Security and investigation firms in Ontario operate under one licence — the PSISA agency licence — but the businesses inside that licence split into two different animals: alarm-monitoring accounts that sell like a recurring-revenue book, and guard or patrol operations that sell like a labour-heavy services business. Getting the structure right starts with knowing which one you're actually buying.
Part of Professional Services — see the family overview.
Every figure below is a typical Canadian deal-market pattern, not a valuation — use it to sanity-check what you're being told.
| Metric | Typical benchmark | Use this to |
|---|---|---|
| Two sub-species price differently |
| Confirm which model a listed firm actually is before you apply a valuation rule of thumb from the other one. |
| Contract book quality | The strength of a security firm's value sits heavily in its monitoring and service contracts — their term length, renewal terms, and whether they survive a change of ownership.† | Weigh contract durability and assignability as heavily as the current revenue number. |
| Licensed-workforce depth | A firm where every guard and investigator holds a current, independent PSISA licence is a materially cleaner acquisition than one carrying unlicensed or lapsed staff — that gap doesn't show up in the financials.† | Treat individual staff-licence standing as a diligence item with real value impact, not paperwork. |
| Equipment versus goodwill mix | Alarm and monitoring firms carry real equipment value — panels, sensors, monitoring infrastructure — while guard and patrol firms carry comparatively little hard equipment, so their value sits almost entirely in the contract book and workforce.† | Right-size how much of the price you're paying for equipment versus for the book and the people. |
The PSISA agency licence covers the business, but it requires notice to the regulator of any change in the firm's officers, directors, or partners — a sale is a licensing event, not just a change of ownership on paper.
Individual guard and investigator licences belong to the person, not the agency, and none of them transfer automatically with the business — every staff member's licence has to be independently confirmed current before you rely on the workforce you're buying.
Monitoring and service contracts are often the single largest value driver in this sector, and whether they assign to a new owner without client consent — or trigger a renegotiation — is a legal question the contracts themselves answer, not an assumption.
The same sequence underlies almost every security or investigation firm deal — what changes from deal to deal is how long each step takes, and which one becomes the bottleneck.
Reaching an agreement
The offer sets price and key terms — for a security or investigation firm it should build in the conditions that actually matter from day one, not just financing.
usually 1–2 weeks†The APS fixes price, structure — asset or share — and closing date, plus the reps, warranties, and holdbacks that protect you if diligence turns up something different than promised.
1–3 weeks to negotiate†PSISA agency licence & officer-change notice, Individual guard/investigator licensing, Monitoring/service contracts, Equipment (alarm/systems), Staff all start moving at once, on separate clocks — this is usually where security or investigation firm deals are won or lost.
often the critical path†Getting to closing
Corporate, PPSA lien, and litigation searches confirm what you're actually buying; we chase down licence standing and records the seller doesn't always have to hand.
2–4 weeks, in parallel†Funds, keys, and signed documents change hands, alongside any inventory count and interim authorizations that bridge the gap until final transfers are confirmed.
1 day, once conditions are met†We track final licence confirmation and the staff transition through to completion — nothing is left for you to chase once the deal is done.
1–2 week tail†This is the first real decision in almost every security or investigation firm deal — and it changes what you're buying, what you're taking on, and how it's taxed.
| Question | Asset purchase | Share purchase |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The contracts, equipment, licence standing, and workforce of the agency — structured as an asset purchase. | The shares of the corporation holding the PSISA agency licence — everything it owns and everything it owes. |
| PSISA agency licence | Typically requires a new licence application or transfer notice reflecting the new ownership. | The corporate licence can stay in place, but the regulator must still be notified of the change in officers or directors. |
| Individual guard/investigator licensing | Confirmed independently for each staff member carried forward — licences don't attach to the business. | Same requirement applies regardless of structure — individual licensing is personal, not corporate. |
| Monitoring/service contracts | Assigned to the buyer, which may require client consent depending on the contract terms. | Generally stay in place with the corporation, avoiding a client-by-client consent process. |
| Seller's liabilities | Generally stay behind with the seller's existing corporation. | Come with the company, known and unknown. |
| Tax angle | Buyer gets a stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased. | Seller may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying shares. |
| Typical use in this sector | Common for guard/patrol firms, where contracts and workforce carry the value. | More common for monitoring firms with a large, hard-to-reassign contract book. |
The contracts, equipment, licence standing, and workforce of the agency — structured as an asset purchase.
The shares of the corporation holding the PSISA agency licence — everything it owns and everything it owes.
Typically requires a new licence application or transfer notice reflecting the new ownership.
The corporate licence can stay in place, but the regulator must still be notified of the change in officers or directors.
Confirmed independently for each staff member carried forward — licences don't attach to the business.
Same requirement applies regardless of structure — individual licensing is personal, not corporate.
Assigned to the buyer, which may require client consent depending on the contract terms.
Generally stay in place with the corporation, avoiding a client-by-client consent process.
Generally stay behind with the seller's existing corporation.
Come with the company, known and unknown.
Buyer gets a stepped-up cost base on the assets purchased.
Seller may access the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualifying shares.
Common for guard/patrol firms, where contracts and workforce carry the value.
More common for monitoring firms with a large, hard-to-reassign contract book.
We tell you which structure fits — before you sign anything.
Different lists depending on which side of the deal you're on — both matter for how smoothly closing goes.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A single-location alarm-monitoring or guard firm with a modest client roster and one owner-operator handling both operations and sales.
Start my file →A firm blending monitoring and patrol/investigation services, a multi-branch operation, or a deal where a significant share of the contract book needs individual client consent to assign.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
†Typical patterns across Canadian deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
It depends on your role in the business — but the agency licence itself and the individual licences of guards and investigators are separate things, and both need to be in order before you take over. We confirm what your specific role requires before you commit to a structure.
No — monitoring accounts tend to price closer to a recurring-revenue book, while guard and patrol operations price more like a services business on a multiple of earnings. If a firm runs both, we help you value each piece on its own terms rather than blending them into one number.
That's a real and common finding in diligence, since individual licences don't transfer with the business and can lapse without the owner noticing. It's worth confirming licence status for the workforce you're relying on before the price is finalized, not after.
That depends on how each contract is worded — some assign to a new owner without issue, others require the client's consent, and a few may allow the client to walk away entirely on a change of control. Reviewing the contract book for exactly this is a core part of diligence in this sector.
The PSISA agency licence requires notice of any change in the firm's officers, directors, or partners — a sale is treated as a licensing event, and the notice requirement applies regardless of whether you structure it as an asset or share deal.
| Resource | Official link |
|---|---|
| Ontario — Private Security and Investigative Services PSISA agency and individual licensing | Visit www.ontario.ca |
| Personal Property Security Registration (PPSR) Equipment lien searches | Visit www.ontario.ca |
| WSIB — workplace safety & insurance Employer account status on a change of ownership | Visit www.wsib.ca |
Where we close security or investigation firm deals
Tell us about your security or investigation firm deal — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.