Home Helpers Home Care franchise unit economics
Home Helpers franchisees run non-medical home care, and a single office can hold several territories. The 156 locations reporting for 2025 averaged $1,973,237 against a median of $1,122,828. The royalty and the branding fee both fall as sales rise. The top fifty locations pay 5.92% of sales and the bottom fifty pay 8.60%. What moves a location up both ladders is territory count.
- Primary source
- Home Helpers Home Care, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 156 of 362 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Two fee ladders run in parallel here and both fall as revenue rises. The royalty falls from 6% to 4.5% and the branding fee from 2% to 0.5%. The top fifty locations pay 5.92% of sales and the bottom fifty pay 8.60% *. The top fifty locations hold 3.3 territories each. The bottom fifty hold 1.1.
- The bottom fifty locations give up 8.60% of revenue and the top fifty 5.92%.Two ladders falling together *, a royalty stepping 6% to 4.5% and a branding fee stepping 2% to 0.5%.
- The top fifty locations hold 3.3 territories each and the bottom fifty hold 1.1.$4,877,656 against $269,448, which is 18.1 times the revenue * on three times the territory.
- A single-territory location averages $996,610 against a system average of $1,973,237.50.5% of it *, and 107 of the 156 locations reporting hold exactly one, so the headline describes a location holding about two.
- 25% of locations reach the average and 50% reach the median.$1,973,237 against $1,122,828, where the median is 56.9% of the mean * and the highest location bills $30,557,547.
- The minimum royalty is charged for every territory and the branding minimum only once.$500 a month either way, so a three-territory location owes $18,000 of minimum royalty against $6,000 of branding minimum *.
How much does a Home Helpers Home Care franchise make?
The average Home Helpers Home Care unit reported $1,973,237 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,122,828. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 6.4% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Home Helpers Home Care performers
Home Helpers Home Care splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $4,877,656 a year. The worst averaged $269,448. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,122,828. The average was $1,973,237. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 18.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $120,750 to $175,250, a 1.5× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Billed hours, the operating driver.This model bills on billed hours. The owner pays for every hour worked and bills only the hours a client accepts, so the job is to keep those two close and to protect the gap between the rate charged and the rate paid. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 6.4% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
- The first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.156 of 362 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
The first year, month by month
Ten years, and territory gathers along the way.
Locations are grouped by time in the system, and two things move together down the table. Revenue rises and so does the number of territories a location holds. By the time a location passes ten years it holds 2.6 territories and bills $2,958,536.
| Time in system | Locations | Franchises | Average franchises a location | Average revenue | Median revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 120 months | 75 | 195 | 2.6 | $2,958,536 | $1,649,747 |
| 97 to 120 months | 13 | 20 | 1.5 | $2,884,676 | $1,616,008 |
| 73 to 96 months | 19 | 40 | 2.1 | $2,262,817 | $1,803,852 |
| 49 to 72 months | 13 | 15 | 1.2 | $946,055 | $1,081,077 |
| 25 to 48 months | 36 | 39 | 1.1 | $619,317 | $501,306 |
| All locations | 156 | 309 | 1.9 | $1,973,237 | $1,122,828 |
Every figure in this table is as the brand reported it.
The 49 to 72 month group is the one place the median sits above the average. $1,081,077 against $946,055, a middle bunched together with a few weak locations pulling the mean down, which is the opposite of every other row here.
Revenue multiplies 4.78 times from the 25 to 48 month group to the oldest one while territory multiplies 2.36 times. $619,317 to $2,958,536 against 1.1 territories to 2.6 *, so roughly half the climb is more area and the rest is filling it better.
The system added 18 franchises in 2025 and holds zero company-owned outlets. 344 to 362, with the brand staying entirely out of operating.
Two sets of steps
Both rates fall, and they fall differently.
The royalty is charged in steps: 6% on the first $500,000 of sales a year, 5.5% above that, 5% above $1,000,000 and 4.5% above $5,000,000. Each rate applies only to the revenue past its benchmark. The branding fee works the other way. It is one rate, set by where the whole year's sales land. It runs from 2% under $500,000 to 0.5% at $5,000,000. One rewards every extra dollar; the other rewards crossing a line.
| Gross revenues | Royalty * | Branding fee * | With technology * | Share of revenue * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $269,448, the bottom fifty average | $16,167 | $6,000 | $23,162 | 8.60% |
| $996,610, the single-territory average | $57,314 | $14,949 | $73,258 | 7.35% |
| $1,122,828, the median location | $63,641 | $16,842 | $81,479 | 7.26% |
| $1,973,237, all locations | $106,162 | $19,732 | $126,889 | 6.43% |
| $4,877,656, the top fifty average | $251,383 | $36,582 | $288,960 | 5.92% |
| $30,557,547, the highest location | $1,407,590 | $152,788 | $1,561,372 | 5.11% |
The brand reported every rate, group and sales figure. The dollar columns and shares are marked * and exclude the local cooperative charge of up to 3%.
At the bottom of the system the branding fee is a fixed minimum. 2% of $269,448 is $5,389. The $500 monthly minimum takes it to $6,000 *. The smallest locations pay 2.23% of sales to the fund, against 0.5% at the largest.
