Two hands each hold a puzzle piece, fitting them together. The background is a blue-to-orange gradient. Below the hands, the logos for “actabl” and “Avalara” appear side by side with a plus sign between them.

How the Actabl & Avalara Partnership is Automating the Complexities of Hospitality Tax

July 15, 2026|Partnerships, ProfitSword

In an industry where margins are under constant pressure and real-time data is the only true competitive advantage, the technical debt of legacy systems is becoming a major liability.

For hotel management companies, this risk is nowhere more apparent than in tax compliance, a fragmented, manual, and high-stakes burden that can drain resources and invite costly penalties.

That’s why the integration between Avalara, a global leader in cloud-based tax compliance, and Actabl has become a critical asset for hospitality finance teams. By specifically bridging the gap between ProfitSword’s operational data and Avalara’s tax engine, this alliance provides a single source of truth for one of the industry's most complex hurdles: sales and occupancy tax.

“Avalara is the leader in tax compliance and an integration partner with ProfitSword. Together, we work our magic to streamline the flow of revenue data, check that accurate sales and lodging tax has been applied, and automate the filing process,” explained Christine Paulson, Sr. Strategic Alliance Manager at Avalara.

The Challenge: The Fragmented Tax Landscape

Many hotel operators still rely on manual processes to navigate tax codes that are notoriously non-standard. Property-level data is often siloed, and with high staff turnover at both the property and corporate levels, maintaining tax expertise in-house is a significant challenge.

Manual task completion is tedious, prone to human error, and carries significant audit risk. Ultimately, it prevents your staff from working on higher priorities, such as generating revenue and keeping guests happy.

This creates three persistent risks:

The Penalty Trap: Late filings or incorrect rates, often caused by simple human error or outdated PMS data, result in penalties that come directly out of the management company's pocket.
Jurisdictional Chaos: Every state, city, and county has different rules. From the number of rooms in a unit to specific local levies, tracking frequent rate changes and manually collating data from different systems is a full-time job.
Audit Fatigue: Larger hospitality companies are often juggling up to eight audits at a time. Without a centralized repository, responding to these audits is a weeks-long drain on the finance department.

The Solution: Purpose-Built Compliance Intelligence

Avalara for Hospitality delivers an end-to-end suite that automates the heavy lifting of tax, allowing Actabl users to easily navigate regulatory requirements and reduce risk. When integrated with ProfitSword, revenue categories flow seamlessly from the property level into the AvaTax engine.

Why this Partnership Wins:

Automated Reconciliation: AvaTax calculates what should have been collected and flags variances against the upstream PMS, catching errors before they become audit red flags.
Cloud-Based Filing: Finance teams no longer need to manage physical paperwork across multiple states. They simply log in, approve the prepared returns, and let Avalara handle the filing and remittance.
Beyond Occupancy: The platform manages the total hotel tax picture, including restaurant sales, spa services, and retail, ensuring every revenue stream is compliant.
The Standalone Advantage: Beyond the ProfitSword integration, Avalara offers standalone solutions for contractor compliance and 1099 management, business licensing, and property tax, allowing hotels to alleviate points of friction without needing a full system overhaul.

“We’re really excited for everyone to learn more about what this team does for our customers, specifically our ProfitSword customers, as that is where we are integrated,” said Marianne Nichols, Director of Partnerships & Strategic Alliances at Actabl.

Proven Results: Valor Hospitality

The impact of this automation isn't theoretical. Valor Hospitality, one of the first to leverage the ProfitSword-Avalara integration, reported saving 5 to 6 days a month across their centralized and property teams. By moving away from manual spreadsheets, they achieved peace of mind that allowed them to scale their portfolio without adding to their finance headcount.

“The integration with ProfitSword streamlines the process by automating the flow of transactional data for recalculation and reporting by Avalara,” said Trisha Campbell, Regional Controller at Valor Hospitality Partners.

“With ongoing staffing issues, automation lets us effectively utilize existing personnel. Between the finance team and the on-property accountants, we’re saving about 5-6 days per month across our hotel portfolio, reducing risk and setting us up for scale without adding headcount. I’d recommend Avalara with ProfitSword by Actabl to hotel management companies looking to streamline their compliance.”

Building for the Future

As hotel management companies expand into new states and jurisdictions, the complexity of tax compliance will only grow. More than 30,000 customers already choose Avalara to live and breathe tax compliance so they don't have to.

Actabl and Avalara are building for that future. If your team is still spending days on tax reconciliation instead of strategic financial planning, it may be time to rethink your approach.

Are you a technology innovator or a solution expert? Visit the Actabl Partner Network for more information on how you could work with us.