Senior Care Authority franchise unit economics
Senior Care Authority franchisees run a senior living placement and eldercare consulting agency, paid by the communities they place families into, across a marketing area of 2,500 to 4,000 licensed assisted living and memory care beds. 41 agencies running a single marketing area averaged $228,670 past 54 months of marketing, and 14 running several averaged $602,725. Royalty is 8% against per-area minimums reaching $14,400 a year.
- Primary source
- Senior Care Authority, 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
- 41 of 106 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.
The royalty minimum decides your first three years here. 8% of gross sales sounds light until you see that the per-area minimum reaches $14,400 a year and 8% catches up with it only at $180,000 of sales. Four of the five cohort for single-area agencies average below that line. So most owners are paying a fixed figure. With the $11,400 marketing and technology fee, franchise fees come to 47.5% of sales in the first group and 13.5% past the fifth year.
- Fees take 47.5% of gross sales in the first cohort and 13.5% past 54 months.$22,170 on $46,705, against $30,864 on $228,670.
- 8% royalty overtakes the $14,400 annual minimum only at $180,000 of sales per marketing area.Four of the five single-area groups average below it.
- A mature single marketing area bills $228,670 and a mature multi-area agency bills $602,725.2.6 times, past 54 months of marketing in both cases.
- Your clock starts when you begin marketing, six months or more after you sign.Training, coaching, an on-site visit and signed community contracts all come first.
- Revenue climbs 4.9 times from the first group to the mature one: $46,705 to $228,670.Four and a half years of marketing to get there.
How much does a Senior Care Authority franchise make?
The average Senior Care Authority unit reported $228,670 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $295,018. 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 8% 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.
The minimum fee
What the fees come to.
| Months marketing | Average gross sales | Royalty | Marketing & technology | Bookkeeping | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 18 | $46,705 | $9,600 | $11,400 | $1,170 | $22,170 | 47.5% |
| 19 to 30 | $54,753 | $12,000 | $11,400 | $1,170 | $24,570 | 44.9% |
| 31 to 42 | $97,000 | $14,400 | $11,400 | $1,170 | $26,970 | 27.8% |
| 43 to 54 | $163,767 | $14,400 | $11,400 | $1,170 | $26,970 | 16.5% |
| 54 and over | $228,670 | $18,294 | $11,400 | $1,170 | $30,864 | 13.5% |
Gross sales as the brand reported it for the 41 agencies running a single marketing area.
The minimum governs for the whole of the first four and a half years. Only the mature group actually pays 8%. Every earlier row pays a fixed monthly figure that happens to exceed it. At the 6-to-18-month average of $46,705, the $800 monthly minimum works out to 20.6% of gross sales on its own.
The marketing and technology fee is the single largest line early on. $11,400 a year whatever the agency sells. In the first group that is 24.4% of sales on its own, more than the royalty. It covers your website, search optimization, the customer relationship system, email marketing and the brand's social platform, so it is an outsourced marketing department charged flat.
Every additional contiguous marketing area adds $2,400 a year. $200 a month, starting when you begin marketing into it. A second area costs a $14,400 minimum royalty plus a $2,400 technology fee. That is $16,800 a year before it places anyone.
Where the break-evens sit.
| Months of operation | Monthly minimum | Annual minimum | 8% catches up at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | $0 | $0 | n/a |
| 6 to 12 | $500 | $6,000 | $75,000 |
| 13 to 24 | $800 | $9,600 | $120,000 |
| 25 to 36 | $1,000 | $12,000 | $150,000 |
| 37 and beyond | $1,200 | $14,400 | $180,000 |
Minimums as the brand reported it, charged for each marketing area you purchase, beginning when you start operating in that area.
$180,000 a marketing area is the number that changes your economics. Cross it and every additional dollar starts costing 8 cents; sit below it and the fee is identical whether you bill $100,000 or $179,000. Between $120,000 and $180,000 of sales, the royalty does not rise at all.
Agencies 31 to 42 months in average $97,000 and pay $14,400 of royalty. That is 14.8% on its own, against the 8% a mature agency pays. An owner four years into marketing who is still under $180,000 is paying nearly twice the headline rate.
Top performers
What separates the top Senior Care Authority performers
Senior Care Authority splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $462,948 a year. The worst averaged $51,398. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 9.0× 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 $85,255 to $108,725, a 1.3× 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
- Placements, the operating driver.This model bills on placements. The fee is earned when someone is hired and lost again if they leave inside the guarantee, so a placement that does not stick costs the firm twice. 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 8.0% 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.41 of 106 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, no attainment figure. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Sales
Single marketing area.
| Months marketing | Agencies | Range | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 18 | 4 | $4,500 to $107,074 | $46,705 | $37,625 |
| 19 to 30 | 4 | $16,776 to $88,385 | $54,753 | $57,926 |
| 31 to 42 | 8 | $28,900 to $243,039 | $97,000 | $53,677 |
| 43 to 54 | 2 | $102,627 to $224,905 | $163,767 | $163,767 |
| 54 and over | 23 | $51,398 to $462,948 | $228,670 | $295,018 |
As the brand reported it.
In the mature group the middle agency sells $295,018 and the average is $228,670. That is the reverse of almost every other brand in this series. It means the mature group is weighed down by a tail of weaker agencies. Half the 23 mature single-area agencies bill above $295,018, and the lowest-selling bills $51,398.
