Bucking a flat trend among restaurants, barter exchange business, Bartercard, has increased its trade volume in the foodservice industry by more than 20 per cent over a 12 month period.

In 2009, restaurants were average $1.8m (trade dollars) per month, but now average $2.2m per month. And while the cash takings of the 674 member restaurants haven't been as impressive, they have recorded strong trade volume with Bartercard.

With new research indicating that the slowdown in the hospitality industry is set to continue, restaurants across the country are reaping the rewards of having Bartercard as a prime management tool to bolster their customer base and reduce stress on their cashflow.

"We’ve been able to convert the downtime in our business into Trade Dollars then buy the things we needed through the Bartercard network, offsetting our cash expenses, saving us cash," said owner of Brisbane's Enchiladas Mexican Cantina, Peter Mackay.

"Over the past two years we have improved our bottom line by up to eight per cent. We have prioritised Trade Dollars (over cash) to buy the essentials like wine, fruit and vegetables, graphic design and printing of menus, plant hire and much more."

Greg Anderson, owner of Sails Restaurant in Sydney’s Lavender Bay, has turned to barter Trade Dollars as a new way to incentivise and keep his staff in the aftermath of the global economic slowdown.

"I wanted to give my restaurant manager and head chef a boost so I bought them each hospitality tickets to go to last year's NRL Grand Final at ANZ Stadium," he said.

According to Anderson the use of Bartercard has increased his total available cash by up to 20 per cent each month over the past year.