Nick Lalli—owner of Vittoria, an authentic and modern Italian restaurant in Powell, Ohio—has been bartering since 2019.
Through a barter system, Lalli has acquired goods and services for his restaurant business, including essential things like carpet cleaning, heating and air conditioning, hood cleaning, plumbers, electricians, and even travel.
Lalli said he turned to bartering or a barter system as a way to manage the costs associated with running his restaurant because, like many businesses in hospitality, cash flow can be tight—especially during slower seasons.
“Bartering allowed us to acquire needed goods and services without immediate cash outlay,” shared Lalli. “It also helped us build stronger relationships with other local businesses, creating a supportive community network that benefits everyone involved.”
According to The International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), a barter system—sometimes called trade exchanges, mutual credit, or credit clearing exchanges—acts as a third-party record keeper to facilitate trade between member businesses, and it utilizes trade credit as a medium of exchange between participating members.
IRTA estimates global annual bartering to be valued at around $12 to $14 billion, though this figure may vary for numerous reasons.
How Can a Barter System Benefit Bar, Restaurant, and Hospitality Owners/Operators?
International Monetary Systems (IMS Barter), headquartered in New Berlin, Wisc., is an alternative business-to-business barter payment system that acts as an additional sales and marketing team for restaurants, bars, and thousands of other businesses to create new sales.
According to IMS Barter, their barter system works like this: “A business lists a product or service for trade through a barter exchange, most of which operate regionally. When someone barters for those goods and services, the business receives a trade credit, or ‘barter dollars,’ based on the dollar value of the good or service offered. It can then use those trade credits to ‘purchase’ goods or services offered by other members. As a result, small businesses and sole proprietorships, as well as large corporations, can use these channels to market to new customers and build a valuable network. The barter exchanges offer arbitration in the case of a dispute, and they keep track of the bookkeeping, and the transactions must be reported to the IRS. Barter is a marketing and cash management tool, not a tax tool.”
In addition to IMS Barter, there are other barter system companies, such as BizX, The Barter Company, Green Apple Barter Services, and BarterSaves.
John Strabley, president of IMS Barter, said that it’s been his experience that bar and restaurant owners and operators have a purveyor or service provider of some sort at their establishment almost daily. “Think for a moment of the dollars and expenditures that these entrepreneurs spend to keep the doors open,” he said. “Our primary focus is to reserve the business cash by utilizing the accrued trade dollars for these services.”
IMS Barter’s system, and others like it, is an opportunity for restaurants, bars, cafés, bistros, concessions, hotels, and more, to pay their bills with their own gift certificates or the company’s digital payment system.
“Common services purchased [through the IMS Barter system] include hood cleaning, pest control, fire safety, restaurant equipment, beer tap line cleaning, window cleaning, printing, building maintenance, signage, flooring, contractor restoration, and landscaping,” explained Strabley. “Many dining establishments also utilize accountants, attorneys, and other business professionals in the exchange, as well as taking advantage of our media department for advertising.”
IMS Barter has a renowned restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco as a participant in the barter system, and that restaurant purchases wine through the system from more than three dozen Sonoma and Napa Valley wineries through a purveyor.
“Another operation in Chicago recently purchased a food truck and had a roof replaced,” said Strabley. “In 2024 a prominent restaurant in Tampa was devastated by Hurricane Helene and they utilized many trade contractors to rebuild. A bar and restaurant owner in Wisconsin recently took a trip to a resort in Mexico.”
Since its inception in 1985, IMS Barter has handled these kinds of transitions through its barter payment process. In 2024, the company processed a total of more than $120 million in transactions for some 14,000 clients. Of course, bar and restaurant owners and operators who barter are providing trade certificates or vouchers within system, thus filling seats, gaining exposure to a new audience, and perhaps attracting new long-term customers in the end.
“Most restaurant and bar proprietors have an overabundance of empty tables and barstools at some point in the week, and considering time is a perishable commodity, it is our goal to deliver new customers,” said Strabley. “This new revenue stream saves the dining and restaurant establishment cash when making business expenditures, utilizing the trade dollars within the exchange.”
Though IMS Barter does have franchise, chain restaurants, and larger business entities in its barter system, the vast majority of bars and restaurants in the company’s network are smaller to midscale operations, and many are family-owned sole proprietors.
