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Terms of Service

Last updated

In short

  • BarterMax is a trade exchange: members buy and sell with each other in Barter Credits (BC), valued at 1.00 of their local currency for accounting and tax.
  • Barter Credits are not legal tender and cannot be bought or cashed out: you earn them by selling, or spend into the credit line the exchange gives you and repay it by selling.
  • Between members, credits move only when your business acts: you send payments, approve charges, confirm trades and confirm what BART drafts.
  • Fees follow the schedule shown under Settings › Membership & fees; exchange staff correct entries and resolve disputed trades.

1. Acceptance of terms

By accessing or using BarterMax (“the Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Platform.

These Terms are a legally binding agreement between you and BarterMax (“we”, “us” or “our”). By creating an account, you represent that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement on behalf of your business.

2. The exchange

BarterMax is a business-to-business trade exchange for businesses and charities in Canada and the United States. Members sell goods and services to any member and earn Barter Credits (BC), then spend them with any other member.

The Platform includes:

  • your trade account: balance, credit line, transactions, monthly statements and a year-end tax summary;
  • paying members and charging them, and trade proposals that settle when both sides confirm the work is done;
  • the member directory and marketplace listings, and suggested matches between members with complementary offers and needs;
  • BART, an AI assistant that answers questions about your account and drafts payments, charges and profile changes for you to confirm;
  • a Barter Coach for your business, and exchange staff who manage credit lines, fees and disputes.

We do not guarantee the quality, safety or legality of any goods or services exchanged through the Platform.

3. Accounts and roles

To use BarterMax, your business needs an account. You agree to:

  • provide accurate, current and complete information, and keep it up to date;
  • keep your password secure and confidential, and tell us immediately about any unauthorized access;
  • be responsible for all activity under your account.

Each person on your team has a role. Owners and admins can pay members, approve charges and act on trades; members can create charges and categorize transactions; viewers can only read. You are responsible for the people you invite and the roles you give them.

We reserve the right to suspend or close accounts that violate these Terms or engage in fraudulent activity.

4. Acceptable use

You agree to use BarterMax only for lawful purposes. You may not:

  • post false, misleading or fraudulent listings;
  • engage in trades involving illegal goods or services;
  • harass, threaten or abuse other members;
  • attempt to manipulate match scores or platform algorithms;
  • scrape, crawl or collect member data without authorization;
  • circumvent platform fees or transaction monitoring;
  • impersonate another business or individual;
  • distribute malware or interfere with platform operations.

Violations may result in immediate suspension or closure of your account and legal action.

5. Barter Credits, credit lines and fees

One Barter Credit is valued at 1.00 of your local currency (Canadian dollars for Canadian members, US dollars for US members) for accounting and tax. Barter Credits are not legal tender and cannot be bought or exchanged for cash: they enter the exchange through sales, credit lines, opening balances carried over from your previous exchange account, and adjustments by exchange staff.

The exchange may give your business a credit line: your balance may go below zero, down to your credit limit, and every sale you make repays it. Exchange staff set and change credit limits; what you can spend now is your balance plus your credit limit, shown as Available.

Fees follow the fee schedule shown under Settings › Membership & fees: a monthly membership fee in your local currency and any transaction fees. Fees appear on your monthly statement.

You must accurately report trade values for tax purposes. Your statements and year-end tax summary are there to help you and your accountant do so.

6. Payments, charges and trades

All trades on BarterMax are agreements between members. Between members, credits move only when your business acts: a payment posts when an owner or admin sends it, a charge from another member posts only if an owner or admin of your business approves it before it expires, and a trade settles when both members confirm the work is done.

Posted entries are final and are never edited. A mistake is corrected with a new entry: the member who was paid can refund up to the amount received, and exchange staff can reverse an entry.

If something goes wrong with a trade in progress, either member can dispute it, and a trade waiting on one confirmation or one cancel request for 14 days is disputed automatically. Exchange staff then review the dispute and either complete the trade (it settles) or cancel it.

You are solely responsible for fulfilling the trades and sales you agree to.

7. BART

BART is an AI assistant and can be wrong: check what it tells you against your accounts before you rely on it. BART never moves credits or changes your profile by itself; every payment, charge or profile change it drafts waits for you to confirm it, and only owners and admins can confirm payments and charges.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BarterMax is provided “AS IS” without warranties of any kind. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free.

We are not liable for:

  • the quality or legality of goods or services exchanged;
  • member conduct or trade disputes;
  • losses resulting from unauthorized account access;
  • business decisions made based on platform data;
  • indirect, incidental or consequential damages.

Our total liability shall not exceed the fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the claim.

9. Suspension and closing

To close your account, ask your Barter Coach or support (Settings › Export & account). Every account must be at zero first: spend your remaining credits, repay a negative balance by selling, and pay any cash fees owed.

We may suspend or close your account if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, fail to complete agreed trades or receive multiple complaints from other members. A suspended business cannot send or receive payments; its pending charges and the trades it has not started are cancelled, and its trades in progress become disputes for exchange staff to resolve.

When an account is closed:

  • access to the Platform is revoked;
  • pending trades must be resolved or cancelled;
  • Barter Credits may be forfeited;
  • its ledger history and statements are kept, as required for financial records.

10. Dispute resolution

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of BarterMax shall be resolved through:

  • good-faith negotiation: contact support@bartermax.com first;
  • mediation: non-binding mediation in Toronto, Ontario;
  • arbitration: binding arbitration under ICDR rules.

Class action waiver: you agree to resolve disputes individually and waive any right to participate in class actions.

Governing law: these Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario, Canada.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms. When we do, we change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of BarterMax after a change means you accept the updated Terms; if you disagree with them, stop using BarterMax and ask us to close your account.

12. Contact us

Questions about these Terms: email support@bartermax.com or contact your Barter Coach.