What people ask about barter.

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.

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.

Whatever other members would otherwise pay cash for: services, open appointments, empty tables, idle hours on equipment or extra inventory. The member directory is organized by category, from restaurants and catering to printing, trades, professional services, and health and wellness. Our guide to finding your spare capacity shows where it hides.

Businesses and charities. You sign up with a free trial, a Barter Coach gets you set up, and you list what you offer so other members can find you. See how it works, step by step.

Barter Coaches are real people who help members trade. Your coach gets you set up, helps with your first trades and your credit line, and points you to members to spend with. You can book a call with a coach before you join.

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.

By selling to other members. A member can pay you from their app, or you can charge them and they approve the charge in theirs; a charge that isn’t approved expires. Either way the sale lands in your account and on both members’ statements.

With any member. Browse listings with photos and prices in BC, search the member directory or its map, check your Matches (each one says why it fits), or ask BART something like “who can I spend 2,000 credits with on printing?” You can also propose a multi-item trade.

Yes. Members get a credit line to spend before they’ve earned, and repay it by selling to other members. BarterMax staff and your coach set the limit for each member.

Every credit moves through a double-entry ledger, so each payment is recorded on both sides, and every transaction appears on your monthly statement. Open any transaction in the app to see who it was with, its category, notes and attachments.

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.

A monthly statement, as a PDF and a CSV, with every transaction on it, and a year-end tax summary (CSV). You can also export your transactions to CSV whenever you need them.

Count credits like dollars: BC 1.00 is one US dollar. In the app every transaction has a category, notes, tags and attachments, and rules can categorize the ones that repeat. Your statements and CSV exports give your accountant the rest.

BART is our AI agent. It knows your account and the exchange’s listings, so it can answer questions about your balance, explain a transaction or a chart, find members to spend with, draft payments and charges, and send you a weekly recap. Meet BART.

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.

Only you. Your threads with BART are private to you, and BART works from your own account and the exchange’s listings.

No. BART answers questions and drafts payments whenever you ask. Your Barter Coach is a person who knows the exchange and helps you trade. You have both.

Yes. Invite teammates as owners, admins, members or viewers, each with different permissions, and turn on two-factor sign-in to protect the account.

Yes. Open it in the browser on your phone or your computer, in light or dark mode. Tour every feature.

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.

Yes, and charities and nonprofits get Pro free. They join as members, receive donated credits from businesses, and spend them with members on what the organization needs, like printing, catering, repairs or venues. See BarterMax for charities.

Yes. Donate credits from your account to a charity member in a few clicks. Tax receipts are handled outside the app, so talk to us about receipts.

The team behind BarterPay®, Canada’s largest barter exchange, with almost 30 years in barter. BarterMax is based in Williamsville, New York. Read our story.