Senior care franchise finance
Averan read the 2026 FDDs of twenty-seven senior care brands. Across 7,602 units, sales per unit runs from $222,762 to $3,837,660. Royalty runs from 3.0% to 12%. The cost to open runs from $63,089 to $628,000.
Find a senior care brand
27 brands in this guide, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in senior care
At the typical senior care brand, the best group of locations sells $3,692,303 a year. The worst group sells $171,225. That is $3,521,078 more a year, 21.6 times over, for the same brand on the same agreement. Across these brands, a median of 34% of locations reach their own brand’s average. The average describes the top of a system, not the middle. 25 of the 27 brands here publish bands; the rest disclose no spread at all.
Decided before you open
- What it costs to open.Opening costs run $63,089 to $628,000 across the category, and the top of a single brand’s range is typically 1.6 times its bottom. The top group sells $3,692,303 a year against a build that tops out at $628,000, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $5.88 for every dollar it cost to open. That build is recovered inside a year or two of sales at that end of the system.
- What a location sells.Average sales run $1,545,697 at the middle brand and $3,692,303 at the top group. Format and site decide most of that before an owner does anything, which is why the same operator produces different results in different trade areas.
- Rent is one number, and it lands twice.Occupancy runs 2.4% of sales at the middle brand, which on median sales of $1,545,697 is $36,633 of rent a year. That same $36,633 is 1.0% of sales at the top group and 21.4% at the bottom. Nobody negotiated a worse lease. The top performers move this line by putting more sales through the same square footage: longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic rather than for the rate.
Live operating levers
- 21 of the 27 brands here publish how a new location builds up.Where a brand shows its first year month by month, an owner can see when sales finally cover the costs and how much cash has to be put in before that point arrives. Where a brand does not show it, that curve has to be guessed at, and the guess is usually optimistic.
- 19 of the 27 brands here bill by the hour.The owner pays for every hour a caregiver works and only bills the hours a client accepts, so the first job is to keep those two numbers close together. The second is to protect the gap between the rate charged and the rate paid, and the top performers do that by scheduling carefully and holding pay bands rather than by raising the price.
- 6 of the 27 brands here run a recurring plan.A plan turns a business that waits for the phone to ring into one that knows roughly what next month looks like, and that predictability is what lets an owner staff properly. It is built by asking the customer to book the next visit before they walk out, not by spending more on marketing afterwards.
- 5 of the 27 brands here get paid on a placement.The fee is earned when someone is hired and it can be lost again if that person leaves inside the guarantee period, so a placement that does not stick costs the firm twice. Volume matters, but so does who gets put forward.
- Wages. Same labor market, different result.Wages run 48.0% of sales at the middle brand and 36.8% to 53.3% across the 3 that disclose it. These brands hire from the same pool at the same rates, so a 16-point spread is not a pay-rate gap. It is scheduling and productivity: rostering against booked demand hour by hour, managing sales per paid hour as the number, and keeping enough of the pay variable that the line falls when the week is quiet. On the top group’s $3,692,303 of sales, a point of wages is $36,923 a year; on the bottom group’s $171,225 it is $1,712. The same discipline is worth more where the volume already is.
- Cost of what you sell. The line that compounds.Products and materials take 34.4% of sales at the middle brand, 10.8% to 58.0% across the 2 that disclose it. Buying on the brand program rather than locally, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly are what separate the ends of that range, and each of them compounds with volume, which is why the gap widens as a location grows.
- What is left at the end. Where the gap comes from.Of the 3 brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 12.2% of sales, from 10.8% to 29.1%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the best and worst locations while sales move by multiples, so the top performers are not running a cheaper business. They are running the same cost base over more revenue. Hold that 12.2% margin steady and the top group earns $450,461 against $20,889 at the bottom, a difference of $429,572 a year that comes from volume alone.
- What the brand charges. The line that works backwards.Fees run a median 7.5% of sales across 26 brands, from 5.2% to 17.8%. Where a minimum sits underneath the percentage, the weakest location pays the highest effective rate, so the fee line costs most exactly where it can least be afforded. The top performers clear the minimum early and stop thinking about it. At $3,692,303 the fees cost $277,846 a year; at $171,225 they cost $12,885. The percentage is the same and the burden is not.
