Badger Barter

has helped a lot of business stay afloat to get the things that they normally wouldn't be able to do because of cash, tight cash flow at this time. Type cash flow? No problem. Bargarene's back in a big way. And this idea of exchanging services instead of dollars, it certainly is not new. Well, 100 years ago a farmer might have traded his fresh milk for his neighbors finished cheese. As News 3's David Douglas is here to show us, now businesses can get almost anything using this system. Well, a lot of businesses right now are obviously looking for ways to save, but there might be needed services. They can't really afford to cut either after all, you've got to get the grass mowed, right? Well, that's why bartering business to business is booming. The meals are hot, and so is business at RP Adler's Pub and Grill. I'll be right back with a little bit more water. But the Madison restaurant's owner, Randy Adler, is also getting a boost by bartering. Window cleaning, curb cleaning, and the big one is HVAC service. Work that cost the Westside establishment cash in the past is now being done on trade thanks to Badger Barter run by Mary Jo Mangan. We're business to business trading, and our goal is to generate new business for our local businesses and help them get the things that they need without spending cash. It works on a dollar system, and almost anything can be bartered for. If it were going to cost $500 in cash, it would be $500 in trade. Our whole company is going to be doing it for things Dr. David Penwell is a dentist. It's new patients that come in the door and to us, that's a huge benefit because then they're patients that are going to become new patients, they're going to tell their friends. His involvement has allowed small businesses that can't afford dental insurance to offer dental care to their employees. But the best part is the trades aren't just between two parties, but network-wide. More than 400 area companies currently belong to Badger Barter, and Penwell can trade with any one of them. And then we do online banking with them. That would go into First Choice Dental's account for them to use anywhere in the system that they would So it's just There are even paper barter bucks used for smaller ticket transactions, Though there are a couple of things you have to pay out of pocket for. We charge sales tax. Each guest that uses the barter bucks has to pay tax, and they have to leave a good cash for it too. They cannot do that with barter. Adler joined the service, not sure of its potential success. Today, he'sold. I'd be getting the coupons in or the barter bucks in, not knowing what to do with them. And after two and a half years in it, it just works so well for us right now. If there are services members would Boy, it sounds How about any upfront costs to join? Well, there's $129 one-time membership fee you have to pay. Then there's dues every month there. $5 cash, $5 in trade. The one real, I don't want to call it a catch, but the one sort of recurring cost there is, is you have to pay a 6% transaction fee on your monthly balance for bartering. So if you have $1,000 in services, one month it's going to cost $60 paid to Badger Barter. That's how they keep the whole thing going. So how much is this worth then to a company to do this? Well, it completely depends on how much you do it, which is the great advantage here. But for instance, RP Adlers, they get about $1,000 in barter trades coming in each week. So that's $52,000 in a year. So when you talk about the kind of services they're having done, having carpets cleaned and windows cleaned and they're heating and air conditioning fixed, that really adds up and can save you big. So it's not going to anything to help in these days is big. David Douglas reporting. David, thank you. Now roughly 450 businesses are taking part in Badger Barter. It started actually back in 2005. The website if you want to learn more, badgerbarter. com.