DataLedger Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1

What data does DataLedger provide?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger provides structured UK company financial data from Companies House electronic filings. Every company includes balance sheet data (assets, liabilities, equity) with current and previous year figures. We also include P&L data where companies are required to disclose it, pre-calculated financial ratios (debt-to-equity, debt-to-asset), growth indicators, employee counts, SIC codes, and company metadata. Coverage includes 3.7+ million active UK companies.

Question 2

How is DataLedger different from Companies House?

Accepted Answer

Companies House publishes raw filings that require manual processing. DataLedger transforms these filings into structured, analysis-ready data. We normalize balance sheets, calculate financial ratios, compute year-on-year growth rates, validate data quality, and provide everything in clean Excel/CSV files or via API. This saves hours of manual data cleaning and makes UK company data actually usable for business decisions.

Question 3

What are the three ways to access DataLedger?

Accepted Answer

1) Pre-built Datasets (£295): Industry-specific Excel files covering software, financial services, and professional services - instant download after purchase. Over 18,000 companies across three sectors. 2) Custom Datasets (from £295): Built to your exact specifications with any filtering criteria - delivered in 24-48 hours in Excel or CSV format. 3) API Access (from £10/month): Real-time programmatic access with credit-based pricing. Sign up free to get 25 credits with no card required.

Question 4

How up to date is the data?

Accepted Answer

Pre-built datasets contain current and previous year accounts data (12 months of accounts). API access provides real-time data as new Companies House filings are processed daily. Custom datasets are built from the most recent data available and can include monthly refresh subscriptions from £150/month.

Question 5

Do all UK companies have balance sheet data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every company in the DataLedger dataset includes balance sheet data because under UK law, all companies that file accounts must submit a balance sheet regardless of size. Balance sheets show assets, liabilities, equity, and financial structure - often more reliable indicators of financial position than revenue alone. This is why DataLedger focuses on balance sheet-led analysis.

Question 6

Do all companies have profit and loss data?

Accepted Answer

No. Most UK companies (micro-entities and small companies) do not publish turnover or profit figures - this is legal and normal under UK reporting rules. Only companies required to disclose P&L information include it in their filings. DataLedger includes P&L data where disclosed, but focuses on balance sheet-led analysis since that's consistently available across all companies and often more reliable for assessing financial health.

Question 7

Who uses DataLedger?

Accepted Answer

Sales and business development teams use DataLedger to qualify prospects by financial health and growth trajectory before investing time in outreach. Recruiters identify companies with expansion indicators (asset growth, increasing employee counts) to target firms likely hiring. Investors and private equity screen companies using balance sheet analysis without relying on turnover disclosure. Software developers embed UK company financial intelligence into products without building Companies House infrastructure. Analysts and researchers compare companies with consistent, structured data. Market research firms use it for comprehensive industry analysis and competitive intelligence.

Question 8

What makes a good custom dataset request?

Accepted Answer

Common effective custom requests include: companies in specific industries with revenue over certain thresholds, businesses showing year-on-year asset growth above a percentage, companies in particular geographic regions (postcode areas, local authorities) with specific employee counts, firms with particular debt-to-equity ratios indicating financial stability, or any combination of financial metrics, growth indicators, and business criteria. We can filter by any data point in our database including turnover (where disclosed), profitability, assets, equity, employee counts, incorporation dates, SIC codes, and geographic location.

Question 9

Is the data commercially reusable?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All paid plans include a licence for commercial reuse. Use the data in your business operations, share with your team, integrate into your internal tools, incorporate into your products, or resell as part of your services. No restrictions on commercial use. The data is derived from public Companies House records and structured by DataLedger for commercial applications.

Question 10

Can I integrate DataLedger with my CRM or workflow?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DataLedger is designed for smooth integration with CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive), onboarding tools, and business systems using our REST API. We provide JSON responses, comprehensive OpenAPI documentation, code examples, and integration support. Many customers use our API to enrich their existing company records automatically, build prospecting workflows, or create real-time company lookup features in their applications.

Question 11

How do credits work?

