Flint is integrating its iOS and Android small business payment apps with Intuit's QuickBooks Online accounting software, a move meant to enable clients to better manage the data connected to their transactions.
The QuickBooks integration positions Flint to pick up new clients, who can activate Flint accounts in less than two minutes through the integration by following instructions on Intuit's site. Flint's apps will sync all transactions and line item information and customer details with the user's QuickBooks Online account, replacing the need to type out this information.
"The businesses don't have to worry about how transaction data is organized and finding it and handling it manually," says Greg Goldfarb, co-founder and CEO of Flint.
Other features include mapping transactions to specific customers by matching email addresses, and breaking out line item records for specific payments. That can include information on hours, taxes, discounts and tips, Goldfarb says.
"If I did five hours of work, or repaired a water heater, I can itemize that instead of just getting a transaction total," he says.
Flint, which charges 1.95% for debit card payments and 2.95% for credit cards, focuses on merchants who provide their services at the client's location. Its target market includes photographers, maintenance contractors and plumbers.
These contractors accept payments by using the embedded camera on the mobile phone to take an image of the information on the card or check. Most mobile point of sale companies rely on hardware attachments to enable mobile phones to accept payments, though some mobile wallets use card-scanning technology to enroll consumers' payment accounts.
Mobile payment companies have added services such as inventory and staff management in an attempt to broaden their appeal as mobile acceptance becomes commoditized. The mobile nature of Flint's customers makes seamless access to accounting software a good fit, Goldfarb says.
