Free to your firm
Your firm’s old files could be valuable. Find out if you qualify, free.
A free, no-pressure look. Paid by the data buyer, never by your firm.
- Paid by the buyer, only if accepted
- Not affiliated with any buyer
Read the transcript
Your firm’s old files may be more valuable than you think. Years of engagement records, templates, and procedures are sitting in storage. Some of that material could have a second purpose.
AI developers need real-world business records to build better tools. Some buyers license a copy of a firm’s older operational records. You always keep your own files.
You can find out in minutes whether your firm fits, using our free fit check. It costs your firm nothing. Every business goes through the buyer’s own review, and acceptance is never guaranteed.
We’re Thomas & Finch. We introduce established accounting firms and other qualifying businesses to AI data buyers. Find out if you qualify, free.
A note from us
Before you read on
Hello, we’re Thomas & Finch. We started this service to introduce established accounting firms and other qualifying businesses to AI data buyers.
Many firms have years of procedures, templates and know-how sitting in shared drives and inboxes. AI data buyers look for material like that, and we wanted firm owners to have a clear, unhurried way to find out whether their firm might qualify.
A free, no-pressure look, with no obligation to go any further.
Looking costs your firm nothing. If a buyer accepts your firm, the buyer pays us, never you. We are independent of the buyers, and what to share, or whether to share anything at all, stays with you.
Questions are welcome at hello@thomasandfinch.com.
The free review
What a free review covers
A short, friendly conversation about your firm. These are the six things we go through.
What data licensing is, in plain words
A business lets an AI data buyer license a copy of some of its older records. The firm keeps its originals. We explain how that works without jargon.
Whether your firm meets the usual criteria
Buyers set their own criteria, such as firm size, location and the language of the records. We check where your firm stands today, and tell you if the criteria have changed.
Which records may be relevant
We talk through the kinds of material your firm keeps, such as procedures, templates and internal documents, and what you would or would not want to include.
What the privacy steps are
How buyers say personal and sensitive information is removed, and what stays in your hands throughout.
What the application involves
What the buyer asks for, who at your firm would complete it, and what it would ask of your team.
What happens next, with no pressure
You decide whether to apply. If you would rather not, that is a perfectly good answer and we leave it there.
Records
Records that may matter
The material below may include what buyers look for. Your firm decides what is in scope. Anything that is client-confidential is your firm’s call, and buyers say personal information is removed before their team works with the material.
Before you decide, check your engagement terms with your own advisor.
Client correspondence and email
Emails and letters with clients, which may include material with names and details removed before a buyer sees it.
Engagement letters, templates and procedures
The templates and standard wording your firm reuses, and how your team applies them.
Workpaper and review checklists
Checklists and review notes that show how work is prepared and checked.
SOPs and internal knowledge base
Written procedures, how-to guides and an internal wiki, if you keep one.
Month-end close and reconciliation procedures
The process, steps and controls, not the confidential detail of any one client.
Tax-season workflows and planning notes
How your firm organises its busy periods, and the planning notes behind that.
Helpdesk and support histories
Questions from clients or staff, and the answers your team gave.
Project and engagement management records
Task lists, timelines and status notes from how engagements are run.
Training and onboarding material
Guides, slide decks and checklists used to bring new staff up to speed.
Don’t see your system? Ask us.
Privacy
How privacy works
Buyers say personal and sensitive information is removed before their team works with the material. Here is the idea, shown with made-up text.
Illustrative example
Hi Dana, thanks for sending the 2023 figures for Riverside Bakery. Please call me on 555-0142 or write to dana@riverside-bakery.test. Invoice 48213 is attached.
Hi [CLIENT CONTACT], thanks for sending the [YEAR] figures for [CLIENT]. Please call me on [PHONE] or write to [EMAIL]. [INVOICE NUMBER] is attached.
An illustration only. It is not a real client, and the details of any removal process are the buyer’s own.
What buyers see first
Material with names, email addresses, phone numbers and similar details replaced, according to the buyer’s own process. Every business also goes through the buyer’s own review.
What stays yours
Your original files never leave your systems. A buyer licenses a copy, and only of what your firm has approved.
What is never included
Passwords, payment details, and anything your firm marks as off-limits.
How it works
How it works in five steps
Step 1: Quick fit check
Answer a few questions on this page. It takes a few minutes and shows whether a free review looks worthwhile.
Step 2: Free review call
We talk through your records, the usual criteria and the privacy steps. No cost and no pressure.
Step 3: Apply through the buyer’s own link
If you decide to go ahead, we send you the buyer’s application link after our call. You complete the application yourself.
Step 4: The buyer’s review and any offer
Every business goes through the buyer’s own review. Acceptance is not guaranteed.
Step 5: If a deal proceeds
Scope and payment are set out in the buyer’s agreement with your firm.
Your control
What you keep and what you approve
The short version: you stay in charge from the first conversation to the last.
Your originals stay yours
Your files stay in your own systems. A buyer licenses a copy.
Nothing is shared without your approval
Material goes to a buyer only with your approval and under the buyer’s agreement.
Scope and permitted uses are written down
The agreement sets out what is included and what the buyer may do with it. Read it closely and show it to your own advisor.
Applying does not guarantee a deal
Listing or applying does not mean acceptance, and acceptance does not mean an agreement will follow.
Fit
Is your firm a good fit?
A rough guide only. Criteria vary by buyer and can change.
About 15+ employees
Buyers set their own size guidelines, and these can change.
Based in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia
Buyers may focus on particular countries.
