HVAC installers and service companies across Ontario — the TSSA gas-technician licence that lets the business work on gas appliances belongs to the individual, not the company, so the buyer's own qualified technicians need to be in place before a single gas job can go ahead under new ownership.
Part of Trades & Construction — 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 |
|---|---|---|
| What drives the multiple |
| Weigh the maintenance-contract share of revenue as heavily as total sales when sizing up an asking price. |
| Technician licence coverage | The number and standing of G1/G2-licensed technicians already on staff, versus reliance on the departing owner, materially changes buyer risk.† | Confirm licensed staff carry forward, or plan for your own technicians to be qualified before closing. |
| Service-contract book quality | The renewal rate and remaining term of existing maintenance and warranty contracts is a distinct value driver from historical installation revenue.† | Review the contract book's renewal history, not just its current size, before valuing it as recurring revenue. |
| Valuation convention | Priced as a multiple of verified seller's discretionary earnings, weighted toward the recurring service-contract base over project-based installation revenue.† | Apply the multiple to earnings you've verified yourself, not the number in the listing. |
| Deposit norms | A deposit tied to the purchase price is customary at the time the offer is signed, well before financing is arranged.† | Budget the cash you need at offer stage, before financing is even discussed. |
TSSA gas-technician licensing is personal, not corporate — it doesn't transfer with the sale, so the business's ability to keep doing gas-appliance work depends on the buyer having its own qualified technicians in place, not on anything the purchase agreement can grant.
WSIB clearance is a standard closing condition in this sector — confirming the seller's account is in good standing protects the buyer from inheriting workplace-safety liability.
Service contracts and warranty obligations don't assign themselves — each needs explicit assignment language, and customers may need notice depending on how the original agreements were written.
The same sequence underlies almost every hvac company 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 hvac company 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†TSSA gas licence (requalify), WSIB clearance, Service contracts & warranties, Equipment & vehicles (PPSA), Staff all start moving at once, on separate clocks — this is usually where hvac company 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 hvac company 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 company's equipment, vehicles, service contracts, customer list, and goodwill. | The shares of the corporation itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes. |
| Seller's liabilities | Generally stay behind with the seller's existing corporation. | Generally come with the company, known and unknown. |
| TSSA gas licence (technicians) | The buyer's own qualified gas technicians (G1/G2) must be in place — the licence doesn't transfer with the business. | Same requirement applies — technician licensing is personal, regardless of whether the corporation itself changes hands. |
| WSIB clearance | Confirmed as a closing condition before the sale completes, protecting the buyer from inherited workplace-safety liability. | Same clearance check applies, since WSIB liability could otherwise carry forward inside the corporation. |
| Service contracts & warranties | Assigned explicitly in the purchase agreement, with customer notice where the original agreements require it. | Generally stay in place with the corporation, without the same assignment step. |
| Equipment & vehicles | Purchased outright as part of the asset package; liens and financing are confirmed before closing. | Stays owned by the corporation; equipment and vehicle financing is reviewed as part of the share purchase. |
| Typical use in an HVAC company deal | The default for most single-location HVAC deals. | Less common — occasionally used where long-term commercial service contracts are harder to reassign than to carry forward inside the existing corporation. |
The company's equipment, vehicles, service contracts, customer list, and goodwill.
The shares of the corporation itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes.
Generally stay behind with the seller's existing corporation.
Generally come with the company, known and unknown.
The buyer's own qualified gas technicians (G1/G2) must be in place — the licence doesn't transfer with the business.
Same requirement applies — technician licensing is personal, regardless of whether the corporation itself changes hands.
Confirmed as a closing condition before the sale completes, protecting the buyer from inherited workplace-safety liability.
Same clearance check applies, since WSIB liability could otherwise carry forward inside the corporation.
Assigned explicitly in the purchase agreement, with customer notice where the original agreements require it.
Generally stay in place with the corporation, without the same assignment step.
Purchased outright as part of the asset package; liens and financing are confirmed before closing.
Stays owned by the corporation; equipment and vehicle financing is reviewed as part of the share purchase.
The default for most single-location HVAC deals.
Less common — occasionally used where long-term commercial service contracts are harder to reassign than to carry forward inside the existing corporation.
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 HVAC installer and service company changing hands between an owner-operator and one buyer, with a modest technician team.
Start my file →A larger HVAC company with commercial service contracts, a multi-crew operation, or a deal where technician licensing coverage needs to be resolved before closing.
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.
No — TSSA gas-technician licensing (G1/G2) belongs to the individual technician, not the corporation, so it doesn't transfer with a sale. The business can keep doing gas work only if it has its own qualified, licensed technicians in place, whether that's staff who come with the deal or people you bring on yourself.
It confirms the seller's WSIB account is in good standing before you close, so you're not stepping into an outstanding balance or compliance issue tied to the business's workplace-safety history. Making it a closing condition is standard practice in this sector, not an unusual request.
Not automatically — they need to be explicitly assigned in the purchase agreement, and depending on how the original contracts were written, customers may need to be notified of the change. That gets worked through as part of the deal rather than assumed.
Generally, yes — a base of ongoing maintenance contracts is viewed as more predictable than one-off installation jobs, and that predictability is typically reflected in how the business is valued. It's worth understanding how much of the revenue is contract-based versus project-based before you evaluate an asking price.
| Resource | Official link |
|---|---|
| Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) Gas-technician licensing | Visit www.tssa.org |
| Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Clearance certificates | Visit www.wsib.ca |
| Personal Property Security Registration (PPSR) Equipment and vehicle lien searches | Visit www.ontario.ca |
Where we close hvac company deals
Tell us about your hvac company deal — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.