A Business That Thrives in Tough Times? Look to Barter

By cat

PHOENIX, AZ — (MARKETWIRE) — 08/25/10 –

When the economy takes a nosedive, few businesses have anywhere to go but down. They struggle to sell their products or services, are forced to eliminate staff and, ultimately, may end up closing their doors forever. But one industry remains a force to be reckoned with, even in the worst economic climate: barter exchanges.

“We’re one of the few businesses that actually thrives during an economic downturn,” says Catherine Cohen, CEO and marketing director for BCL Soft, a company that offers barter exchange management software and specializes in helping new exchanges get established. “And we also lend a helping hand to other businesses that are fighting to survive by saving them cash, increasing their profits and decreasing their cost of doing business.”

Entrepreneurs evaluating potential business opportunities face several options: starting from scratch, purchasing an existing business, becoming a franchisee or joining a multi-level marketing (MLM) business. While the safety of an established franchise may be enticing and the promise of residual income that comes with MLMs seems irresistible, Cohen would argue that barter groups have a leg up on the competition.

“With barter, you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself,” she says. “The start-up cost is low, you don’t answer to a corporation or franchise, and we give you the tools you need to run a successful barter exchange. You’re not forced to get your friends and family to use some ‘miracle’ product. You are working with existing businesses to help them conserve cash and attract more customers.”

As anyone who’s used a barter exchange knows, the software is the tool that makes all the difference. “Our software, Barter21, is a ready-to-deploy barter and trade application,” says Barry Cohen, COO of BCL Soft. “This cutting-edge trading platform, developed by Luther Monson, our chief technical officer, allows clients to easily run their exchange and increase transactions both within and outside their exchange members. It features on-demand bartering with an online trading floor as well as a real-time directory and search information. This easy-to-navigate solution is all you’ll ever need to run and manage your exchange.”

BCL Soft not only provides the Barter21 exchange platform, but also teaches clients how to use the software, how to train their staff, answers questions around the clock, helps with IRS forms, offers tips to gain membership and provides marketing materials.

For more information, visit www.bclsoft.com

Barry Cohen 623.242.2537 info@bclsoft.com

BCL Soft Announces Barter21 Enhancements

By Barry Cohen

Industry-first upgrade designed to substantially increase trade volume

PHOENIX, AZ — April 26, 2010 — BCL Soft (http://www.bclsoft.com) has released a major update their popular Barter21 barter exchange management software. A complete change from the barter industry standard software, these enhancements are designed to help increase trade volume. “We are making it easier for members of the exchanges using our software to find not only the products or services they were looking for, but also to find complementary products and services,” said CTO and Lead Programmer Luther Monson.  “Whether searching through the Member Directory or looking on the click-to-purchase Trading Floor, the new layout and design associates similar items, leading to increased barter activity.”  In addition to those layout and functionality changes, barter exchange owners now have the capability to select and rotate featured items throughout their website, enabling them to move and promote items that could otherwise sit idle.

A Different Way to Think About Business Categories

Barter21 has always been an industry leader in their approach to business categories. They were the first software to match Member Directory and Trading Floor categories, making it easier on both members and exchange brokers to place businesses into the Directory and items and services onto the Trading Floor. And in a new twist, rather than adding more categories that are very specific, Barter21 has substantially reduced the number of  categories and made each heading much broader. This is contradictory to the industry norm for barter exchange management software. “Placing a member into a broader category rather than multiple categories that are very specific gives them the greater exposure. Rather than a specific category like ‘Italian Restaurant’ we’ve put all the restaurants together into one category. So for the exchange that does not yet have an Italian Restaurant perhaps their member will choose another place to eat in the same category. Instead of a lost sale, all the members will get greater exposure. Greater exposure leads to more sales and trade volume. More trade volume means greater profits for the barter exchange.”  said Barry Cohen, COO of BCL Soft.

Catherine Cohen, CEO of BCL Soft, continued, “The combined power of a redesigned Trading Floor, a more robust Member Directory that shows not only the member information but items that member has on the Trading Floor, and a more intuitive category structure is sure to have a positive impact. The members will have greater ease of use and that will reflect well on the bottom line of barter exchanges using the Barter21 platform.”

