SellTradeDataToAI

For an owner selling or closing a distributor

Selling a distribution business? Its trade records first

Updated

A distributor that imports holds a long run of entries, classifications and supplier invoices. Whether the company is trading, closing or being sold, those records can be dealt with on their own, once the keeping rules and the platforms' exit terms are clear.

Ask about my trade data

Three ways the records can go

A company that keeps trading can license its records and carry on. A company that is closing sells its records through its directors only until a winding-up petition is presented to the court or a liquidator is appointed: a sale after a petition is void if the court then winds the company up, unless the court orders otherwise, and once a liquidator is appointed the liquidator sells, as an administrator does in an administration; once the company is dissolved what it owned passes to the Crown. An adviser who works with distributors can introduce such companies to us for a share of the fee. The form asks where the company stands.

The originals must still be kept

US regulations require records to be kept for 5 years from the date of entry, and GOV.UK tells importers to keep records of goods declared to HMRC for four years. Neither rule is lifted by licensing copies of the records, so the originals stay where the law expects them.

Source: eCFR, 19 CFR 163.4

Get the data out before the contracts end

Avalara will return customer data if asked within 60 days of termination, and Oracle keeps content available only for a retrieval period before deleting it. Ask every platform for a full export before notice is given.

Source: Avalara, End User Terms

Check what is already public

Unless the company certified for confidential treatment, its US manifest names are already disclosed and resold by manifest vendors, so that part of its history is not private. Our page on whether import data is public sets out the rules.

Source: Is import data public?

Tell us about your trade records

8 of the 15 trade platforms we read already keep a use of customer data. Tell us which systems hold your entries and shipment files, and we will reply about your records.

The trade records

  • What kind of trade business holds the records?

  • A person reads each trade data enquiry, and it reaches a mailing list only if you tick the box
  • None of the platforms on our board sees your enquiry
  • We never ask for an entry, an invoice or a system login

See what your trade records could be licensed for

8 of the 15 trade platforms we read already keep a use of customer data. Tell us which systems hold your entries and shipment files, and we will reply about your records.

Ask about my trade data

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

  • What customs law says about import records: 10 provisions of US and UK customs law and guidance on the disclosure and keeping of import records, each quoted from the regulation, statute or authority's own page, read 28 October 2026.
  • Trade compliance software data terms: 8 of 15 trade compliance software vendors whose terms we read reserve the right to use their customers' data in aggregated or anonymised form, read 28 October 2026.
  • Who takes trade and shipment data, and how: 4 of 8 trade-data organisations whose own pages we read take data contributed by the businesses that hold it, each answer quoted, read 28 October 2026.
No.SourcePublished by
[1]Descartes, Master Termsdescartes.com
[2]Descartes, Legal and compliancedescartes.com
[3]E2open, Software License and Services Termse2open.com
[4]E2open, TMS Services Terms and Conditionse2open.com
[5]Avalara, End User Termslegal.avalara.com
[6]Flexport, Software and Visibility Terms and Conditionsflexport.com
[7]Flexport, Primary Termsflexport.com
[8]Flexport, Customs Brokerage and General Terms and Conditionsflexport.com
Ask about my trade data