Finding information
We know where to look, and we'll show you where we found it.
What your business needs to know (the businesses in an area, what's publicly known about a company, what a competitor has changed), found and compiled for you.
Tell us what you need to knowImagery: NASA Earth Observatory · Planet and Auckland Council via LINZ, CC BY 4.0, modified
The answer is usually spread across company websites, reviews, the news and your own inbox. Finding it and putting it in order is the work.
Illustration · Sample entries
The builders, clinics or cafés in an area, found and compiled into one list: who they are, what they do and where they are.
| Business | What they do | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Builder A | Renovations, office fit-outs | North | Their website |
| Builder B | New homes | Central | Business directory |
| Builder C | Repairs and maintenance | East | Reviews |
| Builder D | Decks and fences | West | Their website |
Every line with the place it came from
What's publicly known about a company before you sign with them, on one page, each point linked to where it came from.
Their websites and prices, checked every week. You get a short note of what changed.
Years of quotes, emails and job files read and put into one table. Ask what you charged for jobs like this, and which ones lost money, and the answer comes with the files it came from.
| Job | Charged | Made or lost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathroom refit, 2024 | 18,400.00 | made 3,120.00 | Quote 1182 |
| Bathroom refit, 2023 | 16,900.00 | lost 1,250.00 | Job file |
| Ensuite, 2022 | 11,350.00 | made 1,840.00 | Your inbox |
Lost money · for you to look at
New rules from government and your industry body, read as they come out and matched to the contracts or clients they touch. Where your clients need telling, the email is drafted for your approval.
| New rule | Touches | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Change to building consent paperwork | 3 contracts, 3 clients | Industry body |
| New guidance on site signage | No one | The news |
Email to the 3 clients drafted, waiting for your yes Send?
A list, a table or a short report, built to be used. Every line says where it came from, so you can check it yourself.
Once
One question answered, or one list compiled.
On a schedule
Kept up to date, with a note only when something changes.
Example
A real jobClient anonymised
By hand
every listing, directory and company record within 5 km, one business at a time.
What came back
a report on about 12,000 businesses: what each does, where it is and who owns it.
Opening somewhere new, or sizing up an area? The same works for any area and any kind of business.
The name for it
We call this information sourcing and data compiling.
Tell us the question, even if you're not sure it can be answered.
Tell us what you need to knowImagery: NASA Earth Observatory
