Referral opportunities for business appraisers and valuation analysts

Why are business appraisers well placed to make introductions?

Appraisers and valuation analysts sit at the moments when owners take stock of what their company is worth: succession planning, gifting and estate work, buy-sell agreements, partner disputes and pre-sale preparation. You read the financials, interview management and walk through the asset base. You also hear what owners worry about long before a transaction starts.

That position makes you a trusted source for one more question: what records does the company hold, and could they be licensed? Some US companies license their operational records to AI developers through SourceX. The company keeps ownership, the data is licensed, not sold, and nothing is binding until the company agrees price and terms and signs.

The catch for an appraiser is independence. Your opinion of value must stay free of any interest in the outcome. This page explains how to mention licensing without compromising that.

Which valuation clients are worth screening?

Not every engagement fits. Look for these signals during intake or document requests.

Industries that screen well include B2B software, IT services, professional services, engineering, logistics and distribution. The full baseline is on the who qualifies page.

What do appraisers see that other advisers do not?

You see the real documents: general ledgers, customer lists, org charts, system and software lists, and the notes management gives you about how decisions get made. That lets you answer the fit questions from what you already know, without asking for anything new. A short note in your own file about headcount, years in business and the main systems is enough to decide whether a conversation is worth having.

The independence rule of thumb

Use a simple test before you say anything: separate the engagement from the introduction.

• The valuation engagement letter is signed and does not depend on any licensing outcome.
• You will not change a value conclusion, assumption or discount because a license might happen.
• You raise licensing only after delivering the report, or in a separate conversation clearly outside the engagement.
• You disclose your referral relationship to the client in writing before they act on the introduction.
• You do not receive confidential records or describe them to anyone.
• You checked the standards and ethics rules that bind you.

Credentials such as CVA, ABV, ASA or ABAR come with their own codes of conduct, and USPAP applies to many appraisal assignments. These rules differ by credential and by engagement, so this page does not say what any of them permits. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your credentialing body, your firm's risk or ethics lead and, where needed, counsel before accepting any referral reward.

If your engagement involves litigation, a court-appointed role or a conflict with any party, do not make the introduction.

When in the valuation calendar can you raise it?

How the introduction works

You never handle data.

1. You register as a partner and share your referral link, or submit the company through the referral form.
2. SourceX qualifies size, history, data breadth and rights.
3. The company completes a data inventory of each system.
4. Price and terms are agreed. The company gets one all-in price, with no separate charges.
5. AI labs and data buyers review; once a company is deal-ready, buyers typically respond within about two weeks.
6. The deal closes, data is delivered under the agreed redaction rules and the company is paid.
7. The partner reward is paid after SourceX receives payment.

De-identification and redaction requirements are agreed with the company before any work begins, and data is delivered only after an executed agreement and the company's authorization.

What to say without affecting the opinion of value

Keep the licensing mention separate from the valuation and free of value language.

Never give a view on what a license is worth. Avoid saying that data adds to enterprise value; that is a separate analysis for the owner and their advisers. A neutral reading list is is company data on the balance sheet.

How do rewards work for an appraiser?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. The reward is payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; a lead, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. Read the program terms and check your own rules on referral fees and disclosure first.

When to skip it

Do not make the introduction if the engagement is for litigation or a contested matter, if your credential or firm bars referral compensation, if the company is below the baseline, if the data belongs mainly to clients, or if the data has already been licensed for AI training. If the owner is tired and thinking of stepping back, tired of running my business covers the options. Brokers who may handle a later sale have their own page, referral opportunities for business brokers.

Next step

Start with one past client who meets the baseline and run the company fit checker together; it is a preliminary, non-binding screen. Then register as a partner if your rules allow, or have the owner apply directly at sourcex.si/apply.