Context you underwrite around
- How many brands show a ramp.21 of 27 filings in this category show how a new location builds up. For the rest the first year has to be assumed, and the assumption is usually wrong in the same direction.
- What is not banded.2 brands publish no bands at all, so their spread is unknown rather than narrow. Read a single average as the upper-middle of a distribution you cannot see.
Compare these brands side by side →
Also disclosed across this group: $0, $15,457, $172,809, $261,841, $364,630, 15.0, 2438.9.
The model
The business model the top performers in senior care are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
19 of the 27 brands here sell hours of somebody’s time. 6 of them run a recurring plan, and turning a first visit into a standing arrangement is a skill in itself. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 48.0% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys care or labour billed by the hour. At 5 of them the model is different: the customer buys a placement paid on a fee, which asks something else of the owner. A location at the middle brand sells $1,545,697 a year; the top group sells $3,692,303. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume rather than product.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. A median 34% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap is usually a demand gap rather than an effort gap. The top group sells $3,692,303 against $171,225 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $63,089 to $628,000 across the category, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 1.6 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 48.0%, occupancy 2.4%, cost of sales 34.4%, franchise fees 7.5% of sales. What is left runs 12.2% at the middle brand, which is $450,461 a year at the top group and $20,889 at the bottom. The percentage barely moves between them; the dollars do. Cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods here, so the cash forecast matters more than the profit line in any given month. 21 of these brands publish how a new location builds up, so the first year can be read out of the document instead of guessed at.
Caregiver wages take 48% to 53.3% of revenue at every brand that discloses them on a wage basis. That line changes littlebetween brands. Volume decides the rest.
- Three of the twenty-seven publish a profit line, and one splits it by how many areas you hold. Always Best Care at 17.1% owner discretionary profit for a single area against 11.8% for several, Comfort Keepers at 10.8% on a 39.2% gross profit. CarePatrol at 29.14% profit rising to 37.02% once the owner’s salary is added back.
- Caregiver cost sits between 48% and 53.3% of revenue at every brand disclosing it on a wage basis. Across territories whose revenue differs threefold, and the four brands reporting it fully loaded land between 58.0% and 65.0%.
- Royalty runs 3.0% to 12%. The brand's total charges run 5.25% to 26.8%. Visiting Angels and BrightStar Care at the bottom, CarePatrol, Oasis Senior Advisors and Nurse Next Door at the top.
- At four brands the minimum charge costs more than the percentage, at the sales those brands themselves report. Qualicare pays $43,200 of minimum against $42,631 of royalty at its own average, the median Assisted Living Locators owner pays 14.19% against an 8% plus 2% headline *, and CareBuilders’ minimum reaches $112,000 a year and then compounds.
- Four brands set a sales target that the territory must keep meeting. Two of them set it in hours of work. ComForCare requires 1,500 billable hours a fortnight from month 61 against a median owner billing 1,234. Always Best Care sets a monthly sales requirement whose 6% is exactly its minimum royalty at all six stages. CarePatrol requires 170 placements by month 120. Seniors Helping Seniors asks $25,000 a month and Caring Senior Service $20,000 a fortnight.
By type of business.
- Non-medical home care 18 brandsAssisting Hands Home Care · CareBuilders At Home · Caring Senior Service · ComForCare · Comfort Keepers · Executive Home Care · FirstLight Home Care · Griswold · Home Helpers Home Care · Home Instead · Homewatch CareGivers · Nurse Next Door · Qualicare · Right at Home · Senior Helpers · Seniors Helping Seniors · SYNERGY HomeCare · Visiting Angels
- Senior living placement 5 brandsAmada Senior Care · Assisted Living Locators · CarePatrol · Oasis Senior Advisors · Senior Care Authority
- Home health and staffing 3 brandsAlways Best Care · BrightStar Care · Interim HealthCare
- Senior relocation 1 brandCaring Transitions
Wage, rent and billing-rule changes are in the franchise cost and rules update.
