Get answers to questions about The Work Number® from Equifax

Learn about an automated income and employment verification service for your employees available in early fall 2021 in QuickBooks Payroll through The Work Number from Equifax.

Your employees may need to verify their employment and income info when applying for things like loans, credit, or public aid. When you have to manually provide this info to lenders, creditors, or government agencies, it can take your time away from running a business and may slow the approval process for your employees. 

Intuit has teamed up with The Work Number to enable their automated income and employment verification process using small businesses’ QuickBooks payroll records, which will save you time and help employees get faster approvals. There won’t be any additional charges from Intuit or Equifax to you or your employees for this benefit.

Intuit is very mindful of the privacy and security of our QuickBooks Payroll customers and their employees. You can opt out of this benefit at any time.

No data is shared unless your employees specifically request it to be shared, usually as part of an application process for loans, credit, or public aid, or in response to a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), such as a court order.

Equifax, Inc, is a data, analytics, and technology company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Work Number from Equifax is a specialty consumer reporting agency and is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Here are some answers to common questions to help you understand and use this new service.

What are the benefits of The Work Number?

Maintain employee privacy and confidentiality

The Work Number helps keep your employee’s personal transactions private.  Since the verification is automated, it reduces the potential of you being caught in the middle between your employee and the “Verifier”. 

Robust security controls

Your employee’s info can only be accessed by credentialed and approved parties, typically lenders, creditors and government agencies (“Verifiers”) governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in accordance with federal law.  Equifax is regulated and uses globally recognized data management and security certifications. 

No extra cost

The Work Number is included with your payroll subscription.  There are no additional charges from Intuit or Equifax to you or your employees for this benefit. The Verifier would pay a fee for each verification request.  

How does it work?

• When The Work Number receives a request from a Verifier, the service checks with QuickBooks to see if there is a match to the employee whose data has been requested.
• QuickBooks shares the relevant data with The Work Number to complete the request from the Verifier. 

The Work Number is the nation’s largest database of employment information with over 1,000,000¹ employer contributors from businesses of all sizes and industries.  

 ¹2021 Equifax data

Who can request employee info through The Work Number? 

Information from The Work Number is considered a consumer report under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Only Verifiers with a certified permissible purpose can obtain a consumer report from The Work Number. The Work Number credentials and approves each Verifier before they can request access to any of your employee’s info. 

What info does a Verifier get from The Work Number?

The Work Number provides different types of verifications for different purposes. 

• If a consumer is buying a new home, a mortgage lender will typically need to verify income in detail before approving a loan. 
• If a consumer applies for public aid from a social service agency, they will typically need income verification.

How does the verification service provide security in responding to employment and income requests?

The Work Number relies on multiple layers of protection: verifier credentialing, multi-factor authentication, on-site inspections, and auditing of data use. 

What if I receive an income or employment verification request?

You can refer those requests to theworknumber.com or 800-367-5690 (8AM - 8PM ET, Monday - Friday).

Do I need to tell my employees about the service?

You don’t have to but you are welcome to.

What if my employee doesn’t want their info available to Verifiers?

Your employee can request a data freeze on their employment information by calling The Work Number Employee Service Center for assistance at 866-222-5880 (8AM - 8PM ET, Monday - Friday). TTY- hearing impaired: 800-424-0253.

Is the QuickBooks Online Terms of Service changing because of this?

Yes. We have updated the QuickBooks Online Terms of Service.

Is the Software License Agreement for QuickBooks Software and Intuit Payroll Services changing because of this?

Yes. We have updated the Software License Agreement for QuickBooks Software and Intuit Payroll Services to reflect this new service.

When will the verification service be available?

The service will be available in early fall 2021. 

I’m currently a trial customer of QuickBooks Online Payroll.  Will I get this service?

If you become a Payroll subscriber on or after June 24, 2021, your subscription will include an automated income and employment verification service powered by The Work Number from Equifax.  This service will become available in early fall 2021.  There will be no additional charges from Intuit or Equifax to you or your employees for this benefit.

I’m currently a trial customer of QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Enhanced. Will I get this service?

If you become a Payroll subscriber on or after August 2, 2021, your QuickBooks Payroll subscription will include automated income and employment verification service powered by The Work Number from Equifax.  This service will become available in early fall 2021.  We have changed the Software License Agreement for QuickBooks Software and Intuit Payroll Services to reflect the addition of this new benefit.  There will be no additional charges from Intuit or Equifax to Payroll subscribers or their employees for this benefit.

Do I need to do anything to get the verification service for my employees?

Great news!  No action is required for you to automatically be opted in.  The service will be included in your subscription in early fall 2021.  You can change your preference at any time.

What if I don’t want the verification service for my employees?

If you don’t want this service for your employees you can turn it off. Select your product below to find out how.