Archive project files.
Redact drawings.
Digital work phases.
Docuflair for architectural and planning firms: BIM-ready plan and project-file archiving, PII redaction for tenders and awards, long-term liability archive under the German Scale of Fees for Services by Architects and Engineers (HOAI). 100 % on-premises.
Drawings, work phases and decades of liability — a paper archive is not enough.
Decades-long liability for design faults
Architects can be held liable for design faults for up to 30 years. Project files need to be preserved completely, tamper-evidently and traceably across decades — a classic filing cabinet cannot do this.
Large file volumes in many formats
BIM models, CAD drawings, photos, PDF reports, correspondence — dozens of formats per project. Without a central archive, you lose versions, approvals and evidence.
Tenders & awards
In award procedures, competitor references, bidder information and confidential prices need to be redacted. Manual redaction is error-prone and can blow through award deadlines.
Work phases LP1–LP9
Each HOAI work phase produces its own documents, approvals and milestones. If the phase structure is not reflected cleanly in the archive, fee documentation, quality assurance and liability proof all suffer.
How Docuflair supports architectural and planning firms
Long-term project files with SHA-256
Audit-proof long-term archiving with SHA-256 integrity protection, retention rules aligned with your maximum liability horizon and a gap-free audit trail — evidence you can rely on towards chambers, clients and courts.
More on ArchiveDigitise surveys and legacy drawings
High-resolution scanning up to A0/A1 for surveys, legacy drawings and historical project files. OCR and full-text indexing make decades-old project archives searchable again.
More on ScanLP phase workflow with approvals
Workflow templates per work phase: tasks, deadlines, approvers, escalation. Documents move automatically to the next phase — with documented client sign-off and fee evidence.
More on WorkflowTender & award redaction
PII and competitor redaction across 9 categories before sending to bidders, specialist planners or third parties. The unredacted original remains in the archive; each release is logged audit-proof.
More on RedactHOAI-compliant project delivery in 5 steps
Create project
Project number, client (building owner), project scope, role matrix. Rights per work phase (project lead, planner, site supervision, managing partner, approver).
Work phases 1–4 — planning
Basic evaluation, preliminary, final and permit design: BIM data, sketches, drawing sets and correspondence with authorities are captured with versioning and released.
Work phases 5–6 — detailed design & tender
Detailed design, bill of quantities, tender. Competitor data is redacted automatically, bidder confidentiality is enforced by role.
Work phases 7–9 — award, site supervision, documentation
Award procedure, site supervision, post-completion services. Site diaries, defect lists and acceptance reports are captured on mobile devices and routed to the project.
Project closure & long-term archive
SHA-256 hash, retention up to the maximum liability horizon, gap-free audit trail across all 9 work phases — ready for chamber, client and court review.
Typical firm scenarios
Sole practitioner / small firm
1–10 staff, few parallel projects, high expectations around liability documentation and HOAI fee accounting. Docuflair delivers lean project files with work-phase storage, plan versioning and a long-term archive.
- Project file across LP1–LP9
- Plan versioning with approvals
- Liability-safe storage
Mid-sized architectural firm
10–50 staff with multiple parallel projects, dedicated practice areas (buildings, interior design, landscape) and structured approval processes. Docuflair orchestrates projects, roles and phases centrally.
- Multiple projects in parallel
- Practice-area roles & rights
- Audit-proof phase approvals
Large firm & general planner
Collaboration with specialist planners (structural, MEP, fire safety, building physics) across firm and company boundaries. Docuflair provides controlled, multi-tenant project rooms with differentiated rights per specialist planner.
- Specialist planner collaboration
- Roles per project partner
- Audit trail across partners
The most important modules for architects
Top 3 core products plus supplementary modules for planning and construction work
Docuflair Archive
Audit-proof long-term archiving with SHA-256 audit trail, retention rules and tamper protection.
Learn moreDocuflair Scan
Large-format scanning up to A0/A1 for surveys, legacy drawings and historical project files — with OCR and full-text indexing.
Learn moreDocuflair Workflow
LP work-phase workflow with approvals, deadlines, escalation and client sign-off — for HOAI fee evidence and liability proof.
Learn moreLegal foundations supported by Docuflair
HOAI
German Scale of Fees for Services by Architects and Engineers: work phases LP1–LP9 cleanly reflected in storage, fee evidence via workflow logs.
MBO & state building codes
German Model Building Code and state building codes: permit documents, building submissions and authority correspondence are archived audit-proof.
State architects' acts
Professional obligations of the chambers: documented training, proof of submission authority, on-demand firm documentation.
GDPR
Client and employee data: records of processing, deletion periods, data subject rights; PII redaction for publications and competition entries.
Note on liability periods: The cited up to 30 years refer to the outer limit of civil limitation (e.g. for fraudulently concealed defects, §§ 197, 199 BGB) and to individual professional recommendations. Regular warranty periods stand at 5 years (§ 634a BGB). Coordinate the concrete retention horizon with your chamber, insurer and legal counsel — Docuflair supports both variants through retention rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most important questions for architectural and planning firms
How long must architects retain project files?
Under § 634a of the German Civil Code (BGB), the warranty and defect liability for buildings is 5 years; however, the limitation period for damages claims against architects can in individual cases extend to up to 30 years (for example, for fraudulently concealed defects or claims in tort). In addition, professional chambers and HOAI fee agreements require traceable planning and performance documentation. Docuflair Archive covers these long retention periods with retention rules, SHA-256 integrity protection and a gap-free audit trail.
Does Docuflair support BIM file formats such as IFC, DWG and plan PDFs?
Yes. Docuflair archives BIM and CAD files (IFC, DWG, DXF, RVT, PLN) as well as plan PDFs and TIFF-based large-format plans up to A0, with full versioning and audit-proof storage. Full-text indexing taps into the text layer of plan PDFs; binary formats are indexed with metadata (project number, work phase, plan version, component) so plans remain discoverable even without a proprietary CAD tool.
Can Docuflair be integrated with Revit, ArchiCAD or AutoCAD?
Docuflair is not a native CAD extension, but the central document archive around your CAD tools. Integration is done via watched project folders (file exchange), a REST API or WebDAV. This way, exports from Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD or Allplan flow automatically into the project archive, with versioning, approval workflow and audit trail.
How does Docuflair handle GDPR-compliant publication of client (building owner) data?
For competition entries, publications, press kits or reference portfolios, Docuflair Redact creates redacted project versions in which client names, addresses, contract data and personal details are automatically masked. The unredacted original project file remains internally in the archive; every release of a publication version is logged in the SHA-256 audit trail.
Does Docuflair integrate with tender, award and billing (AVA) software such as ORCA, AVAPlan or California?
Docuflair provides open interfaces (REST API, file exchange, SFTP, WebDAV) for exchanging bills of quantities (BoQ), bids, tender documents and variation orders with AVA systems such as ORCA AVA, AVAPlan or California. BoQ documents are routed automatically into the project folder of the matching work phase; award correspondence is archived in an audit-proof way and, optionally, versioned with bidder-level redaction.
Related industries
Construction
Executing construction companies and trades — site diaries, defect management, acceptance documentation.
For constructionReal Estate
Agents, management and trading — when completed construction projects transition into the asset portfolio.
For real estateEnterprise
Organisations with internal construction departments, facility management or their own property portfolios.
For enterpriseProject files that last for decades.
15-minute demo — we show you how Docuflair structures project files under HOAI, archives plans in a BIM-compatible way and redacts tenders in line with data protection. No marketing noise, real software on real project scenarios.