Walk-through: a 20-person firm licenses its records

A headcount of 20 is the point where more buyers become available. Nyne and Handshake each require at least 20 full-time employees plus three years of trading, while micro1's 30-person bar leaves Northfield out.

1. 1

   Eligibility

   With 20 W-2 staff and nine years of history, Northfield meets Nyne's requirement of 20 US W-2 employees and three years.

2. 2

   Short questionnaire

   A Nyne ad promises a quote by text after three questions. micro1's estimator has six: staff, years, number of entities, share in English, location and sensitive data.

3. 3

   System list

   The office manager writes down each tool and how far back it goes: dispatch from 2017, QuickBooks from 2016, Gmail from 2017. micro1 estimates 1 to 3 hours for this.

4. 4

   Exclusions

   HR files and customer payment data are held back. Nyne's ads say sellers may exclude whatever folders they like.

5. 5

   Written price

   According to Nyne's ads, the price and scope are fixed before any transfer. If a rival offer exists, Nyne says it compares on net cash for identical data and rights.

6. 6

   Scrub and review

   Customer names are replaced with codes, and the owner checks scrubbed samples before release.

7. 7

   Handover and payment

   Nyne says it pays once the dataset is delivered and accepted. Under micro1's terms, the seller cannot invoice until micro1 has had up to 30 business days to sign off on the delivery.

8. 8

   Raw files removed

   Nyne's ads promise deletion of raw files within 30 days, while its website says retention is agreed deal by deal. Make sure the contract states a figure.

Allow several weeks. Estimates from buyers and reviewers mostly put the whole process, form to payment, at one to two months. Staff effort is modest, although micro1 mentions up to 10 engineering hours for the data transfer.

Price evidence for a business this size is scarce. Nyne says its deals usually reach $100K or more, and DataFactor's own bands place firms with 20 to 50 staff between $50,000 and $500,000. Both figures are self-reported.

Use the stages above as your checklist. The paperwork is easy; the real work is choosing what to exclude and securing a written offer before any file leaves.

Fewer than 20 staff? The stages are identical but fewer buyers will engage. Troveo states no minimum, though its estimator begins at 20 employees. Read our under-20 guide.