If I'm already running Clearing for bookkeeping, doesn't that cover my lodging taxes?

No. Clearing reconciles bookings, generates owner statements, and segregates owner funds in trust accounts, but it does not register for lodging tax licenses, calculate jurisdiction-specific rates, or file and remit returns. If you operate in jurisdictions where your OTA doesn't fully collect, Avalara fills a compliance gap Clearing was never designed to cover.

Avalara's $27/mo per listing is more expensive than Clearing's $9.25/unit at the same scale. Why pay the premium?

They're solving different problems, so the per-listing comparison isn't apples to apples. Avalara's fee buys active filing and remittance work — a single missed lodging tax return can trigger penalties and license issues that exceed a year of fees. Clearing's fee buys ongoing bookkeeping and trust accounting. Most multi-jurisdiction operators need both.

I'm on Hostaway or Guesty — can I even use Avalara?

That's a real limitation. Avalara has no native Hostaway or Guesty connectors — its PMS integrations are limited to OwnerRez and Streamline. You can still use Avalara, but the data pipeline won't be hands-off the way Clearing's PMS-agnostic integrations make their workflow. Factor that operational cost into the decision if tight PMS integration matters.

Comparison

Clearing vs Avalara MyLodgeTax

Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.

Accounting & Tax

Clearing

Trust accounting and bookkeeping built for short-term rental managers

Solid Option

Specialist bookkeeping for STR managers who actually need trust accounting

From $25 • No free trial

Full review →Is it worth it?

Accounting & Tax

Avalara MyLodgeTax

Full-service lodging tax compliance for short-term rental operators

Best for Scale

Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost

From $27/listing • No free trial

Full review →Is it worth it?

Visit Clearing →Visit Avalara MyLodgeTax →

✓Editorial verdict

Which Should You Pick: Clearing or Avalara MyLodgeTax?

Pick Clearing if your bottleneck is bookkeeping, trust accounting with segregated owner funds, and multi-OTA reconciliation layered onto your existing PMS. Pick Avalara MyLodgeTax if your real pain is multi-jurisdiction lodging tax registration, calculation, filing, and remittance across 5+ properties. They solve different problems and many PMCs run both.

Editorial perspective from the Clearing side; factual claims about Avalara MyLodgeTax are drawn from its review.

Pricing Side-by-Side

Clearing

Full pricing →

From $25 • No free trial

Up to 5 listings

$25/mo

Bookkeeping baseline
PMS, Stripe, and Airbnb data ingestion

Try Clearing

11-20 listings

$9.25 per unit/mo

Bookkeeping baseline
Per-unit pricing kicks in

Try Clearing

100+ listings

$8.50 per unit/mo

Bookkeeping baseline at lowest published per-unit rate
Suitable for portfolios at scale

Try Clearing

Trust accounting add-on

$2.50 per unit/mo + $199-$499 setup

Virtual bank accounts to segregate rental funds
ACH disbursement to homeowners

Try Clearing

Avalara MyLodgeTax

Full pricing →

From $27/listing • No free trial

Standard

$27/property/mo

One-time $299 setup fee per property

1-5 properties

Automated tax calculation across 11,000+ jurisdictions
License and permit registration management
End-to-end tax return filing and remittance
Native PMS integrations (OwnerRez, Streamline)

Try Avalara MyLodgeTax

Commercial

Custom quote

6+ properties (commercial pricing)

Everything in Standard
Volume-based discounts on per-property fee
Dedicated account support
Multi-state portfolio reporting

Try Avalara MyLodgeTax

What each tool does well — and where it falls short

What Clearing does well

Broad PMS and payment-processor integration coverage
The integrations page lists Hostaway, Guesty, Hospitable, Lodgify, OwnerRez, Stripe, and others — unusually wide for a bookkeeping-layer product, which reduces lock-in if you switch PMSes.
Trust accounting is the headline feature, not a bolt-on
The homepage title is 'Trust accounting for Property Managers' and the platform supports virtual bank accounts to keep owner funds segregated — a compliance step generalist tools push back to the operator.
Vendor case studies cite quantified time savings
Named customers on the customer-story page report cuts like 'up to 70%' fewer month-end hours across 300+ properties and one operator saving 50+ hours monthly.

What Avalara MyLodgeTax does well

Manages the entire tax lifecycle from registration through remittance
Avalara handles license registration, tax calculation, return filing, and payment to applicable jurisdictions — eliminating the need to manually navigate multi-state obligations.
PMS integrations enable hands-off compliance workflows
Native connections to OwnerRez and Streamline automatically import booking data, removing manual entry from the compliance process.
Enterprise infrastructure supporting up to 40,000+ properties
Commercial pricing tiers for 6+ property portfolios and architecture built for scale mean the platform grows with your business.
Covers 11,000+ tax jurisdictions across the US
Operators expanding into new markets don't need to research local tax requirements manually — Avalara's jurisdiction database handles the complexity.

