Conductor has grown every month for a year at $49 a file, a price it has not changed since 2023
One founder, one legacy accounting program, one price. Stripe-verified revenue doubled in eleven months, and the visible change in that time was a blog.
Product at a glance
Summary
What this business is
Conductor is an API for QuickBooks Desktop, the Windows accounting program that many small and mid-sized businesses still run. QuickBooks Desktop can only be reached through old interfaces, so software companies that need its data pay Conductor to handle that part. It is built by one founder, Danny Nemer, in San Francisco, and has been on the market since 2022. The price is $49 per company file per month and has not moved since at least December 2023. Revenue has risen every month for the past year. The business has been listed for sale since March 2026.
Why these scores? See the reasons in Key takeaways →
Momentum
Rising. Revenue: last three complete months +27% on the three before; +61% on the same months half a year earlier.Derived
Best suited for
Builder (main). The product is the hard technical part: making an old desktop interface behave like a modern API.
Marketer (second). The growth year lines up with a run of search articles, one per use case.
What you need to start. The patience to learn a legacy system in depth, and customers who are developers. No audience was needed: the founder had 649 followers on X a year ago.Our read
Key findings
Product overview
A modern front door for a program that never got one.
QuickBooks Desktop runs on a Windows machine in the customer’s office. To get data in or out, a developer has to work through the QuickBooks Web Connector and an XML format called qbXML. Conductor’s documentation calls the technology “criminally outdated” and promises to make it feel like a modern payments API[7]. A developer installs one SDK, the end customer runs a short setup on their own machine, and after that every call reads or writes live QuickBooks data[2][7].
What the site looks like
Captured Nov 11, 2026 · Screenshots: conductor.is
What to look for
- 1The headline is a plain claim about one job: “The best QuickBooks Desktop & Enterprise API on the planet.”Fact
- 2The line under it lists how you reach it: MCP, Python, Node.js/TypeScript and REST.Fact
- 3Further down, the proof is a count, “1,800+ businesses synced”, and a row of customer logos.Fact
What to look for
- 1Three columns: a free trial, $49 per company file per month, and Enterprise.Fact
- 2Testing is free without limit. Billing starts when the integration goes to production.Fact
- 3The paid plan includes a shared Slack channel with the engineering team.Fact
What to look for
- 1Every title pairs QuickBooks Desktop with one other tool or task. See §05.Fact
- 2The newest group is setup guides for AI tools through MCP.Fact
- 3No author names and no company news. The blog exists to be found in search.Our read
It started as something broader
The earliest archived copy of conductor.is, from March 2022, describes a different product: pipelines for data from “non-tech industries” such as logistics, government, healthcare and food[4]. By December 2023 the homepage title was “QuickBooks Desktop API for Node.js and TypeScript”[4]. The company page gives the reasoning: the hardest part of scaling vertical software is the integrations, so start with the most painful one[2].
| Archived | What the homepage showed |
|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | A general data-pipeline idea for non-tech industries |
| Dec 2023 | QuickBooks Desktop API for Node.js. $49 per connected business. Access on request |
| Jun 2024 | REST added. “Join the beta” |
| Dec 2024 | Python added. Self-serve sign-up |
| Jun 2026 | Blog in the menu. “Syncing 1,200+ businesses” |
| Aug 2026 | MCP server. “1,500+ businesses” |
| Nov 2026 | “1,800+ businesses synced” |
From archived copies of the homepage[4] and the live site[2].
One maintainer
The conductor-node package on npm has one maintainer, the founder. It was first published on Aug 31, 2022 and has had 347 releases since: 123 in 2022, 72 in 2023, 31 in 2024, 84 in 2025 and 37 so far in 2026[5]. The company page names no one else[2]. We found no mention of outside funding.
Revenue analysis
About $45,000 a month, twice what it was a year ago, arriving in small amounts that are mostly multiples of $49.
Hover or tap a bar. Verified daily revenue, Oct 12 – Nov 9, 2026 (UTC), from TrustMRR[1]. Blue: Oct 23. Nov 10 is left out because the day was not complete at sync.
The price per company file shows up in the daily totals.Derived
Oct 23 brought $12,866 of $39,554.Derived
28 days without Oct 23.Derived
$45,309 in 30 days against $47,733 MRR.Derived
Oct 23 is the exception: $12,866, not a multiple of $49. It looks like one large contract or a prepayment, which fits a business with Enterprise pricing and Ramp as a named customer[1][2]. We cannot see the invoice.Our read
Monthly revenue: ten rises in a row
Hover or tap a bar. Monthly verified revenue from TrustMRR[1], December 2025 to November 2026. November covers Nov 1–10.
