Frequently Asked Questions

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Q. What is barter?

A. Barter is a recognised way of buying and selling using Barter Dollars instead of Cash Dollars (therefore saving cash for all members of FreeMate).
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Q. What are the advantages of barter?

A. There are many, with the primary being new business. Barter provides you with new customers and allows you to broaden your market beyond your cash-paying customers. Barter also helps in preserving cash. You can trade your own goods and services to buy those things you need instead of spending cash to buy goods and services. Therefore you retain more cash and surplus time and goods can be utilised.
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Q. Why do people and businesses trade?

A. Simply - to make a profit. Trade is an inexpensive way for them to find new customers. And every time they trade for something they need, they conserve cash.

Trading products or services to cover some expenses costs them less than paying with the proceeds from cash sales, so they make a profit.
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Q. How do I make a transaction?

A. FreeMate facilitates barter transactions between its members by Paying another member online using the FreeMate Website.
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Q. How do I purchase using my FreeMate account?

A. Find suppliers through FreeMate using the FreeMate Website.

Pay for the product or service using one of the methods listed above under How do I make a transaction.
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Q. How do I sell?

A. FreeMate members are simply agreeing to accept an alternative form of currency for payment. Members can purchase any product or service within the FreeMate network in exchange for FreeMate trade dollars (which are equivalent in value to $1 AUD dollar).
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Q. How does FreeMate make money?

A. There is a small transaction fee. This represents a fee for originating new business for members of the FreeMate exchange. In addition to your standard cash clients, trade business provides NEW business from NEW members over and over. Return to top ▲

Q. Why do we pay fees?

A. Fees are used for the following:

• Account setup and maintenance
• Maintaining the membership directory
• Providing the Member-only online directory access
• Record-keeping services
• Marketing and promotion to other FreeMate members worldwide.
• Tracking & Reporting: FreeMate acts just like a bank, keeping track of members credits and debits. Members receive a statement detailing recent transactions, current trade balance and any fees due. All transactions are recorded pursuant to trading procedures, policies, rules and regulations of FreeMate.

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Q. What can I barter if I don't own a business?

A. Individuals are welcome and invited to participate in the FreeMate community. FreeMate is like Ebay, but instead of buying and selling using 100% cash, our members use FreeMate dollars, or credits. Now, that opens up a whole new world of opportunity!
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Q. What can I barter on FreeMate?

A. Services and Products - Any personal or business services can be bartered PLUS Real Estate. Think of this as an Ebay of sorts, but better; it's trade dollars!
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Q. What if I get too little business

A. FreeMate works to make sure that its members are satisfied with the level of business they receive through barter. FreeMate guarantees to bring you more business - if you do not receive additional sales as quickly as you would like to, FreeMate will give your service or product free promotion through email and its website.
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Q. What if I get too much business

A. If you receive too much additional business and can't keep up, FreeMate will work to find additional businesses with the same product or service, so that the demand is spread out.
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Q. Who Else Barters

A. According to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), around $600 BILLION dollars are transacted through barter each year. As such, barter is one of the fastest growing phenomena in business today! Companies ranging in size from huge international corporations right down to individuals barter.
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Q. Accounting

A. In accordance with General Accepted Accounting Principles, members must record all transactions using the valuation method of $1 FreeMate dollar is equivalent to $1 AUD Dollar. The member creates an account in their General Ledger to record all trade dollar transactions. Similar to a cash sale, when a sale occurs the revenue FreeMate account is credited. When purchases occur, the asset or expense FreeMate account is debited. The FreeMate account will equal the balance of your FreeMate statement at all times.
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Q. Tax

A. There is no tax advantage or disadvantage to barter transactions. Income generated through FreeMate is taxable in the year in which the sale occurs. The Australian Taxation Office recognises barter-exchanges as third-party record keepers of barter transactions and stipulates that all trade revenue earned by businesses is treated as income, while all trade purchases for business expenses are treated in the same way as cash purchases, and are tax deductible in the same way.
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Q. GST

A. GST is included in the total FreeMate transaction amount. As the seller, you are responsible for paying GST on Tax, depending on what country you live in, and remitting the GST to the Taxation Office in CASH. However, GST expenses can be recouped when you spend your FreeMate dollars within the exchange; provided that purchases made are taxable purchases.
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Q. Are there any tax advantages to FreeMate?

A. There are no tax advantages or disadvantages to barter. Barter income is equal to cash income for tax purposes. Trading should be considered a marketing avenue, not a tax tool. However, as with cash income, trade purchases that are business related are also tax deductible.
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Q. If I sell to a business who sells a product I can't use, my barter currency is wasted.