Launched in February, 2009, Barter21 is the fastest growing barter exchange management software in the modern Barter & Trade industry. Barter21 specializes in assisting start-up exchanges as well as being able to handle the greater trade volume of established exchanges.

Whose Brand Do You Want To Promote

By cat

There is an interesting thing going on with some barter exchange management products. They think your exchange’s identity should take a back seat to their own.

Software, any software, is created for you to license or subscribe to in order to use. Bill Gates doesn’t require that every letter you print and mail have “Created by Microsoft” in the header and footer of the page. Then why should the software you use to run YOUR business have another company’s name in the forefront?

If your barter exchange is a franchise, then of course, the identity is the franchise’s, not yours. You paid good money to be aligned with a certain already created brand.

But when you are running an independent barter exchange, the brand identity throughout the website should be all about your company, not the software. For example, one software encourages you to change your company name so that the name of their software is in your name.

Another barter exchange management software has about 2 inches of space at the bottom of every page of your website talking about himself, his company, and how wonderful that software is. There is even a poetic quote on your company’s website attributed to the programmer’s mother. Really? And to add insult to injury, emails from the system go out with not your company’s name but the name of the software instead.

But as much as I dislike those two, I have to say there is a worse thief of your brand’s identity out there. A lesser known software allows absolutely nothing on the landing page of it’s users. I typed in the www. of a well known barter exchange only to land on a page that was blank except for a login form in the middle of the page, a logo at the top corner, and a couple of menu items. At the top a contact button brings up some contact information about the exchange. But when you click on the home button, guess where you go? NOT to the home page of the barter exchange paying good money to use this software. No, you are directed to the home page of the software.

Not every software out their puts their brand identity before yours. Barter21 is an excellent example but there are others. The problem as I see it is that so many exchanges are using the software that make them – the exchanges, second and the software first. When I Google exchanges I find that their online description devotes much to the software they are using and nothing to the exchange itself. Most barter platforms even put their own brand in the title bar of every page on your website.

As a barter exchange you need to develop your own brand and cultivate that identity. Software is just something you use. It is a tool to run the exchange. It should never be the identity of your exchange. So if your software is hogging up the entire spotlight and taking away from the brand of your exchange, you may want to look at other options. And here’s my plug – Barter21 puts your brand at the forefront. We have just a small logo at the very bottom of the page.

Barter, The IRS, and You

By Barry Cohen

As the owners of Premier Barter, a local barter exchange in Phoenix, AZ, it is not unusual for us to hear from potential new members that they would love to barter so they don’t have to pay taxes on their transactions.  Their smile typically fades away when we explain to them that the IRS treats barter the same as cash, and that barter exchanges are required to report all sales via 1099-B forms. Of course, after we explain the benefits of barter and how to use it as a tool to generate more cash business, their smile returns.

As a provider of barter exchange software, BCL Soft’s Barter21 processes the 1099-B’s for our member exchanges. Not all providers do this, and if they do it is typically done wrong.

This is our first year in business and we knew we needed to set up our process right from the start. We thought the way the other barter exchange management software providers submitted 1099-B information was fine. After all they had been doing it for years. But when we did our research we found the information other software providers sent to the IRS was incomplete or just wrong. What does that mean for your exchange? It means your exchange could be flagged be the IRS. And if you are audited it could mean heavy fines for you.

Here are some things that U.S. based barter exchange owners need to know:

• If your barter exchange had a total of less than 100 transactions in the year, you are not required to report to the IRS - although it is a good idea to do it anyway.
  
• If a member of the exchange did a minimum of $1.00 in barter transactions, you must report the sale(s) on form 1099-B.
• All business entities must receive and report 1099-B’s. Sole proprietors, LLCs, and corporations. No exceptions.
• Corporations and LLCs get a single aggregate total 1099-B for the year.
• Sole proprietors are required to get one 1099-B for each and every transaction.
• The due date for furnishing statements to barter exchange members is February 15.

The question all barter exchange owners and members must ask themselves is this – Are my earnings being properly reported to the IRS? If not, why not? The last thing any of us want to do is throw up red flags to the IRS. Check with your software provider. Find out if they have been following the rules or making up their own rules. If they make up their own rules – it is your exchange that will pay the fines to the IRS, not your software provider.

