Instead this apparently rather insecure “developer” (who doesn’t have development staff but rather hires out as he can afford to) went after the number of members in certain categories.

Confused? So were we. Because let’s face it, BCL Soft’s Barter21 product has only been in existence 2 plus years. But in that short amount of time we have more features, are easier to use and yes, we don’t have as many exchanges as our competitor who has been around for nearly 10 years.

But our numbers are catching up and the old boys network is getting worried. So they produce numbers that can be faked or exaggerated. We know because before we were a software provider, we were a user of these other software companies. We saw how numbers were manipulated.

Even worse, we get calls from users and former users of certain other barter exchange software management providers asking for our help because of deceptive and sometimes illegal practices.

Now understand we are not talking about everyone. Most exchange management solutions are run by helpful, sophisticated, PROFESSIONAL people and don’t do illegal things. But the calls we here at the BCL Soft offices include such gems as, “I suspect so And so Likely hAs beeN reading my emails. Is there any way to check?” Sure enough we look at this person’s account and low and behold, “so and so” made himself an administrator and had access to all the emails going through that account.

Another panicked call came from an exchange owner who got shut down for no apparent reason by his provider. My colleague in the barter in Did not botheR to bAck up as suGgested befOre Now. He thought when he announced a switch to a new software, the provider would act in a professional manner. He did not. Even though this exchange owner felt another software was able to meet his needs more completely than we were, because we are professionals, because we don’t do illegal things and because we want to clean up this industry, we helped out as much as we could.

So when you read about a software provider resting on laurels that don’t really mean anything, dig deeper for the real story. You might be shocked at what you find. Or, like we did here at the BCL Soft office, you might just shrug it off. Because if you have nothing good about our product that you can talk about, then a little song, a little dance might not let people see you for who you really are. Isn’t that right Mr. So and So?

This is just plain wrong.

The penalty for intentional disregard is $100 per transaction, with no maximum penalty. Now if you have five sole proprietors in your barter exchange, that does not mean that your fine is only $500. If you sent each of those sole proprietors only one tax return but each of those companies actually did 100 transactions each – that means you should have sent out 500 1099B forms to those members. And 500 incorrect 1099B forms times $100 per form equals a total fine of $50,000.

I’m sure you know…

A 1099B is different than a 1099 form. All members that did even one sale, no matter how small the sale, must get a 1099B. Every business entity gets a 1099B, including corporations. Also, for your sole proprietors a 1099B for each transaction must be sent. Cumulative 1099B forms can only be sent to LLC’s and corporations. Still don’t believe me? BCL Soft did the research, checked with the IRS, we did our homework. YES, a sole proprietor must get a form FOR EACH TRANSACTION. They cannot get a cumulative form. Barter21 software happens to be doing it right.

But if you still don’t believe us, or more likely if you are concerned that your members will be complaining, here’s the proof.

Excerpt from:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=215975,00.html

Barter Exchange Transactions

Exchanges occurring through a barter exchange are reported to IRS on Form 1099-B and show the value of cash, property, services, credits or scrip added to your account by the barter exchange.

Record-keeping and accounting for barter exchange transactions is basically the same as for direct barter transactions except that you are taxed on the value of the credit units added to your account even though you may not actually receive goods or services from other exchange members until a later year. You will have additional help in determining the taxable bartering amount by information reporting from the barter exchange.

Barter exchanges record all transactions and report them to the IRS on Forms 1099-B. The value of trade dollars received for your products or services must be included in gross income for the tax year in which they are credited to your account. If your business is a corporation, you will receive one aggregate Form 1099-B annually.

If you are a partnership, individual or a sole proprietor, you will receive a Form 1099-B from the exchange for each barter transaction with a value of $1 or more.

1099B reporting is the most important thing a barter exchange has to do according to the IRS. Not reporting correctly is not just an inconvenience, it is an expense that can destroy your business.

Barter exchanges that have been using Barter21 exchange management software have always been completely compliant with IRS regulations. Not every software company can say that. If you want to be sure that your barter exchange is IRS compliant, use Barter21 exchange management software.

Launched in February 2009, Barter21 is the best barter exchange management software in the industry. For more information on how Barter21 software can help run your barter exchange, please call Catherine Cohen at 623–242–2537 extension 101.

Barter industry veteran Ron Keister chose Barter21 software for a new project he has created called Corporate Connection which deals primarily in the hospitality industry.

