Register Data Complexity

If you’ve worked with company data before, you know the struggle. You expect an API that returns data in JSON format in 200 milliseconds. Instead, you get the reality of public company registers worldwide:

• Infrastructure from the 90s or earlier
• Files instead of APIs: PDFs, XML dumps, or worse
• Frequent downtime: maintenance windows, random outages
• Inconsistent data models: every country defines “company” differently

This guide explains the complexity of the underlying data sources and how Topograph hides it so you can focus on your product.

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The “Wild West” of Register Data

There is no global standard for company data. Every jurisdiction operates independently, with its own rules, formats, and technical capabilities.

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1. Live vs. non-live sources

Not all registers are online databases that you can query in real-time. The Topograph solution: a single, uniform API regardless of the underlying source.

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2. The Speed Spectrum

Response times vary wildly depending on the source:

• Fast (1-5s): Modern registers with direct API access
• Slow (10s+): Registers that require website navigation, or have slow infrastructure
• Very slow (minutes to hours): Registers that deliver documents asynchronously

The Topograph solution: a single asynchronous endpoint with webhook delivery.

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3. Register Instability

Registers frequently experience temporary outages and disruptions:

• Scheduled Maintenance: Many public systems go offline for hours every night or weekend
• Unplanned Outages: Legacy systems crash under load
• Rate Limiting: Strict limits on how many queries you can make

The Topograph solution: advanced retry strategies. For verification data, we prefer to deliver data late (up to one hour of retries) rather than not deliver at all. For onboarding data, we prioritize speed over completeness and fail fast if the register is slow.

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4. Always evolving registers

Registers constantly change: website revamping, API update, change in authentication methods, modifications of data formats. With 50+ integrations across 25+ countries, breaking changes happen frequently and simultaneously. The Topograph solution: continuous monitoring and agile development processes. We detect breaking changes early and rapidly adapt our integrations, aiming to resolve issues within 24 business hours of detection.

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5. Barriers to Data Access

Many registers have procedural barriers:

• Business verification: some countries only allow registered businesses to access data
• Signed contracts: some registers require bilateral agreements
• Physical presence: a few national registers require a local legal entity to access
• Manual approval: access requests may take weeks or months to be granted

The Topograph solution: we build relationships and agreements everywhere possible.

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6. The PDF Problem

In many countries, the data you need is locked inside PDF documents:

• Financials: annual accounts are often scanned images
• Shareholders: listed only in meeting minutes or notary deeds
• Statutes: legal documents describing the company structure

The Topograph solution: structured JSON extracted from documents.

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7. Cost Variability

Government pricing for public company data varies wildly:

• Free: UK, France, and several others
• Moderate (less than €5): Italy, Netherlands, and many European countries
• Expensive (variable, can exceed €50): Some Spanish documents, Switerland, Portugal

Some registers also require annual subscriptions, upfront deposits (often thousands of euros), or restrict access to registered businesses. The Topograph solution: Simple, per-data-point pricing with no hidden fees.

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Summary

We handle the complexity of public registers in Europe so you can focus on your product.