Commissions Accounting Lead

Avalara, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 111,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Paid time off

Paid parental leave

Health insurance

Job summary

Avalara, Inc. is seeking a Commission Accounting Lead to own the detailed accounting of sales and partner commissions under ASC 606. This role emphasizes automation, AI-enabled workflows, and strong GAAP knowledge, working remotely across the United States.

You will collaborate with Legal, Financial Operations, Revenue Operations, Partner Operations, and IT to implement system improvements and ensure accurate, scalable commission processes. Expertise in ERP systems and advanced Excel is required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience with ASC 606 cost capitalization
• Hands-on automation design to improve accuracy and cycle time
• Experience using AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) for accounting analysis
• Ability to explain technical accounting conclusions to non-accounting partners
• Knowledge of ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Workday) and advanced Excel

Responsibilities

• Perform detailed accounting for commission accruals, expense, capitalization, and amortization under ASC 606
• Review complex sales and partner agreements for proper cost classification under GAAP
• Develop automated workflows and AI-enabled tools to support review, anomaly detection, and data quality monitoring
• Prepare reconciliations for commission-related balance sheet and P&L accounts and investigate variances
• Support SOX-compliant controls over commission accounting and document audits

Skills

ASC 606

Automation design

AI tools

ERP systems

Financial reporting

Tools

NetSuite

SAP

Oracle

Workday

Job description

What You'll Do

The Commission Accounting Lead is an individual contributor responsible for the accurate, detailed accounting of sales and partner commissions, including accruals, expense, capitalization, and amortization under ASC 606. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Commission Accounting, you will review and evaluate partner and sales commission agreements to ensure accounting treatment and correct classification of costs. This job suits someone who is equally comfortable digging into the fine print of a complex commission agreement. You should also be able to build the automated processes that scale commission accounting as the business grows. As a hands-on technical and operational resource, you will bring ASC 606 knowledge and a process improvement mindset. You will help automate commission processes, including building agents and automated process flows, and applying AI tools to modernize accounting, improve accuracy, reduce manual effort, and strengthen controls. This is a remote position in the United States.

#LI-Remote

What Your Responsibilities Will Be

• Perform detailed, accurate accounting for commission accruals, expense, capitalization, and amortization under ASC 606, maintaining schedules across products and contract types
• Review and evaluate complex sales and partner agreements to determine proper accounting treatment and identify the correct cost classification consistent with GAAP
• Identify manual or error-prone processes, develop and implement automated workflows and AI-enabled tools to support agreement review, anomaly detection, reconciliation, and data quality monitoring
• Prepare and review account reconciliations for commission-related balance sheet and P&L accounts, investigating variances, unusual trends, and outliers
• Support the design, execution, and documentation of SOX-compliant controls over commission accounting
• Prepare journal entries, supporting schedules, and documentation to support quarterly audits, technical memos, and financial reporting requirements
• Partner with Legal, Financial Operations, Revenue Operations, Partner Operations, Global Analytics, and IT to understand deal structures and implement system improvements
• Be a detail-level technical resource on commission accounting questions and help evaluate new or amended commission plans before launch

What You'll Need to be Successful

• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, with meaningful exposure to commission accounting and/or ASC 606 cost capitalization
• Working knowledge of ASC 606, including incremental costs of obtaining a contract, and experience identifying and classifying costs following GAAP
• Experience in a SaaS or subscription-based business, with comfort working through complex, non-standard agreements
• Hands-on experience designing and building automation—not just using existing pre-built tools—with experience redesigning inefficient processes to measurably improve accuracy and cycle time
• An AI bar-raising mindset with demonstrated proficiency using AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) to support accounting analysis, agreement review, or process automation, with specific examples of impact
• Proficiency with ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Workday) and advanced Excel skills
• You have experience explaining technical accounting conclusions to non-accounting partners

Pay Range Details

Colorado $111,300-$178,100 (annually)

Washington $111,300-$196,700 (annually)

California $111,300-$215,400(annually)

NYC $134,600-$215,400 (annually)

The pay range above is the general base pay range for a successful candidate in the state listed. The successful candidate’s actual salary/wage may be based on various factors, such as geographic location, candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. This role is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance, depending on the terms of the applicable plan and the employee’s role

Avalara is an AI-first Company

• You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here.
• You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers.
• You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

How We'll Take Care of You

Total Rewards

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses.

Health & Wellness

Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance.

Inclusive culture and diversit y

Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship.

What You Need To Know About Avalara

We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we're a billion dollar business - and we’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world.

We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

We’re An Equal Opportunity Employer

Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.