What Strategic Systems does

Strategic Systems, Inc. is a privately held economic development and tax incentives consulting firm headquartered in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Founded in 1995, the firm has operated continuously for nearly three decades, serving companies primarily in the Southeast United States. Its core offering is advisory and execution services across six interconnected service lines: Job Creation and Hiring Incentives (including Work Opportunity Tax Credits and Empowerment Zone credits), Sales Tax Incentives and Abatements (with reverse audit capabilities), Negotiated Incentives (property tax abatements, infrastructure grants, and economic development packages), Training Grants and Incentives, Sales Tax Compliance Services, and Site Selection Consulting. The firm positions itself as a strategic partner rather than a vendor, integrating its work with client internal departments and handling all aspects of incentive identification, application, and ongoing compliance reporting.

The company operates a consultative, relationship-driven professional services model with 11-50 employees. Its management team includes Robert Slate (President & CEO, 30+ years of experience), Stephen Jenkins (Director of Business Development, 9+ years with public accounting background), Saul Crafton (CFO and Director of Operations, 7+ years with banking and finance background), and Carol Martin (Senior Tax Consultant, 10+ years and former state department of revenue supervisor). There are no upfront costs for initial consultation and evaluation; the firm handles all work on behalf of clients, with specific fee structures not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, relying on direct outreach to enterprises, referrals from economic development agencies and chambers of commerce, and a content/website presence.

The firm also provides technical assistance to state and local economic development agencies and councils, helping improve and market their incentive programs—a quasi-advisory role to government that generates referral flow. Primary verticals are Manufacturing & Distribution Centers and Professional Services, with secondary focus on Retail/Hospitality (WOTC-oriented) and Data Centers. The firm is founder/management-owned with no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity. No AI/ML or proprietary technology platform is part of the offering; the competitive position rests on human domain expertise and long-standing agency relationships.

Name

Strategic Systems

Legal name

Strategic Systems, Inc.

Website

https://strsys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strategic Systems, Inc. is a Jacksonville Beach, Florida-based economic development and tax incentives consulting firm serving primarily Southeast US companies in manufacturing, distribution, professional services, retail, and data center industries. Founded in 1995, it identifies, negotiates, and manages federal, state, and local incentive programs for enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax Incentive Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG), Risk, Compliance & Internal Controls Consulting (BPAHACAJ), Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

Keywords

• Tax incentive consulting
• Economic development services
• Sales tax refunds
• Job creation incentives
• Site selection consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Revenue is generated through professional consulting fees for economic development and tax incentive advisory services. The company handles all work for clients with no upfront costs for initial consultation and evaluation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Strategic Systems is a professional consulting firm that helps companies identify, negotiate, and capture federal, state, and local economic development and tax incentive programs. Its service portfolio includes job creation and hiring incentives (e.g., WOTC), sales tax incentive and abatement reviews, negotiated incentive packages (property tax abatements, infrastructure grants), training grants, sales tax compliance, and site selection support. The firm integrates these programs into clients' business models and handles ongoing compliance, with no upfront costs for consultation and evaluation.

