New companies as leads: how to use PRH open data and YTJ

How many new businesses are being started

According to Statistics Finland, 10,781 businesses started operations in the second quarter of 2026, 12.9% fewer than a year earlier. In the same quarter, 12,013 ceased operations. New customers are thus constantly emerging, but customers also disappear, so the sales pipeline must be renewed continuously.

In 2024 Finland had a total of 480 233 businesses, excluding agriculture, forestry and fishing. Of these, 96,0 % were micro-enterprises, so a typical new customer is a small business where the owner makes the decision personally.

What you can get from PRH's open data

PRH offers free interfaces to three datasets. The data is updated once a day and is in JSON format. The data is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, so the original source must be credited. A service built on the data may not use the PRH or YTJ logo or appear to be a PRH service.

YTJ data: basic details of companies entered in the trade register and pending companies, such as name, Business ID, company form, line of business, address, registration date and the Finnish Tax Administration's register entries
Registered notices: trade register changes from 7.11.2014 onwards, for example changes of board or managing director
Digital financial statements: income statement and balance sheet from the financial statements that have been filed in iXBRL format

What is missing from the data

Open data covers only companies entered in the trade register and those pending registration. It does not provide information on sole traders (private business owners), and company email addresses or phone numbers are not included. The share of digital financial statements is small, and other financial statements are available for a fee from the PRH Virre service.

Missing contact details are a good reminder of the direct marketing rules. Marketing may be sent to a company's general email address without consent, but electronic marketing to a sole trader generally requires consent. A phone call or a letter is often the most effective first contact.

How to build a weekly lead list

Through the YTJ interface you can search for companies by, among other things, name, municipality of registration, line of business and registration date. When you search weekly for companies registered in the previous week in your own line of business and area, you get a steady stream of fresh contacts. Information on an individual company can also be checked free of charge in a browser through the YTJ company search.

The registered notices interface brings a second signal: a change of managing director or board often means new decisions and procurements. In construction it is also worth following Statistics Finland's building permit statistics. Between August 2025 and July 2026, permits were granted for 36 million cubic metres, 16 % more than a year earlier.

Keep in the list only the information you need for contacting, and mark on each row when and from where the information was obtained. When a lead becomes a customer or prohibits contact, update the information immediately so that the same company does not receive repeated messages from different salespeople.

Public procurement as a second source of leads

In addition to new companies, the public sector is a large buyer: public procurement in Finland amounts to about €38 billion a year. Procurements exceeding the national threshold, €60,000 excluding VAT for goods and services, are published in Hilma (hankintailmoitukset.fi).

You can set up a free search alert in Hilma using CPV codes, region and keywords. Since the start of 2024, contracting authorities have been able to announce their procurement plans as prior information up to a couple of years before the tender, so suppliers can prepare in good time and take part in market dialogue.

Check the lead before the bid

A new company has no payment history yet, so a background check is especially important in credit sales. The basic information in YTJ shows whether the company is in the prepayment, employer and VAT registers. The additional information shows an entry in the tax debt register, which arises from a tax debt of at least €10,000.

The number of bankruptcies remains high: in August 2026, 296 bankruptcies were initiated, and 4,021 over 12 months in total. Where necessary, use advance payment or a short payment term for new customers. You can find ready-compiled sales signals from various sources in Leads Radar.

Frequently asked questions

Is PRH's open data free of charge?

Yes. The interfaces are free of charge and the data is under the CC BY 4.0 licence, so the source must be credited.

Can you get companies' phone numbers from PRH data?

No. Open data does not contain email addresses or phone numbers, and it has no information on sole traders (toiminimi).

How do I check whether a company has tax debt?

Look up the company in YTJ's company search and open the further details. An entry in the tax debt register arises from a tax debt of at least 10 000 euros.

How many new businesses start in Finland?

According to Statistics Finland, 10,781 businesses started operations in the second quarter of 2026, 12.9% fewer than a year earlier.

Leads Radar brings together the topic's figures, deadlines and services. Open Leads Radar →

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Sources

The article is general information and does not replace the guidance of an authority, a lawyer or an adviser. Check up-to-date information from the sources.

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