Every brand in this guide
The hour
What half the dollar costs.
| Brand | What they disclose | Figure | Implied caregiver share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homewatch CareGivers | Direct caregiver cost | 48% average, 49% median | 48% |
| SYNERGY HomeCare | gross profit | 49% to 54% | 46% to 51% |
| Griswold | Caregiver pay | 49% of sales | 49% |
| Caring Senior Service | gross profit | 49.91% average, 49.94% median | 50.09% |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | Caregiver wages | 53.3% average, 53% median | 53.3% |
| FirstLight Home Care | gross profit on the hour | 53.5% | 46.5% |
| BrightStar Care | gross profit | 42.0% | 58.0% |
| Executive Home Care | gross profit | 40.78% average, 39.89% median | 59.22% |
| Comfort Keepers | gross profit | 39.2% | 60.8% |
| CareBuilders At Home | gross profit | 35.00% average, 36.17% median | 65.0% |
As the brand reported it by each brand.
The wage-only brands cluster at 48% to 53.3% and the fully loaded ones at 58.0% to 65.0%. That eleven-point gap is payroll taxes, workers compensation and unemployment insurance, the burden. So a wage-only figure of 50% means a real caregiver cost near 61%. Check what a brand counts as a cost before comparing its figure with another brand's.
CareBuilders reports 65.0% because the brand pays the caregiver wages itself. The brand pays the caregiver wages and runs the back office. Costs that other brands leave out are already inside that 35.00% *. Its 9% royalty takes 25.7% of what is left, and 42.0% at the lowest-selling office in its own system.
Scale leaves it exactly where it is. Homewatch territories averaging $1,360,485 and Seniors Helping Seniors units averaging $905,861 land within five points of each other. Executive Home Care keeps 38.39% to 42.55% at businesses invoicing $212,369 to $3,253,177. Sales differ fifteen times over. What is kept differs by four points. Scale here buys gross profit dollars and leaves the percentage where it is.
hourly rate and pay rate.
| Brand | hourly rate | Pay rate | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| ComForCare | $40.10 average, $39.75 median * | Undisclosed | n/a |
| FirstLight Home Care | $39.55 average, $70.44 highest | $18.41 average | $21.14 |
| Home Instead | $34.53 * | Undisclosed | n/a |
| Comfort Keepers | $34.48 * | Undisclosed | n/a |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | $27.20 to $47.00 | $13.90 to $23.50 | n/a |
FirstLight’s and Seniors Helping Seniors’ figures are as the brand reported it.
The category bills $34 to $40 an hour and pays around $18. FirstLight is the only brand that prints the hourly rate and the wage together: $39.55 against $18.41. The gap is $21.14, which is 53.5%. Seniors Helping Seniors gives the range instead: $13.90 against $27.20 is 48.9%. A wage of $23.50 against a rate of $47.00 leaves 50.0%. Markets with high rates pay high wages, so the share stays about the same.
A dollar on the hourly rate is worth more than a dollar off the wage. On FirstLight's average territory of 39,082 billable hours a year, either move is $39,082. But the wage cut costs you caregivers in a market where turnover already runs above a third a year. The rate rise costs you a conversation. Owners who benchmark only their pay rate are optimizing the harder half.
Sales
Hourly home care, sixteen brands.
