Six ways to describe the material
| Collection | Concrete examples | Question to settle first |
|---|---|---|
| Operational histories | Service jobs, stock exceptions, maintenance work, completed support cases. | Do the request, decision, and result remain connected? |
| Project histories | Briefs, working versions, review comments, approvals, closeout. | Which project parties control each contribution? |
| Internal knowledge | Company-written manuals, decision guides, procedures, training notes. | Who wrote it, and which third-party sources are included? |
| Educational resources | Original lesson plans, exercises, instructor guides, recorded explanations. | Do contributor and participant permissions cover the proposed use? |
| Research and observations | Non-personal measurements, field observations, methods, documented revisions. | What grant, collaborator, publication, and license conditions apply? |
| Media archives | Organization-owned footage, images, audio, transcripts, and associated catalog records. | Who controls copyright, releases, music, and other embedded material? |
A record count needs a definition
One service job might contain ten status updates, four photographs, and two visits. A video might exist in multiple encodes with the same underlying footage. A report folder might include draft copies and a final version. Decide what you are counting before reporting a total, and keep file counts separate from completed histories, unique works, and hours of media.
Record format and context separately. A searchable document may be easier to inspect than a scan, but searchable text alone does not establish completeness or permission. A structured table may omit the explanation stored in attachments. Describe those relationships so a reviewer can understand what an export would preserve.
History should reflect usable coverage. If a company changed systems four years ago and kept only summary totals from before the change, describe both periods. Do not present the older summaries as equally complete job histories. You can mark the uncertain portion for later checking without delaying a description of the part you understand.
Choose the next preparation step
Build a description-only inventory
Write down scope, scale, systems, gaps, and responsibility without exporting source records.
Map rights and permissions
Separate possession, ownership, contractual restrictions, and approval authority.
Review the nonprofit path
Keep mission, grant terms, contributor permissions, and organizational approvals in the discussion.
How the estimator treats different collections
The estimator uses observed U.S. business-calculator outputs. A standalone media, research, educational, or knowledge collection receives a fixed business reference under the published methodology; the site does not price it from its file count, hours, or the organization’s workforce. Categories do not stack additional amounts.
Use the estimator for a disclosed planning reference and a conversation with Neil for the actual scope. Source-system access, a buyer introduction, and a licensing agreement each need their own later decision. No records are uploaded through this site.