Buying

BarterZone facilitates barter transactions between its members using either special EFTPOS cards or an advanced online trading system - or if you prefer - by old fashioned telephone, fax or email. Purchasing using your BarterZone card is easy... First, identify your business and personal cash expenditures that you would like to offset with BarterZone. Find vendors through BarterZone using the member directory, Web site, or by contacting an BarterZone Trade-broker on our free-call number (0800) 4 69663 Pay for the product or service using your BarterZone card, online, by telephone, SMS, email or fax.

Selling

BarterZone members are simply agreeing to accept an additional form of currency for payment. Members are free to purchase any product or service within the BarterZone network in exchange for BarterZone trade dollars (which are equivalent in value to $1 NZ dollar). Each BarterZone member offers their excess products or services for sale in return for the trade dollars they spend, therefore minimising wastage and maximizing turnover.

Tracking & Reporting

BarterZone acts just like a bank, keeping track of members credits and debits. Members receive a statement detailing recent transactions, current trade balance and any fees due. All transactions are recorded pursuant to trading procedures, policies, rules and regulations of BarterZone and the New Zealand IRD.

What if I get too little / too much business?

BarterZone works to make sure that its members are satisfied with the level of business they receive through barter. BarterZone guarantees to bring you more business - if you don't receive additional customers as quickly as you would like to, BarterZone will give your business free promotion through email, print and telephone to all BarterZone members to make sure that you shift your products/services/property etc. If you receive too much additional business and can't keep up, BarterZone will work to find additional businesses with the same product or service, so that the demand is spread out.

Who Else Barters?

According to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), around $600 BILLION dollars are transacted through barter each year. This is growing rapidly, with around a 33% increase in North America recorded in 2005 alone. As such, barter is one of the fastest growing phenomena in business today! Companies ranging in size from huge international corporations right down to individual people barter, as well as most governments and various other international groups.

Accounting

In accordance with General Accepted Accounting Principles, members must record all transactions. The member creates an additional bank account in their General Ledger to record all trade dollar transactions. Similar to a cash sale, when a sale occurs, the revenue account is credited and the trade bank account is debited. When purchases occur, the asset, or expense, account is debited and the trade bank account is credited. The trade bank account will equal the balance of your BarterZone statement at the end of the month.

Tax

There is no tax advantage or disadvantage to barter transactions. Income generated through BarterZone is taxable in the year in which the sale occurs. The IRD recognises barter-exchanges as third-party record keepers of barter transactions and stipulates that all trade revenue earned by businesses is treated as income, while all trade purchases for business expenses are treated in the same way as cash purchases, and are tax deductible in the same way.

GST

When applicable, GST is included in the total BarterZone transaction amount. As the seller, you are responsible for paying GST on sales and remitting the GST to the IRD in cash. However, GST expenses can be recouped when you spend your BarterZone dollars within the exchange, provided that purchases made are taxable purchases.