“There certainly can be challenges at times with regard to cash flow, so [these businesses] naturally incorporate trade into their lifestyle as well as their employees,” noted Strabley. “For instance, scores of operators do not provide insurance, so they utilize a Health Wellness Trade package with dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, nutritional products, or even a health club membership. Many offer this to their staff as well, which helps to retain employees. Others take vacations, hire trade contractors for home repairs, housekeeping, or just purchase jewelry and gifts for a family member.”
To make the barter process run seamlessly, IMS Barter assigns a broker to each account, and that broker acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. The broker’s responsibility includes protecting their client’s interests, facilitating transactions, and monitoring pricing in the buying and selling process.
“Each broker is committed to educating the client and taking interest ‘beyond the financials,’ and this creates trust and comfort,” said Strabley. “Our success can only be attributed to our client’s success. We play a part in the financial achievements of all our clients, and those achievements manifest themselves.”
Barter Systems and Restaurants: ‘The Biggest Benefit Has Been Saving Cash’
Kamal Boulos, owner of The Refectory, a contemporary American and classic French restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, has been using IMS Barter since 1998. He said the biggest benefit has been financial.
“In a word, cash-flow,” said Boulos. “Barter is a very useful tool to better manage your business.”
Boulos noted that his restaurant has successfully complete large projects—such as exterior painting, roof work, and heating and air conditioning, in addition to taking care of ongoing services, like lawn care, landscaping, and printing—all thanks to bartering.
Lalli, of Vittoria, agrees that the financial benefits have been helpful, in addition to creating new relationships. One thing Lalli didn't expect was how bartering helped build strong relationships and trust with other local businesses.
“The biggest benefit has been saving cash while getting what we need and building great relationships with other local businesses,” shared Lalli. “It's more than just trading—it creates connections.”
Mark Rosenthal, owner of Melting Pot in Ft. Collins, Colo., has been bartering since 2024. He said the system has allowed his business to try different types of advertising mediums at his restaurant’s cost of goods sold, while simultaneously introducing the restaurant to new, qualified customers through the trade certificates. He said many of those new customers are also “high quality” guests because they’re also small business owners. “For restaurants, [a barter system] helps to sell in the off season…” he noted.
Advice: Managing Your Barter Account
Boulos from The Refectory advises owners and operators using a barter system to closely monitor their operations.
“Manage your account well and only use gift certificates,” suggested Boulos. “Use your account brokers—they are a huge asset and will serve you well. If you are thinking of using trade dollars for anything, always contact them first.”
Vittoria’s Lalli said it’s important to make sure that any trade is balanced. “I check what similar things usually cost and make sure the trade feels fair,” he noted, adding that if anything goes wrong during the barter process, he always reaches out to his broker, who will handle things.
Robert Frady, owner of Melting Pot in Orlando, Fla., said he’s been bartering since 1993. He recommends that owners and operators, who are evaluating the implementation of a barter system for cost reduction, should regard barter partners with the same level of professionalism as all other clients.
“Make sure that you treat them with the same great hospitality that you provide everyone,” advised Frady. “Make them a guest for life!”
Frady pointed out that one drawback of bartering is that some members of the system will try and increase the cost of their services when they know it is on trade. “We always contact the [barter system] office to ask for recommendations before we contact anyone,” he said. “We find that very helpful.”
Strabley said the biggest challenge most owners and operators face today is not having enough time in the day, so navigating the trade network can seem complex at first. Thus, he encourages owners and operators to meet with or spend 15 minutes of their time on a call with a trade broker—when starting the barter system journey—to get the best return on the effort. “The operator can then outline their goals and budget for expenditures, and the broker can educate them on the system,” he said.
Aaron Kiel is an award-winning journalist and PR professional based in Raleigh, N.C., with over 20 years of experience in the beverage, tea, coffee, hospitality, and technology sectors. He contributes to Questex’s Bar & Restaurant News as a reporter/writer, and he was previously the editor of Questex’s World Tea News, as well as the Specialty Coffee Association’s member journal, The Chronicle, among other editorial roles. His work with Bar & Restaurant News has earned multiple accolades, including the 2025 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Award for “Range of Work by a Single Author – B2B” and the 2024 award for “Best Single Article, Culture & Community – B2B.” He also received a Gold Northeast Region Award in the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) Azbee Awards under the “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” category for a single article. In addition, Kiel was named a recipient of the 2024/2025 ASBPE Diversity Fellowship Award, which supports and recognizes diversity in the field of B2B journalism. Connect with him on Instagram @adventurer_explorer or visit akprgroup.com.
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