Bartercard has been a fantastic additional revenue stream for our association. The main areas that we utilise Bartercard is our representative team programs and the purchase of merchandise for our membership packages. We spend on accommodation and transport for our respective teams, which normally takes up a large part of our annual cash budget. Last year we offset 15% of our total expenses using Bartercard trade dollars which enabled us to utilise our cash to spend in other areas!

At Queensland Rugby we are very encouraged by the number of avenues we can utilise within Bartercard and the new relationships we can form with suppliers and new sponsorship partners. Bartercard is more than just a business tool – it’s a stand-alone business strategy that effectively benefits all levels of our code, from the elite and flagship Queensland Reds team all the way through to the community clubs at the game’s grass roots.

We have made our sponsorship work by having it integrated at every level of our business – we have core expenses such as printing and catering that we have been able to source suppliers directly via Bartercard, our venues have been able to accept trade dollars as part of their fees as they have been able to cover some of their direct costs on trade dollars, and our staff and players have assisted in cash conversion through using the Bartercard network for personal expenditure. We have also been able to help add value to our other sponsors while cash converting, by sourcing marketing opportunities via Bartercard and on selling these to other sponsors.