Records mostly in English
Most buyers look for English-language material.
Several years of retained history
Older files are often the most useful.
Internal procedures and documents
Written procedures, templates and checklists.
Authority to license
An owner or partner who can decide on the firm’s behalf.
Willingness to review scope
You decide what is in and what is out.
As a guideline, buyers look for about 15+ employees at accounting firms. Law, medical and finance firms may also qualify under some buyers’ rules, with their own size thresholds. Not meeting every point does not automatically rule you out, and meeting them all does not guarantee acceptance.
About us
An independent referral service
Thomas & Finch introduces established accounting firms and other qualifying businesses to AI data buyers.
Free to your firm
The fit check and the review call cost your firm nothing.
Paid by the buyer, only if accepted
If a buyer accepts a firm, the buyer pays us. Your firm never does.
Not affiliated with any buyer
We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any data buyer, and we do not speak for them.
Fit check
Check your firm’s fit
Answer a few questions. No email needed to see your result.
Your result
Your result appears here
Change any answer on the left and the result updates straight away. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to request a review.
- Size
- Location
- Language
- Records readiness
This is a quick check, not an offer or a valuation. Every business goes through the buyer’s own review, and acceptance is never guaranteed.
Request your free review
If a conversation looks worthwhile, send a few details. We reply by email personally. It is free for your firm, and nothing is shared with a data buyer unless you ask us to.
Prefer email? Write to hello@thomasandfinch.com.
Thanks, we’ll reply by email personally.
We will look at what you sent and write to you from hello@thomasandfinch.com. If you do not hear from us within a few working days, please check your spam folder or write to us directly.
— Thomas & Finch
Let’s do this by email instead
The form could not send just now. That is on our side, not yours. The button below opens an email to us with your answers already filled in, so you only need to press send.
If the button does nothing, write to hello@thomasandfinch.comand mention your firm name and roughly how many people work there.
Questions
Questions, answered plainly
Is it really free?
Yes. The fit check and the review call cost your firm nothing. If a buyer accepts your firm, the buyer pays us. Your firm never pays us.
How do you get paid?
By the data buyer, and only if your firm is accepted. We are not paid by your firm, and if your firm is not accepted we are not paid.
What data do buyers want?
It differs by buyer. Broadly, they look for established firms with years of internal records, such as procedures, templates, checklists, internal documents, communications and support histories. See “Records that may matter” above, or read how AI training data collection works. The buyer decides what it wants.
Do I lose my files?
No. Your originals stay with you. A buyer licenses a copy of the material your firm approves.
What about client confidentiality?
It is a serious question and it is your firm’s call. Buyers say personal and sensitive information is removed, and your firm decides what is in scope. Our guide explains how records are anonymized and reviewed. Whether sharing any material is permitted depends on your engagement terms, the law where you work and your professional body’s rules. We cannot advise on that, so please check with your own advisor before you apply.
How much could it be worth?
That depends entirely on the buyer’s review of your records, and we will not guess a figure. Be cautious of anyone who promises one before a review.
Is acceptance guaranteed?
No. Every business goes through the buyer’s own review, and a buyer may decline. Applying does not guarantee a deal.
What if we are not a fit?
We will tell you plainly, at no cost. Criteria vary by buyer and can change, so it may be worth asking again later.
Who sees my data, and when?
Thomas & Finch does not receive, and does not ask for, your firm’s files. Only your firm decides what goes to a buyer. After you apply, the buyer’s team reviews what you submit under the buyer’s own process and agreement. The answers you give on this site come to us by email, as described in the privacy policy.
Can I pull out?
Yes, at any point before you sign a buyer’s agreement. You can decline to apply, or stop. What happens after signing is governed by the agreement, so read it closely and show it to your own advisor first.
How long does it take?
It varies with the buyer, your records and how quickly each step is completed. Buyers do not guarantee a timeframe, and neither do we.
Do I need IT help?
Not for the fit check or the call. If you apply, it can help to have someone who knows where your records are kept. We will tell you what the application asks for before you start.
Could buyers use it to compete with us?
Scope and permitted uses are set out in the buyer’s agreement. Ask the buyer directly, and check with your own advisor before you sign. We cannot advise on this, and we will not tell you there is no risk.
Is this allowed for my firm?
We cannot advise on that. Please speak with your own advisor, and check the rules of your professional body.
What counts as a full-time employee?
Buyers define it themselves, so there is no single rule we can give you. Count your regular full-time team, and tell us about part-time staff and contractors when we talk. We will check the buyer’s current wording with you.
Do I have to apply after the call?
No. The review is a free look, and you decide what to do afterwards, including nothing.
Who is behind Thomas & Finch?
Thomas & Finch is an independent referral service that introduces established accounting firms and other qualifying businesses to AI data buyers. You can write to us at hello@thomasandfinch.com.
Guides
Read more before you decide
Plain-spoken guides on why AI developers look for real-world business data, how training data is collected and how records are anonymized.
Why AI developers need real-world business data, and what it means for accounting firms
AI tools learn from examples. This plain-spoken explainer covers why developers look beyond the public web for real-world business records, and why that makes established accounting firms interesting.
How AI training data collection works, and what licensing old operational records involves
From where AI developers source training data to the steps a firm goes through when it licenses a copy of older records, here is how collection works and what buyers tend to look for.
How records are anonymized and reviewed before AI use, and what to ask before you share any
Removing a name is not always enough. Here is how anonymization and review of business records works, where it can fall short, and what an accounting firm should ask before sharing anything.
Find out where your firm stands
It costs nothing to look.