Selling data
How to sell financial and accounting records for AI training
By Gareth HoyleLast updated 5 minute readHow we research
In short
You can license your own financial and accounting records to AI companies, and Polyshares, SellMyData, Grepped and Labelbox Prism all name accounting, ERP or QuickBooks data or financial modeling among what they buy. No buyer prices a ledger on its own. Keep the originals for IRS retention periods, remove payroll and bank details, and if you are a CPA firm, client records need specific consent.
Key takeaways
- Polyshares lists accounting and ERP exports, SellMyData and Grepped name QuickBooks, and Labelbox Prism lists financial modeling and financial reasoning traces.
- No buyer publishes a price for a company's own ledger. Mercor's listing for accounting firms holding client records is $25,000 to $865,000, as reported by ddiy.co.
- Licensing a copy does not end your duty to keep the originals, which the IRS says runs 3 years by default and longer in several cases.
- Payroll records, bank and card details, and tax returns prepared for others should come out.
- CPA firms need clients' specific consent under the AICPA Confidential Client Information Rule, and redaction does not change that, per the Journal of Accountancy.
Finance records show professional reasoning applied to real numbers: reconciliations, month-end close checklists, variance commentary, budgets and the models behind them. Labelbox Prism lists financial reasoning traces among the categories with buyer interest, and Handshake AI gives financial models and underwriting workflows as examples of what it buys.
Who buys financial and accounting records?
Financial and accounting records are bought by direct buyers, brokers and training-data companies, usually as part of a company's wider operational record.
| Buyer | What it lists | Published terms |
|---|---|---|
| Polyshares | Accounting and ERP exports in the operational record | Typical deals $100,000 to $2 million and above, no seller fee |
| SellMyData | Records from Salesforce, HubSpot and QuickBooks | No minimum headcount, commission when a sale closes |
| Grepped | Salesforce and QuickBooks exports, as reported by Dealroom | Terms not verified on its own site |
| Labelbox Prism | Financial modeling work documents and financial reasoning traces | From around $50,000 to more than $1 million |
| Handshake AI | Financial models, process documentation and underwriting workflows | Headline of $100,000 to more than $4 million |
| micro1 | Finance SOPs among operational records | $100,000 to $500,000 for a qualified partnership |
Our profiles of Labelbox Prism and SellMyData set out exclusivity and fee terms, which vary more than the headline figures.
How much are financial records worth?
Financial records have no published price from any buyer when sold on their own. The figures available are company-wide payouts, plus one listing for firms that keep books for clients.
- micro1: $100,000 to $500,000 for a qualified enterprise partnership across operational records, rising to $3 million and above
- Handshake AI: a headline of $100,000 to more than $4 million, with two calculator estimates on the same page that it does not explain
- Mercor: $25,000 to $865,000 for accounting and tax firms' tax returns, workpapers and bookkeeping records, for firms of 5 to 200 employees, as reported by ddiy.co in October 2026
The Mercor range applies to firms holding client records, which carry the professional rules covered below. Our page for accounting and tax firms covers that sector in detail.
What makes financial records more valuable?
Financial records are more valuable when transactions link to their source documents and the reviews that checked them.
| Factor | Worth more | Worth less |
|---|---|---|
| Source documents | Entries linked to invoices, purchase orders and receipts | Ledger lines with no support |
| Review | Reconciliations with reviewer notes and corrections | Final balances only |
| Commentary | Variance explanations and month-end close notes | Numbers with no narrative |
| Models | Budgets and forecasts with assumptions and versions | One final spreadsheet |
| History | Several years with a stable chart of accounts | One year, or unmapped account changes |
Do record retention rules affect a sale?
Record retention rules affect a sale because licensing a copy does not end your duty to keep the originals. The IRS publishes how long businesses should keep records.
| Situation | Keep records for |
|---|---|
| Default period | 3 years |
| Unreported income of more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return | 6 years |
| Claim for a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction | 7 years |
| No return filed, or a fraudulent return | Indefinitely |
| Employment tax records | At least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later |
Work on a copy. De-identification, exclusions and file clean-up should never touch the originals, and a license clause requiring the buyer to delete its copies has no effect on what you must keep. Record what you licensed and when, so you can answer an auditor's questions later.
