Data licensing guide
Data licensing guide

How to prepare a data inventory before you apply

By Ade Molajo · Updated · How we check figures

Quick answer

A data inventory is one row per system: what it holds, how many years of history, who owns the content, whether it contains personal or client data, whether you can export it, and who can sign off sharing it. It's what programmes ask for when you apply (micro1 calls it a data manifest), and it's the fastest way to see what's worth licensing.

1 row
per system
6
columns to fill
Data manifest
what micro1 asks for
Days
saved later in the process

01The worksheet

A data inventory lists, for each system: what it holds, years of history, who owns the content, whether it holds personal or client data, and whether you can export it.Data inventory: one row per systemSystem name and what it holdsYears of history, and from whenWho owns the content (us, clients, vendors)Personal data in it? Client data under contract?Can we export it, and in what format?Who internally can sign off sharing it?TrackImpact · trackimpact.io/data-licensing
Fill one row per system. It is also what programmes ask for when you apply.

02Where to look

  • Documents and knowledge: SharePoint, Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, Dropbox.
  • Work records: Jira, Asana, Monday.com, Zendesk, ServiceNow, practice-management systems.
  • Communication: email, Slack or Teams, call recordings.
  • Customer and sales: Salesforce, HubSpot and other CRMs.
  • Finance and operations: accounting, ERP and billing systems.
  • Technical: code repositories, CAD and design files.

03What the inventory tells you

The inventory shows what's worth most. Programmes pay more for longer history, complete and linked records, more systems in scope, and clear rights.

Five things that move what a company is offered: years of history, completeness of each matter or project, records that link together, how many systems are in scope, and proof of the right to license.01YearsLongerhistory02CompleteWholematters,projects03LinkedrecordsTicket tocode to doc04SystemsMore in scope05Right tolicenseProof you can
From what the programmes say drives price, including Mercor’s per-type listings. None publishes a formula.

04Tips

  • Note the start date of each system's history, not just its age. A migration may have dropped older records.
  • Flag client and personal data early, so you know what needs agreement or removal. See who owns the data?
  • Check export options before you need them; some tools limit exports by plan.

05Check whether you're likely to match

Our free fit check asks about your size, location, records and tools, then shows which programmes you're likely to match. The programme decides.

06Questions people ask

What is a data manifest?

micro1's term for the list of systems and history you submit when you apply. A data inventory gives you everything it needs.

Which systems should we include?

Every system that records how work gets done: documents and wikis, tickets and projects, email and chat, CRM, finance and operations, code.

Sources

Check which programmes you’re likely to matchA few short questions, about a minute. Free, no sign-up. The programme decides who qualifies.trackimpact.io/data →