Good business sense for us – Jim and Mary Haran, with Mathew Harding of Bartercard Essex, at their flower shop
The couple, who run Smiles and Tears florists, in Benfleet High Road, have also bartered for a new bathroom, double glazing, roofing work, the resurfacing of their driveway, printing of business cards and a leaflet drop to thousands of homes. But the couple have not been paying their roofer in roses. They are part of a much more modern and sophisticated system of bartering called Bartercard, which they estimate has helped them to get about £300,000 worth of goods since they joined in 2001.
Jim, 56, said: “Years ago they never had money, they just used to barter their goods. It is a great system.” Described as “new age” bartering, the system is not intended to replace cash but to complement it, by allowing mostly small and medium-sized businesses to exchange goods and keep cash in the business. In Essex, the scheme has 700 members. Worldwide, 70,000 businesses have signed up in countries from Australia to Lebanon. businesses join, they are given an interest-free overdraft of Trade Pounds, the Bartercard currency, worth one pound sterling each.
To pay this back, they offer goods and services to other Bartercard members, who hand over their credit card-sized Bartercard to pay. These customers, who could be based anywhere, become clients the business would not otherwise have had.
For example, Jim and Mary use a dentist in Colchester, miles from their home in Harold Wood, because the dentist is a Bartercard member. They had their shop sign designed by a firm from the north of England. Jim said: “The whole concept is you are going to meet people and work with people you would never normally come across.” Bartercard makes its money by charging 5.5 per cent on transactions. However, Matthew Harding, director of the Bartercard Essex franchise, insists customers are better off with the system than using bank loans and overdrafts.
He said: “There is no interest on the borrowing, and you’re guaranteed new customers through the Bartercard network.”
Matthew set up the franchise in 2001, after coming across the scheme elsewhere in the country through his Basildon-based company Award Home Improvement. Jim and Mary’s shop, then based in Harold Wood, was one of the first businesses in Essex to sign up. Mary, 61, said: “It took us a little while to get our heads around it.
“But we have made lots of lovely friends through the network, who we wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Crucially, especially during the current climate when small businesses are finding it difficult to borrow money from the banks, the system keeps money in the business and cash flowing.
All Bartercard transactions go through the books like everything else, and they get a statement from Bartercard at the end of the month, detailing how much tax they have to pay Matthew said: “It is a mature cashless economy.
“I have a guy in Basildon who has just put a £45,000 deposit on a villa in Cyprus using Barter, and a guy in Rainham who has had two pairs of Ugg Boots shipped over from Australia for his wife and daughter. “I have got people who have gone to Thailand for a holiday. “You can buy most things now using Barter.” But despite its range, it is not intended Barter will ever replace cash, as it is made up of mostly small and medium owner-operated businesses. You cannot use Barter to pay your council tax or buy a Big Mac, for example. Businesses are free to opt out of Barter. For example, in the run up to Christmas, many restaurants may say they are not taking Barter temporarily.
Jim said: “With any business you have to be careful not to rely on one thing or one customer.
“For example, if you have a hotel up the road and you do all your business for them, what do you do when it shuts? “If it is used properly it works wonderfully.”
For more information, visit http://www.bartercard.co.uk/
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