| Brand | Units | Average revenue | Unit basis | Cost to open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always Best Care | 291 | $3,226,345 | Per franchise | $89,725 to $145,900 |
| Home Instead | 626 | $2,750,876 | Per franchise | $92,640 to $350,550 |
| BrightStar Care | 396 | $2,413,076 | Per agency | $101,464 to $217,486 |
| Visiting Angels | 541 | $2,394,545 | Per franchise * | $125,460 to $171,150 |
| SYNERGY HomeCare | 626 | $2,116,737 | Multi-territory owner | $80,245 to $164,091 |
| Griswold | 146 | $2,048,633 | Per location | $99,600 to $185,600 |
| Home Helpers Home Care | 362 | $1,973,237 | Per location, 1.9 territories | $120,750 to $175,250 |
| CareBuilders At Home | 28 | $1,909,010 | Per outlet | Left unstated |
| Senior Helpers | 401 | $1,839,518 | Past 60 months | $176,500 to $231,500 |
| Right at Home | 566 | $1,836,498 | Per office | $94,330 to $176,239 |
| Amada Senior Care | 266 | $1,579,524 | Per outlet | $121,577 to $438,440 |
| FirstLight Home Care | 284 | $1,545,697 | Per territory | $151,425 to $256,380 |
| Executive Home Care | 79 | $1,392,371 | Net billings per outlet | $103,950 to $165,133 |
| Homewatch CareGivers | 260 | $1,360,485 | Per territory | $142,890 to $194,080 |
| ComForCare | 270 | $1,295,843 | Per territory | $102,475 to $163,925 |
| Comfort Keepers | 619 | $1,277,857 | Per business | $119,560 to $190,700 |
| Assisting Hands | 232 | $1,046,940 | Per territory * | $98,050 to $181,200 |
| Caring Senior Service | 62 | $984,255 | Per office | $99,997 to $153,994 |
| Nurse Next Door | 71 | $922,781 | Year three | $119,286 to $217,210 |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | 224 | $905,861 | Per unit | $95,235 to $155,940 |
| Qualicare | 33 | $852,618 | Per franchisee | $98,150 to $174,150 |
Revenue figures as the brand reported it except where marked.
The hourly care brands run from $852,618 to $3,226,345, a factor of 3.78. The median across the twenty-one is $1,579,524 and the mean $1,698,700. Once the figures are put on the same basis, the brands sit closer together than they first appear. Home Instead’s $2,750,876 is per franchise. Its franchises hold more than one territory. So the per-territory figure sits closer to the middle of this table.
The cost to open clusters at $100,000 to $190,000, with two outliers. The median low is $101,970 and the median high $183,400. Amada reaches $438,440 and Senior Helpers starts at $176,500, while SYNERGY opens a single territory from $80,245. Almost the whole opening cost is the fee plus working capital. The difference between brands comes from state licensing, working capital day and the franchise fee.
One brand reports profit by number of areas. A second area brings more sales and a smaller margin. Always Best Care reports 17.1% kept by single-area owners and 11.8% by owners with several. That is 2.78 times the sales for 1.92 times the money *. Owners with several areas keep 6.7% at first, reaching 12.5% after six years.
Every brand in this table benchmarks against a different denominator, so read the ratio. Revenue per territory, sales per office and revenue per franchisee are three different questions. Each brand's own page shows the working. The one figure that compares cleanly across all of them is revenue divided by the population aged 65 and over in the territory. Runs from roughly $41 to $207 a year across this category.
The five brands on a different model.
| Brand | Units | Average revenue | What they sell | Cost to open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim HealthCare | 201 | $3,837,660 | Certified home health, hospice, personal care, medical staffing | $156,000 to $628,000 |
| Caring Transitions | 413 | $375,932 | Senior relocation, downsizing, estate sales, online auctions | $75,860 to $123,250 |
| CarePatrol | 215 | $322,639 | Placement into communities, paid by the community | $101,920 to $135,770 |
| Oasis Senior Advisors | 137 | $247,280 | Placement into communities, paid by the community | $63,089 to $109,239 |
| Assisted Living Locators | 170 | $222,762 | Placement into assisted living, memory care and nursing homes, paid by the community | $74,635 to $94,810 |
| Senior Care Authority | 106 | $228,670 | Placement and eldercare consulting | $85,255 to $108,725 |
As the brand reported it.
The four placement brands average $222,762 to $322,639 and one of them puts a profit line on record. CarePatrol reports 29.14% profit, rising to 37.02% once the owner’s salary is added back. Its cost lines show why. Direct costs 10.82% and wages 36.82%, of which a third is marketing wages.
One placement brand charges its royalty on what you bill. Assisted Living Locators invoiced $222,762 at the average business and collected $199,852. 10.28% went unpaid, so an 8% rate costs 8.92% of the money that arrived. At the lowest-selling business in that system, $12,038 arrived against $26,166 billed.
