How a service exchange works — and how it is invoiced

BillSwaps is a contact and matching platform between businesses. It helps self-employed professionals and small businesses in Alicante & Costa Blanca find possible exchanges of professional services.

BillSwaps does not act as a bank, payment institution, credit institution, financial intermediary, investment service, wallet, cryptocurrency platform or financing service. It does not lend money, does not hold user funds and does not process payments between businesses. The only money BillSwaps charges is its own introduction fee and completion commission (see Pricing), which it invoices itself.

The businesses contact each other directly and agree the scope of the service, its value and the applicable conditions. Delivering the service, the agreements, the documentation and the invoicing are the responsibility of the participating businesses.

Yes. Exchanging goods or services (permuta) between businesses is entirely legal. Only the method of payment changes — value instead of cash — not your obligations.

Yes. For tax purposes a swap is two supplies at fair-market value. Each party issues a normal invoice (factura), charges IVA where applicable, and includes the value for IRPF / Impuesto de Sociedades. No cash changes hands, but the tax obligation does not disappear.

Use the fair-market value each side would normally charge in cash. Our valuation worksheet gives a standard, defensible method so both invoices match.

Two invoices, one from each side, each for its own supply. Spanish VAT law has a specific rule for consideration that is not money (art. 79.Uno, Ley 37/1992): the taxable base is the amount, expressed in money, that the parties agreed between them. That is why you write the agreed value down before the swap, not after — it is what both invoices rest on. Your asesor confirms the rate for your activity.

That is the normal case whenever the two sides are not worth the same. The law covers it in the same article: where the consideration is only partly in money, the taxable base is THE HIGHER of two amounts - the agreed value of the non-cash part plus the cash part, or the amount produced by the general valuation rules. So you do not simply add them up; you compare and take the higher. This is exactly where an asesor earns the fee, especially when the gap is large or the assets are property.

It can. Modelo 347 reports operations with the same person or entity above €3,005.06 (IVA included) in a calendar year. A swap counts as an operation even though no money moved, and repeat swaps with the same business add up across the year.

When a company pays a professional in kind rather than in cash, there is a payment on account (ingreso a cuenta) alongside the usual withholding: the payer owes Hacienda the applicable percentage of the valuation whether or not anything was actually withheld. In a swap there is no cash to withhold from, so that amount comes out of your own pocket unless you agree otherwise. Settle it in writing before the swap, not after — this is where barter goes wrong most often. Ask your asesor how it applies to you.

We promote and identify businesses that want to swap, help you match, and provide standard documents: a swap agreement, a valuation worksheet, an arbitration clause and a compliance checklist. A €10 reservation deposit unlocks the other business's contact details and makes the introduction; we charge 6% on completion and invoice the provider. We are not a party to your trade, not your agent, and not your tax or legal adviser.

Every swap can adopt our standard arbitration clause — an agreed dispute path that isn't the courts. Verified profiles and post-swap reviews keep the network honest.