February 2010 Archives

Here are the news headlines posted recently on our Twitter feed (follow it here).

Billeo's iPad Sweepstakes -- From Feb. 4 to April 5, Billeo is offering an incentive for new users. Sign up to Billeo and be entered into a sweepstakes to win a new iPad. No purchase is required but you must download the Billeo app and register.

Credit Karma Adds Users and New Tool -- Credit Karma doubled its users in 2009 and now serves more than 1 million users. On Feb. 3, the company announced its new Savings Dashboard tool, which helps consumers capitalize on improvements in their credit scores.

Expensify Launches Palm Pre App -- Expensify has released a new app for the Palm Pre that scans receipts and tracks expenses. The company already has apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android.

GreenSherpa Wins Catalyst Competition Award -- Social networking company Girls in Tech and broadcast platform Vator.TV have announced the winners of their joint Catalyst Competition honoring women-led startup companies. GreenSherpa was among the five winners selected. Other winners were AccessDNA, BakeSpace, MyLawsuit, and Marriage.com, with Graspr winning the popular vote.

Intuit Launches PFM product in India -- Intuit has launched a new financial software product in India. The new Intuit Money Manager application aggregates account data and allows users to view real-time information about their expenses. The tool can also track investments, insurance, and other financial instruments through Intuit's collaboration with Moneycontrol.com.

Mortgagebot Reports Growth in Users and Revenue -- Mortgage technology provider Mortgagebot reported a 25% growth in revenue for fiscal 2009. The company also gained about 200 new clients in 2009 and now serves nearly 950 clients.

Silver Tail to Present Webinar -- On Feb. 23, Silver Tail Systems will present a free webinar on screen injection, a new hacking technique threatening the security of online banking sites. Silver Tail's founder, Laura Mather, Ph.D., will provide detailed information on the hacking technology.

Free online bookkeeping site Outright.com has added its first fee-based service for small business owners.

Outright provides online tools to help small businesses track and manage their finances. The company focuses on single-owner enterprises that require accounting systems that are fast and easy to use. The Outright.com site imports data directly from the user's bank or other financial services provider to populate reports and tax forms. (Finovate 2009 video here.)

The company's new service helps business owners manage 1099 tax forms for contractors. Using data from the W-9 forms that businesses collect from employees, Outright.com automatically fills out the required IRS 1099-MISC forms, electronically files them with the Internal Revenue Service, and sends copies directly to the contractors. (See screenshot #1 below.)

Unlike other services at Outright, the 1099 tax form product isn't free. The company charges $5 per filing. But for each contractor that joins Outright, the company will refund the fee. Outright plans on introducing more fee-based services in the future.

Along with the launch of its 1099 service, Outright also launched a new tax information website, Right Taxes Now. The new site provides tax advice and offers opportunities to sign petitions regarding small-business tax relief legislation. It also provides links to services offered at Outright.com. (Screenshot #2)

Both the new tax product and the Right Taxes Now website should help bring users to Outright's site. According to traffic data from Compete, Outright.com saw about 54,000 unique visitors in December, down from its 2009 peak of nearly 71,000 in November. The Right Taxes Now site was launched on January 20 and traffic data is not yet available.

Compete.com, January 2010, traffic data here

#1. Outright's 1099 Tax Service

#2. Links to Outright from Right Taxes Now

#3. Outright.com helps users track income...

#.4 ... and expenses

BillShrink, which provides money-savings advice to consumers, has expanded its offerings to include a new feature for business owners.

BillShrink offers online tools to help consumers find the best prices on goods and services in markets where comparison shopping can be difficult. The company collects geographic and usage data from the consumer in order to create personal recommendations. BillShrink currently offers price comparison services for cell phone plans, savings accounts/CDs, credit cards, and gas stations. (Finovate 2009 video here; FinovateStartup 2009 video here.)

The company's new BillShrink for Business service helps businesses find better credit card deals. The company currently has online tools in the works for comparing business wireless phone services and savings accounts.

How it Works:

1. The business owner goes to the BillShrink for Business site and answers two basic questions: Do you pay off your credit card monthly? And what is the annual revenue of the business?

2. Next, the site collects more detailed data about the card usage, followed by questions about what services the user values in a credit card account. (See screenshot #1, below.)

3. The last personal detail required is an email address.

4. The system presents a quick analysis of the user's current credit card (screenshot #2) and then recommends money-saving alternatives (screenshot #3). Clicking on a link that reads How is this calculated provides additional data, showing the value of cash rewards and other incentives that may come with the new card.

5. At the bottom, there is a link to apply for the recommended card at the card-issuer's site. (Screenshot #3.)

BillShrink is paid by retailers when consumers switch to the suggested products. Offering its comparison shopping services to businesses expands the company's market, allowing it to draw a new category of shoppers to the site.

According to traffic estimates from Compete, the BillShrink site saw about 150,000 unique visitors in December, slightly less than its median average for 2009. Site usage peaked in summer with about 490,000.

Compete.com, January 2010, traffic data here.

#1. BillShrink collects basic usage data

#2. Analysis of current credit card (highlight added)

#3. Recommendations for a new credit card