Rea & Associates finds efficiencies and scales capabilities
Results
Enabled growth
Flexible implementation
Integrated systems
Cost savings
Summary
Results
- Improved processes
- Increased compliance
- Integrated systems
- Cost savings
Tax challenges
- Tax complexity
- Compliance risk
- Firm growth
Products used
Avalara Managed Returns for Accountants
Give your clients the benefits of a fully managed returns service while you offload the time and manual effort of providing it.
Avalara Returns for Accountants
Streamline end-to-end returns processes using workflow management tools and filing automation.
Avalara Tax Research for Accountants
Get comprehensive indirect tax research, including product taxability, rates, and regulations.
Avalara License Management for Accountants
Simplify the process of researching, obtaining, and renewing your clients’ business licenses.
Benefits
- Improved accuracy through alignment with current tax rates
- Increased the number of returns each year by 42%
- More time to serve as trusted advisors for other business services
- Quick and easy support from Avalara
Industry type
Accounting
Company overview
Customer
Rea & Associates
Industry
Accounting
Tax type
Sales and use
Founded in 1938, Rea & Associates, Inc., is a full-service accounting and business advisory practice that offers accounting, tax, and audit services to clients across the country.
With around 400 professionals overall, Rea & Associates is one of the top 100 public accounting firms in the United States.
Tax challenges
Principal Kathy LaMonica joined the firm four years ago when Rea & Associates was already 80 years old. Since she joined, the firm’s growth has accelerated. “It has been amazing to watch the growth,” Kathy says. “Some of it was by acquisition, but there’s also organic growth and new specialty service lines.”
Just a few days into Kathy’s tenure, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. “Overnight, many customers with limited physical presence in other states had nexus,” Kathy recalls. “Suddenly, we were hit with new compliance responsibilities. Because I’ve been in the business of sales and use tax for most of my career, I knew that our manual workflow was not sustainable.”
“If we really wanted to grow,” she adds, “we needed something to help us process additional returns more efficiently and more accurately.”
Why Avalara?
Initially, Rea & Associates implemented a program from an Avalara competitor. Kathy quickly determined that it was the wrong solution for her firm. “We tried it for about nine months, but we did not like the results we were getting,” Kathy remembers. “It was really important to me to maintain control and process these returns on our own — I didn’t want to outsource.”
Built on the same sales tax technology Avalara uses to file millions of returns each year, Avalara Returns for Accountants is designed for accounting firms. The solution delivers visibility into process status across multiple clients and automates filing based on the firm’s needs.
With Avalara Returns for Accountants, Rea & Associates can continue to scale their business while reducing compliance risk for themselves and their clients. “Avalara could handle our increasing volume and offered a level of support that we needed but weren’t getting from the competitor,” says Kathy. “It just made more sense.”
Tax challenges
- Tax complexity
- Compliance risk
- Firm growth
Products used
Avalara Managed Returns for Accountants
Give your clients the benefits of a fully managed returns service while you offload the time and manual effort of providing it.
Avalara Returns for Accountants
Streamline end-to-end returns processes using workflow management tools and filing automation.
Avalara Tax Research for Accountants
Get comprehensive indirect tax research, including product taxability, rates, and regulations.
Avalara License Management for Accountants
Simplify the process of researching, obtaining, and renewing your clients’ business licenses.
Benefits
- Easy integration
- Confidence in compliance
- Future-proofing for growth
Industry type
Software
Manage the varied requirements of where and how SaaS, software, and subscriptions are taxed.
“Avalara could handle our increasing volume and offered a level of support that we needed but weren’t getting from the competitor.”
—Kathy LaMonica
Principal, State and Local Tax
“Avalara could handle our increasing volume and offered a level of support that we needed but weren’t getting from the competitor.”
—Kathy LaMonica
Principal, State and Local Tax
Results
Rea & Associates implemented Avalara Returns for Accountants nearly a year ago, and in that short time frame Kathy has already realized significant efficiencies for her team.
She describes the example of a Texas return with a massive amount of line items that would take three hours to do manually, but “with Avalara it takes about 10 minutes.”
“My senior staff can spend more time learning the client’s business and becoming experts on consulting work … instead of filing returns.”
—Kathy LaMonica
Principal, State and Local Tax
That level of efficiency scales across the firm’s business. “We used to spend a solid three weeks getting monthly returns done,” Kathy explains, “and we were doing fewer returns back then. We’ve had a 42% increase in returns each year for the past two years, and now we’re done in a week and half.”
For Kathy’s team, using Avalara means more time is available to focus on client relationships. “You want to be the trusted advisor,” she says. “My senior staff can spend more time learning the client’s business and becoming experts on consulting work like nexus studies and taxability reviews instead of filing returns. With hiring being such a challenge in our industry right now, it’s really helpful to be able to expand our team’s capabilities. And it’s good for the firm, too, because we’re offering added value on the consulting side. I’d much rather talk to my clients than file returns, so it’s a win-win.”
The firm’s clients are also better off according to Kathy. “Now that we’re not doing all that manual work, we can offer our clients a better price on that service. And they still have the peace of mind of knowing that their returns are being managed by people who understand their business.”
Kathy has been pleased with the level of support she receives from Avalara. “The people at Avalara have just been amazing,” she says. “Any time we have questions or need a meeting, they are very responsive. We were not getting that kind of support with other programs.”
