Accounting tools for mutual labour credit

Hi guys, I’m interesting in analysing concrete historical and contemporary examples of mutual time banking and/or labour time accounting. I just came up with https://www.timeoverflow.org/ software developed by the cooperative https://coopdevs.org/.

Did someone of you have already participated of time banking? Did you use accounting services for mutual time banking? I would appreciate if you can share your experiences.

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Btw, I’m also interesting in experiences using the concept of crowdtiming. Ex: https://cocoroclock.tumblr.com/ Jamaafunding

Hi @Patelo!
I’m Sergi from Coopdevs / TimeOverflow / ADBdT

We offer (ADBdT) and develop (Coopdevs) TimeOverflow in order to provide technological support to the Time Banks, you will find a map of Spanish/LATAM Time Bank here http://www.bdtonline.org/

I’m member of my neighborhood Time Bank in Barcelona (Gràcia). In my opinion time based mutual credit systems are a good idea and powerful to create a alternative/community economy. But also are difficult to implement, a lot of trust between the members is needed. For that (i think) only online Banks doesn’t work, you need spaces where people known each other to build trust.

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I wonder if this question was intended within the context of a co-op?

I’ve an interest in mutual exchange / timebanks, and it’s occurred that it might be one way to track what’s sometimes called “sweat equity” in co-ops. The basic scenario I’ve in mind is that the co-op as a whole could commission work, or members could pay each other, using an alternative currency when conventional currency is short. This currency might later be redeemed for conventional currency when that is available.

Has this idea ever been tried, to anyone’s knowledge?

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I wonder what software Tempo and Echo use for their timebanking, because AFAIK they are probably the biggest and most active timebanking networks in the UK. I’m not sure, but I think both use in house developed closed source systems. Will check…

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Thanks for commenting. Indeed, the context of the question was that were I live I do observe that sometimes people voluntarily help coops. (Specially when they have a community activity like a kitchen soup). I think that sometimes this unpaid pro-bono or care work gets untraced and it might be worth considering having some accountability or reciprocity-based / pay-it-forward incentive system to ensure scalability to that gift economy part of our cooperative economy.

In addition, I was exploring concrete uses of time as social “currency” in the form of both timebanks and labour-credits/labour-certificates to abduct how a post-capitalist society might function.

I see. Thanks for the info!

Not directly what you are asking for but somewhat related, from a meta/interoperability perspective, have you come across https://valueflo.ws/

Reading some of your post history I imagine you may already of seen, but if not feel you are likely to find it interesting.

I was involved in organising a mutual aid network/co-op of self employed workers that initiated following the 2008 financial crisis. As part of that work we were looking at alternative exchange mechanisms.

Something I found interesting is that, unlike other alternative exchange schemes (eg. LETS) theres some specific legislation here in the UK that makes such exchanges exempt from taxation.

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