A placement is worth $5,238 at CarePatrol and $3,834.53 at Oasis. So the mature CarePatrol territory averaging $465,173 is running about 89 placements a year *, which is where a referral business’s capacity question actually lives.
Placement pays $3,834.53 a transaction and hourly care pays $35 an hour. Those are different businesses wearing the same category label. A placement agency with zero caregivers, zero wages and a $63,089 entry price averages $247,280; an hourly agency with 40 caregivers and a $151,425 entry price averages $1,545,697.
Interim's $3,837,660 comes from four revenue lines. Certified home health and hospice bill Medicare, staffing bills facilities, and personal care bills families. That is why its opening investment reaches $628,000. The certified lines cost $60,000 each in franchise fees and need $185,000 to $350,000 of working capital. Because Medicare settles a 30-day episode after the care is given.
Fees
Royalty, brand by brand.
| Brand | Royalty | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting Angels | 3.5%, 3.25% above $125,000 a month, 3.0% above $225,000 | Falls with volume |
| Interim HealthCare | 3.5% palliative, 4.5% Medicare and Medicaid, 5.5% all other | Set by who pays |
| Assisting Hands | 5% under $48,000 a week, 4.5% to $95,999, 4% above $96,000 | Falls with volume |
| Home Instead | 5% | Flat |
| Comfort Keepers | 5% | Flat, $500 monthly minimum for 24 months |
| Amada Senior Care | 5% of gross billings | Flat, charged on billings including bad debt |
| Homewatch CareGivers | 5% | Flat, against a minimum |
| Senior Helpers | 5%, on a two-week cycle | Flat, against a periodic minimum |
| Griswold | 5% | Flat, $5,200 annual minimum |
| FirstLight Home Care | 5% of revenues received, or 5% of the performance standard | Flat, against an escalating standard |
| SYNERGY HomeCare | 5% | Flat, charged on a quota when sales fall short |
| Qualicare | 5% of net revenue | Flat, $1,200 a month for every territory held |
| Right at Home | 5% of net billings, weekly | Flat, against a quarterly minimum set in the agreement |
| Caring Senior Service | 5% of gross billings | Flat, against 5% of a billings target |
| ComForCare | 5%, plus 1% general service and 1% national advertising | Flat, each against a minimum rising by stage |
| Nurse Next Door | 5%, plus 7% for the Care Services Center | The 7% falls to 5% at $40,000 a month |
| BrightStar Care | 5.25% of net billings | Flat, charged on billings instead of collections |
| Home Helpers Home Care | 6% on the first $500,000, then 5.5%, 5% and 4.5% at each benchmark | Falls with volume, $500 a month for each territory |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | 6% to $400,000 of annual sales, 5% above | Falls with volume |
| Always Best Care | 6% | Flat, against a minimum equal to 6% of the required sales level |
| Caring Transitions | 6% | Flat, $300 then $500 monthly minimum |
| Executive Home Care | 6% | Flat, minimum rising to $2,000 a month |
| Senior Care Authority | 8% | Flat, minimum rising to $1,200 a month per area |
| Assisted Living Locators | 8% of invoiced revenue, plus 2% brand fund | Flat, charged on billings instead of collections, minimum rising to $1,400 a month |
| CareBuilders At Home | 9% | Flat, minimum rising to $56,000 a half-year then compounding 5% |
| Oasis Senior Advisors | 10% under $250,000, falling to 6% above $2,000,000 | Falls with volume, set a year in arrears |
| CarePatrol | 12% of gross sales | Flat, the highest headline rate in the category |
As the brand reported it.
Five percent is the category standard and the interesting brands are the ones that move off it. Visiting Angels charges 3.0% above $225,000 a month. That on $2,394,545 of annual revenue is $71,836 against $119,727 at a flat 5%, a $47,891 difference on the same work. Oasis charges 10% at the smallest size. Its bottom quartile pays a $16,800 minimum, which is more than 10% of what those owners invoice.
Interim is the only brand where the royalty rate depends on who pays the bill. 3.5% on palliative care, 4.5% on Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid, 5.5% on private pay and staffing. On its average territory of $3,837,660, charging every dollar at the middle rate instead of the top rate saves $38,377 a year. Who pays the bill decides the fee as well as the care.
