Shared drives and wikis hold a company’s know-how in written form: procedures, proposals, specifications, reports, templates and the internal knowledge base. Mode, Troveo and Mercor name document systems on their pages for companies, and micro1 asks for SOPs, policies and technical knowledge bases. Troveo also says it takes documents with their metadata, such as who wrote what and when.
What is in it, and what to leave out
Drives collect everything, so they need the most scoping:
- Client deliverables and client files, usually covered by confidentiality terms or owned by the client. See data licensing by industry.
- HR folders: personnel files, reviews, payroll exports, medical notes.
- Contracts with confidentiality clauses that cover the contract itself.
- Third-party material: purchased reports, licensed images, other companies’ documents.
- Board and legal folders, including advice from counsel.
Most companies license operating documents (procedures, project files, internal wikis) and leave the rest out. Buyers de-identify what you include: see privacy and de-identification.
How long each system keeps files after you cancel
| System | What the vendor says |
|---|---|
| Google Drive (Workspace) | After cancelling, users’ data is deleted and can’t be restored; download it first |
| SharePoint and OneDrive (Microsoft 365) | Follow the subscription stages; deleting the subscription explicitly removes SharePoint and OneDrive data at once, and a new subscription does not restore it |
| Dropbox | Deleted files can be restored for 30, 180 or 365 days depending on plan |
| Box | Deletes promptly after termination; limited access for up to 30 days on written request |
| Notion | May restore a deleted workspace within 30 days; you can export all workspace content |
| Confluence (Atlassian Cloud) | App deactivated 15 days after the period ends; data kept 60 days (paid) or 15 days (free) after that, then deleted |
The data retention clock turns these into dates from your cancellation day.
Before you apply
- List where documents live. Most companies have at least two systems: a drive and a wiki, plus files attached to email and chat.
- Do not delete accounts that own files. In Google Workspace, transfer a departing user’s Drive files before the account goes. See email, Slack and files when closing.
- Keep the folder structure. Buyers value context: which project a file belonged to and what it linked to.
What buyers say about documents and files
| Buyer | What its page names |
|---|---|
| Mode | Documents and files; Google Drive, Dropbox, Notion and Confluence among its sources (source) |
| Troveo | Documents in Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint and Dropbox, with metadata (source) |
| Mercor | Google Drive, Notion and Confluence among the tools it connects (source) |
| micro1 | SOPs, policies and technical knowledge bases (source) |
Questions people ask
Are finished documents or drafts more valuable?
Buyers look for how work was actually done, so drafts, comments, templates and the documents that tie to tickets and email often matter as much as final versions. Troveo says it takes documents with their metadata.
Can we license documents we wrote for clients?
Often not without the client's consent. Deliverables and client files are usually covered by confidentiality terms or belong to the client. Our industry pages explain the common cases.
Sources
- Mode: Get paid for your operational business data
- Troveo: License your business data
- Mercor: Your enterprise data can advance frontier AI
- micro1: Monetize your company's operational data
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Cancel Google Workspace
- Microsoft Learn: What if my subscription expires?
- Dropbox Help: Data retention policy
- Box: Regional terms
- Notion Help: Delete your account
- Atlassian: Cloud licensing
Other kinds of company data
Years of customer, vendor and internal threads. Export before you cancel Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: deleted mailboxes do not come back.
Team chat
Slack and Teams show how decisions were made. Free Slack plans delete history after a year, and only some plans export private channels.
Support tickets
Thousands of real problems and how your team solved them. They are full of customer details, so privacy promises decide what you can include.
CRM and sales records
Deals, accounts and the notes behind them. Valuable to AI buyers, and also to anyone buying your business, so decide which comes first.
Source code
Repositories, commits, pull requests and issues show how software is really built. Third-party code and client work need sorting out first.
Projects and tasks
Jira, Asana and Monday boards record who did what, when and why. Asana's export right after termination lasts only 30 days.
Meeting and call recordings
Recorded calls and transcripts capture decisions as they happen. Only two buyers name them, and consent to recording matters most here.