Last checked: 7 October 2026 (buyer terms quoted on this page)
Month-end close, reconciliations and approvals are some of the most rule-bound work a company does. That makes finance records attractive to AI buyers. It also makes client books and payroll the parts to keep out.
Finance work follows rules, repeats every month and is checked by a second person. Every step leaves a record.
Among the programs we track, Mode is the one that publishes a separate, lower minimum for accounting firms: 10 or more employees, against its general 20 or more full-time US office employees, as published on 7 October 2026. It publishes an even lower one for law firms (6+). A lower published bar for one sector is a reasonable signal that the program wants that sector's records.
The reason is the shape of the work. A month-end close is a checklist run by trained people. Reconciliations surface exceptions, and someone writes down how each was resolved. Journal entries carry memos and approvals. AP and AR teams follow approval chains and chase exceptions. Reviewers leave notes and preparers answer them. That is close to what micro1's page asks for: documented processes, QA processes and "decision-making patterns". QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and Paychex all appear in the system lists buyer programs publish.
Accounting standards and internal policy, applied case by case, with the reasoning written down.
The same close runs every month, so years of records show how a process improves and where it breaks.
Preparer, reviewer, approver. The review notes are human feedback on work, recorded at the moment.
Accounting systems log who changed what and when, which ties each decision to a sequence.
One exception, from discovery to sign-off. This is the unit buyers look for in finance records.
Bank balance and ledger balance pulled; unreconciled difference of $4,812.50.
Preparer AMatched difference to a vendor payment for [VENDOR-07] recorded twice: once from the bill, once from a manual entry.
Preparer AProposed adjusting entry to reverse the manual entry, with the bill and remittance attached.
Preparer AFound one earlier case, already caught in a later month. Added a rule: manual payments to vendors with open bills need a second approver.
Preparer AEntry approved and posted. Close checklist updated with the new control step.
Approver CThe vendor name and the people are placeholders, and the amount is invented. What remains is the part with training value: an exception found, investigated, questioned by a reviewer, traced to a root cause and turned into a control. Finance teams produce records like this every month, often split across the accounting system, spreadsheets and email.
Process records carry most of the value with the least personal data. Payroll and client books are the opposite.
| Record | What it shows a buyer | Personal or client data | Typical stance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close checklists and calendars | Sequence, ownership, deadlines | Little beyond staff names | Good candidate |
| Reconciliations with notes | Exception handling and root causes | Counterparty names, account numbers | Good after de-identification |
| Journal entries, memos, approvals | Judgment calls and controls | Some names in memos | Good after de-identification |
| AP and AR workflows | Approval chains, disputes, collections | Vendor and customer details, bank data on invoices | Case by case |
| Payroll registers (e.g. Paychex) | Little beyond process steps | Salaries, Social Security numbers, bank accounts | Exclude |
| Tax returns and client ledgers | Varies | Taxpayer and client confidential data | Exclude unless counsel clears it |
You decide entities, years and record types. In most deals the buyer runs the export and de-identification under the agreement.
Begin with a manifest: which entities and ledgers, which years, which record types (journal entries, reconciliations, bills, approvals, audit trail), approximate volumes, and where the rest of the close lives. In many companies half the close sits outside the accounting system, in spreadsheets on SharePoint or Google Drive and in email threads between preparer and reviewer. Those workpapers are often the most valuable part, so list them too. Practitioners advise sharing a manifest and samples, never a full dataset, before there is a price, and getting more than one offer.
Attachments need a decision of their own. Invoices, receipts and remittance advice carry bank details, addresses and sometimes card numbers. Many sellers exclude them or limit them to agreed document types. An admin authorizes access only to the agreed scope. Mode describes buying "an agreed copy", with originals staying with the company. micro1 states that sensitive and confidential information is scrubbed, originals are deleted after processing, and the company keeps ownership of its underlying data. Ask how you can verify both on your own sample, and read de-identification before selling data for how numbers and names are replaced.
General information, not legal advice. Talk to your own lawyer before you sign.
Your books are yours, but they still hold other people's data: employees in payroll and expenses, customers in AR, vendors in AP. GDPR applies to EU and UK individuals, and CCPA/CPRA to California residents.
Customer and vendor contracts may treat pricing and payment terms as confidential. Check the largest ones before AR or AP records go into scope, and decide whether amounts are kept, rounded or removed.
Client ledgers and returns belong to clients, and firms owe them confidentiality through engagement letters and professional rules. For tax work, ask your lawyer about tax-preparer disclosure rules such as IRC Section 7216, and about GLBA for client financial information.
A firm's own process records (close checklists, review templates, internal methodology) are a different matter from client data. See client confidentiality and data sales and the accounting firms guide.
If your company is itself a lender, broker or other financial institution, customer records sit under GLBA and sector rules, and most of them are off the table. Operational records may remain. Our financial services and mortgage guide covers what is left once customer data is removed.