Where the rate falls with volume, the reward is modest and the growth does the work. Assisting Hands cuts 0.5 points at $48,000 a week, worth $12,480 a year held. Seniors Helping Seniors cuts a point above $400,000. Oasis lowers the rate by half a point at each size. In every case the revenue is worth many times the rate cut, so treat the step as a bonus.
What the fees come to all in.
| Brand | At a mature unit | At a young or small unit |
|---|---|---|
| CarePatrol | 16.67% | 21.72% |
| Nurse Next Door | 15.8% | 26.8% |
| Oasis Senior Advisors | 13.8% | 60.1% |
| Senior Care Authority | 13.5% | 47.5% |
| Caring Transitions | 12.7% | 21.9% |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | 11.3% | 16.7% |
| CareBuilders At Home | 11.0% | Left unstated |
| Assisted Living Locators | 10.00% | 14.19% |
| Executive Home Care | 9.1% | 19.1% |
| Right at Home | 8.11% | 8.43% |
| Caring Senior Service | 8.0% | 9.9% |
| Interim HealthCare | 7.6% | 8.5% |
| ComForCare | 7.55% | 7.84% |
| Assisting Hands | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| Qualicare | 6.95% | 22.47% |
| Always Best Care | 6.05% | 6.05% |
| Home Helpers Home Care | 5.92% | 8.60% |
Applying each brand’s disclosed royalty, advertising fund, required local marketing spend and fixed technology or platform fees to its own disclosed revenue levels.
The fixed portion is the largest difference between these brands. Assisting Hands charges the same 7.5% at every size because its load is almost entirely percentage-based. Oasis charges 13.8% at the top and 60.1% at the bottom on a fee schedule that stays identical at both ends. The difference is $34,541 of minimums and flat charges divided by $57,470 against $548,795.
At four brands, most owners pay the minimum rather than the percentage. Qualicare's minimum is $43,200 against $42,631 of royalty at its own system average. Passing the minimum takes $288,000 of sales a year for each territory *. The median Assisted Living Locators owner pays $20,400 flat, which is 14.19% of billings against a 10% headline. Always Best Care sets its minimum at exactly 6% of the required sales level, at all six stages. CareBuilders starts at zero and compounds to $196,347 by year ten.
Ask what a brand charges when you have a bad year. Nine points of load at maturity and nineteen in the first year is the same schedule read from two places. For anyone buying in, the young column is the number that decides whether the working capital in the investment table is enough.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
The levers the filing supports, brand by brand. Three to five each, read from that brand’s own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
27 brands
Always Best Care
Home health and staffing
- 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 6.0% 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.
Amada Senior Care
Senior living placement
- 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.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 6.0% 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.
Assisted Living Locators
Senior living placement
- 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 14.2% 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.
Assisting Hands Home Care
Non-medical home care
- 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 7.5% 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.
BrightStar Care
Home health and staffing
- Cost of what you sell. Products and materials take 58.0% of sales. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume.
- 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.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 5.2% 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.
CareBuilders At Home
Non-medical home care
- 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 10.0% 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.
CarePatrol
Senior living placement
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 36.8% of sales, against 29.1% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- 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 17.8% 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.
Caring Senior Service
Non-medical home care
- 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 7.0% 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.
Caring Transitions
Senior relocation
- Estate sales, the operating driver. This model bills on estate sales. The owner works on how many sales are run in a month and what each one grosses. 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 12.0% 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.
ComForCare
Non-medical home care
- 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 7.5% 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.
Comfort Keepers
Non-medical home care
- 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.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 9.0% 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.
Executive Home Care
Non-medical home care
- 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 9.0% 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.
FirstLight Home Care
Non-medical home care
- 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 6.0% 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.
Griswold
Non-medical home care
- 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 6.0% 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.
Home Helpers Home Care
Non-medical home care
- 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.
Home Instead
Non-medical home care
- 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 7.0% 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.
Homewatch CareGivers
Non-medical home care
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 48.0% of sales. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won.
- 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 7.0% 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.
