Most businesses prepare an annual budget. For some it is very detailed/high-level and others it is merely a guideline. Regardless of the level of detail, here are some questions you need to consider in order to take advantage of trade:
- Am I willing to change vendors or would I prefer to maintain a relationship with the current supplier?
- How much savings would I need to gain in order to make a switch?
- Which expenses would be easier to obtain through trade (i.e. it is easier to obtain services / advertising than items in the capital budget)?
- Am I comfortable bringing my Trade broker in as a consultant when formulating my budget?
- Are there areas of my budget where spending more would be advantageous if revenue was available (e.g. outside cleaning service, marketing, staff / customer incentives)?
The standard rule for Tradebank transactions is that single amounts up to $10,000 taxes included must be full trade; with annual contracts or annual supply budgets the $10,000 threshold can be based on the annual amount. For example, a manufacturer hired a large cleaning company to clean the plant on a weekly basis for $500 a week (i.e. $26,000 for the year). A cash / trade ratio could be negotiated on the contract as a whole. The TRADE Dollar percent/ratio should be clearly stated in the contract.
The details of the contract could include one of the following:
- A portion of each invoice payable in TRADE Dollars at the time of invoicing.
- A prepaid deposit in TRADE Dollars (out of which a portion of each future invoice is paid).
- An agreement that after $X is paid in TRADE dollars the next amount of business is paid in T$.
- An escrowed amount that is released as invoiced.
Obviously deals with a cash portion are less attractive than getting the product / service for full trade. However, an on-going cash amount can lock-in a deal and make it more feasible for a supplier to continually provide a portion in TRADE Dollars. By signing an on-going contract, the need to go back through the Trade broker for each request from the vendor is removed.