Your account at the exchange
Your balance, what’s available and a credit line to spend before you’ve earned. Every transaction lands on a monthly statement, as a PDF and a CSV.
The business barter exchange
Barter what you have.Get what you need.
BarterMax is a trade exchange for businesses and charities. Sell your spare capacity to other members for Barter Credits, then spend them with any member on things you would otherwise pay cash for.
- 1 Barter Credit = 1 US dollar
- Monthly statements
- BART, your AI agent
Ask BART
Got a question? Ask BART.
BART, our AI agent, answers questions about BarterMax from the pages on this site: how credits work, what the plans cost, how charities take part and how barter is taxed.
BART
Ask about BarterMax
Pick a question, or ask your own.
BART is an AI and can make mistakes. Don’t share personal or account details. Conversations are stored to improve answers. Privacy
Questions people ask first, and where the answers are:
Rather talk to a person? Talk to us, or start your free trial and see for yourself.
How credits move
Sell to one member. Spend with any other.
It’s a network, not a swap. Nobody has to want what you have at the moment you want what they have.
Arrows show where the credits go, from the buyer to the seller.
Step 1: Sell what you have spare
Tidewater Table Catering caters an event for Ledgerlight Bookkeeping and earns BC 2,400.
Step 2: Spend with any member
It spends BC 900 at Kestrel Lane Print and BC 1,500 at Grindstone Auto Service. Neither of them had to want catering.
Step 3: The credits keep moving
The print shop books a spa day for its team, and the garage pays its bookkeeper. Every move lands on both members’ monthly statements.
What members get
A real exchange, with help on top.
An account that keeps every credit straight, a marketplace that shows you who to trade with, and BART and a Barter Coach when you want a hand.
A marketplace that finds you buyers and sellers
Listings priced in credits, a member directory with a map, and Matches that say who fits what you offer and need, and why.
See the marketplace: A marketplace that finds you buyers and sellers
BART, and a coach who knows you
BART knows your account and the exchange, and writes you a recap every week. Your Barter Coach, a real person, helps you set up and plan your first trades.
BART, your AI agent
BART drafts it. You confirm it.
Tell BART who to pay or charge and how much, and it drafts it with the amount and what you’ll have left. Nothing moves until you confirm.
- Answers questions about your account
- Finds members to spend your credits with
- Explains a transaction, a chart or a statement
app.bartermax.com
BARTPay Cedarsong 350 for the team spa day
What’s new
More ways to find your next trade.
Recent additions to the app, from a map of members near you to BART writing your listings.
A Ready to trade checklist
Your dashboard walks you from a verified profile and a credit line to your first listing and your first trade.
Request a quote
Need a different size or scope? Ask the seller from the listing. They reply with a price in credits you can accept in one tap.
Members near you, on a map
See who trades around you, and on each listing, whether the seller serves your area and how far away they are.
Reviews after every trade
When a trade completes, both sides are asked for a review, and you can reply to the reviews you get.
BART writes your listings
Tell BART what you sell. It drafts the listing and your service area, and nothing is published until you confirm.
BarterMax in your AI assistant
Connect Claude or another assistant that supports MCP. It can check your balance and find members, and anything it drafts waits for you in BarterMax.
Invite a business, you both get BC 250
Share your invite link. When the business you invited completes its first trade of BC 50 or more, you each get BC 250.
An app for iPhone and Android
Home, Pay & Charge, the Marketplace and BART in a native app, in testing now. Until it’s out, the web app works on any phone.
What can you trade?
Whatever another member would otherwise pay cash for: empty tables, idle hours, open appointments, extra inventory. These are the categories in the member directory.
- Restaurants & catering
- Printing & signage
- Trades & repairs
- Automotive
- Professional services
- Marketing & advertising
- IT & software
- Health & wellness
- Travel & accommodation
- Events & entertainment
- Retail & gifts
- Supplies & equipment
- Office & facilities
- Training & education
Built to be relied on
Every credit, accounted for.
A Barter Credit is worth one US dollar for bookkeeping and tax, so it gets the same care: a proper ledger, a protected account and a team that knows barter.
A double-entry ledger
Every payment is recorded on both sides of the trade, and each year closes with a tax summary for your accountant.
Two-factor sign-in and team roles
Protect the account with two-factor sign-in, and give each teammate the access they need: owner, admin, member or viewer.
Almost 30 years in barter
BarterMax is built by the team behind BarterPay®, Canada’s largest barter exchange.
What owners ask first.
Short answers to the common questions. The FAQ has the rest, or talk to us.
What is BarterMax?
BarterMax is a trade exchange for businesses and charities. Members sell their spare capacity, like empty tables, idle hours, open appointments or extra inventory, to other members and get paid in Barter Credits. They spend those credits with any other member on things they would otherwise pay cash for.
How is this different from a swap?
In a swap, two businesses have to want each other’s stuff at the same time. On the exchange you sell to one member and buy from another: the credits a caterer earns from a bookkeeper can pay for a van repair at a garage that didn’t have to want catering. Read how a barter exchange works.
What is a Barter Credit worth?
One Barter Credit equals one US dollar for valuation, bookkeeping and tax. Amounts show with the code BC, so BC 1,250.00 is 1,250 credits.
Is barter income taxable?
Yes. In the US, barter income is taxable like cash income: what you sell for credits counts at its fair market value. BarterMax gives you monthly statements and a year-end tax summary to hand to your accountant. This isn’t tax advice, so talk to your accountant about your situation. Read barter and taxes in the US.
Can BART move my credits on its own?
No. BART drafts payments and charges, and nothing moves until you confirm. Each draft shows the amount and what you’ll have available after, and it expires if you don’t confirm it. BART can make mistakes, so check amounts before confirming. Read how BART drafts and never sends.
What does it cost?
Pro is $25 a month and Scale is $75 a month, or 20% less billed yearly. Enterprise pricing is custom, so talk to us. Start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card. There are no transaction fees and no application fee, so every credit you earn is yours to spend. Charities and nonprofits get Pro free. See pricing.
Turn this week’s empty hours into next week’s printing.
List your empty tables, open appointments or spare stock. Members who buy them pay you in Barter Credits, and you spend those with any other member. Start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card.