Our arithmetic on the verified data in this report. Revenue ÷ MRR uses the last 30 days; the share of all-time revenue counts the months in the chart above; the swing is the median change between complete months.
Every month from January to October 2026 closed above the one before it. The smallest rise was 1.2% and the largest 15.0%. October, at $44,640, was 109.4% above December 2025[1].Derived
Jul 31, 2022 to Nov 10, 2025.Derived
68.7% of all-time revenue.Derived
This was not a fast start. More than three years of work brought $162,660, and the twelve months after that brought more than twice as much[1].Derived
The founder’s own numbers, checked
| Claim | Checked against | Result |
|---|---|---|
| “MRR is $20.5k as of 2025-12-02 (TrustMRR estimate is way wrong)” | TrustMRR’s estimate at the time: $13,480. Verified revenue for December 2025: $21,316 | The founder’s figure is within 4% of verified revenue |
| “1,800+ businesses synced” | MRR of $47,733 is about 974 company files at $49 | Different measures: every business ever connected, against files paid for now |
| “Completely runs itself” | 121 SDK releases since the start of 2025; ten blog posts since October | It is being actively worked on |
| 95% profit margin | Entered on the listing by the founder | Could not be checked |
Claims from the founder’s description in an archived copy of the TrustMRR page[3], the live site[2] and the sale listing[1]; checks from TrustMRR[1] and npm[5].
The first row matters for anyone reading these platforms. Until at least March 2026 TrustMRR labelled Conductor’s MRR as an estimate, and it sat well under what the business collected. Billing here is counted per company file, which a subscription counter can undercount. We use verified monthly revenue for every growth figure in this report, not the older MRR values.Our read
Customers
| Date | Active subscriptions | MRR per subscription | In company files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, 2025 | 71 | $175 | 3.6 |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 97 | $264 | 5.4 |
| Sep 5, 2026 | 229 | $168 | 3.4 |
| Oct 13, 2026 | 271 | $155 | 3.2 |
| Nov 10, 2026 | 324 | $147 | 3.0 |
Subscriptions from archived copies of the TrustMRR page[3] and the live page[1]. Rows before September 2026 use MRR values the platform marked as estimates, so read the first two per-subscription figures loosely.
A subscription here is a software company, not an end business. Subscriptions grew 4.6× in under a year, and the typical one pays for about three company files. Growth is coming from many small developers, each connecting a few of their own customers.Our read
For buyers: the listing, checked
A modest multiple for a business that has grown every month for a year, with one founder and one platform behind it.
Every base gives about the same answer: 2.3 times 30-day revenue × 12, 2.2 times MRR × 12 and 2.2 times a year at November’s pace[1].Derived In March the ask was $1,000,000 at 3.4 times; since then revenue rose faster than the price, so the multiple fell (see the report).Derived
Other API businesses for sale
| Business | What it does | Recent revenue | On sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conductor | Modern API for QuickBooks Desktop; $49 per company file | $44,640 (Oct), up every month since Dec 2025 | $1,250,000 (2.3x) |
| 1Lookup[9] | Phone, email and IP validation API | $508,618 (Oct) | $10,000,000 (1.6x) |
| AltIndex[10] | Alternative data for investors | $11,119 (Oct), was $29,417 (Jan) | $800,000 (5.6x) |
Monthly verified revenue from each TrustMRR page, read Nov 11, 2026. Multiples as TrustMRR shows them.
A business more than ten times larger asks 1.6 times[9]; a smaller one that lost 62% since January asks 5.6 times[10].Derived Conductor sits between them on price while growing every month, which may explain its 32 offers.Our read
Checking the seller’s note
| Claim | What we found |
|---|---|
| Completely runs itself[1] | 121 package releases since 2025, 12 code commits in 30 days and 10 blog posts since October (see the report). It is being actively built. |
| Enterprise customers include Ramp[1] | Ramp is quoted on the site. One day in October brought $12,866, about a third of the month, which looks like an enterprise contract (see the report). |
| 95% margin[1] | Founder-reported; not verifiable. |
From the seller’s message on TrustMRR[1], set against what we could check. Part of the message is visible only after login.
What running it involves
| Area | What we can see | What a buyer must find out |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Everything runs on Intuit’s QuickBooks Desktop and its old Web Connector (see the report) | Intuit’s plans for Desktop, and any agreement with Intuit |
| People | One founder; the only maintainer of 347 package versions (see the report) | Handover time and whether anyone else knows the code |
| Customers | 324 developer subscriptions, about 3 company files each[1] | Revenue share of the top 10 customers |
| Price | $49 per file, unchanged since at least Dec 2023 (see the report) | Enterprise discounts and room to raise the price |
| Channel | 31 integration guides since January, AI-readable docs (see the report) | Signups by source |
From the TrustMRR profile and listing[1] and our report.
