What should I check before buying a school photography business?

School photography works differently from a portrait studio. The customers are schools and school boards, and parents are the buyers of the prints. A business like this may be almost entirely a set of accounts that renew each year. Your first job is to find out how secure those accounts are and whether they pass to a new owner.

Contracts with schools

Ask for every agreement with a school or board, with its end date, renewal terms and any rights the school has to end it. Find out whether a school must consent to a new owner, and whether any process such as a tender applies. Ask how many accounts are due for renewal soon, and read the anti-assignment clause explainer before you assume a contract will transfer.

The picture-day calendar and cash flow

Most income arrives around picture days and reorders, with quiet stretches between. Ask for the schedule for the coming year, the staff needed for each day, and when parents’ payments come in compared with when costs go out. Ask how long the quiet months last and how they are funded; your accountant can help.

Ordering, lab and equipment

Ask how parents place orders, which software and printing partners the business depends on, and whether those agreements can pass to you. Look at the camera kits, backdrops and vehicles, and ask what is owned outright. Request a few days watching a picture day in action, since the process shows problems that records do not.

Student images and family details

The business holds photos of children and contact details for their families. Ask how long files are kept, who can reach them and what the school agreements say about their use. The Privacy Commissioner’s overview of personal information rules, listed below, is a place to start, but a lawyer should tell you what applies to this sale.