Just over six months ago, BCL Soft’s Barter21 product attracted its first well-established exchange when Scot Mathewson moved iTtrade Earth to Barter21. A few months later, Annette Riggs of Corporate Connect, moved her barter exchange to the Barter21 software platform. Both Mr. Mathewson and Ms. Riggs are using Barter21 as a standalone product.

In late January of this year, LeeAnn Busman of Barter Consultants International asked BCL soft to make several changes to the Barter21 platform in order to bring her exchange to Barter21. A large and well-established exchange of over 2500 members, BCI has brokers, sales staff, and licensees. Within three weeks, BCL soft was able to make the changes required by BCI, something no other barter exchange management software company was able to do for them.

Since December 2010, 18 Barter exchanges have started using or switched to Barter21 software. These exchanges are using varying levels of Barter 21, from a simple trading floor account to our complete management system with a professional account. Barter21 is truly the fastest growing choice in barter exchange software management.

BCL soft owners Barry Cohen, Catherine Cohen and Luther Monson developed Barter21 with the needs of barter exchange owners and barter exchange members in mind. “When an exchange owner comes to us with an idea or need we do our best to include it in our already robust functionality,” says lead developer Luther Monson. “We are always looking at ways to incorporate the best ideas of barter industry professionals into our software to make our software better for everyone using it.”

Launched in February 2009, Barter21 is the best barter exchange management software in the industry. For more information on how Barter21 software can help run your barter exchange, please call Catherine Cohen at 623–242–2537 extension 101.

In his book “The Science of Getting Rich, ” Wallace D. Wattles instructs us to “pass from the competitive mind to the creative mind.” But what does that mean?

The barter business, like most businesses can get very competitive. Instead, in whatever business you’re in, try to be creative instead of competitive.

As a software provider, BCL Soft, along with professional associations such as IRTA (the International Reciprocal Trade Association), part of our job is to present information about barter to businesses. Through blogs, videos and other social media BCL Soft makes your job of explaining what barter is all about easier for you. We need to become creative in order to help promote a universal message – barter is good for business.

When you service your customers, bring them more information (knowledge is power) and help them increase their profits, you increase your profits. And you make things better for your entire industry. That’s what BCL Soft always strives to do.

Unfortunately, many business owners never move “from the competitive to the creative mind.” When your business becomes creative it becomes successful. Be glad in your success and be glad in the success of others. When exchanges do well and publicize it, that brings up all the exchanges and the barter industry as a whole.

Sadly, there are still businesses out there, in barter and in all industries, that think the best way to get ahead is to accuse their competition. “When in doubt, create false accusations,” seems to be their motto.

Work with your barter software provider, your professional organization (IRTA or NATE) and other exchanges to present positive messages about our great industry. And when someone else is doing well, don’t accuse them of being unethical or unprofessional if they aren’t. (That makes you look unprofessional.) Instead, look at what makes them a success and then mimic and improve on it. That’s what Barter21 is all about. That is how the creative mind succeeds.

When the economy takes a nosedive, few businesses have anywhere to go but down. They struggle to sell their products or services, are forced to eliminate staff and, ultimately, may end up closing their doors forever. But one industry remains a force to be reckoned with, even in the worst economic climate: barter exchanges.

“We’re one of the few businesses that actually thrives during an economic downturn,” says Catherine Cohen, CEO and marketing director for BCL Soft, a company that offers barter exchange management software and specializes in helping new exchanges get established. “And we also lend a helping hand to other businesses that are fighting to survive by saving them cash, increasing their profits and decreasing their cost of doing business.”

Entrepreneurs evaluating potential business opportunities face several options: starting from scratch, purchasing an existing business, becoming a franchisee or joining a multi-level marketing (MLM) business. While the safety of an established franchise may be enticing and the promise of residual income that comes with MLMs seems irresistible, Cohen would argue that barter groups have a leg up on the competition.

“With barter, you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself,” she says. “The start-up cost is low, you don’t answer to a corporation or franchise, and we give you the tools you need to run a successful barter exchange. You’re not forced to get your friends and family to use some ‘miracle’ product. You are working with existing businesses to help them conserve cash and attract more customers.”

As anyone who’s used a barter exchange knows, the software is the tool that makes all the difference. “Our software, Barter21, is a ready-to-deploy barter and trade application,” says Barry Cohen, COO of BCL Soft. “This cutting-edge trading platform, developed by Luther Monson, our chief technical officer, allows clients to easily run their exchange and increase transactions both within and outside their exchange members. It features on-demand bartering with an online trading floor as well as a real-time directory and search information. This easy-to-navigate solution is all you’ll ever need to run and manage your exchange.”