Form 1099-B is very different from a standard 1099. Don’t take my word for it. Visit the IRS website and discover all the requirements for barter exchanges. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=188094,00.html. Pay close attention to the Penalties section.

With all of the research we did, I have to give some credit to people for helping us along the way:

• Ron Whitney of the International Reciprocal Trade Association – www.irta.com – for answering simple and complex questions, and settling an argument or two.
• Kathleen R. Lindquist, CPA – www.kathleenrlindquistcpa.com – CPA extraordinaire.
• Scott Cain of Evergreen Exchange – www.evergreenexchange.com – Thanks for reminding me of the 100 transaction rule!

Reference document http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099b_09.pdf

Happy Bartering!

End-Of-Year Bandwagon

By Barry Cohen

Now that we’re approaching the end of 2009, I thought it would be a good time to go over the accomplishments of BCL Soft and it’s flagship product Barter21.

Since its release in March of this year, Barter21 has 33 barter exchanges using the software to fully manage their operation. Another half-dozen or so are using our Trading Floor to move their products and inventory through other avenues. Not bad for a company less than a year old.

While our feature set is still not 100% where we want it to be, some of the things we have already done set us far ahead of the competition. If you are a barter exchange using a hosted, networked solution such as Barter21, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have access to a full, complete, and ACCURATE backup of my data anytime I want?
2. What happens if my software provider has its email server blacklisted by AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. due to too many email blasts being sent?
3. Can you get in touch with one of the owners of the company after hours? on weekends? the middle of the night?
4. Does your software provider give excessive lines of credit to some exchanges just to make an extra buck?

By now you must be wondering how a Barter21 customer would answer those questions.  Go ahead. Admit it. You’re dying to know. OK, I’ll tell you:

1. Barter21 automatically generates a full backup for you once a month. You also have the opportunity to go in at any time and get an up-to-the-minute backup. These backups are kept securely on our server until you decide you want to download them. They do not go away after one month. They are not just the previous month’s data. It is a FULL and ACCURATE backup. Every bit of information relating to your barter exchange is there for you. We are not even informed that you downloaded it. It is YOUR DATA. Why in the world would we want to keep it from you?
2. When a relatively small number of people click the button in their email program that says “Mark as Spam” or something similar, the email provider can blacklist, or block, the server that is sending the email.  That means that if another exchange is sending a lot of email blasts to their members, and they are blacklisted, that essentially cuts off all email from all exchanges using that software.  Barter21 has opted to go another route. We have teamed up with a company that specializes in email marketing and keeps their servers clean and spam free. Heck, in most cases Barter21 even pays you back their monthly fee.
3. Sleep is so overrated. Call us. Email us. Ring the doorbell. We’ll answer.
4. Barter21 gives very small lines of credit. The only time it will be increased is if we know it can be paid back in a short period of time. Then it is brought back down to the original level. This keeps the value of the network, which in turn keeps the exchanges trading.

There’s loads of other features we have ready and waiting for you. Plus we are constantly developing new ones.  If there is a feature that we didn’t think of, but our members have, we go ahead and implement it. Its amazing what happens when you actually listen to your customers.

Barter as a New (Old) Currency?

By Barry Cohen

There has been a lot of chatter on the blogs lately about barter exchanges and how they will be replacing the national currency in this downward spiraling economy.  We hear phrases like “the collapse of the global economy,” or “the banks are failing and taking your money with them,” or “buy gold, it is the only thing that does not lose value.”

Now I am not an economist, nor do I hold an advanced degree in anything having to do with the financial markets. What I am is a business owner with common sense.  And I am here to tell you that barter will NEVER replace the national currency. Barter credits, or as we call them, barter dollars, are meant as a supplement to everyday business. It is a complementary currency that should not be used for more than 10-15% of income.  It is a tool, that if used properly, will help grow a business by attracting more cash customers. And by cash, I mean U.S. dollars.

We can take it one step further to show the idiocy of this idea. Let’s say this country went back to a true barter system – chickens for beads, goats for shoes.  How far do you think the chiropractor will get when he needs a new computer? Or the auto mechanic when he needs groceries? It just can’t work long term. A national, legal tender currency is needed. And that currency, at least here in the USA, is the dollar.