Where Clearing falls short

Plan tier pricing requires a sales call
Both Pro and Ultimate plans show 'Talk with Sales' on the pricing page, and a third-party directory notes a demo is required before purchase. Apples-to-apples comparison requires booking a call.
Trust accounting is priced separately from the bookkeeping base
It's $2.50 per unit per month plus a one-time implementation fee scaling from $199 to $499 by portfolio size — meaningful budget for a 50-listing operator.
Very limited independent review signal
shorttermrentalsoftware.com lists '0 reviews currently listed' and Capterra/G2 don't surface a populated page, so buyers lean heavily on vendor-published case studies.

Where Avalara MyLodgeTax falls short

Per-property costs compound quickly for growing portfolios
At $27/month plus $299 one-time setup per property, a 10-property portfolio runs $270/month and $2,990 upfront before any volume discounts apply.
Customer support receives consistent negative feedback
Users report long wait times, unclear escalation paths, and being directed to paid third-party support to resolve issues.
Scope limited strictly to lodging and occupancy taxes
Won't handle 1099 filing, HOA applications, or zoning compliance — operators still need separate solutions for those obligations.

Which Should You Pick

Pick Clearing if

Property managers running 10-300+ short-term rental units who need automated trust accounting, owner statements, and reconciliation across multiple OTAs and PMSes.

Skip Clearing if

You're a single-listing host, you need a PMS replacement (Clearing layers on top of one), or you require self-serve plan-tier pricing without a sales call.

Pick Avalara MyLodgeTax if

Professional property managers with 5+ properties needing comprehensive compliance automation across multiple jurisdictions.

Skip Avalara MyLodgeTax if

You have 1–4 properties — the $299 setup fee and $27/month per listing make the math hard to justify at small scale.

Where Clearing and Avalara MyLodgeTax actually differ

Clearing is a bookkeeping and trust-accounting platform with virtual bank accounts, owner statements, and ACH disbursement; Avalara MyLodgeTax is single-purpose lodging tax compliance covering registration, filing, and remittance across 11,000+ jurisdictions.
Clearing publishes a $25/mo floor up to 5 listings, $9.25/unit at 11–20, and $8.50/unit at 100+, with a $2.50/unit trust-accounting add-on plus $199–$499 setup; Avalara charges $27/mo per listing plus a $299 one-time setup fee per property.
Clearing lists 30+ named integrations including Hostaway, Guesty, Hospitable, Lodgify, OwnerRez, Stripe, and QuickBooks Online; Avalara integrates with only OwnerRez and Streamline for booking data ingest.
Avalara files returns and remits payments to government tax jurisdictions; Clearing does not file or remit lodging or occupancy taxes on your behalf.
Avalara is built to scale from 5 up to 40,000+ properties with commercial pricing at 6+ listings; Clearing's scope is the back-office close — no tax registration, no return filing, and no jurisdiction database.

Common objections

If I'm already running Clearing for bookkeeping, doesn't that cover my lodging taxes?: No. Clearing reconciles bookings, generates owner statements, and segregates owner funds in trust accounts, but it does not register for lodging tax licenses, calculate jurisdiction-specific rates, or file and remit returns. If you operate in jurisdictions where your OTA doesn't fully collect, Avalara fills a compliance gap Clearing was never designed to cover.
Avalara's $27/mo per listing is more expensive than Clearing's $9.25/unit at the same scale. Why pay the premium?: They're solving different problems, so the per-listing comparison isn't apples to apples. Avalara's fee buys active filing and remittance work — a single missed lodging tax return can trigger penalties and license issues that exceed a year of fees. Clearing's fee buys ongoing bookkeeping and trust accounting. Most multi-jurisdiction operators need both.
I'm on Hostaway or Guesty — can I even use Avalara?: That's a real limitation. Avalara has no native Hostaway or Guesty connectors — its PMS integrations are limited to OwnerRez and Streamline. You can still use Avalara, but the data pipeline won't be hands-off the way Clearing's PMS-agnostic integrations make their workflow. Factor that operational cost into the decision if tight PMS integration matters.

Keep Digging

Clearing

Specialist bookkeeping for STR managers who actually need trust accounting

Full Clearing review →Is it worth it?

Avalara MyLodgeTax

Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost

Full Avalara MyLodgeTax review →Is it worth it?