Company registers are a little bit like people. Unexpected lessons from expected APIs
Under the magnifying glass of Transparent Data, “extroversion and introversion” of company registers of Great Britain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Romania, Austria, and Lithuania
Quick background
From the very beginning of our company’s history, the ambitious dream of founders of Transparent Data has been an API that will allow creating a database of company register data “without borders”. A database that gathers information about companies from as many countries as possible, so that you can conveniently verify your business from one single API or web platform.
At that time, we did not know that every national register might be so different from the other one. Especially in EU countries, where the PSI Re-Use Directive has been adopted years ago (more about common standards of open data in EU HERE).
We assumed erroneously that we would get everything “here and now” (or at least approximately “here and now”, because it is obvious that everything requires a certain amount of work).
Different information sharing cultures, different formats, and ranges of shared company data …
When it came to API design and implementation, it quickly turned out that official national company registers are like people. Each is different. Each contains unique features. Each requires an individual approach. Of course, there are some common records — eg company name or legal form — but when we look at comparative tables of the database we have created, columns of some countries have several dozen lengths, and others only a dozen or so.
What’s more, just like people, some company registers have turned out to be extroverts, giving everything they have, and others introverts.
Today, we share with you some insights from building APIs that collect company data from public company registers of Great Britain, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Austria, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Poland.
What do you think, which national company register surprised us positively and which one negatively?
Expect the unexpected!
Company register: UK
Government institutions operating in the United Kingdom for many years rightly are set as an open data model, not only in Europe but also in the world. Therefore, we were not surprised that, when we started analyzing this national company register, all the information we needed was almost on a tray, elegantly wrapped and topped with a beautiful red ribbon.
The UK’s national business register, called Companies House, provides the data collected in an open manner using its well-prepared API, which is fully open to interested parties. All technical details are described clearly in the documentation, so the integration with this source is very simple and fast. In addition, the scope of the presented data goes beyond the standard information about the company, complementing them with information about persons who hold important directorship functions and who are actual beneficial owners.
But! The UK’s company register lacks data to which we, in Poland, are very used to have access to — so-called “profit and loss” in the financial statements of companies. Revenues and expenditures of registered companies play a great role in analyzing the real financial condition of a business and our customers miss it a lot when it comes to verifying firms from the United Kingdom.
Considering the whole registry quality of API with data on British enterprises, this is a detail. We still recognize that the world would be a much better place to live if every company register were similar to the UK one.
Company registers of Scandinavian countries: Finland, Denmark, and Norway vs. Sweden, which is very surprising
We were dealing with an unusually interesting situation in the case of implementing APIs that retrieve data from Scandinavian company registers.
Commonly the Nordic countries are associated as countries of “almost ideal people”. States not only extremely well-functioning and well-managed but also very transparent, open in their actions.
In the case of Finland, Denmark, and Norway, the image was reflected in reality. Official company registers of these countries open their doors wide, sharing data on companies operating in their area. The scale of available information on business entities is very large and the majority of interesting data can be obtained free of charge and fully technologically.
However, there is a shameful exception to this rule and it is Sweden. In the Swedish company register open to all, we find only a few, very basic parameters. They are definitely insufficient if we really want to verify a company registered in Sweden. In order to obtain a complete set of data, an appropriate fee must be paid for each of the entities checked.
There is also another possibility, which is the registration of an account. But do not think that this is the end of surprises. Only companies registered in Sweden can set up an account and they can do it — again — only after paying the appropriate fee.
It seems that in a time when transparency is the dominant trend, and universal access to economic information allows millions of companies on a global scale to manage their processes more effectively, the wider opening of the Swedish register is only a matter of time. Currently, however, it is not enough to be a fan of hockey, non-cash transactions and arrange your salon in Ikea to gain access to this company register. The matter is more mundane — you have to be just a Swede :(!
Unfortunately, we have encountered similar problems not only in the case of the Swedish business register.
Company register: Romania
The same situation as in Sweden takes place in Romania. Access to the commercial register of companies in Romania is public and open, but only for citizens and companies in this country. It makes international cooperation with this country seriously difficult. You can not obtain this information in any other way than to report to the local data provider.
Company register: Austria
Aggregating company register data by API from Austria is also impossible for a Polish company.
Why?
