Avalara, Inc., a leading provider of tax compliance automation software for businesses of all sizes, showcased an array of customer-first innovations at this week’s signature Avalara CRUSH customer event in Austin. The company emphasized AI-infused product innovation and features, embedded integrations with popular business applications, and an expanded portfolio of compliance solutions that deliver a more simplified and streamlined experience for Avalara customers.
“Avalara has deep roots in AI innovation, and for years has used next-generation technologies to develop intelligent tax tools that deliver value and delight customers,” said Ross Tennenbaum, President of Avalara. “Our CRUSH attendees are getting a full view of our new AI-infused products and features, in addition to hearing from our experts on Avalara’s expanding compliance automation toolset and deeper integrations with the ERP and ecommerce systems businesses rely on—further demonstrating how we empower customers to confidently automate tax compliance, operate more efficiently, mitigate risk associated with tax complexity, and focus on core business building activities.”
AI Enhanced Efficiencies
Throughout the event, Avalara has highlighted AI’s role in driving efficiencies within the tax compliance space, while emphasizing its responsible approach to implementing these technologies. A few of the AI innovations highlighted include:
- Avi, Avalara’s generative AI chatbot, provides conversational support to help customers and partners find answers and resolve issues faster and easier. The launch of Avi is part of Avalara’s ongoing mission to use AI innovation to support ease of use for customers and partners, while minimizing errors, expanding and expediting coverage of compliance areas, and streamlining internal processes. Avi is available in the Avalara Global Support Portal and the Avalara Portal product interface, and will soon be available in the Avalara Tax Research platform.
- Automated Tariff Code Classification, a new solution that uses a pioneering combination of proprietary, advanced AI, machine learning, and natural language processing methods and technologies to classify large product catalogs quickly and efficiently to Harmonized System (HS) or Tariff Codes, helping supply chain and logistics providers, e-retailers, and global marketplaces calculate customs and duty taxes and comply with international shipment requirements in near-real time. Avalara Tariff Code Classification delivers HS codes in real-time as well in batches and can be used in conjunction with Avalara’s other tax compliance solutions, helping Avalara customers and partners around the world accelerate digital tax compliance.
The company’s AI governance model is built on trust, thoughtful planning, and oversight, upholding data protection standards. This approach aligns with Avalara’s broader strategy of deploying new AI technologies responsibly, helping businesses stay compliant as regulatory requirements evolve.
Jim Lundy, founder, CEO and Lead Analyst of Aragon Research, lent insight into the potential for AI to redefine how businesses approach their tax compliance needs:
“The effective use of AI is beginning to transform the tax compliance landscape,” said Lundy. “For instance, AI is highly effective at organizing items into categories, and there are numerous categorization tasks in corporate and other tax areas. As global tax environments become more complex, intelligent tax platforms streamline manual processes and help ensure compliance.”
Next Frontier Products to Enhance Customer Experience
Avalara also highlighted a suite of innovations at CRUSH that modernize the customer experience. These updates provide instant, actionable insights, enabling users to quickly address their specific challenges. As part of the customer experience overhaul, Avalara announced a redesigned Go Live process, which includes a self-service onboarding feature that will significantly reduce implementation time. Other notable product innovations highlighted include:
- Avalara E-Invoicing and Live Reporting: As more than 60 countries worldwide have announced—or already require—e-invoicing, the new solution simplifies compliance through a single API that integrates with Avalara’s improved VAT returns platform.
- AvaTax for Accounts Payable: This new feature extends Avalara’s flagship AvaTax solution to manage use tax, enabling businesses to automate tax calculations and avoid overpayments and underpayments.
- Expanded and Simplified Partner Integrations: Avalara has more than 1,200 signed partner integrations, including Oracle, Shopify, and SAP. Reimagined with the customer at the center, this growing network of business solutions gives users the ability to seamlessly integrate Avalara’s tax compliance solutions into their existing infrastructure.
Avalara continues to build the largest global network for tax compliance, connecting businesses and governments through a fully automated platform that is continuously improving to deliver an intuitive user experience. For more information on Avalara’s latest developments and to follow updates from CRUSH 2024, visit avalaracrush.com.
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Tags: Accounting, Sales Tax, Small Business, Taxes