Questions to ask the seller
| # | Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue by customer, the top 10 share, and what the $12,866 payment on Oct 23 was | One payment was a third of a month |
| 2 | How long the founder will stay, and the handover plan | One person built and maintains it |
| 3 | Intuit’s terms and roadmap for Desktop, and any history of Intuit changes breaking syncs | The whole product depends on Intuit |
| 4 | Customer churn and expansion in company files per customer | Growth comes from files, not price |
| 5 | Support load and incident history | Syncing accounting data is unforgiving |
| 6 | Why the ask rose from $1,000,000 to $1,250,000 | Thirty-two offers have come in |
Our list, built from what the public data cannot show.
This is information for due diligence, not investment advice. Oddig has no relationship with the seller or TrustMRR and receives nothing from any sale.
Pricing: $49, for 35 months
One number, never raised. Only the name of the thing being counted has changed.
The homepage has carried the same customer quote through all of those versions: that at $49 a month the founder is “selling yourself short”[4]. He has left the price where it is. The pricing page itself has no archived copies, so this history comes from the homepage[4].
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Trial | Free | One connection, for testing only. Unlimited test usage |
| Production | $49 per company file per month | Unlimited production usage, a shared Slack channel with engineering, a dashboard for connections |
| Enterprise | By quote | Volume discounts for many connections |
From the live pricing page, read Nov 11, 2026[2].
Where customers come from
A developer hits a QuickBooks Desktop problem, searches for it, and finds Conductor. Nearly everything we can see serves that moment.
First one dated Jan 3, 2026. Newest Nov 6.Fact
All setup guides for AI tools through MCP.Fact
16,222 in December 2025. About 5×.Derived
As listed on TrustMRR.Fact
| Group | Posts | Typical title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| API and SDKs | 9 | “QuickBooks Desktop Python API” | Jan–Aug 2026 |
| Data sync and BI | 9 | “QuickBooks Desktop Power BI Integration” | Jan–Mar 2026 |
| Web Connector | 3 | “QuickBooks Web Connector Errors: Common QBWC Fixes” | Jan 2026 |
| AI tools and MCP | 10 | “How to connect QuickBooks Desktop to Claude (MCP server setup)” | Oct–Nov 2026 |
From the blog index, read Nov 11, 2026[2]. No post lists an author.
The pattern is one article per pairing: QuickBooks Desktop plus a language, a database, a BI tool, a CRM or an AI client. Each title is close to what a developer would type into a search box. The three Web Connector posts go after people who are stuck on the old interface itself, which is the problem Conductor removes[2].
See all numbers
| Month | npm downloads of conductor-node |
|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 16,222 |
| Jan 2026 | 23,112 |
| Feb 2026 | 28,034 |
| Mar 2026 | 41,433 |
| Apr 2026 | 54,486 |
| May 2026 | 46,533 |
| Jun 2026 | 58,306 |
| Jul 2026 | 80,046 |
| Aug 2026 | 63,283 |
| Sep 2026 | 44,420 |
| Oct 2026 | 80,778 |
Monthly downloads from npm’s public counts[5]. Downloads include automated installs by build systems, so they track usage, not people.
A separate docs site with an index file for AI tools and a plain-text version of each page.[7]
FactLets Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor work with QuickBooks Desktop data. First seen on the homepage in August.[2][4]
FactBuyers who viewed the listing recently, as TrustMRR counts them. A listing is also exposure.[1]
FactWhat did not matter
The Product Hunt launch got 4 upvotes and ranked 84th for its day[8]. The founder’s X account has 1,045 followers, up from 649 a year ago[1][3]. Neither is an audience large enough to explain the revenue.Our read
Growth strategies
Five moves. The first two are the business; the other three are how it gets found and paid.
Timeline
- Mar 152022ProductEarliest archived homepage: a general data-pipeline idea.[4]
- Jul 312022ProductFounding date on TrustMRR.[1]
- Aug 312022ProductFirst release of conductor-node on npm.[5]
- Dec 112023PricingHomepage shows $49 per connected business.[4]
- Dec 72024ProductPython SDK and self-serve sign-up on the homepage.[4]
- Dec2025
- Jan 32026MarketingFirst blog post.[2]
- Mar 62026
- Jun 12026MarketingHomepage: “Syncing 1,200+ businesses”.[4]
- Aug 252026ProductMCP server appears on the homepage.[4]
- Oct 52026MarketingFirst of ten MCP setup guides.[2]
- Oct2026Revenue$44,640 for the month, the tenth rise in a row.[1]
- Nov 102026SaleAsking price $1,250,000; 32 offers received.[1]
Key takeaways
Conductor shows that a narrow, dull problem can carry a one-person business, and that it can take three years before the curve bends.
