# Barters User Guide This guide explains how Barters works from a normal user perspective: getting onboarded, posting barter needs, sending bids, posting jobs, sending referrals, joining communities, managing billing, and staying on top of activity. ## What Barters Is Barters helps startups help other startups through: - barter requests - talent referrals - community-based visibility - shared team workspaces Use it when your company wants warmer, higher-context interactions than a broad public marketplace can usually provide. ## Getting Started And Onboarding ### What this is for Onboarding turns a new account into a usable company workspace. ### When you use it Every new company goes through onboarding once. Invited teammates also use it to land inside the correct workspace. ### How it works 1. Create an account with your work email and company name, or use the same email address that was invited into an existing workspace. 2. Complete your personal profile so counterparties know who is operating the account. 3. Add company details such as website, LinkedIn, funding stage, industry, team size, location, and summary. 4. Invite teammates now or later from settings. ### What happens next Once onboarding is complete, you can browse the marketplace, post listings, join communities, and manage your workspace from one account. ## Posting A Barter Need ### What this is for Barter requests are how your company asks for help and defines what it can offer in return. ### When you use it Use a barter listing when you need another startup's expertise, product access, or operator support and you are willing to exchange your own capability in return. ### How it works 1. Open `Create Listing` and choose the barter workflow. 2. Write a clear title and summary. 3. Define what you need and what you offer in return. 4. Add tags, structured location, and whether remote delivery is okay. 5. Choose visibility: - public marketplace - selected communities only 6. Save as draft or submit for review. ### What happens next Published requests become discoverable to eligible companies. They can then open the request and submit bids. ## Reviewing Requests And Sending A Bid ### What this is for Bids are how your company responds to another company's barter request. ### When you use it Use this flow when another company's open request matches what your team can actually deliver. ### How it works 1. Browse the barter directory. 2. Open a request and review the need, offer, tags, trust signals, and location context. 3. If the request is open and belongs to another company, submit a bid with: - your pitch - your location details - any delivery or overlap note 4. Track the result in `My Activity`. ### What happens next - `Pending` means the owner has not decided yet. - `Accepted` unlocks the connection workflow. - `Declined` closes that path for your bid. ## Posting A Job ### What this is for Jobs turn Barters into a referral marketplace for trusted warm intros. ### When you use it Use a job listing when your company is hiring and you want referred candidates from partner companies. ### How it works 1. Choose the job workflow from `Create Listing`. 2. Add the role title, location, stack or focus area, and mission summary. 3. Define compensation and referral-credit terms. 4. Choose whether the role is public or community-restricted. 5. Publish once the role is clear enough for another founder or operator to refer against confidently. ### What happens next The role appears in the job board and eligible companies can submit referrals. If you are the hiring company, watch `My Activity` and notifications for new referrals. Move each candidate through reviewing, interviewing, hired, or rejected states so the referrer gets a clean feedback loop. ## Sending A Referral ### What this is for Referrals are structured candidate introductions between companies. ### When you use it Use this flow when you know a candidate who fits a partner company's open role. ### How it works 1. Open the job detail page. 2. Review the mission, expected background, compensation, and referral-credit terms. 3. Submit the candidate details, fit summary, and consent confirmation. 4. Monitor the thread in `My Activity`. ### What happens next The hiring company can move the referral through statuses such as: - submitted - reviewing - interviewing - hired - rejected Visible replies from the hiring company will appear back in the referral thread. ## Communities And Community-Only Visibility ### What this is for Communities help your company trade broad reach for a tighter and more relevant audience. ### When you use it Use communities when shared geography, operator context, founder network fit, or trust density matters more than maximum exposure. ### How it works 1. Browse the communities directory. 2. Open a community profile to understand who it serves. 3. Request access if your company belongs there. 4. Once approved, your company can: - see community-only listings - publish barter requests to that community - publish job posts to that community 5. Community owners can use `Start a Community` to request an accelerator, incubator, local network, or operator circle. Platform admin approval happens before the community is discoverable. ### What happens next Community-only listings become visible only to approved members of the selected communities. ## Billing And Payment Plans ### What this is for Billing manages conversion from the Barters-owned free trial into a paid workspace subscription. ### When you use it Use billing when you want to convert after trial, manage a paid workspace plan, or optionally support the platform with a separate one-time contribution. ### How it works 1. Finish onboarding and start the Barters-owned 7-day free trial with no card upfront. 2. Open `Settings > Billing`. 3. Choose the recurring workspace plan when you are ready to convert: - `$5/mo` - `$50/yr` 4. Complete the hosted Dodo checkout flow. 5. Use Pay what you wish only if you want to support the platform separately. It does not activate or extend the workspace subscription. ### What happens next Barters syncs the latest billing state back into the workspace after checkout. ### Trial note The 7-day free trial is managed by Barters, not Dodo. After trial, the workspace converts by choosing either `$5/mo` or `$50/yr`. Optional support contributions do not activate or extend the recurring workspace subscription. ## Barter Legalities And Compliance ### What this is for This section helps users understand that an accepted barter match still needs proper business documentation and tax awareness. ### When you use it Use these checks when a barter bid has been accepted and both companies are about to begin work. ### How it works 1. Treat barter like a real B2B transaction, not as something automatically outside tax or accounting rules. 2. Agree on the Fair Market Value of the services being exchanged. 3. Maintain proper invoices or equivalent accounting records based on local requirements. 4. Confirm the relevant tax treatment in your jurisdiction before delivery starts. 5. Review the post-match checklist in the full compliance guide if your finance or legal team needs a deeper reference. ### What happens next Once both companies align on scope, fair market value, and documentation, the work can move forward with fewer surprises later. ### Important note Barters is a matching layer, not a legal, tax, or accounting advisor. For the deeper version of this topic, use: - `/barter-compliance-guide` ## Activity And Notifications ### What this is for These surfaces are the daily operating inbox for follow-up. ### When you use it Use them once your company is live and posting, bidding, referring, or joining communities regularly. ### How it works Use `My Activity` to monitor: - posted barter requests - bids sent - posted jobs - referrals sent Use `Notifications` for important changes such as: - bid outcomes - referral status updates - community actions - invite events - other workflow triggers ### What happens next These pages keep your team from losing momentum after the initial submission or response. ## Trust, Etiquette, And Practical Tips ### Keep profiles complete Company details such as website, LinkedIn, location, funding stage, and a real summary improve response quality. ### Choose the right workflow - Use barter for scoped exchange of capability. - Use jobs for hiring and referred candidates. - Use communities when the audience matters as much as the listing itself. ### Write for speed Another founder should understand the need, the offer, and likely fit in under thirty seconds. ### Close loops quickly Accept, decline, archive, or move referrals forward as soon as a decision is clear. Clean queues improve trust. ### Make your bid specific Short, operational bids usually perform better than polished but vague ones. ## Practical Shortcuts - Marketplace: `/barter` - Jobs board: `/jobs` - Communities: `/communities` - Activity center: `/activity` - Notifications: `/notifications` - Billing: `/settings/billing` ## Screenshot Assets The visual guide page uses real screenshots captured from the seeded local product flow under: `/guides/how-it-works/` ## Summary Barters works best when: - your company profile is complete - your listings are specific - your responses are timely - you use communities deliberately - you treat activity and notifications as your follow-up system