Identity
- Personal or business identity checks
- Licence, insurance or credential upload where needed
- Document expiry tracking
- Manual review queue for edge cases
Marketplace Apps
Marketplace and on-demand app development
A marketplace has two sets of customers and fails if either one leaves. Agnotic Technologies builds marketplace and on-demand apps for founders and operators, starting from the marketplace type, because that decides onboarding, payments and the rules you must follow.
Supply onboardingSearch and matchingBooking and payoutsSeller rules built in
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Marketplaces
What is marketplace app development?
Marketplace app development is building a two-sided product where buyers find and pay sellers or service providers: supply onboarding, search and matching, booking or ordering, payouts, reviews and disputes. Agnotic Technologies builds marketplace and on-demand apps for founders and operators, starting from the marketplace type, because the type decides most of the build.
This page is cross-industry. Payment ledgers for multi-merchant commerce, courier dispatch and route optimization have their own pages, linked at the end.
A product marketplace, a service booking app and an on-demand app look alike on a wireframe and differ underneath: when money moves, who holds stock or time, and what you must check about each seller.
Decision table
Which marketplace type are you building?
Find your row first. It sets onboarding, the transaction flow, when money moves, the trust controls and the reporting duty.
| Type | Supply onboarding | Transaction flow | When money moves | Trust controls | Reporting duty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product marketplace | Seller identity, bank details and tax ID; listing rules | Cart, checkout, seller ships, tracking | Captured at order, paid out after delivery or a hold period | Listing review, counterfeit reports, returns | INFORM Consumers Act seller verification; Form 1099-K data |
| Service booking | Provider identity, plus licences or insurance where the service needs them | Search, availability, booking, service, review | Authorized at booking, captured at or after the appointment | Credential checks, cancellation and no-show rules | Form 1099-K data for providers paid through the platform |
| On-demand | Provider identity, vehicle or equipment checks, background checks where lawful | Real-time request, matching to nearby providers, live location, completion | Authorized at request, captured at completion with tips and adjustments | Live tracking, in-app safety tools, ratings on both sides | Form 1099-K data; local licensing for the service |
| Rental | Owner identity, item or property details, condition photos | Calendar, booking, handover, return | Deposit held, rental captured, deposit released after the return check | Damage claims, deposit rules, renter identity checks | Form 1099-K data; local short-term rental rules |
| B2B marketplace | Business verification, credit terms, contracts | Quotes, purchase orders, invoices, net terms | On invoice terms, often through a payments partner | Buyer and seller vetting, credit holds, disputes | Business tax documents; Form 1099-K data where the platform settles payments |
Many products mix types, such as a service marketplace that also sells supplies. We design for the main type and add the rest deliberately.
Supply side
How do sellers and providers get onboarded?
Onboarding is the first product your supply side uses. We build it in four parts.
Payout setup
- Bank details collected by the payments partner
- Tax profile for year-end reporting
- Payout schedule and holds
- Change-of-bank checks
Listing or profile
- Listing or service templates per category
- Availability calendar or stock levels
- Pricing rules and fees shown up front
- Review before first listing goes live
Ongoing checks
- Thresholds that trigger extra verification
- Yearly information certification
- Quality signals from reviews and disputes
- Suspension and appeal flow
On-demand
How does on-demand matching work?
The matching loop behind an on-demand app, from request to payment.
Request
The customer sets what, where and when; the app authorizes the payment and creates the job.
Find candidates
Nearby providers who are online, qualified for the job and not already busy.
Rank
Candidates ordered by arrival time, rating and acceptance history, with rules you control.
Offer with a timeout
The job goes to the top candidate, or a small group, and moves on if nobody accepts in time.
Track
Live location and status for the customer, with chat or calls masked through the app.
Complete and pay
Proof of completion, final amount with tips and adjustments, then ratings on both sides.
What do we build into a marketplace app?
The modules most marketplaces need, sized to your type.
Search and ranking
Filters, location search and a ranking you can tune, with rules against pay-to-win placement if you want them.
Booking and order flows
Checkout, booking calendars or real-time requests, depending on the marketplace type.
Payments and payouts
Split payments and payouts through a payments partner, so card data never touches your servers.
Messaging
Buyer and seller messaging inside the app, with contact details masked until the rules allow.
Reviews and disputes
Reviews tied to completed transactions, plus dispute, refund and evidence flows.
Operator console
Seller review, listings moderation, refunds, payouts and reports for your operations team.
Seller rules
Which seller rules does a US marketplace build in?
