Buying a security guard company in Orlando and Central Florida

• Many contracts, with no single client dominating hours billed.
• Long-standing clients that stayed through rebids, which shows they value the service and not just the price.
• Contracts that allow rate increases when wages rise, since officer pay is most of the cost.
• Reliable scheduling and a bench of fill-in officers, so posts are rarely left uncovered.
• Supervisors and a licensed manager who run daily operations without the owner.
• A low claims history for liability and workers' compensation.
• Every officer's license, renewal date and training tracked in one system.
• Armed posts only where the price covers the extra risk and insurance.
• Software that logs patrols and incidents, lets clients see them, and helps defend claims.

• Contracts: term, notice period, rate increase rights, and whether they can be assigned or end when ownership changes.
• Gross margin by contract after wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and overtime.
• Overtime: round-the-clock posts create it easily, and clients often won't pay for it.
• Liability claims and lawsuits, including incidents at posts, use of force and negligent security claims.
• Insurance premiums, and whether coverage for armed posts is getting harder to buy.
• License status: every working security officer should hold a current Class D license, and their hires and departures should have been reported to FDACS within 15 days, as the law requires.
• Officer turnover, what it costs to recruit and train each new officer, and how many officers are close to license renewal.
• Payroll tax filings and compliance with wage and hour rules.

• What are your largest contracts, and when do they come up for renewal or rebid?
• How do you cover a post when an officer doesn't show up?
• What share of your hours are at armed posts?
• Who is the licensed manager, and will they stay?
• Have incidents at any post led to claims or lawsuits?
• When did you last raise rates, and how did clients take it?
• How long does a typical officer 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.