For advisors
Helping clients close a business
You are outside the company, preparing the final return. A data license is a copy of operational records with personal details removed. It is not a workpaper. How an incoming payment is recorded is a question for the finance lead inside the company, not for the person who files the return.
Up to $150K · $0 cost · 3 days
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| The books | The client keeps ownership and full use of the data. Licensing a copy is not a reason to delete the books the final return needs. |
| Retention periods | Tax retention periods are the client's tax question. A data license does not set them and does not supply a year count. |
| Invoices | The company pays nothing to Vetrix. The engagement has no Vetrix invoice to code. |
| Signer | The client company signs. You may prepare the file. You are not the party on the license. |
| Inventory | A records inventory lists the systems. It is a list of tools, not a replacement for the books. |
What accountants are deciding
Clients ask whether a data license changes the final return. It does not change what you file, and it does not change who the taxpayer is. You can help the client name the systems they still use. If money arrives later, hand the agreement to the finance lead inside the company. A summary you wrote is not that agreement.
Your role as an accountant, and who signs
You may help the client list systems. That list is an inventory of tools, not a second general ledger. How long the tax file stays is the client's tax position, not a term you read off a license. Point the officer at the enquiry. The form uploads nothing. You stay on the return. The license, if the client signs one, is a different document.
The company signs an NDA and the licensing agreement directly with the data partner, not with Vetrix. We tell the company the data partner's name before anyone signs.
What to tell a client
Does this change what we file?
No. The return is the one you were already preparing. A license does not change the forms or the taxpayer.
Who records money the client receives?
The finance lead inside the company, with that company's auditor. You keep the final-return file. You do not write that entry from outside.
Should I put a licensed copy in the workpapers?
No. A licensed copy is not a workpaper. Leave it out of the file you keep for the return.
To list the client's systems, use the records inventory template. For the order of records work during a close, read what to do with company data when closing a business.
Checklist
| Check |
|---|
| Name the systems the client still uses, one line per system. |
| Hand any receipt question to the finance lead with the agreement. |
| Leave the tax file's retention on the calendar the client already follows. |
| Point the client's officer at the enquiry. The form uploads nothing. |
| Keep the engagement on the return. A license is a different document. |
When a different role fits
If you are the CFO inside the company, your checks are the auditor and the read-only link. You are outside the company, with the final return. The journal entry for any incoming payment is written inside the company, with the auditor.
For the company's side of this, read what to do with company data when closing a business.
If that is your job instead, read a CFO guide to winding down a company.
If you are the dissolution lawyer checking who can sign, read recovering value for clients in a company dissolution.
For the wider job, read how to wind down a company. Other roles are under company data licensing for advisors.
Read how company data licensing works for the steps. For the four license terms, read the company data license agreement, in plain English.
Related
- For advisors
Company data licensing for founders, finance leaders, investors, and advisors.
- Winding down
Order of operations to wind down a company, from approval through taxes and dissolution.
- CFOs
What a CFO should confirm about cost, payment, and the read-only check.
- Closing
What to do with company data while the company is closing, before tools are canceled.
- How it works
The six steps from a short enquiry to payment, and how to stop.
- License terms
The four license terms: what you give, keep, agree, and sign.
Questions about data licensing for accountants
Does a data license replace the file I need for the final return?
No. The client keeps ownership and full use of the data. Licensing a copy is not a reason to delete the books the final return needs. Keep the originals. A records inventory lists systems. It is not a general ledger and not a workpaper file. Do not archive the only copy of the books into a license and then delete the source. The license and the return are different files.
Where are the IRS retention periods explained?
The IRS retention periods are the client's tax question, answered from the returns already filed and from the position your client is in. A data license does not publish those periods, shorten them, or replace the originals you hold. How to wind down a company is the order of the close, from people through the state filing. It is not a retention table. Keep the books for the period the client's own filings require.
Will Vetrix invoice my client?
No. Vetrix does not invoice the client, and there is no payable to accrue on the engagement. If no agreement is signed, nobody pays anything. Money the client later receives, if any, is under the client's agreement with the data partner, in US dollars on those terms. The finance lead inside the company records that receipt. You do not set the entry from outside the company.
Do I sign anything with the data partner?
No. The client company signs. You may prepare a list of systems. You are not the party on the NDA or the license. Do not sign because you hold the books, and do not sign because you are the person who will file the final return. Point the client's officer at the enquiry. The form uploads nothing. Your signature on a tax return is a different document.
Sources
- Vetrix Labs. Vetrix Data Licensing.