Why one company's records fetch more than another's

1. 1Headcount and years. Every calculator starts with staff numbers and how far back records go, which explains the common floor of 20 to 30 people and three years.
2. 2The same task, documented many times. Buyers like clear processes repeated at volume: loads booked by a dispatcher, tickets closed by support, bids converted into jobs by an estimator.
3. 3Records that link up. When a quote connects to the emails behind it, the job notes and the final invoice, the buyer gets the whole story. Hence the questions about your systems.
4. 4Rarity. The top of published ranges is reserved for unique data. A trade that has not licensed before, or work AI models handle poorly, can lift a price while that gap lasts.

1. 1Cleanup cost. Personal details have to be removed and someone pays for that work. Expect early questions about regulated or sensitive records.
2. 2Client-held data. Some buyers refuse data you hold on behalf of clients, which can be most of the archive for a bookkeeper or an MSP.
3. 3Split archives. Records scattered across several entities or tools that never link are worth less.
4. 4Language and location. US firms whose records are mainly in English get priority.

Exclusivity changes the number. Troveo explains that buyers pay more for an exclusive license, since no rival lab can buy the same records, and less when you keep the right to license again. Payment structure matters too: a lump sum and a revenue share price the same records very differently.

Read licensing more than once before you accept exclusivity.