Interim HealthCare
Home health and staffing
- Accounts, the operating driver. This model bills on accounts. An account signed this year still bills next year, so keeping accounts matters more than winning them. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- 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.
Nurse Next Door
Non-medical home care
- 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.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 13.0% 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.
Oasis Senior Advisors
Senior living placement
- 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.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 12.0% 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.
Qualicare
Non-medical home care
- 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.
- The gift card book. Gift cards are sold before the service is delivered. The top performers are not selling more of them by accident, they are running a deliberate seasonal push into the holidays and out of it again. The accounting follows: a gift card is deferred revenue until it is redeemed, so cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 9.3% 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.
Right at Home
Non-medical home care
- 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 8.1% 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.
Senior Care Authority
Senior living placement
- 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.
Senior Helpers
Non-medical home care
- 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 6.5% 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.
Seniors Helping Seniors
Non-medical home care
- Wages, the dominant line. Wages take 53.3% of sales. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex. Rent and building costs take 2.4% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- 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 12.0% 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.
SYNERGY HomeCare
Non-medical home care
- 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 7.0% 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.
Visiting Angels
Non-medical home care
- Visits, the operating driver. This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Membership and rebooking. A recurring plan turns a high-fixed-cost business from an appointment book into a subscription, which smooths the utilisation that drives the wage line. Rebooking before the customer leaves is what builds it, not marketing spend afterwards.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites. Fees run about 6.0% 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.
All 27 brands
Every brand, with its breakdown.
Hourly home care
- Always Best Care 291 franchises · 17.1% owner profit on one area, 11.8% on several
- Right at Home 566 offices · brand fund stops charging above $3,000,000
- Home Helpers Home Care 362 franchises · two fee ladders, 8.60% down to 5.92%
- Home Instead Bill rate identical at every size, so revenue reduces to a staffing count
- CareBuilders At Home 28 outlets · 35.00% gross profit, franchise fees come to 25.7% of it
- Qualicare 33 franchisees · $1,200 a month minimum for every territory
- BrightStar Care 396 agencies · 42.0% gross profit, ten-year build-up published
- ComForCare 270 territories · 1,500 billable hours a fortnight required
- Visiting Angels Tapering royalty that makes the brand cheaper as the agency grows
- SYNERGY HomeCare Single-territory against multi-territory owners, where depth beats breadth
- Griswold 146 locations · caregiver pay 49% of sales
- Senior Helpers Escalating performance standard that converts a 5% royalty into a fixed cost
- Amada Senior Care Revenue by band · Payor mix set against a royalty charged on billings
- FirstLight Home Care Bill rate and pay rate both disclosed, with the full range
- Executive Home Care Flat gross margin at every size, so the fee floors decide survival
- Homewatch CareGivers The same cost line disclosed by quintile, where the spread exceeds the profit
- Comfort Keepers Disclosed margin structure reduced to a per-billed-hour unit economic
- Assisting Hands Home Care Stepped royalty threshold tested against where owners actually bill
- Caring Senior Service Item 19 split by staffing level, pricing a hiring decision directly
- Nurse Next Door Outsourced back office charged as a percentage, so the load falls only with the ramp
- Seniors Helping Seniors 224 units · caregiver wages 53.3%
Medical care and staffing
- Interim HealthCare201 territories · royalty set by who pays
Placement and referral
- CarePatroltenure-cohorts-plus-three-year-pnl · Tenure cohorts by territory and by owner, a $5,238 average placement fee, and three full years of consolidated profit statements
- Assisted Living Locators TWO revenue tables - Gross Invoiced Revenue and Gross Collected Revenue - each split into all franchisees plus subsets by territories owned (1, 2, 3, 4), with lowest, highest, median, average and attainment
- Oasis Senior Advisors Revenue by band · Declining royalty ladder whose lower rungs nobody in the network reaches
- Senior Care Authority Revenue by band · Per-area royalty minimum governing most of the network for four and a half years
Transition services
- Caring Transitions 413 franchises · 12% of receipts in fees
Each page reads one 2026 filing and stops at what that filing states. Where a figure is marked * it is labeled on the page, and where a filing contradicts itself the contradiction is printed. Five of the twenty-seven have internal inconsistencies worth knowing about before you quote them. Interim on its outlet counts. Comfort Keepers, on its own figures. Assisting Hands on a total that exceeds the sum of its lines. Senior Care Authority on a worked example that misapplies its own formula. Executive Home Care on how it selects its bottom-three group.
