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How Barter Can Leverage

A Business’s Resources

by Mary Ellen Rosinski

As business owners continue to look for ways to grow,
many are taking a fresh look at barter as an opportunity
to unload excess inventory, use downtime, fulfill
operational needs, expand their reach, and make the
investments necessary to sustain and grow – all while
conserving cash flow.

Barter can extend a business’s trade through a professional barter capacity into a tool they can use
purchasing power and financial exchange. In return, the business to their advantage. After all, most
reach. It doesn’t matter the size receives a trade credit based on businesses have excess capacity.
of a company, cash or financing the dollar value of the good or A professional person has empty
are always in short supply. When service offered. It can then use time slots. Hotels or airlines have
purchasing - the form of payment those trade dollars to “purchase” empty rooms or seats. Restaurants
is unimportant, using your goods goods or services offered by other have empty tables they can’t fill.
and/or services is an excellent members. It’s a simple exchange, Retail stores have unsold seasonal
way to make the purchase your but as a result, businesses access or discontinued merchandise.
business needs. Leveraging your a rich, varied network of actively Time-critical situations are a
goods and/or services by bartering bartering members. great use of trade dollars. As
is like finding a deal on everything time passes, excess capacity too
you purchase. For example, if Trade dollars can be used for an often evaporates into thin air. But
your company sells a product that endless number of goods and businesses in barter networks
has a keystone markup (a pricing services, including advertising, can barter away that capacity and
structure in which their wholesale accounting, legal services, generate trade dollars they can
cost is half of the retail selling renovations, printing, employee use for other needs.
price) then when they purchase and corporate gifts, gift certificates
with barter they essentially pay and more. Barter leverage allows companies
half or 50 cents on the dollar for to generate new business,
everything they buy. Barter’s benefits extend beyond conserve cash, and convert
conserving cash; it’s also a excess inventory and capacity
Voilà! Instant bargain! valuable business strategy for into needed goods and services—
increasing sales. In fact, companies providing companies with a
Barter is the most profitable are generating thousands of distinct advantage, particularly in
way of bringing in new sales and dollars in sales annually through a sluggish economy. Bartering may
purchasing needed goods and/ barter networks today. Barter sound like a different way of doing
or services, yet it is the most exchanges bring new buyers business, but business owners are
underutilized business strategy and sellers together, creating a embracing it as a valuable addition
today. Mainly because the problem potential new customer base for to their business models.
with one-to-one bartering is the business owners. By heightening
incidence of coincidence—each the visibility of their products or
business must want what the other services to potential customers, Mary Ellen Rosinski, CPA, CTB is
has to offer at the same time. many companies in turn see an president of Tradesource, Inc. a
increase in their cash-paying Phoenix based barter exchange
Today’s trade exchanges have customers. established in 1987.
solved the problem with bartering www.tradesource.net
by creating a trade credit. A Companies using barter also turn
business lists a good or service for what otherwise would be worthless

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