Continue incremental patching
Minimizes short-term disruption but preserves inconsistent calculation logic and compounds fragility.
1unified calculation model across acquired platforms
~9 monthsto MVP in an exploratory R&D environment
6functions aligned: finance, product, engineering, operations, support, marketing
0tolerance for live billing disruption
The operating problem
What leadership was facing.
Avalara's SaaS expansion brought acquired platforms whose back-end engines calculated usage charges differently. As customer scale increased, the inconsistency created reconciliation overhead, pricing-communication friction, and audit-exposure risk. Billing accuracy directly affected revenue integrity, revenue assurance, and customer trust — and changes could not disrupt live customer billing.
Options on the table
The decision, framed honestly.
Full system rewrite
Architectural cleanliness at the cost of high operational risk to revenue stability.
Structured engine transformation under governance
Re-architect usage logic in controlled phases under CIO sponsorship, protecting billing continuity while standardizing methodology.
What I put in place
The structure behind the outcome.
- Came rapidly up to speed on complex usage-billing logic across acquired systems
- Extracted and reconciled requirements across finance, product, engineering, operations, support, and marketing
- Directed a 24-contributor cross-functional delivery effort under CIO sponsorship while keeping billing continuity as the control constraint
- Structured phased delivery to protect billing continuity, with validation enforced before each release
- Embedded the transformation inside portfolio governance rhythms and managed executive alignment across revenue-impacting systems
- Delivered an MVP within roughly nine months
What changed
The operating difference.
Disparate billing methodologies converged on a unified, transparent calculation model. Dispute troubleshooting and reimbursement exposure declined, cross-functional pricing interpretation became consistent, audit posture improved, and the business gained a governable baseline for future pricing evolution.
Why it mattered
The executive read.
For a SaaS company scaling through acquisition, billing integrity is existential. The work protected revenue streams, lowered audit and compliance exposure, and turned fragmented billing logic into a governable revenue platform.
Related operating proof:
Delivery readiness to value realization
Decision cadence proof
Supporting references
Avalara colleagues pointed to the same billing and delivery discipline.
Excerpts from LinkedIn recommendations tied to the Avalara Platform Services and usage-billing work.
Avalara
The tremendous work and discipline he has brought to the Platform Services Team … a huge step forward for our billing processes as well as our company.
We delivered a very high profile, business critical project virtually from inception through ship and I can honestly say we would not have made it without him.
He was very effective at simplifying a complex project with many stakeholders … extracting requirements, defining the project plan, notifying stakeholders of status, and overcoming obstacles.
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