To trade or not to trade? How small firms are answering
March 2, 2009 by Jared BilskiPosted in: Cash flow, Efficiency, IRS, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest news & views, Management issues
When small firms find the cash-flow well dry and credit non-existent, where do they go? Answer: to the past. The credit crunch is bringing back some practices that many firms found obsolete until recently — namely, barter.
Certain experts have found trade “critical” to small businesses survival during this recession.
One southern company hashed out a deal with a sandwich shop that was around three months late on a $1,500 bill. What happened: The sub shop agreed to cater lunch for the firm five times in six months, in addition to paying $500 on its bill.
If you have a long-standing relationship with any customers that have fallen on tough times, it may be worth looking into trade arrangements.
In addition to company to company trade, barter companies help facilitate trade between businesses in its membership network for small set-up and transaction fees.
If you are interested in finding out more about these types of companies and how they work, check out these examples:
NuBarter at http://www.nubarter.com/
BizXchange at http://www.bizx.com/
CFODailyNews.com delivers the latest Finance news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 Finance professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to CFO Daily News!
Tags: 1099, BizXchange, Long-standing customer relationships, NuBarter, Small business trade