Accepted Answer

Credits are used for API calls to access company data programmatically. Sign up free to get 25 credits with no card required. One-time credit purchases never expire - use them whenever you need. Monthly subscription credits roll over if unused, so you never lose credits you've paid for. Most API endpoints cost 1-2 credits per request depending on the data depth. If you exceed your credit limit, API access stops until you upgrade or purchase additional credits. Rate limiting: 50,000 credits per hour across all plans.

Question 12

Why focus on balance sheet data instead of turnover?

Accepted Answer

Most UK SMEs (micro-entities and small companies) file abbreviated accounts that exclude turnover and profit figures - this is legal, normal, and affects the majority of UK companies. Balance sheets are the only financial data consistently available across all UK companies by law. They show total assets, current assets, fixed assets, liabilities, equity, leverage, and financial structure - often more reliable indicators of financial health, operational scale, and growth trajectory than revenue disclosure alone. DataLedger is designed for balance sheet-led analysis at scale, making it possible to assess UK companies that don't publish turnover.

Question 13

What file formats do you provide?

Accepted Answer

Pre-built datasets are provided in Excel (.xlsx) format for instant download after purchase. Custom datasets can be delivered in either Excel (.xlsx) or CSV format - your choice. API responses are in JSON format following RESTful design principles. All formats include the same comprehensive data: balance sheets, financial ratios, growth indicators, company metadata, and data quality flags.

Question 14

How many companies are in each pre-built dataset?

Accepted Answer

Software & IT Companies: Over 5,000 active companies with 10-200 employees. Financial Services Companies: Over 5,000 active companies with 3-200 employees. Professional Services Companies: Over 8,000 active companies with 10-200 employees. Total: Over 18,000 companies across all three pre-built datasets, each focused on specific industry sectors with relevant SIC code coverage.

Question 15

What industries are covered in the pre-built datasets?

Accepted Answer

Software & IT: Business software development, software consultancy, custom software development, data processing, web portals, and software publishing (SIC codes 62012, 62020, 62090, 63110, 63120, 58290). Financial Services: Banks, wealth management, insurance, pension funds, financial advisors, investment companies, and fintech (SIC codes 64110-66290). Professional Services: Solicitors, accountants, management consultants, architects, engineers, and advertising agencies (SIC codes 69101-73120).

Question 16

Can I get a sample of the data before purchasing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We provide free sample downloads for each pre-built dataset on our packages page at https://dataledger.uk/packages. Samples include representative companies with full data structure so you can see exactly what you're getting before purchase. For custom datasets, we can provide sample records matching your specifications before you commit to the full dataset purchase.

Question 17

What financial metrics are included?

Accepted Answer

Every dataset includes: Current and previous year balance sheet data (total assets, current assets, fixed assets, total liabilities, equity). Pre-calculated financial ratios (debt-to-equity ratio, debt-to-asset ratio for both current and previous year). Growth indicators (asset growth rate, net asset growth rate year-on-year). P&L data where disclosed (turnover, profit/loss). Company metadata (SIC codes, employee counts, registered address, postcode, incorporation date, filing status). Data quality flags showing which figures passed our balance sheet validation.

Question 18

How quickly can I get a custom dataset?

Accepted Answer

Custom datasets are typically delivered within 24-48 hours after you specify your requirements. We run direct database queries with your exact filtering criteria and deliver the results in Excel or CSV format. For particularly complex requests or very large datasets (100,000+ companies), delivery may take up to 72 hours. We'll provide a delivery estimate when you submit your request.

Question 19

Do you cover all UK companies?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger covers all active UK companies that submit accounts electronically to Companies House - approximately 3.7+ million companies. This includes most SMEs, growth companies, and digitally native businesses. We exclude dormant companies and paper filers (which are increasingly rare). Electronic filings provide structured data that can be reliably processed, while paper filings require manual transcription. Our coverage represents the vast majority of commercially active UK companies.

Question 20

What about data privacy and GDPR?

Accepted Answer

All DataLedger data is derived from public Companies House records which are legally published documents. Company financial information is public by law in the UK. We process this public data into structured formats. As this is corporate data about limited companies (not personal data about individuals), standard GDPR personal data protections do not apply. However, we take data security seriously and comply with all applicable UK data protection regulations. Our terms of service and privacy policy are available at https://dataledger.uk/terms and https://dataledger.uk/privacy.

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