Quality of Earnings and CFO services for language services companies
Language services are a people business with thin margins. We test interpreter classification, margin by modality and language, and the government and healthcare contracts the revenue depends on.
Talk about a deal Talk about the businessReply within one business day · Fixed fee in writing · No obligation
An industry consolidating through acquisitions
- Interpreting providers have outgrown translation, with several major interpreting companies reporting 11% to 30% revenue growth in 2024. Source
- Healthcare remote interpreting has seen consolidation, including Propio's 2025 acquisition of CyraCom. Source
- A 2025 executive order rescinded the prior federal language-access mandate, leaving agencies to decide how they provide language services. Source
- Since October 1, 2026, SBA 7(a) acquisitions of $3 million or more need an independent Quality of Earnings, and lenders size the loan on its normalized earnings. The rule explained →
We work with lenders and buyers in Utah, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boise, Las Vegas, and nationwide.
Revenue per minute or hourMargin by modality (OPI, VRI, onsite)Interpreter fill rateCustomer retentionDays sales outstandingTop-customer %
A shift in interpreter classification or a lost health-system contract can change earnings quickly. Buyers test both.
What buyers and lenders test in a language services QoE
Interpreter classification
Contractor vs. employee status and the exposure under federal and state law.
Revenue per minute
Rates and costs per minute or hour by modality, language, and customer.
Gross vs. net revenue
Whether subcontracted work is reported gross or net.
Unbilled minutes
Accrued revenue and cut-off for services delivered but not yet invoiced.
Contracts and rate cards
Government and health-system contracts, renewal dates, and pricing.
Census data
Interpreter and employee census reconciled to payroll and 1099s.
Language services QoE: what's included
- Revenue and margin by modality, language, and customer
- Interpreter classification review
- Unbilled revenue and cut-off testing
- Contract and rate card review
- Census to payroll reconciliation
Language services add-ons
| Each additional legal entity | $2,500 |
Fees by deal size
| Purchase price / EV | QoE fee |
|---|---|
| Under $3M | $11,500 (sell-side $9,000) |
| $3M to $4M | $12,500 |
| $4M to $5M | $14,500 |
| $5M to $10M | $19,500 |
| $10M to $15M | from $26,500 |
| Lower middle market & PE add-ons | typically $25,000 to $70,000 |
Larger deals are quoted from revenue, entities, inventory, and report format. Pre-LOI earnings screen $1,950. All fees →
Before an LOI, run the seller's numbers through our free add-back sanity check. Terms like SDE, cash proof, and DSCR are explained in the QoE glossary.
Where language services owners lose money
- Margins measured company-wide, not by modality or customer
- 1099 and payroll compliance across many states
- Slow-paying government customers
- Interpreter scheduling costs no one tracks
Priced for your industry
Thin-margin service businesses need margin by customer and modality and a tight cash cycle.
Start with a $2,500 finance diagnostic, credited to your first month. Interim CFO or controller coverage is also available, part time from $10,500/mo or full time.
Books & close
- Monthly bookkeeping and reconciliations
- Accrual close by business day 10
- Monthly financial package
- Quarterly review call
Controller
- Everything in Books & close
- KPI dashboard for your industry
- Payroll, AP, and sales tax oversight
- Quarterly 13-week cash forecast
- Monthly review call
CFO
- Everything in Controller
- Margin by modality, language, and customer
- Classification and compliance review
- Receivables and DSO management
- Acquisition integration reporting
- Monthly CFO meeting
Fixed monthly fees, month to month after three months. Day-to-day bookkeeping may be done by trained staff working to our checklists, always with CPA review and sign-off by Edwin van Stam. Talk about the right package →
Language services engagements Edwin has led
- Multiple QoEs on interpreting and translation companies acquired as add-ons by a private equity-backed language services platform
Includes engagements Edwin performed with prior and affiliated firms. Client names are confidential.
Language services questions
Does an SBA loan for this kind of acquisition need a QoE?
Under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, a 7(a) change-of-ownership loan with a business purchase price of $3 million or more needs a Quality of Earnings, and the lender sizes the loan on the QoE's normalized earnings. Below $3 million many lenders still ask for one. Check your deal →
Why does interpreter classification matter in a sale?
If contractors could be reclassified as employees, the buyer inherits potential back taxes, wages, and penalties, and future margins change. Diligence quantifies that exposure.
Do you have experience with roll-ups?
Yes. We have performed QoEs on several add-on acquisitions for a language services platform, which means consistent definitions across targets.
Buying, selling, or running a language services company?
Buying, financing, or selling? Start with a QoE conversation. Running the business? Start with a finance diagnostic.