We’re big fans of Outright, a free and drop-dead simple online bookkeeping service. Today, the startup has revealed that it is tracking over $1 billion self employed and micro-business transactions, which Outright says is a sign that the freelance, contract labor, and self-employment marketplace is strong.
Outright.com’s platform manages all business finances, tracks income and expenses, and automates tax preparation. The site is now launching a new automated W-9 management service today. A W-9 tax form is required for anyone outside of employees to whom you pay money (i.e. contractors, freelancers), to ensure you properly file a 1099.
Outright strips the W-9 form from confusing IRS jargon and simplifies the language so both business owners and contract workers can easily understand how to fill the forms out. Contract workers fill out the W-9 online, business owner tracks W-9 status online and Outright assures that all information is transferred safely and securely. Outright will then track the status of W-9s for business owners to make sure all IRS deadlines are met, and penalties are avoided.
Launched earlier this year, the startup recently raised $5 million in funding and previously raised $2 million in seed funding. It’s not surprising that Outright has been able to gain traction as a popular bookkeeping application; it’s easy to use and it has integrations that are useful for the self-employed, such as a plug-in with FreshBooks, Expensify and Shoeboxed.