Example - TRADES or LABOUR

Overview:
New customers will hire you because you accept their trade credit in payment for your service and expertise. When they use trade credit instead of cash, they're saving money (see your example scenario below).

Some assumptions:
1) You are the business owner.
2) You have some uncommitted time in your schedule.
3) Your overhead expenses are consistent whether you're working or not.
4) You don't know how you will spend trade credit.

The scenario:
A customer has some work done to a total price of $1,000.00. They pay 1,000.00 in trade credit.
You then pay $1,000.00 in trade credit for vehicle repairs and servicing.
That $1,000.00 expense cost you only $120.00 (a discount of 88% saving you $880.00).

Here's how we got there:
Your uncommitted time cost you nothing to utilize, and the trade exchange charged you $120.00 when you spent the 1,000.00 in trade credit (a 12% transaction fee).

Summary:
You obtained a new customer just by being a member of Island TradeLink, and you used your trade credit for vehicle repairs and servicing. This was a successful trade of uncommitted time for repairs.

In this example we described a purchase almost immediately after you did a job - but you don't have to spend your trade credit right away, you can save it like cash. And we described a purchase of vehicle repairs and servicing - but you can buy whatever you want or need.
View our list of recent purchases for other ideas.

Customers paying with trade credit must be considered extra, new customers. You should deal with them only when you have time not otherwise booked by cash-paying customers (cash IS "King"). You can designate certain periods of time when you will accept trade credit.

It is your time and expertise that the customer is purchasing with trade credit. Other costs for things like parts and materials are considered "third-party cash costs" that the customer will pay in cash.

Learn more about the benefits.