How it works
Four steps from spare capacity to spending.
BarterMax is a trade exchange for businesses and charities. You sell your spare capacity to members for Barter Credits, then spend those credits with any member on things you’d otherwise pay cash for.
Step 1, Join: Start free, and a coach gets you set up
Start your 30-day free trial with no credit card and tell us about your business. A Barter Coach, a real person who knows the exchange, gets you set up and helps you list what you offer so other members can find you.
- Say what you offer and what you need
- Your coach helps with your first trades and your credit line
- List your spare capacity with prices in credits
Step 2, Sell: Sell what you have spare, for credits
Members buy from you and pay in Barter Credits. They can pay you from their app, or you can charge them from yours and they approve it in theirs.
- One Barter Credit is one US dollar
- A charge that isn’t approved expires
- Every sale lands on both members’ statements
Step 3, Spend: Spend with any member
Browse listings, search the member directory, check your Matches, or ask BART who sells what you need. Then pay the member, or propose a trade.
- Each Match says why it fits
- BART drafts the payment; nothing moves until you confirm
- Multi-item trades settle through the ledger
Step 4, Track: Every credit, on the record
Every transaction is on your monthly statement, as a PDF and a CSV. Reports show what you earned and spent, and where your credits came from and went.
- Categories, notes, tags and attachments on every transaction
- Earned vs spent, trade flow and spending by category
- A year-end tax summary for your accountant
Why it works
An exchange, not a swap
Nobody has to want what you have at the moment you want what they have. You sell to one member and buy from another.
Without an exchange
A direct swap
Two businesses have to want each other’s stuff, at the same time, for about the same value. If the print shop doesn’t need catering this month, there’s no trade.
- Both sides must want what the other has
- At the same moment
- For matching amounts
With BarterMax
An exchange
Sell to any member for Barter Credits, then spend them with any other member. The print shop never has to want catering.
- Sell to any member
- Spend with any other member
- Every trade on your monthly statement
A worked example
One month on a caterer’s account
Tidewater Table Catering sells BC 2,400 of catering and spends it on printing and a van repair. Here’s how it looks in credits.
Trade account
September 2026
Tidewater Table Catering
| Date | Member | Category | Amount | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | Opening balanceSep 1 | 0.00 barter creditsNo amount | 0.00 barter credits | |
| Sep 8 | Ledgerlight BookkeepingSep 8 · Catering for a client event, 40 guests | Service Sales | earned 2400.00 barter creditsBalance after: 2400.00 barter credits | 2400.00 barter credits |
| Sep 15 | Kestrel Lane PrintSep 15 · New menus and signs | Printing & Signage | spent 900.00 barter creditsBalance after: 1500.00 barter credits | 1500.00 barter credits |
| Sep 22 | Grindstone Auto ServiceSep 22 · Van repair | Automotive | spent 1500.00 barter creditsBalance after: 0.00 barter credits | 0.00 barter credits |
| Sep 30 | Closing balanceSep 30 | 0.00 barter creditsNo amount | 0.00 barter credits |
Earned earned 2400.00 barter creditsSpent spent 2400.00 barter credits
Opening balance plus the month’s activity equals the closing balance.
1. Sells catering to a bookkeeper
Ledgerlight Bookkeeping books the caterer for a client event: BC 2,400 of catering, paid in credits.
2. Buys printing from a print shop
BC 900 of new menus and signs from Kestrel Lane Print, which didn’t have to want catering in return.
3. Buys a van repair from a garage
BC 1,500 for a van repair at Grindstone Auto Service. The month closes at zero: the catering paid for both.
The BC 2,400 the caterer earned is income, valued like cash, and it’s already on the statement. Taxes in brief
The credit line
Spend before you’ve earned
Members get a credit line, so you can buy what you need before your next sale. Take the same three trades in the other order: the caterer buys the printing and the van repair first, and the catering sale pays it back.
- Spend before you earnYour balance can go below zero, down to your credit limit.
- Repay by sellingEvery credit you earn while below zero pays back what you’ve used.
- A limit set for youBarterMax staff and your coach set each member’s limit.
Trade balance Oct 1 – 18
Credit line BC 5,000.00
- 1spent 900.00 barter creditsPrinting
- 2spent 1500.00 barter creditsVan repair
- 3earned 2400.00 barter creditsCatering
Repaid in full by one sale on Oct 14.
Taxes in brief
Barter income is income
Credits aren’t a way around tax. Barter income is taxable like cash income, and BarterMax keeps the records that make it simple to report.
- Taxable like cash income
- In the US, what you sell for credits counts as income at its fair market value. One Barter Credit is one US dollar.
- The records are already kept
- Every transaction is on your monthly statement (PDF and CSV), and a year-end tax summary (CSV) is ready for your accountant.
- Not tax advice
- Your situation is your own. Talk to your accountant about how barter fits your books and your return.
Questions
Credits, money and taxes
Credits & money
What is a Barter Credit worth?
How do I earn credits?
Where can I spend my credits?
How do I know my balance is right?
Taxes & bookkeeping
How do I record barter in my books?
More questions? Read the full FAQ or talk to us.
Start with what you have spare.
Start your free trial, meet your Barter Coach and list what you offer. Your first sale can come from any member on the exchange.