How does Quicko make money?

How do ERIs like @Quicko make money? Because majority of people opt for self filing which is Free.

Is FNO filing and zerodha integration also free?

Integration not free but people can still punch details manually. In Cleartax integration is free but I still do everything manually there as I don’t want to give them my user ID and password.

I was just wondering how they manage to make money as 95% people opt for free services.

" From the remaining 5% then. "
– Captain Obvious. :grin:


I haven’t used Quicko, but from experience of these other popular tax-advisory and ITR-filing websites,
most of their “professionals” have no clue and provide misleading guidance on anything that is even slightly different from the most common scenarios.

So, folks opting for their paid services gain a false peace of mind,
and continue to be liable for any tax inquiries in future due to incorrect filing.
(support for which the paid service doesn’t cover :sweat_smile:)

So, either spend a few hours, read the Tax filing instructions and FAQs and do it yourselves,
or a pay a registered CA to do it as your representative. So, in case of any future inquiries / IT-Audit, the CA is responsible to provide the necessary clarifications.

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Not sure about Quicko. But so many individuals who have filed returns via clear tax have later come to me with notice. Obviously spent more amount in replying to the notice than they would have spent if they had come for filing returns. :joy::joy::joy:

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I know that their Experts have no clue. Have experienced them. Once in 2016 I got an offer for free CA assisted plan of H&R block from HDFC Bank and I used that. And H&R Block had to shut shop in India 2 years after that.:rofl:
That’s why I never take their paid service and go for Free. If they start charging, I’ll file direct from ITR portal.

But here I’m trying to know how the likes of Quicko and CT make money by offering free itr filing. Do they sell our data or something

May be. May be not. But I am a firm believer of no free lunch.

Few possibilities i can think of…

  • Maybe these services are not profitable yet and are burning investor money to gain users.
  • Maybe they rely on a small percentage of users who opt for paid services for their entire income.
  • Maybe they try to upsell other paid services on to “free users”.
  • Maybe they mine data of users to identify potentially useful paid services/products they can create.
  • Maybe they share user data with 3rd-parties…
    • …who can then try to upsell users on other 3rd-party services.
    • …who can then use the data for nefarious purposes.

Their privacy policy / T&C might help confirm some of this.

My experience is different. I have filed a few IT returns over the years using Clear Tax, and I never faced any problems. Perhaps it is because I had submitted all the necessary details, and the details are straight forward, no ambiguity for their system, even if they belong to different sources of income.

I did have one discrepancy, an adjustment suggested by the IT department, and I did not contest it, I guess I may have done some mistake.

So my experience with Clear Tax so far has been smooth.

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I’ve used CT so know about them. They do sell ELSS funds. They even have a separate app Cleartax Black for that. Earlier they used to bombard my inbox with their Tax saving fund ads but since new tax regime is introduced that has stopped. Not even a single mail/pitch since then. So I wonder how they are earning now.

Even I haven’t faced anything yet. Using their free services since 2017

Clear Tax was asking for a small amount as a gesture after the completion of the filing, 500 I think, it is our choice to give or not.

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Yeah I noticed and skipped

I wanted to pay, I will pay next time.

Nullum gratuitum prandium, there is no free lunch, more so when the process is simple and smooth.

After all, my data is with them :no_mouth:

What’s the guarantee that they won’t sell it if you pay

Exactly!

Reminds me of this situation…

[ Original Video ]

To each their own though. :slightly_smiling_face::+1:

It is not about them not selling if I pay, it is about me being satisfied for the service they have provided, the service that I need.

So far, nothing has happened, and I believe nothing will, both because of the measures I take and because I am an ordinary person, one among crores of people, marketing or other such departments feel not worth talking to.

Seller 1 - How did it go with him?

Seller 2 - Called the guy, not worth my time, will not call again.

End of their discussion.

:grin:

This time I self filed online on the I-T website. As long as an audit is not required, I think it’s always better to do your taxes yourself.

With the new ICAI guidelines, hopefully a tax audit may not be required for most F&O traders.

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That’s not the point. I’m a Equity Delivery trader and report all my income under stcg. So no audut needed even if my turnover is billions and trillions of ruppees.
I just want to know how @Quicko makes money by providing free service

It’s a Rainmatter funded startup. Maybe they’re not profitable yet but like most startups, they probably want to build a good customer base first before thinking of profits.

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