In beds, a mature area draws $57 to $91 a year from each licensed bed it covers. $228,670 across 2,500 to 4,000 beds. That is the cleanest benchmark on this page, because the bed count is the thing your marketing area is actually sized by.
The middle groups are where the network thins out. Four agencies at 6 to 18 months, four at 19 to 30, eight at 31 to 42 and two at 43 to 54, against 23 past 54 months. Most of the network is either mature or new.
Several marketing areas.
| Months marketing | Agencies | Range | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 18 | 3 | $7,857 to $50,541 | $22,417 | $8,852 |
| 19 to 30 | 3 | $16,094 to $307,501 | $121,164 | $39,896 |
| 31 to 42 | 1 | $88,310 | $88,310 | $88,310 |
| 54 and over | 7 | $156,426 to $1,299,671 | $602,725 | $483,084 |
As the brand reported it.
A mature multi-area agency bills 2.6 times a mature single-area one. $602,725 against $228,670, with the top agency at $1,299,671. Each extra area costs a $14,400 minimum royalty and a $2,400 technology fee once marketing starts there. So the second area has to reach roughly $210,000 before it is contributing at the same rate as the first.
The young multi-area agencies bill less than the young single-area ones. $22,417 against $46,705 at 6 to 18 months, and $8,852 against $37,625 at the median. Opening several areas at once range the same founder across more ground. The fixed minimums land on every area from the day you start marketing in it. The pattern reverses only once the areas mature.
What it costs to open, and the network
What it costs to open. (Item 7)
| Marketing areas | Franchise fee | Per area | Total investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | $52,500 | $52,500 | $85,255 to $108,725 |
| Two | $95,000 | $47,500 | $127,755 to $150,425 |
| Three | $132,000 | $44,000 | n/a |
As the brand reported it, except the per-area column.
A third marketing area costs $44,000 against $52,500 for the first. A saving of $8,500, set against $16,800 a year of minimums and technology fee that the third area starts carrying the moment you market into it. The fee discount is consumed by the running cost inside six months, so the question is whether you can work three areas.
Roughly $32,145 of the opening spend is fixed program cost. The $12,750 onboarding fee, $10,000 of FastTrack to Market, $5,000 at the top of the market event range, $1,395 of certifications and up to $3,000 of legal and accounting. The first group averages $46,705 of sales. The opening program costs most of a year's sales.
The network of locations. (Item 20)
| Year | Franchised start | Franchised end | Net change | Company-owned end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 77 | 97 | +20 | 2 |
| 2024 | 97 | 104 | +7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 104 | 106 | +2 | 4 |
As the brand reported it.
Growth slowed from 20 net additions to 2 across three years. 77 to 97 to 104 to 106. A network that has stopped adding while its mature group keeps billing is one where the comparison set gets stronger. Where the 23 mature single-area agencies at $228,670 are the benchmark you will be measured against.
55 of the 106 agencies reported into the performance tables. The rest either ceased operating during 2025, converted to affiliate status, ran part time, or had been marketing for under six months. The part-time exclusion is deliberate: the franchisor says it accepts only franchisees who will work full time or employ a full-time manager.
Questions we get asked
What should my agency be billing?
Running one marketing area, the 2025 averages were $46,705 at 6 to 18 months of marketing, $54,753 at 19 to 30, $97,000 at 31 to 42, $163,767 at 43 to 54 and $228,670 past 54 months, with a mature median of $295,018. Running several areas, the mature average was $602,725 with a median of $483,084 and a top agency at $1,299,671.
What does the brand cost in total?
An 8% royalty against monthly minimums of $500 in months 6 to 12, $800 in months 13 to 24, $1,000 in months 25 to 36 and $1,200 from month 37, charged for each marketing area. A $950 monthly marketing and technology support fee, $200 a month for each additional contiguous area. A required bookkeeping subscription of $960 to $1,380 a year. In practice that is 47.5% of gross sales in the first cohort, falling to 13.5% past 54 months of marketing.
When does 8% become cheaper than the minimum?
At $75,000 of gross sales per marketing area in months 6 to 12, $120,000 in months 13 to 24, $150,000 in months 25 to 36 and $180,000 from month 37. Four of the five single-area cohort average below $180,000, so most of the network pays a fixed royalty. Between the minimum royalty and the point where 8% overtakes it, extra sales cost no extra royalty.
When does my clock start?
When you begin marketing, which follows the initial training program, coaching, an on-site visit and securing enough contracts with assisted living communities in your area, typically six months or longer from signing. The royalty minimums run on months of operation, so the fixed fees start climbing while you are still building the community relationships that make placements possible.
Who does bookkeeping for a Senior Care Authority franchise?
Revenue here arrives as commission payments from communities after a resident moves in and stays. The monthly close has to show the gap between placing a family and being paid. A strong quarter of placements can reach the bank in the following quarter. Royalty runs against a minimum per marketing area, which means the effective rate differs by area and by month. A multi-area agency needs its profit and loss split by area to see which one is carrying the fixed cost. The franchisor requires QuickBooks Online and bills the subscription through itself. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- 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.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to Senior Care Authority
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 Senior Care Authority locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
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