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1. What does Revenue Canada think about barter?
Revenue Canada accepts barter as a legitimate method of payment. Revenue Canada recognizes emerce as a third party record keeper for barter transactions. Revenue Canada requires that all barter transactions be reported on your business returns. emerce will issue monthly statements to reflect these transactions. For accounting purposes, barter income should be treated like cash.

For more information about Revenue Canada and barter transactions, please read refer to IT 490 Barter Transactions.

2. Are there any tax advantages to barter?
There are no tax advantages or disadvantages to trading, only cash flow and capacity utilization efficiencies. Trading should be considered a marketing tool, not a tax tool. Cash purchases that are normally tax deductible as business expenses are also tax deductible when purchased on trade.

3. What about GST?
GST on all transactions is paid by the buyer and seller in cash on cash fees and in trade on trade dollar fees. The seller will provide their GST number so that a tax-input credit can be claimed in the same manner as cash transactions.

4. Do I have to buy from the same company that I sell to?
If you sell to company A, you do not have to purchase from company A. You can use the trade dollars you've earned to buy from company B or C or D or any company on the trade exchange.

5. How do I value my products and services?
You price your products and services to be traded at the same value as you would price them for cash. One emerce trade dollar is equal to one Canadian dollar.

6. When can I sell my products or services? When can I buy?
You can list your products and services for sale as soon as you become an emerce member. You can begin buying as soon as you have sufficient emerce trade dollars to pay for the products and services you want to acquire. In special circumstances you may apply for and have approval and access to use a line of credit.

7. What if I need to make a purchase before I've earned trade dollars?
Just like a bank, we encourage businesses to apply for a barter line of credit. If you qualify, you can begin purchasing immediately.

8. How will I know if other businesses inflate their prices?
Everything is generally bought and sold at the price that you would normally offer and buy in the cash market. Competition within the exchange and emerce's policies and service team will help keep pricing in line.

9. Who can use barter?
Any business looking for ways to find new customers and save their cash!

10. What if everyone wants my products and services and I can't find enough to buy?
Every member business is assigned a Trade Broker in our office. They do a complete spending analysis with you on your current purchasing as well as projections for your business in the future. You can spend your trade in many of the same ways you spend your cash. You can also maximize your trade dollar spending by using them for gifts, vacations, personal use or employee accounts. If your products or services are in high demand, we are happy to call you first and tell you who is looking to purchase from you and what their needs are. This way you can decide if you can handle more business and know ahead of time what the job entails.

11. Can I barter for my personal use?
Yes! emerce allows you to stretch your personal budget or enhance your lifestyle. Examples of personal uses of emerce trade dollars include things such as works of art, vacations, jewelry, gifts and entertainment.

12. Can I pay my employees with barter?
Yes! emerce enables businesses to keep their employees motivated and satisfied by using their trade accounts to give bonuses and incentives.

13. What does it mean if a barter company's client is currently not trading?
There may be several reasons why a company may not be accepting trade at any given time. It may be because the time of your contact is a peak time for the company's cash business and they simply can't handle additional sales. Or, it may mean that they have a trade balance that they have not had the time to spend and do not wish to accumulate more trade dollars until they've spent what they have.

For more information, download this informative PDF: How Bartering Can Instantly Increase Cash