Questions we get asked
What gross profit should a home care agency run?
Between 46% and 54% where the figure counts caregiver wages alone, and between 39% and 42% where it is fully loaded with payroll taxes and workers compensation. FirstLight reports 53.5%, SYNERGY 49% to 54%, Caring Senior Service 49.91%. Homewatch a 48% direct caregiver cost. Griswold 49% caregiver pay. Seniors Helping Seniors 53.3% caregiver wages. BrightStar Care 42.0%. Executive Home Care 40.78% and Comfort Keepers 39.2%. Establish which basis your own number uses before you compare it to any of these.
What does an agency bill an hour?
Between $34 and $40. FirstLight’s average territory bills $39.55 and pays $18.41. ComForCare works out to $40.10 an hour at the average owner and $39.75 at the median. Home Instead to $34.53 and Comfort Keepers to $34.48, all on our own derivations from their disclosed revenue and hours. Seniors Helping Seniors reports a range of $27.20 to $47.00 against pay rates of $13.90 to $23.50. For context, the national median rate for non-medical caregiver services reached $35 an hour in results published on 2 March 2026.
Which brand charges the least?
On royalty alone, Visiting Angels at 3.0% above $225,000 of monthly revenue. Then Interim HealthCare at 3.5% on palliative care and BrightStar Care at a flat 5.25%. On total load once advertising funds, required local marketing and platform fees are counted. Assisting Hands at 7.5%. ComForCare at 7.55% and Interim at 7.6% at a mature unit. The heaviest are CarePatrol at 16.67% and Nurse Next Door at 15.8% mature. Oasis Senior Advisors and Senior Care Authority in the 47% to 60% range at their smallest units, where fixed minimums dominate.
How much does it cost to open?
$63,089 to $628,000 across the category, with a median low of $101,970 and a median high of $183,400 across the nineteen hourly brands. Oasis Senior Advisors is the cheapest entry at $63,089 and Interim HealthCare the most expensive at $628,000 with both certified lines added. Within hourly home care the range narrows to roughly $80,245 to $438,440. Most of the variation is state licensure, working capital and the franchise fee.
What should I watch in my own numbers?
Four things this category makes clear. Track caregiver cost as a share of sales every week, with overtime on its own line. An hour paid at time and a half on a $35 rate leaves 20% instead of 46%. What the royalty actually costs, since almost every brand has a minimum underneath the rate. Any performance standard in your agreement, because four brands hold one over your territory and two of those write it in billable hours or placements. So a rate rise moves you further from the test. And revenue per client alongside client count, ComForCare puts a client at $18,442 a year on 8.8 hours a week. Is the clearest benchmark any filing in this category prints.
Who does bookkeeping for a senior care franchise?
A monthly close here reports caregiver cost as a share of sales every week, with overtime separated, and tracks what the royalty actually costs against the brand's minimum. Keep the sales standard from the franchise agreement as a permanent line in the report. Brands that bill on two-week cycles, that charge on billings. That is that reconcile royalty on a 60-day lag all need the accrual set up to match. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
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 →Run these numbers against your own agency.
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast, and reporting, so you know where you stand against the twenty-one brands above.
Request the reviewQuestions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- Money arrives before the service does. How should that be booked?Deferred revenue, and why the bank balance and the profit line disagree.
- 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.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?Location-level contribution, and what it takes to see it.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?What a financial performance representation does and does not tell you.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from the 2026 FDD of the brand it describes, is unaudited by us. Describes past performance at other franchised units. We are unaffiliated with all twenty-one brands, calculations of our own are labeled where they appear, definitions of gross profit and of an unit differ between filings and we have flagged that where it matters. This page is an educational summary, legal or tax advice. All trademarks are the property of their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.