Honest answers, no jargon

Frequently asked questions

Everything businesses ask us most about the Capacity Exchange, Silva, safety and fees — answered plainly. If your question is not here, book a free suitability call and ask us directly.

The Capacity Exchange model

What is a Capacity Exchange?
A Capacity Exchange is a B2B network where UK SMEs sell spare capacity (unsold time, unfilled rooms, empty seats, surplus stock) for Silva instead of cash, then spend Silva on real business expenses.
Is a Capacity Exchange just barter?
Not quite. Barter swaps one thing directly for another between two parties. A Capacity Exchange uses Silva as a shared unit of account, so you can sell to one member and spend with a different one entirely. You are not stuck finding someone who both wants what you offer and offers what you need.
Who can join Silvatree?
Silvatree is a network of UK member businesses. Members sell spare capacity to other members and spend the Silva they earn with other members, so every trade is genuine business between UK companies rather than discounting to the public.
What counts as spare capacity?
Anything your business pays for that earns nothing when it goes unsold: unsold time, unfilled rooms, empty seats and tables, idle machine hours, unbilled professional hours and surplus stock. Once the day passes it can never be sold again, which is exactly what makes it worth putting to work.

How Silva works

Is Silva money?
No. Silva is a unit of account used within the Silvatree network and is not money, e-money or a financial instrument. It records the value of trades between members, with 1 Silva recorded as £1 for your books. You cannot require anyone outside the network to accept it.
Can I cash out Silva?
No. Silva cannot be redeemed, exchanged or converted into cash during your membership. It is spending power inside the network, meant to be used with other members rather than banked or withdrawn. Cash settlement only happens if the platform winds down, under the published Wind-Down Protocol.
Can I mix cash and Silva in one sale?
Yes. Many members use hybrid pricing: they take some cash to cover the hard costs on a job and accept Silva for the rest, which puts their spare capacity to work. You decide the split that suits each piece of work, so filling quiet time never means giving away the variable costs it carries.
How is Silva taxed?
Silva trades are generally treated like barter for UK tax: both sides record income and expense at the sterling value of the trade, using 1 Silva = £1. It fits into your normal bookkeeping alongside cash income. Your accountant is the right person to apply this to your setup.

Safety and fees

Is a Capacity Exchange safe?
Silvatree protects members by architecture rather than promises: the operator can never run a negative Silva balance, members with positive balances rank ahead of the company under the published Wind-Down Protocol, and the ledger is tamper-evident. What no honest exchange can do is insure the quality of any individual trade — that stays between the two members.
What happens to my Silva if the exchange winds down?
Under the published Wind-Down Protocol, members holding positive Silva balances rank ahead of the company. Members in negative positions settle their balance in pounds at par, which funds the Wind-Down Pot that pays positive-balance members pro rata. The Reserve Fund adds a further cushion, and the company subordinates its own holding behind members.
Is a negative Silva balance a loan?
No. A negative balance is your Trading Headroom in use. It is the operational expression of mutual credit between members, not a loan, overdraft or credit facility, and Silvatree is never the lender. No interest accrues on it. You settle it by supplying to other members over time.
What does membership cost?
There are three fees and no tiers. A one-off joining fee of 2% of the annual spending you declare, with a minimum of £200 and a maximum of £6,000. A subscription of £20 a month plus 0.2% of that declared figure divided by twelve — £24.17 a month on a £25,000 declaration. And a transaction fee of 6% in cash plus 1% in Silva, paid by the seller on each exchange. All fees are exclusive of VAT, and the full breakdown is on our pricing page.

Silvatree and other exchanges

How is Silvatree different from BBX?
Both let UK businesses trade spare capacity without spending cash. The differences are structural: on Silvatree, members issue Silva at the moment of a real trade and the operator can never run a negative balance, while BBX extends credit lines under its published rules, with personal guarantees where required. Our blog carries a dated, clause-cited comparison of the two rulebooks.
Which company am I contracting with, and under which law?
Silvatree Exchange Ltd, a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 13074257. One entity, one contract. The Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. It is worth asking any exchange the same question, and taking the answer from its documents rather than the sales call.
Do I have to sign a personal guarantee to join?
No. Silvatree grants no credit lines, so there is nothing for a director to guarantee. There are no guarantors, no charges over assets and no credit-reference searches. What you can spend is set by an Annual Expense Analysis of the spending you would route through the network, not by a credit assessment.
How is Silvatree different from Bartercard?
Silvatree was designed by people who ran the previous generation: our founder was Managing Director of Bartercard UK. The models differ structurally, in who issues the currency, whether the operator trades on its own account, and what happens to balances on exit and wind-down. The blog carries a dated, clause-cited comparison of the published rules.

Getting started

How do I find out if my business is a good fit?
Three free ways, in any order: take the ten-question Capacity Exchange readiness test for an honest score, chat with our AI capacity adviser, with no account needed, or book a free, no-obligation suitability call with the team. If Silvatree is not a good fit for your business, each of them will tell you so.

Still weighing it up? Read What Is a Capacity Exchange? on the blog, take the readiness test, or book a free suitability call.