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Montlake Licensing
NewEarn $50K per referralEarn up to $50,000 per referral

Your old business records could be worth $500K–$2.6M.

Tech companies pay established businesses for a copy of their work orders, invoices, emails and project files, with every customer name removed. You keep the originals, you keep your customers, and you get paid for the copy.

20 or more employees
2 minutes to estimate your data

Your estimated range

$— to $—

Answer the three questions aboveon the right and your range appears here.

  • Type of business
  • People on payroll
  • Years in business

Nothing is uploaded. Your range is a starting point for the call.

Step 1 of 3 · About your business

Start here
Including you
Answer all three to continue.

$500K–⁠$2.6M

Estimated range

20+

Employees to qualify

~2 hrs

Of your team’s time

$0

Cost to you, ever

A business owner in an office

Estimated value

Details

$650K to $970K in total

  • Work orders
  • Invoices
  • Emails

01 / A new option

Taking money out of your business used to mean selling it.

Now there is a second way: license a copy of its records.

You keep the business and your customers
A copy of old records, with every name removed
Months, with about two hours of your team's time
It can happen again as your records grow

02 / What a buyer pays for

They license an anonymous copy of the paperwork you already have.

Tech companies have used up most of what is on the internet. Now they pay businesses like yours to license a copy of their records, with every name taken out. You do not have to write anything up or clean anything. They want the records exactly as your office kept them.

01

Work orders and job notes

These show what the customer asked for, what your people found, and what they did about it.

02

Quotes and invoices

These show how you priced the work, what changed along the way, and what you billed.

03

Emails and calendars

These show how jobs got scheduled, moved, confirmed and followed up.

04

Project files and drawings

Plans, RFIs, change orders, inspection notes and site photos all count.

05

Dispatch and delivery records

These show the routes you ran, where things went wrong, and how your team handled it.

06

Service history

This is every visit to a site over the years. The customer’s name comes out first.

The records usually live in software like this.

If yours is not on the list, it almost certainly still works.

  • ServiceTitan
  • Housecall Pro
  • Jobber
  • Procore
  • Bluebeam
  • AutoCAD
  • McLeod
  • Samsara
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Outlook
  • Gmail
  • Google Drive
  • SharePoint
  • Dropbox
  • Zendesk
  • Shopify
  • Salesforce
  • Scanned paper files
  • and most others

Before anything is copied, we agree in writing on which systems and which years are included.

03 / From the founder

Srikar Chava

Srikar Chava

Founder, Montlake Licensing · LinkedIn ↗

04 / Why it pays

They want to see how the work gets done. Not who it was done for.

Tech companies are building software that books work, writes quotes and helps people in the field. To build it, they need real records of real jobs. Pick your industry, and watch what comes out of a record before a buyer ever sees it.

Work order

#48213 · Oct 14

CustomerJim Carlson
Address4410 NE 55th St, Seattle
1CallNo heat upstairs. Furnace keeps clicking off.
2FoundCracked heat exchanger. CO reading 40 ppm. Unit is 22 years old.
3QuoteRepair not advised. Replace with 80k BTU furnace, $6,850.
4ResultApproved same day. Installed Oct 16. Follow-up scheduled at 30 days.
TechD. Alvarez
SignedJ. Carlson
What the shop sees. Names and addresses come out before anyone else does.
  1. 1

    How customers describe a problem

    So the software can book the right job.

  2. 2

    How your techs diagnose

    So it can help a tech in the field.

  3. 3

    How you price the work

    So it can write a fair quote.

  4. 4

    What actually fixed it

    So it learns what works.

  5. ×

    Never: who the customer was

    Names, addresses and contact details are replaced with labels before any record is shared.

Value your data in 2 minutes Three questions. About a minute.

05 / What stays out

Removed before anyone sees a record.

Buyers get the work: the problem, what your people did, and the result. Everything that identifies a person or a customer comes out first.

