August 5, 2014
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From the desk of Bob Meyer...
08/05/2014
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IRTA Update Regarding Bartercard's
BPS Technology IPO
IRTA's wholly owned subsidiary, Universal Currency Clearinghouse
(UC), has operated as a successful global inter-exchange
clearinghouse platform for trade exchanges for seventeen years.
UC was conceived as a strategic advancement in the industry that
would allow barter companies to trade through a common currency
thereby increasing the trade volume of all participants, operating
to attract many more businesses to the barter model worldwide.
In the last seventeen years the barter software industry has grown,
providing barter exchanges a large choice of software platforms to
choose from, many of which provide their own version of
inter-exchange currencies. These inter-exchange currencies in effect
compete with UC, thereby further splintering the industry, which is
counter to UC's original goal of providing a true universal trading
currency to unify the industry. During the last seventeen
years UC has leased its barter software platform from various
software companies, no different than a typical barter exchange.
In the last four years UC has explored creating its own
software and examined other cooperative arrangements with existing
software companies. The first goal of this process was to find the
best possible software for UC. The second goal was to provide an
"API Hub" that would link all the barter software to the UC system,
thereby fulfilling UC's original vision of unifying the barter
industry through its platform. UC talked with virtually
every barter software company in the world and accepted proposals
from numerous software companies in the last four years. Several
proposals were pursued to the draft agreement stage and one proposal
was consummated in 2013, which resulted in UC shifting its platform
for a six-month "test-run." Unfortunately, that software ultimately
was not chosen as a long-term platform for UC, and it was determined
that other options needed to be re-examined. Both UC and
IRTA have insisted that any prospective new software provider for UC
should have the financial resources to provide
ongoing first-rate technological improvements to the software, so as
to constantly be at the forefront of the technology curve.
In the judgment of the IRTA Global Board of Directors, the existing
Bartercard software, combined with the financial resources resulting
from a successful IPO through BPS Technology, would provide UC the
best opportunity to utilize and recommend a highly advanced
technology solution to the industry. Additionally, the strict
governance standards requirements of a separate independent publicly
listed company would insure members’ data would always be protected.
As a result, the IRTA Global Board of Directors approved moving
forward with a contingent contract with BPS Technology for an
initial five year term with two potential additional five year
terms, but only if both parties elect to continue for the extra
five-year terms. The agreement would become effective only if
the BPS Technology IPO was successfully completed by August 31,
2014. The BPS/IRTA/UC software initiative is still a work in
progress. And because the contract is of contingent nature and does
not commence without a successful IPO, IRTA/UC was waiting to
receive evidence of a successful IPO before making any announcements
about the project. However, IRTA/UC has been advised by BPS that the
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has approved
its prospectus, having met and passed all the strict legal and
accounting requirements that comes with a listing, and the IPO is
open effective August 5, 2014. The terms and conditions of
the BPS Technology agreement are similar to the draft agreements
that IRTA/UC had previously negotiated with other industry software
vendors, (including its existing software vendor), which for various
reasons did not come to fruition. All those software companies
supported UC/IRTA's vision of a system unified by common technology
and software when they were the company being seriously considered
by UC/IRTA. If the BPS/IRTA/UC agreement becomes operable,
neither UC nor IRTA will be in the software business. Per the
agreement with BPS Technology, IRTA and UC will recommend and
endorse the BPS software as long as BPS continues to modernize and
improve the software in a manner consistent with technological
changes in the industry. Participation on the BPS platform will not
be a requirement of membership in IRTA or UC, as all industry
members are free to select whatever software they conclude is best
for their company. Additionally, industry members will be able to
seamlessly tie-in to the UC platform to make UC sales and purchases,
even if they are on software different than UC's software.
If the BPS IPO is not successful, UC/IRTA will continue to negotiate
with all interested barter industry software companies to accomplish
the goal of providing a sound platform for UC and a mechanism to
unify and increase trading for the entire global barter industry.
For more info on IRTA,
click here.
BarterNews.com — World's Largest
Depository Of
Barter Information
Hundreds of valuable articles,
techniques, and strategies are found in the following various barter
categories:
Travel,
Media,
Trade Exchange
Corporate Barter,
Offset & Countertrade,
Secondary Capital,
Real Estate,
Community Barter,
Restaurant & Entertainment
(The Barter
Categories are found on the horizontal bar at the top - 3rd
button from right.)
Effective Steps For Using Promo
Products & Ad Specialties
1) Determine the goals of your promotional products
program. Do you want to create awareness? Attract
new customers? Reward or provide incentives to existing customers?
(Remember to determine a means for measuring the results.)
2) Plan ahead. At minimum, you will
need two to four weeks for production and delivery of standard
products. Don't wait until the last moment to call your trade
exchange, plan ahead and give your broker time to search for the
items you’re interested in. 3) Involve your
target audience. Be creative in how you
distribute, package, and deliver your promotional products. Make it
a memorable experience for the recipient. 4)
Choose promotional products that have longevity.
Put your logo on products that your target customer will see often.
Products that are kept on the desk, in the car, or on the
refrigerator can create dozens of impressions per day.
5) Get free ideas. Check web sites,
read promotional-product magazines, and talk with specialists in
that industry. Let them make creative recommendations from their
database of thousands of products. Check with your trade
broker to see what's available through your exchange.
Money-Making Reports Available From BarterNews
What Percentage Of Your Sales Goes
For Advertising?
If you're the typical company, you are not budgeting nearly
enough money for advertising. Many franchisers require that 3% to 6%
of sales go to advertising — more than most small businesses
spend, according to Padgett Business Services. The world's
largest consumer goods manufacturer, Procter & Gamble, spends 12¢
of every dollar earned on advertising. Yet the Denver Small Business
Development Center reports that most retailers budget less than 2%.
As a member of a trade exchange you can afford to do
considerably more in this all-important department, because a
variety of advertising mediums are readily available. So
check with your trade broker today.
Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On
Valuable New Business?
If
your barter company's listing on BarterNews.com isn't current, you
are definitely missing out on new business. The web site
BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic — with over 150,000 page-views
every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the
thousands of articles, the weekly "Tuesday
Report," and the "Contacts
Section" of our site. They use the latter to find barter
companies with which to do business.
Is your barter company's listing up-to-date?
To keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A)
update any changes to your company's listing, such as new location,
phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company
has not been listed.
Here's how to get on board:
To
make changes to your listing
click here.
For
new listings
click here.
You Are Your Calendar
Tom Peters, noted management speaker, shared this succinct
thought recently. "This is my #1 belief about management. All we
have is our time. The way we distribute it is our strategic plan,
our vision, our values. Period. "So," he continued, "how did
you spend your precious time today? Tell me, and I’ll tell you what
you actually care about — it’s a simple and unerring
equation."
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The Growth and Use of Secondary
Capital (New Money) Creates Unprecedented Wealth In Today's New Age
Of Possibility
There are many forms of secondary
capital — which can be defined as any financial instrument that
measures and communicates value in a common language. Would you like
to see and learn more about the many forms of secondary capital?
We have 70 free, informative and
inspiring, articles for you in our "Secondary Capital Section."
Check it out...
www.barternews.com/secondary_capital.htm.
Get New Money-Making Ideas And
Valuable Contacts!
You can
obtain useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available
back-issue of BarterNews.
Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List
of Barter Companies.
We welcome your
comments, questions, and observations.
Copyright BarterNews 2014. Redistribution of BarterNews
content expressly prohibited without the prior written permission of BarterNews.
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