Buying a consulting firm in Florida

Consulting covers a lot of ground: management and operations consultants, government contractors providing program support, regulatory and compliance advisers, translation and interpretation services, appraisers of equipment and business property, training companies, and specialists in fields like energy, aviation or health care operations. What they share: the firm sells its people's knowledge and time.

Clients pay by the hour, by the project, on a monthly retainer, or under multi-year contracts with separate task orders. Government contractors often work as subcontractors to a larger prime contractor, or hold their own contracts with federal, state or local agencies. Private-sector firms often depend on a few long-term clients who trust particular consultants.

A small firm is usually the owner plus a team of consultants or analysts, sometimes with independent contractors added for big projects. The owner often sells the work, does the most senior work and holds the client relationships. That makes consulting one of the harder businesses to hand over: you need to know clients are buying from the firm, not just the founder.

• Multi-year contracts or retainers, not only one-off projects that end and have to be replaced.
• Clients who work with several people at the firm, not just the owner.
• A known specialty that brings referrals and repeat work without constant selling.
• Staff kept busy on billable work, at rates that have risen over time.
• Written methods, templates and tools, so quality doesn't depend on one person's memory.
• For government work, contract vehicles (pre-approved contracts that agencies can order from) with several years left to run.
• A second-in-command who already leads client work and wants to stay.
• Revenue from more than one or two clients or agencies.

Florida doesn't license general business consulting (expect a local business tax receipt), but some advice is licensed whatever it's called. Giving investment advice requires registering with the Office of Financial Regulation (section 517.12 of the Florida Statutes) or, for advisers registered with the SEC, a notice filing. Engineering, accounting assurance work, real estate appraisal and legal advice are licensed professions with their own boards. Check what the firm actually does.

Government work raises the most hurdles:

• A firm with federal small business contracts must recertify its size or status within 30 days of a sale that changes control, which can change how agencies count its work (13 CFR 125.12).
• SBA 8(a) status requires that disadvantaged individuals own and control the firm, and ownership changes generally need the SBA's written approval first (13 CFR 124.105).
• Certification as a women-, veteran- or minority-owned business depends on who the owners are. A buyer keeping Florida's minority or women-owned certification must report the transfer to the Department of Management Services within 14 days (section 287.0943).
• A firm with a facility security clearance must report a change of ownership or control to the government (32 CFR 117.8).

Have a government contracts attorney review these before you sign.

• Revenue by client and by consultant for three years. If one person's name sits next to most of the revenue, the price and transition plan should reflect it.
• How much revenue the owner personally brings in and bills, and how long they'll stay to hand it over.
• Contracts: time left, option years, and what happens if ownership changes. Moving a federal contract to a new company in an asset purchase needs the government's approval (novation).
• Independent contractors: whether they're classified correctly and have signed over the rights to their work.
• Utilization (the share of staff time that's billed) and the rates actually collected.
• Open proposals and how often the firm wins.
• Professional liability insurance and any disputes with clients.
• For defense work, the firm's CMMC cybersecurity status. From November 10, 2026, the Defense Department plans to require third-party assessments for many contracts involving controlled unclassified information.

• Which clients would follow you if you left?
• Besides you, who leads client work today?
• How much work depends on the firm's size or on certifications tied to you?
• When do your main contracts end or come up for rebid?
• How do new clients find you?
• What would it take to replace you?
• Have clients ever disputed the work or a bill?