Described in general terms. Editions, roles and export options differ, so confirm each point with your controller or system admin.
Use these signals to describe your records honestly. They describe usefulness, not price.
| Signal | Stronger | Weaker |
|---|---|---|
| Close documentation | A written checklist with sign-offs each month | The close lives in one person's head |
| Reconciliation notes | Each reconciling item explained | Balances only, no explanations |
| Journal entry memos | Memos say why the entry was made | Blank or copied memos |
| Review evidence | Reviewer questions and answers retained | Only the final, approved version kept |
| Time depth | Several closed years in the same system | One year since a migration, older history lost |
| Approvals | Approval workflow logged in the system | Approvals given by email or in person, unrecorded |
Finance scope has three dials. Set each one on purpose.
Closed periods only. Open periods change after export, and they may hold entries still under review. Scope to periods that are closed, and prefer complete fiscal years that include a year-end close, because year-end work shows the most judgment. Leave out any period under audit, restatement or dispute.
One clean entity first. If you run several entities, start with the one whose records are most complete and least entangled with related parties. Intercompany entries and transactions with owners or family businesses can reveal more than intended.
Amounts. Figures tied to named counterparties are both useful and sensitive. Decide whether amounts stay as recorded, are rounded, or are removed for certain counterparties, and write the rule down. Whatever you choose, the reasoning in memos and review notes is usually what gives the records their value.
Every line needs an answer in the de-identification plan.
Numbers without memos, reconciliations or review notes show what happened but not why. The reasons are the part buyers describe wanting.
Records that still change after export cause disputes at acceptance and may include entries nobody has reviewed.
Receipts and invoices hold more personal data per file than any ledger line. Exclude them or limit them to agreed types.
Many vendors are individuals. Their names, addresses and bank details are personal data.
Accounting firms' own process records and client books often sit side by side. Separate them before scoping.
Someone senior in finance and your lawyer should sign off on scope. Without an owner, exclusions get skipped under time pressure.
Only what each program publishes. Ranges cover whole data packages, not finance records alone.
| Program | Published payout | Published eligibility | Note for finance teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mode company data | "$100K-$5M" | 20+ full-time US office employees; accounting firms 10+; law firms 6+; several years of records the company owns | The only program here with a separate accounting-firm minimum |
| micro1 Enterprise Data Partnership | "$100k+ qualified" to "$1M+ highly unique"; referral page "$100K-$2M+ for approved data packages" | 30+ employees, documented processes, modern software tools, primarily English; US prioritized | Names documented processes and QA processes |
| Grepped | "$20K-$5M", "get paid in 7 days" | Any vertical; also pays individual professionals for expertise | Confirm scope and timing in your agreement |
Last checked: 7 October 2026. Sources: data.mode.inc; micro1.ai/data-partnerships and micro1.ai/company-referral; grepped.ai, each as published. Published ranges are not offers, averages or promises. Side-by-side detail: buyer programs compared.
Independent site. Some links are referral links: if your company signs with a buyer through them, the buyer may pay us a fee. You are not charged, and we never see your data.
Run your headcount, industry and country through the eligibility checker, then settle each point in writing.
Finance work is rule-bound, repeated every month and reviewed by a second person, so the records show how trained people apply rules and resolve exceptions. Buyer programs list QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and Paychex among the systems they take data from, and Mode publishes a lower minimum for accounting firms (10+) than its general 20+ full-time US office employees, as published.
That is the hardest case. Client books belong to clients, and firms owe them professional confidentiality under engagement letters, professional rules and, for tax work, tax-preparer disclosure rules. A firm's own process records (checklists, review notes, templates) are a different matter from client ledgers. Talk to your own lawyer before anything client-related goes into scope.
Treat payroll as excluded by default. Payroll registers hold Social Security numbers, bank accounts, salaries and benefit details of named employees. If a buyer wants payroll workflows, limit scope to process records such as calendars, checklists and approval steps, with no employee-level data.
Nobody can price yours without seeing it. Buyer programs publish ranges for whole data packages, for example Mode lists "$100K-$5M" and micro1 lists "$100K-$2M+ for approved data packages" on its referral page, as published. These are ranges, not offers or averages.
Mode publishes a 10+ employee minimum for accounting firms, as published on 7 October 2026. micro1 lists 30+ employees and Grepped lists any vertical. Use the eligibility checker to see how your headcount and country match each program's published rules.
Most sellers should not. Open periods change after export and may hold entries still under review. Scope to closed periods, ideally complete fiscal years that include a year-end close, and leave out any period under audit or restatement.
Treat them with caution. Expense reports show approval workflows, but they also show employees' travel, meals and sometimes medical or family costs. Many sellers include only the policy and the approval steps, without employee-level lines.
Audit requests and your responses show process, but they may be covered by confidentiality terms in your engagement with the audit firm, and they can describe open issues. Ask your lawyer before any audit correspondence goes into scope.