Draw your company's filing cabinet before a buyer does.
Pick your systems. Add the years. Get a one-page map of what you hold and what is risky.
Takes about 3 minutes
Build your map
Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one. Ask for a referral
Made for owners, CFOs and exit planners who get asked, "So where does all this live?"
Your records, drawn
A few gaps to closeSample: a 75-person agency
- Chat
- CRM
- Tickets
- Contracts
- Docs
Email and chat carry most of your history, and both export in one pass.
- FindableMostly
- PullableMostly
- Safe to shareGaps
Fix first: safe to share. Find out who can say yes. The rights check takes about three minutes. Open the rights check
Size is relative and our guess: headcount, system type and years. Never a count, never a dollar figure.
The one-page inventory
| System | Years | Size | Export | Rights | Who is in it | Keyholder | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | XL | Easy | Ask first | Some staff or customer details | IT | None | |
| Chat (Slack, Teams) | 6 | L | Easy | Ask first | Some staff or customer details | IT | None |
| Support or ticketing | 4 | M | Locked | Ask first | Some staff or customer details | One person | Locked export, One person holds the keys |
| CRM | 5 | M | By hand | OK to use | Some staff or customer details | Operations | None |
| Docs and wiki | 3 | M | By hand | OK to use | Some staff or customer details | Nobody knows | Nobody knows the keys |
| Contracts | 7 | S | By hand | OK to use | Some staff or customer details | Operations | None |
Sizes are a relative guess from headcount, system type and years. They are never a count of messages and never a dollar figure.
This is a sample, and the builder below it needs JavaScript. Without it, grab the blank template.
What this means
- Every system you pick is a place a buyer may look first.
- Bubble size is a relative guess. Grey ones need a key or a yes first.
- We only see what you send.
What is a data map?
A data map is a one-page list of where your company keeps its records. For each place, like email or chat, it shows how far back the records go, how you get them out, who holds the keys and whose details are inside.
Most owners carry this list in their head, which works until someone asks. A buyer doing due diligence will ask. So will a lawyer sorting out who can say yes, and so will an AI lab that wants to license old records. A map gets you the answers before they ask.
Privacy teams call the same idea a data inventory. This version adds the columns an owner gets asked about first: years, export, rights and keyholder.
In plain words
A data map shows what you keep, where it sits and how old it is.
Think of it like this
It's a floor plan of the attic. You know the boxes are up there. The plan says which boxes, how old, and who has the ladder.
Pick your systems
Tap what you use.
Add the years
Drag a slider for each one.
Spot the locks
Grey ones need a key or a yes.
Questions people ask
What is a data map?
A data map is a list of where your company keeps its records, how old they are and who can get to them. Ours fits on one page you can print.
What is the difference between a data map and a data inventory?
Not much. Privacy teams say data inventory. We say data map because ours is a picture first and a table second. Ours adds what owners get asked about: years, export, rights and keyholder.
How do I make a data map for my business?
Pick the systems you use. Drag a slider for how many years each one goes back. Say whether you can export it and who holds the keys. The tool draws the map and the table as you go, in about three minutes.
Is there a data map template I can download?
Yes. The data map tool exports a CSV, a Markdown file and a Word file once your map is drawn. Blank CSV and Markdown versions sit at /tools/data-map-template.csv and /tools/data-map-template.md.
Does anything I type leave my browser?
No. Your answers stay on the page. Nothing is sent unless you fill in the form at the bottom and press send. The share link holds your answers and never your company name.
Will a buyer or a lawyer rely on a data map?
A buyer or a lawyer will run their own review rather than rely on a data map. The map still helps, because you can answer their questions fast and you already know where the gaps are.