The INFORM Consumers Act applies to marketplaces for new or unused consumer products; tax reporting applies more widely. Your counsel confirms what applies to you.
| Rule | What the platform must do | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| INFORM Consumers Act: who counts | Track sellers with 200 or more sales and $5,000 or more in gross revenue in any continuous 12 months during the previous 24 | Rolling counters per seller that flag when the threshold is crossed |
| INFORM Consumers Act: collection | Collect bank account, tax ID and contact details within 10 days of a seller qualifying | A verification task that opens automatically, with reminders and suspension if not completed |
| INFORM Consumers Act: yearly certification | At least once a year, ask sellers to confirm their information and certify within 10 days | A yearly certification workflow with records kept per seller |
| INFORM Consumers Act: disclosure | Show buyers the identity and contact details of high-volume sellers with $20,000 or more in annual gross revenue | Seller details on listings and order confirmations when the rule applies |
| Form 1099-K | Report a seller's payments when they exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions | Seller tax profiles and yearly totals for the payments partner that files |
Failure points
Where do new marketplaces struggle?
Problems we plan for from the first release.
Challenge
Buyers arrive and find too few sellers.
Agnotic approach
Launch in one category or area, onboard supply before demand, and design the first release around that niche.
Challenge
Buyers and sellers move deals off the platform.
Agnotic approach
Value that only exists on the platform: payment protection, scheduling, reviews and dispute help.
Challenge
Fake or bought reviews.
Agnotic approach
Reviews only from completed transactions, with checks for patterns between linked accounts.
Challenge
Refunds and chargebacks after the seller was paid.
Agnotic approach
Hold periods and reserves set by marketplace type, with clear rules for clawbacks.
Challenge
Seller verification is a manual spreadsheet.
Agnotic approach
Threshold tracking, document checks and yearly certification built into the operator console.
Challenge
Matching feels random to providers.
Agnotic approach
Ranking rules that are written down, tunable and explained to providers.
Who it is for
Founders and operators we build for
Founders and operators building either side of a two-sided market.
Marketplace founders
A first release in one category, built to prove liquidity before expanding.
On-demand service startups
Home services, delivery and mobile services with real-time matching.
Operators adding a marketplace
Retailers or service companies opening their platform to third-party sellers.
B2B platforms
Wholesale and procurement marketplaces with quotes and invoice terms.
Rental platforms
Equipment, vehicle or space rentals with deposits and condition checks.
Marketplace app development for startups
A fixed-scope MVP on web and mobile, with the rules your type needs from day one.
Scope and cost
What drives the cost of marketplace app development?
We do not publish prices or take-rate advice. These drive the size of the build.
Marketplace type
Product, service booking, on-demand, rental or B2B, or a mix.
Apps
Buyer app, seller or provider app, web, and the operator console.
Matching
Search and filters, or real-time matching with live location.
Payments
The payments partner, split payments, holds and payout rules.
Verification
Identity, credential and threshold checks for your type.
Regions
Countries and states served, and their tax and seller rules.
Rules and standards
Rules and standards behind our marketplaces
The rules behind the seller table, and the standards the apps follow.
15 U.S.C. 45fIRS Form 1099-KPCI DSSWCAG 2.2OAuth 2.0OpenAPI
Facts and sources
Facts behind marketplace app development
US seller and tax reporting rules that shape a marketplace, each linked to its primary source.
Under the INFORM Consumers Act, a high-volume third party seller is one with 200 or more sales of new or unused consumer products and $5,000 or more in gross revenue in any continuous 12 months during the previous 24 months.
Source: 15 U.S.C. 45f(f)(3) (govinfo)An online marketplace must collect a high-volume seller's bank account, tax ID and working contact details within 10 days of the seller qualifying, and have sellers certify their information at least once a year.
Source: 15 U.S.C. 45f(a) (govinfo)For high-volume sellers with $20,000 or more in annual gross revenue on the platform, the marketplace must disclose the seller's identity and contact information to consumers.
Source: 15 U.S.C. 45f(b) (govinfo)Payment apps and online marketplaces, as third party settlement organizations, must report a seller's payments on Form 1099-K when they exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions.
Source: IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-K
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not publish prices. Cost depends on the marketplace type, the apps you need, matching, the payments setup, verification and the regions you serve. You get a written proposal after the scoping call.
An on-demand app is a marketplace where the match happens in real time: a nearby provider accepts the job now, with live location until it is done. Other marketplaces let buyers browse, book or order ahead.
Through a payments partner that supports split payments and payouts, so card data and seller bank details stay with them. We build the flows, holds and reports around the partner you choose.
It applies to online marketplaces where third parties sell new or unused consumer products. Service and rental marketplaces may fall outside it but still have tax reporting duties. Your counsel decides; we build the checks either way.
With product decisions more than code: one category or area first, supply onboarded before demand, and features that make the first sellers successful. The first release is scoped around that niche.
Yes. A typical MVP covers onboarding for one seller type, search, one transaction flow, payments through a partner and a basic operator console. Ratings, disputes and extra categories follow.
AI assistants may help with code and test data, but payment, payout and verification logic is reviewed line by line and tested against the partner's sandbox before release.