What must you remove from financial records?
You must remove records that identify people or carry another party's confidential terms, and any data a specific rule protects.
| Record | Why it is a problem | Usual approach |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll, benefits and Social Security numbers | Employees' sensitive personal information | Exclude |
| Bank account and card numbers | PCI DSS bars storing sensitive authentication data after authorization | Remove |
| Customer and vendor names and prices | Confidentiality clauses and NDAs | Pseudonymize names, band prices |
| Tax returns prepared for others | IRC Section 7216 restricts preparers' disclosure | Exclude unless consent and advice are in place |
| Customer data at a financial institution | GLBA notice and opt-out duties, per the FTC | Exclude |
| Board packs and current forecasts | Commercially sensitive | Exclude recent periods |
What if you are an accounting firm holding client records?
If you are an accounting firm holding client records, the professional rules are stricter than general privacy law. Writing in the Journal of Accountancy on November 2, 2026, the AICPA Professional Ethics Division's Kelly D. Mullins says the Confidential Client Information Rule generally bars disclosure "without the client's specific consent", and that AI training is not an exception.
The same article says removing names does not change the confidential nature of client information, and that consent should explain the information involved, the recipient and the training purpose, preferably in writing. It warns that Sec. 7216 "can impose criminal consequences for knowing or reckless unauthorized disclosure or use of tax return information", and the IRS Section 7216 information center sets out the consent rules.
How do you export and package financial records?
You export financial records from your accounting system or ERP as structured tables, then link the supporting documents by ID.
- General ledger detail and trial balances by period, in CSV or XLSX
- Journal entries with descriptions, preparer and approver roles pseudonymized
- Accounts payable and receivable subledgers with consistent vendor and customer IDs
- The chart of accounts, with a mapping for any changes over the years
- Close checklists, reconciliations and variance commentary as documents
- Invoices and receipts with personal and bank details redacted in the image
State the periods, entities, currencies and record counts in your data manifest, and our vetting standard checks that the manifest matches what is delivered.
If you hold UK or EU data
GOV.UK says UK limited companies must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and that HMRC can fine a company £3,000 or a director can be disqualified for not keeping them. Section 388 of the Companies Act 2006 sets 3 years for private companies and 6 years for public companies. UK accountants also follow the ICAEW Code of Ethics.
How do you start selling financial records?
You start by listing your finance systems, entities and years, and separating your own company's books from any records you hold for clients. Your own books are usually the simpler place to begin.
We are a broker, not a law firm, so take independent tax and legal advice before signing. Get a free data valuation to see likely buyers and a realistic range for your finance records.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my company's QuickBooks data?
Does licensing accounting records change how long I must keep them?
Can a CPA firm license anonymized client books?
Are financial models worth more than ledgers?
Sources
- Polyshares homepage, Polyshares, accessed November 2026
- SellMyData homepage and FAQ, SellMyData, accessed November 2026
- Grepped dangles $9m VP role as AI data licensing boom heats up, Dealroom, accessed November 2026
- Prism, Labelbox, accessed November 2026
- Data partnerships, Handshake, accessed November 2026
- Data partnerships, micro1, accessed November 2026
- How to sell company data to AI companies (2026 guide), ddiy.co, accessed November 2026
- How long should I keep records?, Internal Revenue Service, accessed November 2026
- Why is storage of sensitive authentication data after authorization not permitted?, PCI Security Standards Council, accessed November 2026
- Section 7216 information center, Internal Revenue Service, accessed November 2026
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Federal Trade Commission, accessed November 2026
- Asked to sell firm data for AI training? Be very cautious, Journal of Accountancy (AICPA), accessed November 2026
- Running a limited company: company and accounting records, GOV.UK, accessed November 2026
- Companies Act 2006, section 388: where and for how long records to be kept, legislation.gov.uk, accessed November 2026