Customer and client names

Replaced with a consistent label, like Customer 2214.

Phone numbers, emails, addresses

Removed from every field and every message.

Passwords, card and bank details

Never included, never offered.

Files a client owns

If a contract says the client owns it, that project stays out.

Your live systems

Buyers receive a copy. They never get access.

Anything you choose

Whole systems, folders, customers or projects you want left out.

Your business

Original records

Stay in your systems. Nobody logs in to them.

Montlake

Names come out

Customers, staff, addresses and contact details are replaced before anyone else sees a record.

Tech company

Receives the copy

The work, the pricing and the result. Never a name, never access.

06 / How it works

Three steps. Your files never leave until a buyer signs.

A 15-minute call, about two hours of screenshots, then a written agreement your lawyer reads. Nothing moves until the buyer has signed.

01
You15 minutes

We talk

What software you use, how far back it goes, and what you would want left out. Nothing is uploaded.

02
Your teamAbout two hours

You confirm

Your team takes a few screenshots of record counts. You approve the scope. Your lawyer reviews the written agreement.

03
MontlakeAfter a buyer signs

You get paid

We take the names out, you approve a sample, the copy is delivered, and you are paid under the schedule in your agreement.

07 / Who qualifies

The business you have already built probably qualifies.

20+

Full-time employees

Smaller shops can still send details; we keep a list for when buyers widen the brief.

3+

Years of records

Work orders, invoices, emails, project files. The more years, the more it is worth.

U.S.

Based team and customers

Buyers want American business records first. Washington shops hear back fastest.

Value your data in 2 minutes Three questions. About a minute.

08 / Referrals

Know an owner with 20 or more employees? Earn up to $50,000 for the introduction.

Send us the company and how you know the owner. If they sign, you get paid. The fee scales with the size of the deal, up to $50,000.

or text (425) 397-1959

09 / Questions

What owners ask before they call.

Srikar Chava

Srikar Chava

FounderFounder, Montlake Licensing

Something not covered? Ask me directly.

A 15-minute call. Nothing to prepare.

Is this legal?

Yes. You sign a written agreement that gives a buyer permission to use a copy of records you own, and your lawyer reviews it first. Buyers receive a copy with names removed. They never get access to your systems.

Do we have to share everything?

No. You can leave out entire systems, folders, customers or projects. The agreement lists exactly what is included.

What if a client contract says the client owns the files?

Then that project stays out. We only include records you have the right to license, and we check that before anything is agreed.

How much work is it for us?

About two hours to confirm record counts and take screenshots. Older systems or several data sources can take longer, and we tell you before you commit.

When do we get paid?

After a buyer signs and accepts the copy. The schedule and conditions are written into your agreement. A listing does not guarantee a sale.

Do we give up ownership of our records?

No. You keep the originals and your systems. The buyer gets permission to use a copy with the names removed, on the terms in your agreement, and nothing more.

Can we choose which systems and years are included?

Yes. The agreement lists the systems and the date range. Anything not on that list stays out, and your team is the one who signs in to export it.

Will we have to change how we run the business?

No. Nothing changes in your software or your routines. Your team confirms counts and takes screenshots; we handle the rest.

Will our records be made public?

No. The copy goes to the one buyer named in your agreement, for the use the agreement allows. It is not published and not resold as a report about your company.

How is the final number decided?

The estimate on this page is a rough guide from your industry, size and years. The real offer comes after we look at how many records you have, how far back they go, and whether you have the right to license them.

How long does the whole thing take?

Usually a few months from the first call to payment. The call and your two hours happen in the first week or two; the rest is buyer review, the agreement and the export, and we tell you where things stand.

10 / Next step

Ready to find out what your records are worth?

Value your data

Three questions about your business. Your range appears as you answer, and nothing is uploaded.

Value your data in 2 minutes

Talk to Srikar first

A 15-minute call about the software you use and how far back your records go. Nothing to prepare.