Crossing $1,500,000 cuts the branding rate by a third in one step. The rate falls from 1.5% to 1% on the whole year's sales, worth $7,500 at that point *. The last weeks of the year matter when sales are close to a step.
The royalty resets to 6% every January. The rate starts at the top of the ladder each calendar year and steps down as you pass each benchmark. So the combined rate you finish a year on is higher than the rate you were paying in December.
Territory is the variable
One office, several territories.
A Home Helpers franchisee owning more than one franchise gets a larger protected area, and reports the whole thing as one location. That makes territory count the single clearest predictor of where a location sits, and the top and bottom fifty make the point without any interpretation.
| Measure | Top fifty | Bottom fifty | Multiple * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average gross revenues | $4,877,656 | $269,448 | 18.1× |
| Median gross revenues | $3,312,380 | $251,660 | 13.2× |
| Average franchises a location | 3.3 | 1.1 | 3.0× |
| Median franchises a location | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0× |
| Highest in the group | $30,557,547 | $560,140 | 54.6× |
| Reaching the group average | 17 of 50 | 24 of 50 | n/a |
Both columns are as the brand reported it; the multiple column is marked *.
Three times the territory produces 18.1 times the sales. Territory count accounts for part of that gap *. The rest is how long each location has run and how well it works the area.
107 of the 156 locations hold exactly one territory, and they average $996,610. That is 50.5% of the all-location average *, which is the number a first-time owner should plan against.
Single-territory revenue grew 4.9% while its median grew 11.7%. Both figures are as the brand reported it, and together they say the middle of that group moved up faster than its average. Is the healthier of the two directions.
What it takes to open
Cash to run the business day to day is the largest line.
The opening estimate runs $120,750 to $175,250, and the biggest single item is the $47,500 to $72,500 the brand requires you to hold for the first three months. In a business that pays caregivers weekly and invoices clients monthly, that line is the business.
| Line | Low | High | Share of the low estimate * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49,900 | $49,900 | 41.32% |
| Additional funds, three months | $47,500 | $72,500 | 39.34% |
| Business Foundations Kit | $9,900 | $9,900 | 8.20% |
| Insurance | $6,500 | $10,000 | 5.38% |
| Travel and living while training | $3,000 | $7,500 | 2.49% |
| Computer system | $2,500 | $4,000 | 2.07% |
| Policies and procedures | $950 | $950 | 0.79% |
| Everything else | $500 | $20,500 | 0.41% |
| Total | $120,750 | $175,250 | 100% |
Every line is as the brand reported it; the share column is marked * and the everything-else row groups the remaining filed lines.
The fee and the working capital together are 80.7% of the cheapest way in. $97,400 of $120,750 *, which leaves about $23,350 for everything a new office physically needs.
Converting an existing agency costs $37,850 to $86,800. About a third of the cost of starting from scratch. Converting an existing agency costs $24,950 to $49,900 in fees and starts with paying clients.
Opening costs 12.1% of a year at the single-territory average. $120,750 against $996,610 *. It is also 19.5% of the $619,317 that offices 25 to 48 months old average.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What does the brand actually cost?
Between 5.92% and 8.60% of revenue depending on where you sit *, plus up to 3% for a local advertising cooperative where one operates. The royalty is charged in steps: 6% on the first $500,000, then 5.5%, 5% and 4.5%. The branding fee is one rate, set by where the whole year lands in, from 2% to 0.5%. Technology is $995 a year.
Should I benchmark against the average or the median?
The median, at $1,122,828, and even that needs a second adjustment. Only 25% of locations reach the average while 50% reach the median, and the average counts locations holding 1.9 territories. If you hold one, the figure to plan against is the single-territory average of $996,610 or its median of $627,641.
Does a second territory pay for itself?
The filed figures point that way, with two things to weigh. A second territory enlarges the protected area, so it shares the premises, the manager and the back office. It also moves you down both fee ladders. The $500 monthly minimum royalty is charged for each territory. The $500 branding minimum is charged once. A location with three territories pays $18,000 a year of minimum royalty * until sales pass that.
How long does it take to get to the system average?
Around seven years on these figures. A location at 25 to 48 months averages $619,317, at 49 to 72 months $946,055, and at 73 to 96 months $2,262,817. The step change lands in the seventh year, and territory count rises from 1.1 to 2.1 across the same span. Cash to run the business day to day has to cover the years before that step.
Who does bookkeeping for a Home Helpers franchise?
Averan does. We work with owners here on caregiver cost as a share of what is invoiced, read weekly with overtime separated, on what the royalty and branding fee actually cost as sales crosses each benchmark, days sales outstanding against a weekly wages. The cash forecast behind an added territory. Get in touch.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Home Helpers Home Care
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Home Helpers Home Care locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Which fee group will your year land in?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around the effective royalty and branding rate as revenue crosses each benchmark, caregiver cost read weekly with overtime separated, days sales outstanding against a weekly wages. The cash behind an added territory.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Home Helpers Home Care reads against the rest of the non-medical home care group: Assisting Hands Home Care · CareBuilders At Home · Caring Senior Service · ComForCare · Comfort Keepers · Executive Home Care. The non-medical home care guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?What changes at around ten units, and why lenders care.