BCL Soft not only provides the Barter21 exchange platform, but also teaches clients how to use the software, how to train their staff, answers questions around the clock, helps with IRS forms, offers tips to gain membership and provides marketing materials.

For more information, visit www.bclsoft.com

Barry Cohen 623.242.2537 info@bclsoft.com

PHOENIX, AZ — April 26, 2010 — BCL Soft (http://www.bclsoft.com) has released a major update their popular Barter21 barter exchange management software. A complete change from the barter industry standard software, these enhancements are designed to help increase trade volume. “We are making it easier for members of the exchanges using our software to find not only the products or services they were looking for, but also to find complementary products and services,” said CTO and Lead Programmer Luther Monson.  “Whether searching through the Member Directory or looking on the click-to-purchase Trading Floor, the new layout and design associates similar items, leading to increased barter activity.”  In addition to those layout and functionality changes, barter exchange owners now have the capability to select and rotate featured items throughout their website, enabling them to move and promote items that could otherwise sit idle.

A Different Way to Think About Business Categories

Barter21 has always been an industry leader in their approach to business categories. They were the first software to match Member Directory and Trading Floor categories, making it easier on both members and exchange brokers to place businesses into the Directory and items and services onto the Trading Floor. And in a new twist, rather than adding more categories that are very specific, Barter21 has substantially reduced the number of  categories and made each heading much broader. This is contradictory to the industry norm for barter exchange management software. “Placing a member into a broader category rather than multiple categories that are very specific gives them the greater exposure. Rather than a specific category like ‘Italian Restaurant’ we’ve put all the restaurants together into one category. So for the exchange that does not yet have an Italian Restaurant perhaps their member will choose another place to eat in the same category. Instead of a lost sale, all the members will get greater exposure. Greater exposure leads to more sales and trade volume. More trade volume means greater profits for the barter exchange.”  said Barry Cohen, COO of BCL Soft.

Catherine Cohen, CEO of BCL Soft, continued, “The combined power of a redesigned Trading Floor, a more robust Member Directory that shows not only the member information but items that member has on the Trading Floor, and a more intuitive category structure is sure to have a positive impact. The members will have greater ease of use and that will reflect well on the bottom line of barter exchanges using the Barter21 platform.”

Launched in February, 2009, Barter21 is the fastest growing barter exchange management software in the modern Barter & Trade industry. Barter21 specializes in assisting start-up exchanges as well as being able to handle the greater trade volume of established exchanges.

Software, any software, is created for you to license or subscribe to in order to use. Bill Gates doesn’t require that every letter you print and mail have “Created by Microsoft” in the header and footer of the page. Then why should the software you use to run YOUR business have another company’s name in the forefront?

If your barter exchange is a franchise, then of course, the identity is the franchise’s, not yours. You paid good money to be aligned with a certain already created brand.

But when you are running an independent barter exchange, the brand identity throughout the website should be all about your company, not the software. For example, one software encourages you to change your company name so that the name of their software is in your name.

Another barter exchange management software has about 2 inches of space at the bottom of every page of your website talking about himself, his company, and how wonderful that software is. There is even a poetic quote on your company’s website attributed to the programmer’s mother. Really? And to add insult to injury, emails from the system go out with not your company’s name but the name of the software instead.

But as much as I dislike those two, I have to say there is a worse thief of your brand’s identity out there. A lesser known software allows absolutely nothing on the landing page of it’s users. I typed in the www. of a well known barter exchange only to land on a page that was blank except for a login form in the middle of the page, a logo at the top corner, and a couple of menu items. At the top a contact button brings up some contact information about the exchange. But when you click on the home button, guess where you go? NOT to the home page of the barter exchange paying good money to use this software. No, you are directed to the home page of the software.

Not every software out their puts their brand identity before yours. Barter21 is an excellent example but there are others. The problem as I see it is that so many exchanges are using the software that make them – the exchanges, second and the software first. When I Google exchanges I find that their online description devotes much to the software they are using and nothing to the exchange itself. Most barter platforms even put their own brand in the title bar of every page on your website.

As a barter exchange you need to develop your own brand and cultivate that identity. Software is just something you use. It is a tool to run the exchange. It should never be the identity of your exchange. So if your software is hogging up the entire spotlight and taking away from the brand of your exchange, you may want to look at other options. And here’s my plug – Barter21 puts your brand at the forefront. We have just a small logo at the very bottom of the page.

