# Sample Business Database — AdventureWorks Alternative (AU, US, UK)

> **Looking for a realistic sample database for SQL practice, software testing, or demo data?** This is a modern alternative to AdventureWorks and Northwind — with balanced accounting, real tax compliance, and 3 years of simulated business operations.

Realistic, relational business datasets generated by simulating SMEs day-by-day over 3 financial years. Every transaction flows through double-entry accounting. Not random data — simulated business operations.

**Free to use for development, testing, training, and evaluation.**

**[Browse all datasets →](https://mindweave.tech/datasets)**

> Full datasets: 42 tables, 39K–83K rows, CSV + SQL + Parquet + SQLite — [mindweave.tech/datasets](https://mindweave.tech/datasets) | [Kaggle (AU sample)](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/mindweavetech/australian-sme-business-dataset)

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## Three Variants

| Variant | Company | Compliance | Directory |
|---------|---------|------------|-----------|
| **Australian** | Outback Outdoor Supplies Pty Ltd | ATO PAYG, GST 10%, BAS, Super 11.5% | `./` (root) |
| **US** | Summit Outdoor Gear LLC | IRS federal tax, FICA, ~7.5% sales tax | `./us/` |
| **UK** | Peak District Outdoor Supplies Ltd | HMRC PAYE, NI 10%, VAT 20%, Pension 3%+5% | `./uk/` |

Each variant has the same 42-table structure with 44 foreign key relationships, but with genuinely different tax rules, salary ranges, payroll frequency, financial year, and locale-specific data.

---

## Quick Start

```bash
# Clone and explore
git clone https://github.com/MindweaveTech/sme-sim-sample.git
cd sme-sim-sample

# Australian data (root directory)
sqlite3 :memory: <<'SQL'
.mode csv
.import companies.csv companies
.import sales_orders_sample.csv sales_orders
SELECT name, country FROM companies;
SELECT count(*) as total_sales FROM sales_orders;
SQL

# US data
sqlite3 :memory: <<'SQL'
.mode csv
.import us/companies.csv companies
.import us/sales_orders_sample.csv sales_orders
SELECT name, country FROM companies;
SELECT count(*) as total_sales FROM sales_orders;
SQL

# UK data
sqlite3 :memory: <<'SQL'
.mode csv
.import uk/companies.csv companies
.import uk/sales_orders_sample.csv sales_orders
SELECT name, country FROM companies;
SELECT count(*) as total_sales FROM sales_orders;
SQL
```

## What makes this different from AdventureWorks / Northwind / Faker

| Feature | AdventureWorks | Northwind | Faker/Mockaroo | **sme-sim** |
|---------|---------------|-----------|----------------|-------------|
| Cross-domain traceability | Partial | No | No | **Full** — sale > invoice > payment > bank > journal entry |
| Double-entry accounting | No | No | No | **Yes** — debits always equal credits |
| Tax compliance | US-only | None | None | **AU + US + UK** |
| Temporal realism | Static | Static | Random | **Simulated** — seasonal patterns, staff turnover, payment behaviour |
| Relational integrity | Good | Basic | None | **44 FK relationships**, all enforced |
| Still maintained | Last updated 2014 | Last updated ~2000 | N/A | **2025** |

## Sample contents per variant

Each directory contains full reference tables plus sampled transaction tables (~200 rows each from the full dataset).

**Reference tables:** companies, departments, chart_of_accounts, products, customers, _row_counts

**Sampled tables:** sales_orders_sample, journal_entries_sample, employees_sample

## Who this is for

- **Developers** building ERP, accounting, or business software
- **QA teams** testing complex business workflows across modules
- **Consultants** running demos and training without exposing client data
- **Data engineers** building ETL pipelines against a realistic source
- **Students** studying business systems and accounting
- **AI/ML teams** needing realistic business data for training

## Full datasets & products

View all products at [mindweave.tech/datasets](https://mindweave.tech/datasets).

### Australian
| Product | Tables | Rows | Price |
|---------|--------|------|-------|
| [Free Sample (this repo)](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/yneyf) | 26 | ~2,800 | Free |
| [Complete SME Dataset](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/trcdsq) | 42 | 83,000+ | $49 |
| [Multi-Company Bundle](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/lnulcg) | 126 | 246,000+ | $99 |
| [Enterprise Pack](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/olgtyb) | 210 | 400,000+ | $199 |

### US
| Product | Tables | Rows | Price |
|---------|--------|------|-------|
| [US Complete](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/qnecpy) | 42 | 78,000+ | $49 |
| [US Multi-Company](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/mfmfo) | 126 | 230,000+ | $99 |

### UK
| Product | Tables | Rows | Price |
|---------|--------|------|-------|
| [UK Complete](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/cwoxy) | 42 | 39,000+ | $49 |
| [UK Multi-Company](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/aqgyd) | 126 | 124,000+ | $99 |

### Industry Verticals
| Product | Industry | Rows | Price |
|---------|----------|------|-------|
| [AU Restaurant & Pub](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/tcncu) | Hospitality | 226,000+ | $79 |
| [US Restaurant & Bar](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/qjpdw) | Hospitality | 259,000+ | $79 |
| [UK Pub & Kitchen](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/tynauf) | Hospitality | 180,000+ | $79 |
| [AU Consulting Firm](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/afgixg) | Professional Services | 143,000+ | $79 |
| [US Consulting Firm](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/uhsycn) | Professional Services | 156,000+ | $79 |
| [UK Advisory Firm](https://mindweavetech.gumroad.com/l/kjikwr) | Professional Services | 109,000+ | $79 |

Also available on [Kaggle](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/mindweavetech/australian-sme-business-dataset) and [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/mindweave/australian-sme-business-dataset).

## Keywords

Sample database, test data, dummy data, synthetic data, AdventureWorks alternative, Northwind alternative, SQL practice database, business dataset, accounting test data, ERP test data, double-entry accounting, mock data, demo database.

## License

This sample is free to use for development, testing, training, and evaluation. Full datasets are commercially licensed — see [mindweave.tech/datasets](https://mindweave.tech/datasets) for terms.

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Built by [Mindweave Technologies](https://mindweave.tech) | [Dev.to: AdventureWorks Is Dead](https://dev.to/mindweavetech/adventureworks-is-dead-heres-a-42-table-business-dataset-that-actually-balances-211n) | [Dev.to: 5 Reasons AdventureWorks Is Terrible](https://dev.to/mindweavetech/5-reasons-adventureworks-is-a-terrible-test-database-in-2026-2dlb)