With a separate, smaller currency, like a barter exchange, there is no real regulation of pricing, how much currency gets into the market, lending, or other issues. It is regulation from a widely recognized entity, such as the government, that keeps things in check. What happens when governments fail to regulate their economy? The reaction from other economies forces a change.

This is how barter exchanges form a micro-economy. Barter exchanges not only have members trading with each other, members of different exchanges can often trade with each other. Intra-exchange trading forces barter exchanges to keep each other in check through this micro-economy.

If bartering through small, independent barter exchanges became the new world economy, wouldn’t a barter exchange then become like our government-issued money? Employees would have to be paid in barter. EVERY business would have to accept barter dollars in order for the system to work.

This all leads to some questions – what is a barter exchange and why join one?  And why is now the time to start a barter exchange in your area?

Simple. A barter exchange is a (usually) small group of  local area businesses that want to trade goods and services with each other. The function of the exchange is to serve as a third-party record keeper and issuer of its own currency. A currency that compliments the more popular, accepted everywhere,  government currency.

Businesses barter. They trade their haircuts for massages and they trade tax preparation for legal advice and everything in between. This sort of one-to-one trading can only go so far. Barter exchanges help businesses bring in new business – in the form of business owners who are also consumers. When business is slow, a company in a barter exchange can look to the other members of the exchange to sell their product or service to. When cash is low, a member of a barter exchange can use their barter dollars to buy the goods and services they need. Barter allows a business to conserve cash.

Why is now the best time to start a barter exchange? Because businesses in your area need your help. They need a barter exchange to get the the products and services they need without cash. Businesses need to gain more exposure in the community, something accomplished through a barter exchange.

BCL Soft created the Barter21 platform to make it easy for barter exchange owners, brokers, and members to trade.  Barter21 software is simple to use, intuitive and secure. It keeps track of all the barter transactions, has a real time member directory, a click-and-buy Trading Floor,  and provides accurate information to members and exchange owners.

With Barter21, barter happens.

Barter Exchange as a Business Opportunity

By Barry Cohen

Many people are losing their jobs these days. Some will go through the help wanted section every day looking for that perfect new job. Or any job for that matter. Others will take matters into their own hands. They have the entrepreneurial spirit and want to start their own business.

Does that sound like you? Sure, you’ve been approached by every MLM out there.  You can sell these lotions, or that telephone, or those vitamins. And for the ladies, you can sell jewelry.  But is that really owning your own company, or is that just a glorified door-to-door salesman?

So what would be a good business to start? That all depends on your skills, talents, and drive. If you are a tradesman, maybe you want to start a company doing what you know best. Perhaps you are in IT. You can start a computer consulting or maintenance firm. But if you like to meet people, are intrigued by other businesses, are somewhat organized (please don’t judge me by the mess on my desk), and don’t mind selling a service you can believe in, then a barter exchange is for you.

There are 2 options for owning your own barter exchange:

1. Sign on with a franchise.  You own your business, but the franchise will typically own your customers and make the rules. They take care of all the billing and can charge you anywhere from 25% to 40% of your earnings for that privilege.
2. Open your own independent barter exchange. You are responsible only to yourself and your members. Aside from your regular business expenses, you keep what you earn.

Can you guess which one I would recommend? Of course being independent is the way to go.  And there are many options for software that will help you run your company. Signing on with a network of independent exchanges gives you the same national exposure as a franchise at a fraction of the cost (as long as you’ve chosen the right network).

I invite you to look at Barter21 (http://www.bclsoft.com) as your choice for both the software to run your barter exchange, and the network in which you can interact with other independent barter exchanges. Barter21 is the next generation of barter exchange management software that the industry has been waiting for. Some of the features offered include:

• Simple batch processing of all fees collected via credit card and EFT (e-Check)
• Transactions are posted on a single, easy to follow screen
• Real time account information
• True backups off all your data whenever you want it
• Online Trading Floor for instant purchases
• Broker-Managed accounts
• Commissions calculated for brokers and sales people
• Community driven development
• New features added weekly

BCL Soft is committed to serving the barter industry with the most advanced software available today. For more information, go to http://www.bclsoft.com.