Buying a tax or financial services firm in Treasure Coast

• A high share of last year's clients coming back, and records that show it.
• A mix of individual and business clients. Business returns and monthly bookkeeping are usually worth more and last longer.
• Preparers besides the owner whom clients trust and who plan to stay.
• Credentials that fit the work, such as enrolled agents or CPAs for clients who need representation before the IRS.
• A clean record with the IRS: no preparer penalties and few rejected e-filed returns.
• Secure, modern systems: a client portal, multi-factor logins and a written security plan.
• Prices that have kept up with the work.

• Retention. Returns filed each year, and how many clients came back after any past change of preparer.
• Cash flow. Revenue by month, and whether the business covers its costs from May to December.
• Transition terms. Many deals tie part of the price to how many clients come back, with the seller working through a filing season. Ask your attorney and lender how that fits your financing.
• Compliance. Preparers face extra due diligence rules and penalties on returns that claim the earned income credit and some other credits. Ask about IRS visits, letters or penalties.
• Data security. Any breaches or stolen client data, cyber insurance, and whether the security plan is real.
• Software. Whether the tax software licenses and client data can move to you, and what any bank products tied to refunds depend on.
• Seasonal staff. Whether trained preparers will return next January.

• How many returns did you do in each of the last few years, and how many clients came back?
• Which clients deal with you personally, and how would you introduce them to me?
• Would you stay on through one or two filing seasons?
• What software do you use, and can the licenses and client data come over to me?
• Have you ever had an IRS penalty, compliance visit or data breach?
• How much of your revenue comes from bookkeeping and payroll outside tax season?
• When did you last raise prices, and how did clients react?

This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.

The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.

The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.

Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.