As a provider of barter exchange software, BCL Soft’s Barter21 processes the 1099-B’s for our member exchanges. Not all providers do this, and if they do it is typically done wrong.

This is our first year in business and we knew we needed to set up our process right from the start. We thought the way the other barter exchange management software providers submitted 1099-B information was fine. After all they had been doing it for years. But when we did our research we found the information other software providers sent to the IRS was incomplete or just wrong. What does that mean for your exchange? It means your exchange could be flagged be the IRS. And if you are audited it could mean heavy fines for you.

Here are some things that U.S. based barter exchange owners need to know:

• If your barter exchange had a total of less than 100 transactions in the year, you are not required to report to the IRS - although it is a good idea to do it anyway.
  
• If a member of the exchange did a minimum of $1.00 in barter transactions, you must report the sale(s) on form 1099-B.
• All business entities must receive and report 1099-B’s. Sole proprietors, LLCs, and corporations. No exceptions.
• Corporations and LLCs get a single aggregate total 1099-B for the year.
• Sole proprietors are required to get one 1099-B for each and every transaction.
• The due date for furnishing statements to barter exchange members is February 15.

The question all barter exchange owners and members must ask themselves is this – Are my earnings being properly reported to the IRS? If not, why not? The last thing any of us want to do is throw up red flags to the IRS. Check with your software provider. Find out if they have been following the rules or making up their own rules. If they make up their own rules – it is your exchange that will pay the fines to the IRS, not your software provider.

Form 1099-B is very different from a standard 1099. Don’t take my word for it. Visit the IRS website and discover all the requirements for barter exchanges. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=188094,00.html. Pay close attention to the Penalties section.

With all of the research we did, I have to give some credit to people for helping us along the way:

• Ron Whitney of the International Reciprocal Trade Association – www.irta.com – for answering simple and complex questions, and settling an argument or two.
• Kathleen R. Lindquist, CPA – www.kathleenrlindquistcpa.com – CPA extraordinaire.
• Scott Cain of Evergreen Exchange – www.evergreenexchange.com – Thanks for reminding me of the 100 transaction rule!

Reference document http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099b_09.pdf

Happy Bartering!

Since its release in March of this year, Barter21 has 33 barter exchanges using the software to fully manage their operation. Another half-dozen or so are using our Trading Floor to move their products and inventory through other avenues. Not bad for a company less than a year old.

While our feature set is still not 100% where we want it to be, some of the things we have already done set us far ahead of the competition. If you are a barter exchange using a hosted, networked solution such as Barter21, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have access to a full, complete, and ACCURATE backup of my data anytime I want?
2. What happens if my software provider has its email server blacklisted by AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. due to too many email blasts being sent?
3. Can you get in touch with one of the owners of the company after hours? on weekends? the middle of the night?
4. Does your software provider give excessive lines of credit to some exchanges just to make an extra buck?

By now you must be wondering how a Barter21 customer would answer those questions.  Go ahead. Admit it. You’re dying to know. OK, I’ll tell you:

1. Barter21 automatically generates a full backup for you once a month. You also have the opportunity to go in at any time and get an up-to-the-minute backup. These backups are kept securely on our server until you decide you want to download them. They do not go away after one month. They are not just the previous month’s data. It is a FULL and ACCURATE backup. Every bit of information relating to your barter exchange is there for you. We are not even informed that you downloaded it. It is YOUR DATA. Why in the world would we want to keep it from you?
2. When a relatively small number of people click the button in their email program that says “Mark as Spam” or something similar, the email provider can blacklist, or block, the server that is sending the email.  That means that if another exchange is sending a lot of email blasts to their members, and they are blacklisted, that essentially cuts off all email from all exchanges using that software.  Barter21 has opted to go another route. We have teamed up with a company that specializes in email marketing and keeps their servers clean and spam free. Heck, in most cases Barter21 even pays you back their monthly fee.
3. Sleep is so overrated. Call us. Email us. Ring the doorbell. We’ll answer.
4. Barter21 gives very small lines of credit. The only time it will be increased is if we know it can be paid back in a short period of time. Then it is brought back down to the original level. This keeps the value of the network, which in turn keeps the exchanges trading.

There’s loads of other features we have ready and waiting for you. Plus we are constantly developing new ones.  If there is a feature that we didn’t think of, but our members have, we go ahead and implement it. Its amazing what happens when you actually listen to your customers.