Working at Avalara

Cons: My supervisor sometimes makes snap decisions that are not in the best interest of a project/initiative

Cons: Micromanagement that doesn't walk the "culture" Avalara talks. Not transparent in pay or incentives. Sales compensation plan changes 2x/yr. (retroactive) & is designed to cap you out. Few favorites hit OTE- the rest are lucky to come in at 65%. Manages pretends to listen & engage by assigning non-stop projects that lead to no change but appease to make you feel involved, respected and heard when actually decisions have already been made and no change will happen. Also, they hire you at one job title (that may not offer bonuses, stocks, etc.) then w/in a year switch your title (without your knowledge) and to offer the compensation that should have gone along with it.

Cons: Compensation is what we view as the major issue at Avalara. Some people are paid well above what others are paid. It is a very unclear for many sales people in the organization to understand how they can get to the industry standard for compensation. Most software sales people in this industry(that are hitting their quota) should be around $250k. At Avalara you have to sell well over your quota(about 150%) to come close to that. Historically, that is what we all knew and understood. from 2019 to 2020 we have seen quotas almost double, while the on track earnings have not moved. Thankfully some of the lucky ones will get the opportunity to close a few monster deals every few years to get you into accelerators early - which can get you close to 300-400k. However, in 2020 the annual quota was switched to have two 6 month quotas limiting the opportunity for bonus commission rates. Avalara is a wonderful place to work with great people, great product, great vision by the executive team. As a sales person that is an over achiever, the only piece that is missing is a competitive compensation package.