Amazon for years, with its electronic commerce has had a huge number of third-party sellers to supply most of the inventory that consumers buy. But keeping track of their finances has long been a challenge for third-party merchants, particularly small, mom-and-pop shops.
Amazon said Monday it is partnering with IntuitIntuit QuickBooks and will be available on Amazon Seller Central, the hub sellers use to manage their Amazon businesses, the companies say. Eligible sellers will also have access to loans through QuickBooks Capital.
“Together with Intuit, we are working to equip our selling partners with additional financial tools and access to capital to help them scale efficiently,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of global selling partner services, said in the joint statement.
Companies reported that sellers will see a real-time view of the financial health of their business, gaining a clear picture of cash flow, profitability and tax estimates.
While the Intuit integration isn’t expected to go live until the middle of next year, the announcement comes as sellers ramp up business for the holidays, the busiest time of year for most retailers.
Representatives for both companies declined to give specific terms of the deal, including how revenue will be shared.
The marketplace is a vital part of Amazon’s retail strategy. As well as accounting for around 60% of products sold, Amazon generates fees for providing logistics and shipping services, as well as offering customer service to sellers and charging them to advertise on the website.
In the third quarter, seller services revenue rose 10% to $37.9 billion, accounting for 24% of total revenue, a figure that has been steadily increasing in recent years. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on the earnings call that “[third-party] demand remains strong and unit volumes are robust.”
Amazon shares have risen nearly 50% this year, hitting a new record on Friday and outpacing the Nasdaq’s 31% gain for the year. Meanwhile, Intuit has underperformed the broader tech index, with its stock up less than 4% in 2024.
Intuit shares fell 5% on Nov. 19 after The Washington Post reported that President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency team is considering creating a free tax filing app. The stock fell nearly 6% three days later after the company issued a revenue forecast for the current quarter that missed analysts’ estimates as some sales were delayed.
Quickbooks and its popularity
QuickBooks, which is particularly popular as a comprehensive accounting, expense management and payroll tool for small businesses, has been a key driver of Intuit’s growth. The company said in November that its QuickBooks online accounting segment expanded 21% in the most recent quarter, while total revenue rose 10% to $3.28 billion.
Intuit has been adding generative AI tools to QuickBooks and other small business services, as well as its email marketing offering Mailchimp, to deliver more automated insights to users.
“You can imagine that as we look ahead, our goal is to create a plug-and-play experience across the entire platform, across Mailchimp, QuickBooks and all the services,” Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi said during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call.
Goodarzi said in Monday’s statement that the company is bringing its “AI-powered expert platform to help sellers increase revenue and profitability, save time and grow with confidence.”
