Questions, answered.

A referral partner is paid by one buyer and sends you to that buyer. Archeon represents your firm. It brings several vetted buyers to compete for your records, and it negotiates price, exclusivity and payment timing on your side of the table.

You can, and some buyers now offer free de-identification and quick payment. Those are real benefits. A single buyer also sets its own price and its own terms, and you have no other offer to compare. Archeon runs a sealed, competitive process across several vetted buyers on your firm’s side. We negotiate the terms beyond price, including use limits, exclusivity, deletion and refresh. Our fee is in writing before any buyer sees your firm, and it is paid only when your firm is paid.

We work with firms of 20 or more employees. Larger firms usually hold more history, which tends to raise a license’s value. If your firm is near that line, ask for a data review and we will tell you where you stand.

Exports from Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Deltek Vantagepoint, Newforma, Bluebeam, Oracle Primavera P6, Sage 300 CRE and Excel archives.

Archeon asks about any pending sale or merger in the first call, coordinates with your M&A advisor, and keeps exclusivity terms narrow so they don’t block a sale of the firm.

Partly, yes. AI agents will do more production work, such as RFI responses and submittal checks. Software companies are building them with or without any one firm’s records, and a single firm’s records will not decide that. Most firms cannot train their own models, so the real choice is licensing on good terms or not at all. Archeon narrows the scope, prices it properly, asks for a share where a buyer resells, and gives you a cleaned copy of your own records for your own use.

Archeon earns a success fee, paid by your firm after it receives payment from a buyer. The fee is stated in the engagement letter before any buyer sees your firm. Nothing is due upfront. If a buyer ever pays Archeon anything, it is disclosed to you and credited against your fee.

Archeon’s fee is the same disclosed percentage on each payment your firm receives from a buyer Archeon introduced, including refresh payments and renewals. It is due after your firm receives the funds, and the percentage is in the engagement letter before any buyer sees your firm.

Published buyer tiers start at $100K+ per license for qualifying firms. Larger or unique datasets run higher. You compare the offers in writing before you sign.

Yes. Licenses are for AI training. You keep ownership and copyright. Any exclusivity is negotiated, priced and in writing.

Yes. Most firms start with process records like RFI and submittal logs and leave out anything tied to a client’s confidentiality terms. Scope is set per record type and per project.

Buyers pay most for the whole workflow, which is how records connect: the same issue in the email, the RFI, the architect’s answer, the submittal and the change order, with what it cost. Continuous history also matters more than size, because the oldest continuous record in each system sets the range. Project communication, outcomes attached and variety across building types and regions raise the value further.

No. Archeon’s cleaning process removes names, addresses, client and project details and file metadata, strips title blocks, stamps and seals, and crops the drawing details an RFI or submittal refers to. Your team approves every cleaned file before a buyer sees it.

No. Your team exports the records from your own systems. Archeon never asks for passwords or account access.

No. Your files pass through a sealed, temporary cleaning process and are never stored. The cleaned files go straight to the buyer. You get a signed record of what was done, which lists file fingerprints, the rules applied and your approvals. The only stored items are the cleaned samples shown to buyers in the deal room.

Yes. Licenses are non-exclusive by default, so the same archive can be licensed to more than one buyer over time. If a buyer asks for exclusivity, it is limited in time and scope, priced separately and decided by your firm.

Your counsel reviews every license before you sign. Archeon represents your firm in licensing its records and negotiates the commercial terms. It does not act as your attorney.

Ask your professional liability broker in writing before you sign. Most A/E professional liability policies treat cyber and data risk separately, and some carriers have AI exclusions. Archeon includes this question in the review.

The archive license is one payment for your records through a cutoff date. You can add an optional refresh, where new records are delivered quarterly, twice a year or yearly for a multi-year term and you are paid each period. A firm can license its archive without a refresh, and a firm that has closed has an archive but no new records to add.

Archeon keeps representing your firm. It handles each refresh delivery, offers the archive to new buyers because licenses are non-exclusive by default, and negotiates renewals and price increases. It also tracks payments, takes its fee only on what your firm receives, and checks that buyers keep to the license, including deletion at the end of a term.

Project drawings and models are not part of the default offer. Federal or security-sensitive work (CUI and ITAR), personal data and protected health information stay out of every license.

They are optional. The default listing needs nothing from your drawing set. If you want to include design files, they can raise the value of a license. We start with your own standard details, templates and Revit families, then data extracted from models, then unbuilt work. Project drawings and models are included only with the building owner’s written consent, after Archeon removes identifying details and your team checks each file.

Request buyer access on the buyers page. Archeon reviews each organization before approving it. Once approved, you set your alert preferences and see listings that match them. Firm names are never shown on a listing.

No. Archeon represents the firm and is paid by the firm. Buyers pay the license fee to the firm under the license. If a buyer ever offers Archeon anything, it is disclosed to the firm and credited against Archeon’s fee.

Each listing has a short confidentiality agreement you accept in the deal room before you see samples. It covers the listing details and samples, limits their use to evaluating the listing, rules out training on samples or trying to identify the firm, and requires deletion when you stop evaluating. Deals for that listing run through Archeon.

Bids are sealed, so no buyer sees another’s bid or name. The first round closes on a set deadline. The firm and Archeon then invite a shortlist to submit best and final offers by a second deadline. Questions go through the listing’s Q&A, and answers posted to all bidders are shared with every buyer without saying who asked.

Licenses are non-exclusive by default, and every bid includes a non-exclusive offer. You can add a separate exclusive offer with its own price, length and scope. Exclusivity is time-limited and limited to a field of use, and the firm decides whether to accept it.

Cleaned files that the firm has approved, delivered directly to you. Names and identifying details are replaced with consistent placeholders, so links between RFIs, submittals and change orders survive, and referenced drawing details are attached to the records that cite them. Each delivery comes with a signed record of the files and the rules applied.

Anyone. Most referrals come from people who work with AEC firms: staff, advisors, accountants, attorneys, brokers and other industry contacts.

No. The firm’s fee does not change. Archeon pays your share out of its own fee.

Yes. Archeon tells the firm about the referral arrangement. We do not approach a firm in a way you have not agreed to.

No. Tell us in the form whether you will introduce us or whether Archeon should reach out. A warm introduction usually works best.

A firm already in active conversation with Archeon does not qualify. The first qualified referral of a firm is the one that counts.

No. Archeon represents AEC firms and pays only for referrals of firms.

Within 30 days of Archeon receiving its fee from the firm. If you are a US payee, send a W-9 before payment.