Product overview

Strategic Systems is an economic development and tax incentives consulting firm offering a suite of advisory services. The portfolio consists of six interconnected service lines: Job Creation and Hiring Incentives (including WOTC and Empowerment Zone programs), Sales Tax Incentives and Abatements (with reverse audit capabilities), Negotiated Incentives (property tax, infrastructure grants, and economic development packages), Training Grants and Incentives, Sales Tax Compliance Services, and Site Selection Consulting. These services are designed to integrate into clients' business models to maximize incentive capture while ensuring ongoing compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Job Creation and Hiring Incentives Advisory and processing service for federal, state, and local programs that induce job creation, including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) up to $9,600 for hiring veterans or individuals with barriers to employment, Empowerment Zone hiring credits up to $3,000 per year, and state/local jobs credits. Targeted at companies hiring new employees or expanding workforce.
• Sales Tax Incentives and Abatements Consulting service providing industry-specific sales tax exemptions, refunds, large purchase reviews, sampling reverse audits, and full reverse audits to uncover tax savings opportunities. For companies with significant capital expenditures or industry-specific sales tax exposure.
• Negotiated Incentives Advisory service covering dollars-per-job incentives, capital investment incentives, infrastructure grants, property tax abatements, and municipal/county fee reductions negotiated with state and local agencies on behalf of clients locating or expanding in targeted areas.
• Training Grants and Incentives Consulting service for incentives covering new hire training programs and retraining of existing employees, including partnerships with local workforce and vocational programs to help clients access qualified candidates and training funding.
• Sales Tax Compliance Services Compliance review service providing periodic sampling audits, audit defense, voluntary disclosure program assistance, and ongoing compliance monitoring for sales and use tax matters.
• Site Selection and Economic Development Consulting Advisory service assisting companies with site selection, evaluating proposed sites, determining the most beneficial development packages, integrating incentive packages into overall site selection decisions, and providing technical assistance to state and local economic development agencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Work Opportunity Tax Credit up to $9,600 for employers who hire and retain veterans or individuals from targeted groups with significant barriers to employment
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• State and Local Economic Development AgenciescoreOthersStrategic Systems works closely with state and local economic development agencies to assist with improving and marketing their economic development programs. They provide technical assistance to help agencies achieve their communities' growth and economic goals, creating a more competitive business environment.
• Chambers of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobert Slate, President & CEO, plays an active role consulting with chambers of commerce and economic development councils to provide technical assistance for existing and newly proposed programs.
• Economic Development CouncilscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with economic development councils to ensure programs run smoothly and as intended. Strategic Systems provides feedback to assist agencies with clarifications and improvements to economic development programs.
• Workforce and Vocational ProgramsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Systems helps develop partnerships with local workforce and vocational programs to provide clients with a pool of qualified candidates to meet their growth needs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• KPMG: KPMG provides site selection, state and local tax incentives, and economic development advisory as part of its broader tax and management consulting practice. It is comparable to Strategic Systems because both advise companies on capturing incentives tied to location and capital investment decisions, though at very different scales.
• CBRE: CBRE is a global commercial real estate services firm whose Location Practice and Incentives Advisory teams advise companies on site selection and economic development incentives. It overlaps with Strategic Systems in serving data center, manufacturing, and distribution clients evaluating relocation or expansion incentives.
• JLL: JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) is a global commercial real estate services firm with an Incentives Consulting and Location Strategy practice that supports corporate expansion, data center buildouts, and manufacturing relocations. It competes with Strategic Systems on negotiated incentive packages and site selection but bundles these into a much broader real estate services offering.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield's Global Site Selection and Incentives practice helps corporates identify qualifying state and local incentive programs and negotiate packages. Like Strategic Systems, it supports companies navigating the same WOTC, sales tax abatement, and negotiated incentive landscape, but as a sub-offering of a global CRE platform.
• FORVIS (formerly BKD): FORVIS is a top US accounting and advisory firm with a dedicated State and Local Tax (SALT) and Credits & Incentives practice advising on sales tax refunds, job credits, and negotiated incentive packages. It competes with Strategic Systems for the same mid-market enterprise clients seeking tax credit recovery and economic development advisory, but bundles these within broader accounting services.
• Deloitte: Deloitte is a Big 4 professional services firm with a dedicated site selection, incentives, and economic development practice serving multinational enterprises. It competes with Strategic Systems at the larger end of the same market — corporate expansion and capex-driven incentive capture — but as part of a much broader advisory portfolio.
• Ernst & Young (EY): EY-Parthenon's Location Strategy and Economic Development practice advises corporates on incentive negotiation, site selection, and grants funding — directly overlapping with Strategic Systems' core offerings. EY is the broader incumbent counterpart that handles enterprise-scale engagements Strategic Systems cannot.
• PwC: PwC's Site Selection and Incentives practice supports companies with tax credit identification, incentive negotiation, and location strategy as part of its tax and advisory business. It competes with Strategic Systems for the same client objective — maximizing incentives on capex and hiring decisions — but serves much larger multinational accounts.

Direct peers

• Site Selection Group: Site Selection Group is a boutique consulting firm focused on corporate location strategy, incentive negotiation, and economic development advisory — the closest direct competitor to Strategic Systems. It serves the same mid-market enterprise segment pursuing site selection, sales tax refunds, and negotiated incentive packages on capex and hiring projects.
• Global Location Strategies (GLS): Global Location Strategies is a boutique site selection and incentive negotiation consultancy serving manufacturing, distribution, and corporate relocation clients. It is a direct peer to Strategic Systems because both firms specialize in negotiated incentive packages, capex-driven tax credits, and workforce-related incentives for mid-market and enterprise companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strategic Systems