A. Barter is a not a one for one swap. You sell what you have, buy what you need. You accumulate barter currency ($1 FreeMate Dollar is equivalent to $1 AUD Dollar). Sales can be made online, on the phone, or in person. Thousands of like-minded consumers and businesses buy and sell every conceivable product and service using barter, not cash.
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Q. Barter can't pay employees... or can it?

A. Employees are rewarded in a number of ways, for example with a barter paid holiday, dinner for two, ten pin bowling, motor vehicle repairs or you can provide them with FreeMate Gift Certificates. Motivate without using cash.
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Q. Barter sounds great but I can't pay my mortgage with it.

A. You may not be able to pay your mortgage with Barter currency, but you can pay a lawyer, an accountant, advertising, media, PR, marketing services or even acquire office supplies. Barter can free up cash to pay your mortgage.
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Q. I'm a service business. All I have is my time.

A. FreeMate is perfect for a service business. When you aren't working, your time is un-billable. Turn downtime into FreeMate dollar credits.
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Q. My business is product intense and margins are low. Barter can't help me.

A. Is your stock outdated? Without barter you would have to keep trying for a retail sale, or else liquidate it at 10% on the dollar. Barter opens opportunities to trade that inventory at full retail value. Use the barter currency on strategies to grow your business. Transform your obsolete or outdated stock into profit.
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Q. Barter won't increase my cash flow.

A. Barter will expand your business network. As you increase your customer base through barter, you'll generate more word-of-mouth business. Simply put, barter clients will bring you new cash clients as well.
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Q. How does barter work within the FreeMate Exchange?

A. Clients of FreeMate use FreeMate Dollars in place of cash to handle their trades. For example, if a client sells $1000 worth of products to another client, they will receive $1000 in Trade Dollars credited to their FreeMate trade account. These FreeMate Dollars can then be used to buy from the other trading clients within the FreeMate network. FreeMate is a third-party record keeper, furnishing online statements to clients, which reflect their sales, purchases, fees and current trade dollar balance.
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Q. What does it cost to get started in the FreeMate exchange?

A. FREE for a limited time.A lifetime membership is normally AUD$1997.00
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Q. How can you use FreeMate more profitably?

A. If you regularly take cash out of your company for living expenses, home improvements, travel, etc., why not take out a barter income instead and save your cash for products and services that FreeMate members may not be able to supply?
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Q. Are there any unusual uses for barter?

A.Yes. FreeMate provides endless opportunities. Here are just a few creative ones:

• Pay Employees. Use FreeMate dollars to pay employee perks, bonuses, and benefits. Even pay a portion of their normal salaries in trade. For a nominal fee, we will set up employee sub-accounts and aid your employees in spending their trade dollars.
• Pay Bills. Use FreeMate dollars to pay some of your outstanding cash bills. If you owe a vendor money for a service or product that you just don't have enough cash to pay - talk to them about settling the debt using FreeMate trade dollars. You can immediately pay them if they join our network and you have a trade balance to cover the amount owed to them.
• Collect Past Due Receivables. Businesses that are incapable of paying money they owe you would most likely be very willing to pay you with their service or product. You may not need their offerings directly, but FreeMate members may have a market for their products or services. We get the Debtor to pay you in FreeMate dollars and then you can use the FreeMate dollars to get products and services you need.

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Q. Suppose I want to spend more than what is in my FreeMate trade account?

A. If and when you require an interest free line of credit please contact one of our trade brokers for assistance.
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Q. Who decides what prices the seller will charge on FreeMate?

A. In essence, the market establishes pricing just as it would for cash. The seller anticipates to trade their services and goods at their prevailing prices. By accepting or rejecting prices, FreeMate Exchange members are ultimately the determining authority in pricing integrity. To monitor fair trading policies, FreeMate brokers keep in constant contact with Members.
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Q. Can I charge part cash and part trade?

A. Yes
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Q. I need more cash business. Why should I trade?

A. The sales you make through FreeMate are truly plus sales for you. If you did not belong to The FreeMate Exchange you would never see these sales.

When you use the FreeMate income from these sales to buy things you would otherwise have paid cash for, you are left with cash in hand to use for other things. The net effect is the same as if your cash sales were increasing.

Every time you save a cash dollar it is as good as earning an extra cash dollar.
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Q. Why join the FreeMate Trade Exchange?

A. The issue with one-on-one trading that you are familiar with is that each member must want exactly what the other has to offer. Within the FreeMate network, everybody barters with everybody, even if they do not want what the other person has to offer. Trade dollars are credited to a trade account with FreeMate, which can then be spent on any service or item needed or wanted from within the FreeMate network.

We are independently owned and operated and we understand the many ways you can use your goods and services to generate non-cash income, get what you need and want, and build more traffic and referrals.
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