Why we scored it this way
Copy
- Pick an old platform that still earns money and sell the modern way in. P1
- Write one article per pairing: your product plus each tool a customer might connect. P3
- Make testing free and charge at production, so the bill starts when the customer is already built in. P5
- Publish docs that AI tools can read, with plain-text versions of every page. P4
Avoid
- Expecting it to be quick. The first three years brought $162,660 in total. §02
- Building on a platform without watching its owner. Intuit decides how long QuickBooks Desktop lives. §10
- Reading a platform’s estimated MRR as fact when billing is metered. §02
Our predictions
Three claims with dates. We mark each one right or wrong on its date and keep the result on the page.
Track record: the predictions in our earlier reports are still open; the first checks land Dec 1, 2026. We mark each prediction right or wrong on its date and keep the result on the page.
What could prove us wrong
Things that would change our read, and how to check them.
- The blog may not be what drove the year. It started in the month growth picked up, and so did other things we cannot see: sales calls, referrals from Ramp, the sale listing itself.Check: search traffic for conductor.is. We had no traffic data for this report.
- Intuit could close the opening. If it retires QuickBooks Desktop faster, or ships a modern API of its own, the need goes away. Conductor’s site cites Intuit reporting $2.775B in Desktop ecosystem revenue for fiscal 2025, up 5%.Check: Intuit’s annual report and its Desktop product announcements.
- One large contract may be flattering the trend. A single day, Oct 23, brought $12,866. If that is annual prepayment from one customer, October’s record is partly timing.Check: whether November still beats October. That is our first prediction.
- “Runs itself” is the seller’s phrase. We count 121 SDK releases since the start of 2025 and ten blog posts since October, so someone is working on it. A buyer would need to know how much.Check: not public.
Appendix
FAQ
How much does Conductor make?
$45,309 in the 30 days to Nov 10, 2026 and $520,368 since 2022, verified through Stripe on TrustMRR. MRR is $47,733 from 324 active subscriptions.
What does Conductor cost?
$49 per QuickBooks company file per month. Testing is free until an integration goes to production, and Enterprise customers get volume pricing. The $49 price appears on every archived copy of the homepage since December 2023.
Is Conductor for sale?
Yes. It was first listed on TrustMRR on Mar 6, 2026. The asking price is $1,250,000, about 2.3× annualised 30-day revenue, and the listing shows 32 offers received.
Who built Conductor?
Danny Nemer, founder and CEO of Conductor Labs Inc. in San Francisco. He is the only maintainer of the conductor-node package on npm, which has had 347 releases since August 2022.
Sources
- [1]TrustMRR: Conductor — revenue, MRR, subscriptions, daily and monthly data, sale listing and seller’s message. Verified through a Stripe API key. Synced 2026-11-10 14:24 UTC.
- [2]conductor.is — homepage, pricing page, company page and blog index. Read 2026-11-11.
- [3]Wayback Machine captures of the TrustMRR page for Conductor on Nov 29, 2025 and Jan 12, Feb 17, Mar 15, Sep 5 and Oct 13, 2026 — MRR, subscriptions, asking price and the founder’s description on those dates. Read 2026-11-11.
- [4]Wayback Machine captures of conductor.is — nine homepage captures from Mar 15, 2022 to Aug 25, 2026: positioning, price and customer counts. Read 2026-11-11.
- [5]npm: conductor-node — release history from the registry and monthly downloads from npm’s download counts. Read 2026-11-11.
- [6]GitHub: conductor-is — repositories, stars and creation dates. Read 2026-11-11.
- [7]Conductor documentation — how the service works and what it replaces. Read 2026-11-11.
- [8]Product Hunt launch record — upvotes and daily rank, as tracked by a third party. Read 2026-11-11.
- [9]TrustMRR: 1Lookup — data validation API, monthly revenue, MRR, sale listing. Stripe-verified. Read 2026-11-11.
- [10]TrustMRR: AltIndex — alternative data platform, monthly revenue, MRR, sale listing. Stripe-verified. Read 2026-11-11.
Screenshots © Conductor Labs Inc., used for commentary. Oddig has no business relationship with Conductor. QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit. Numbers change daily; check the sources for the latest.
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