Buying an accounting practice in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• Clients who come back year after year, with a healthy mix of individuals and businesses.
• Monthly work that brings in money outside tax season.
• Fees that have kept up with the work, ideally fixed fees in signed engagement letters rather than old hourly rates.
• Staff who prepare returns, so the owner reviews instead of doing everything.
• Current tax software, a secure client portal and organized workpapers.
• Mostly routine returns, without a big share of complex or high-risk ones.
• A seller willing to stay through at least one tax season and introduce you to clients.
• Fees collected up front or by card on file, so little time goes into chasing unpaid bills.

• The client list with fees for the last three years, and how many clients came back each year.
• How the price is paid. Many practice sales tie part of the price to how many clients stay, so understand exactly how that's counted.
• Engagement letters, and how client files will move to you. Federal rules let a client list go with the sale of a tax practice, and let you review it beforehand under a written confidentiality agreement (Treasury Regulation 301.7216-2). Ask your attorney about the rest.
• Professional liability insurance, and any open client complaints, IRS penalties against preparers or Board of Accountancy cases.
• Data security. Client files hold Social Security numbers and bank details, and the IRS reminds preparers that federal law requires a written information security plan. Ask to see it.
• Seasonal staff: who the practice hires each tax season and whether they'll come back.
• The software and storage contracts, and whether they can move to you.

• How many clients have you lost or added in each of the last three years?
• How much of your revenue is monthly work, and how much is tax season?
• Who prepares returns now, and who reviews and signs them?
• Would you stay through the next tax season and introduce me to your clients?
• Are any clients in a dispute with the IRS or behind on their filings?
• When did you last raise your fees, and did anyone leave?
• Is anyone on staff a CPA or enrolled agent, and would they stay?

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.