure that all taxes are based on the correct location. Exemptions are easily handled on all transactions and a rate look up option is offered in the application as well.

Vertex Cloud includes excellent reporting options, with a variety of standard reports available including a Transaction Detail report that displays line item totals, a Transaction Summary report, which provide an overview of all transactions, a Customer Expiration report, which provides a list of all expired customer exemptions, the Validation Error report which displays errors that require a correction, and the Configuration report, which allows firms to view the current configuration for all customers. For those subscribing to the Returns option, there are additional reports available including a Reconciliation report, an Import Error report, and a Returns Filing Calendar report. User can also easily manage all exemption certificates in Vertex Cloud including effective dates, expiration dates, and the option to upload multiple certificates in bulk if necessary.

Vertex Cloud uses connectors to enable integration between the application and various third-party applications, with connectors available for Acumatica, Baseplan, Bosch, Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage, Salesforce, SAP, and Sunrise Technologies, along with numerous others. Custom connectors can also be created for those wishing to integrate to an application not currently offered.

Vertex Cloud offers optional implementation services for new customers, including complete migration and upgrades, as well as complete system implementation. Various support options are also available through the customer portal, where users can access support resources which include a complete database of articles, product documentation, and a user forum. Support is available via email or using the toll-free number, with telephone support available during regular business hours. Vertex Cloud also offers various training options for new users including standard or custom-tailored courses as well as a continued learning option, which is available on the myLearning platform. This option includes tips, how-tos and videos. Online training options are also available.

Vertex Cloud offers a partnership option for accounting and CPA firms including a sales and marketing toolkit. The partnership also includes access to a user dashboard, where analytics and performance can be viewed for each client.

For businesses that sell nationally and internationally, or accounting or CPA firms that manage sales and use tax for numerous clients, Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax is a great fit. Capable of being used as a stand-alone application, users can opt to integrate the application with other Vertex solutions including Vertex Indirect Tax Returns, and Vertex Exemption Certificate Manager. Also available is the Vertex Indirect Tax O Series which is designed for enterprise level organizations to better manage sales and use tax. Those interested in Vertex applications should contact the vendor directly, as pricing is customized for each user and is available only upon request. 

2020 Overall Rating: 5 Stars

Strengths:

• Offers excellent integration options
• Works behind the scenes to calculate sales, use, and VAT tax
• Prepares signature ready returns

Potential Limitations:

• May be too complex for smaller businesses
• Implementation is complex