Well, access to the Austrian company register is legally licensed.
As a result, only a few companies selected by the Austrian government have access to it. These companies act as official distributors of information on business entities and make these data available at a statutory fee.
In other words, nothing is free and not for everyone in Austria. Business register data about companies in Austria is not open data at all.
Company register: Lithuania
Invisible walls that block full access to data in real time can take another form.
In the case of the Lithuanian company register, this is the inquiry limit.
Only 100 inquiries can be made daily in the original registry source. After using this limit, the search engine blocks and becomes unavailable. Theoretically, it is possible to register an account and get paid access, but in practice, it has little to do with the spirit of open data.
This limitation makes obtaining full information about all entities registered in Lithuania a complicated process. Unfortunately.
Company register: the Netherlands
Another country from which data collection is not one of the most enjoyable activities in the world is definitely the Netherlands.
In the Dutch company register you find literally a few basic information about the company, and obtaining the rest of the data is associated with the need to incur additional costs. So again, we get here a barrier in the form of data monetization, which — at least! — in the European Union should be free and open.
As if that was not enough, the search engine of this registry works in such a way that it limits the possibility of obtaining information about many companies in a single query. A maximum of 50 results can be aggregated.
To sum up, if tulips and windmills will always be positive to us, the Dutch register has hit us hard and some people in our Data & Services department do not buy Heineken anymore ;)
Fortunately, the number of positive examples — national company registers, which surprised us positively and not negatively — is definitely longer!
Company register: Russia
The distinction in the category “I was surprised by your openness” is undoubtedly gained by the Russian company register!
Not only that the API of the official trade register of Russia is well prepared and it is not characterized by any “hidden” limits, but it is also surprising the amount of detail of information.
Precise and extensive basic information, supplemented by a large amount of financial data in terms of possessed capital, allows creating a precise characterization of individual companies operating in Russia.
Although it may seem that the Russian company register will be less transparent than Swedish or Austrian, the facts speak quite differently!
Company registers of Polish neighbors: the Czech Republic and Slovakia
You can also announce the open data leaders our southern neighbors, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The registers of both countries provide a lot of basic information about the company, and with a more thorough analysis, you can also get to the registration data about the people managing the company and owners.
In addition, the official Czech commercial register provides information through a specially prepared API, which automatically makes it extremely easy to obtain.
But it is not everything. The complete financial information (annual balance sheet and financial statements) can be obtained without any problems for companies from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
What’s more, in the case of Slovakia, financial data are published as part of a separate service — in other words, as it will soon happen in Poland, as a positive consequence of the decision to submit financial statements in an electronic way made this year.
In our opinion, the Slovak public register of financial statements worked perfectly well and we hope that the website prepared by our Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs will work at least as well!
Company register: Slovenia
One of the representatives of the Balkan countries is also a very positive example. Slovenia, because that's what we're talking about, is a definite leader among the company registers of its region.
In the resources of the Slovenian company register, we find not only extensive basic information about the company but also data on persons holding important functions on the board, supervisory board, and ownership structure. The icing on the cake is undoubtedly the financial statements, in which you can find both the annual financial balance, as well as information on revenues and expenses.
Company register: Poland — “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”
Aggregating information from foreign national business registers, made us realize one more thing: we subconsciously compare each new company register with Polish registers, which we know perfectly well - KRS and CEiDG databases, supported by information from MSiG, GUS, URE, and KNF.
Many of you may be surprised, but in Poland, we have a really huge access to data about companies in comparison with many business registers from abroad!
Of course, it could be more deep, better prepared and without any kind of security that hinders the free API connection (as always, some cons must be;)), but we honestly think that in terms of the quality and quantity of available data, our Polish public records are among the good ones extroverts among official company registers. To get information from our national sources you do not need to register, make additional payments or meet a number of precise requirements such as "you must be a company registered in Poland".
This is not so obvious in many foreign registers.
About the author:
Wojtek Kretkowski | Project IT Manager
A sociologist by education, with over 7 years of experience as an expert in implementing various IT projects.
As a tireless researcher and insightful analyst, he creates solutions that he believes in. Others are not usually touched. On a daily basis, he runs not only between the office rooms, solving inter-departmental difficulties. He does it also after work, in the field, making hundreds of kilometers a year.
