In the new partnership between start-up Stripe and Intuit Inc., a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, a new product has been developed for on- demand workers to help them recognise payments as income and optimise taxes and maximise deductions.

San Francisco based Stripe was established in 2009 to facilitate frictionless online transaction solutions and powers payments for a large number of new services. While Intuit, founded in 1983 offers services ranging from simplifying small business management and payroll processing, personal finance to tax preparation and filing. The company’s financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

On- demand marketplaces where independent contractors are connected to clients via marketplaces, will benefit the most from this partnership. People employed by these marketplaces which make payments through Stripe will be able to automatically download, categorize, and reconcile bank and credit card transactions and other income data into QuickBooks Self- Employed, and avail the tax optimisation and compliance requirements’ solutions.

Cristina Cordova, head of strategic partnerships at Stripe, said the integration reflects the company’s focus on its marketplaces division, which she said has been one of its core targets throughout the company’s four-year history.

Alex Chriss, who is VP and GM of Intuit’s Self-Employed Solutions said, most 1099 workers generally aren’t aware of their monthly, quarterly, or annual income. That’s in part because they don’t get the same income statements as salaried employees — instead they receive irregular payments from the on-demand platforms they work for.

The QuickBooks software is available for a free 30 day trial and at $6.39 for self employed or $7.99 for small businesses. It also offers additional features for an added cost. The Stripe integration is being offered for free to workers who receive income from companies that use it for payments. These include companies like Lyft, Sidecar, Summon, Flywheel, Handy, Homejoy, and Washio.

Emphasising the growing demand for online payment solutions, Cordova said that companies like Facebook and Twitter, which are not considered marketplaces in the traditional sense, are now integrating e-commerce and payment features that nudge them into the marketplaces arena.

“Social networking platforms are now handling payments on the front end and pay outs on the back end,” she said. “So a lot of companies that didn’t define themselves in that marketplace bucket are finding themselves there.”

(image source: TechCrunch)