Disclaimer. Collectalia is not a legal, tax or insurance advice site. The information on this page is general and based on French legislation in force as of 09/11/2026: it may change, does not necessarily apply outside France and does not take your situation into account. Always have it checked by a notary, a lawyer, an accountant or your insurer before acting on it.
The essentials
- One file per work: photos, provenance, documents, successive valuations and condition reports.
- Private showrooms to present a selection and PDF reports for appendices.
- Your clients invite you free of charge in read-only mode, or you keep their files with the Pro plan.
The art expert, the art adviser and art advisory firms share the same difficulty: their work rests on files that live with the client. Photos of uneven quality, missing invoices, old valuations, works that have been moved. This page is addressed to these professionals: how to keep complete client files, and what your clients can give you.
The problem: a file rebuilt for every assignment
A valuation for insurance, an estate, a sale, a loan: with each assignment, you start again. You have to ask again for the photos, the provenance, the latest valuation, check where the work is and in what condition. Previous valuations are in old emails. Condition reports, if they exist, are on paper.
For an adviser who follows several collections, the dispersal is even more obvious: one spreadsheet per client, folders of photos, emails to search for. Yet the quality of advice depends on the continuity of this information.
Appraisal report for a work of art: what the file must contain
A solid report rests on verifiable elements:
- a precise description: author, title, date, medium, dimensions, signature and inscriptions;
- photos of the whole work, the reverse, details, the signature, labels;
- provenance: successive owners, public sales, exhibitions, publications;
- the state of conservation, recorded on a given date;
- earlier valuations and their context.
Our guides preparing the valuation of a painting and the condition report for a work of art can be passed on to your clients so that they prepare these elements.
What Collectalia brings
- One entry per work or object, with the fields specific to each of the 28 categories: works, sculptures and editions, jewellery, watches, books, coins, wines, cars…
- High-resolution photos and documents: certificates, invoices, valuations, earlier reports. The client can add photos from their phone by scanning a QR code.
- Successive valuations and values, dated, with their source: the basis of any insurance value for a work of art.
- Successive condition reports, loans, movements and location.
- Contacts linked to pieces: artists, galleries, restorers, insurers, carriers.
- Colour PDF reports, Excel exports and laid-out PDF catalogues, to attach to your own report.
On insurance concepts, our guide agreed value or declared value brings your clients up to speed.
How to work together
- The client keeps their inventory and invites you in read-only mode. The access is free; you view the entries, photos and documents of their collection.
- Or they share a selection through a private showroom, or send you a PDF report or an Excel export.
- Or you open your clients’ spaces yourself with the Pro plan: you keep the files, invite the client in read-only mode, and present selections to them in private showrooms. The client can have the editor role if they wish to add to it themselves.
The details of the plans are on the pricing page.
Confidentiality and security
Your clients’ files are confidential. Data is hosted in France and backed up daily; two-factor authentication can be required; the log of changes and access shows who has viewed or changed each entry. Values can be hidden from a reader, and a showroom expires on the date you set.
With Collectalia
Complete and lasting work files for each of your clients: photos, provenance, documents, valuations and condition reports in one place, presented in private showrooms and reused in PDF reports. Your expertise remains yours; Collectalia keeps its memory.
Disclaimer. Collectalia is not a legal, tax or insurance advice site. The information on this page is general and based on French legislation in force as of 09/11/2026: it may change, does not necessarily apply outside France and does not take your situation into account. Always have it checked by a notary, a lawyer, an accountant or your insurer before acting on it.