Integration paths

PreCheck supports three integration patterns. They differ in where the applicant experiences PreCheck — inside the city’s permit software, inside Archistar, or not at all — but the underlying assessment workflow is identical across them.

Flow 1, API Integration with Applicant-Facing Intake (Embedded intake): Applicant is lifted into AI PreCheck for intake, upload and self-assessment. Results return to the city system. Applicant Stays in city portal except during PreCheck intake City Permitting System ePL / Permit Software AI PreCheck Intake · AI Analysis · Self-Assessment Municipal Reviewers Review, validate and decide Benefits: Strong applicant experience with self-assessment capability; Iterative improvement before formal submission; Tight integration with city system; Best for improving submission quality and first-pass success. Flow 2, API Integration (Backend Only) (Backend-only): AI PreCheck runs in the background via API. Applicant never sees AI PreCheck. Applicant Stays entirely in city portal City Permitting System ePL / Permit Software AI PreCheck AI Analysis (Background) Municipal Reviewers Review, validate and decide Benefits: Seamless single system experience for applicants; Invisible automation in background; Strong enterprise integration; Best when city wants one applicant-facing portal. Flow 3, No Integration (Standalone Deployment) (Hosted): Applicant or staff use AI PreCheck directly via a city-provided link. Results shared back to city. Applicant Uses AI PreCheck directly via link AI PreCheck Intake · AI Analysis · Self-Assessment Municipal Reviewers Review, validate and decide Benefits: Fastest to implement; Lowest IT dependency; Ideal for pilots and phased adoption; Still supports self-assessment and iterative improvement.

The three patterns at a glance

Pattern	What it is	Applicant experience
Embedded intake	API integration; applicant briefly lifted into Archistar UI for intake	Stays in city portal except during PreCheck intake
Backend-only	API integration; permit software builds the entire UI	Never sees Archistar — fully inside the city portal
Hosted	No integration; applicant uses Archistar directly	Submits via Archistar; results shared with city

Self-assess — an optional layer

Self-assess lets the applicant review PreCheck findings, fix issues, and re-run before formally submitting to the city. It is the single strongest lever PreCheck offers on submission quality.

The self-assess loop has four nodes. Run PreCheck flows to Review findings; Review findings flows to Fix; Fix loops back to Run PreCheck (iterate as needed). From Review findings, the applicant can submit when ready.

Self-assess doesn’t fit every pattern equally:

Pattern	Self-assess fit	Why
Embedded intake	Natural fit	Applicant is already in Archistar’s UI for intake; review-and-iterate slots in cleanly
Backend-only	Awkward	No applicant-facing Archistar surface; only path is an email loop, with timing trade-offs
Hosted	Natural fit	Applicant submits in Archistar directly and can iterate before sharing the report back

If improving submission quality before formal review is a priority, embedded or hosted with self-assess enabled is the strongest configuration.

Choosing your pattern

If your city…	Start at
Has API-capable permit software and wants PreCheck visible in the applicant flow	Embedded intake
Has API-capable permit software and wants PreCheck to run invisibly in the background	Backend-only
Doesn’t have API-capable permit software, or wants to evaluate before integrating	Hosted
Has bespoke intake requirements not served by the standard question set	Hosted (custom intake variant)

A few notes on the decision:

The choice isn’t permanent. Cities frequently start with hosted and migrate to embedded as their permit software matures. The assessment workflow is identical across patterns, so a future migration doesn’t disrupt how PreCheck works — only how submissions flow in and out.

Quality lift comes from self-assess, not pattern choice. Embedded and hosted are equivalent on submission quality if self-assess is enabled in both.

Speed to live varies sharply. Hosted can be operational in weeks. Timelines for embedded and backend-only are driven by permit-software vendor integration work.

Permit-software compatibility

PreCheck has active or planned API integrations with: Tyler Tech, Amanda, Cityview, Posse, Citywide PSD, and Clariti. If your permit software isn’t on this list, embedded and backend-only may still be possible — it depends on whether your vendor supports the integration. Hosted is always available regardless of permit software.