Buying an accounting practice in Orlando and Central 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 Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.