What is Barter

What is Barter?
Barter uses a point system rather than cash to trade services and goods between companies.

School House Rock explains basic barter. How barter works at GBA.

How Does It Work?

Working with GBA is like having a checking account at a bank, but with barter "credits" and "debits" instead of cash. Upon enrollment GBA establishes an account for each member.

Simply, when you sell, on barter, we add credits (and your account goes up). When you buy, we log debits (and your account goes down).

Example
CHRIS THE CONTRACTOR

Selling
Chris does work in a dentist's office on barter. Chris would normally charge $250 for the job in cash, but instead gets $250 in barter credit.

Buying
Chris hires a landscaper to clear some trees at his house. Instead of paying cash Chris pays with $200 of his barter credit.

Summary of Chris' Barter Account
Beginning Balance: $0
Dentist Office Sale: + $250
Landscaping Purchase: - $200

Chris' current barter balance: + $50

Barter in the Media

The March 2009 issue of Entrepreneur magazine features an article entitled "Frugal is Back" by Tiffany Meyers which outlines innovative strategies for companies to save money in these tough economic times. Among the strategies listed was barter. The article states, "Some businesses use trade dollars to provide employee benefits (dental care, optometry or gift certificates, for example) that they couldn't afford to buy with cash."

Barter Fits the Bill
for Strapped Firms

Bartering can boost your budget and business

Care to Barter?
Professional barter exchanges help businesses attract new customers and boost sales.

A Barter Economy
Exchanging business services can help slash startup costs for some entrepreneurs.

How is Barter Taxed?
It is important to note that bartering is NOT a way to lower or eliminate taxes in any way. Trade credits should be viewed as cash income. As a barter exchange company, we annually report our members' bartering sales to the IRS and members are provided with a 1099B to use when filing taxes.