Senior Helpers franchise unit economics
Senior Helpers franchisees run an in-home senior care agency billing caregiver hours, with a specialism in dementia and Parkinson's care. Across 346 territories open at least twelve months, the 241 mature ones averaged $1,839,518 of sales. Half sold less than $1,452,858. Seventy percent of the network has been operating more than five years.
- Primary source
- SH Franchising, LLC, 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
- 241 of 394 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.
By year ten a Senior Helpers territory owes royalty on $1,250,000 of revenue whether it bills that or less. The minimum performance standard climbs from $400,000 in year two to $1.25 million in year ten. The royalty is 5% of the standard when your sales fall short. The lowest-selling territory in the mature group bills $201,251, on which that minimum works out to an effective 31.1% royalty.
- The minimum performance standard reaches $1,250,000 by year ten. $62,500 of royalty a year regardless of billings. At $201,251 that is an effective 31.1%.
- The median territory stops growing after about five years. $1,524,138 at 48 to 59 months, $1,452,858 past 60, down 4.7%.
- Year two nearly doubles the median. $595,084 at 12 to 23 months to $1,135,200 at 24 to 35 months, up 90.8%.
- Seventy percent of the network is over five years old. 241 of 346 territories, and that group still holds one billing $201,251.
- The mature group spans thirty times, from $201,251 to $6,109,541. Five years of trading narrows the range less than you would expect.
How much does a Senior Helpers franchise make?
The average Senior Helpers unit reported $1,839,518 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,452,858. 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 6.5% 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.
Revenue by year
What the territories bill, by how long they have been open.
| Months open | Territories | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 to 23 | 33 | $699,627 | $595,084 | $56,116 | $2,208,509 | 39× |
| 24 to 35 | 30 | $1,158,230 | $1,135,200 | $253,446 | $2,782,280 | 11× |
| 36 to 47 | 22 | $1,139,890 | $1,036,070 | $234,331 | $2,814,851 | 12× |
| 48 to 59 | 20 | $1,572,157 | $1,524,138 | $449,786 | $3,325,698 | 7× |
| 60 and over | 241 | $1,839,518 | $1,452,858 | $201,251 | $6,109,541 | 30× |
Revenue figures and territory counts as the brand reported it.
Year two is the one that matters. The median goes from $595,084 to $1,135,200, up 90.8%, the only step in the table that moves like that. A territory that misses it faces a long climb. That is because the next two years leave the median where it is and the one after that adds 47%.
The median goes backwards after five years. $1,524,138 at 48 to 59 months against $1,452,858 past 60. The average keeps rising to $1,839,518, so the top of the mature group is pulling away while the middle slips. Whatever the years buy in this business, they stop buying it around year five.
The mature group still holds a territory billing $201,251. Alongside one billing $6,109,541. Five years of trading narrows the range from 39 times to 30 times and stops there.
Where the system sits.
| Months open | Territories | Share of the reporting network |
|---|---|---|
| 12 to 23 | 33 | 9.5% |
| 24 to 35 | 30 | 8.7% |
| 36 to 47 | 22 | 6.4% |
| 48 to 59 | 20 | 5.8% |
| 60 and over | 241 | 69.7% |
Counts as the brand reported it.
Seven in ten territories are past five years. That makes the $1,452,858 mature median the number most owners should be measuring against, against the $1,839,518 average that a $6.1 million territory lifts.
Top performers
What separates the top Senior Helpers performers
Senior Helpers splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $6,109,541 a year. The worst averaged $201,251. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,452,858. The average was $1,839,518. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 30.4× 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 $176,500 to $231,500, 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
- 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.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.241 of 394 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.
The sales target
The minimum performance standard.
| Year of operation | Minimum performance standard | Minimum royalty per two-week period | Minimum royalty per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | $400,000 | $769.23 | $20,000 |
| 3 | $550,000 | $1,057.69 | $27,500 |
| 4 | $650,000 | $1,250.00 | $32,500 |
| 5 | $750,000 | $1,442.31 | $37,500 |
| 6 | $850,000 | $1,634.62 | $42,500 |
| 7 | $950,000 | $1,826.92 | $47,500 |
| 8 | $1,050,000 | $2,019.23 | $52,500 |
| 9 | $1,150,000 | $2,211.54 | $57,500 |
| 10 and after | $1,250,000 | $2,403.85 | $62,500 |
Standards and per-period minimums as the brand reported it.
The standard rises faster than the median territory does. Year two asks for $400,000 against a 12-to-23-month median of $595,084, so most clear it early. By year ten it asks $1,250,000 against a mature median of $1,452,858, a 14% cushion, on a median that has been slipping. Half the mature group is closer to this line than it looks.
Below the standard, the royalty becomes a fixed cost. $62,500 a year from year ten whatever you bill. The lowest mature territory disclosed bills $201,251, where that works out to 31.1% of revenue. In a business where the brand normally costs 5%, sliding under the standard changes the economics of the whole operation.
Check which line you are near before planning a quiet year. At the mature median of $1,452,858 the royalty is $72,643 at 5% and the minimum is $62,500, so the two are $10,143 apart. A 14% fall in sales moves an owner from paying the percentage to paying the minimum. Below that point the fee stays the same while sales keep falling.
Fees and the network
What the fees come to.
| Gross sales | Royalty | Marketing fund | Brand management | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $201,251 (lowest mature) | $62,500 | $3,019 | $2,600 | $68,119 | 33.8% |
| $595,084 (year one to two median) | $62,500 | $8,926 | $2,600 | $74,026 | 12.4% |
| $1,452,858 (mature median) | $72,643 | $21,793 | $2,600 | $97,036 | 6.7% |
| $1,839,518 (mature average) | $91,976 | $27,593 | $2,600 | $122,169 | 6.6% |
Ours, applying the disclosed rates and assuming a territory in year ten or later, where the minimum performance standard is $1,250,000.
Above the standard the load is 6.6% to 6.7%, which is light. Below it, the same schedule produces 12.4% at $595,084 and 33.8% at $201,251. The fee percentage you actually pay is a function of where you sit against the performance standard.
The brand management fee can nearly quadruple on notice. $100 a period now, up to $375, $2,600 a year becoming $9,750. Small against a mature territory and material against a lower-selling one, which is the pattern across every fee here.
The network of locations.
| Year | Franchised at year end | Company-owned | Total | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 333 | 13 | 346 | +19 |
| 2024 | 355 | 13 | 368 | +22 |
| 2025 | 394 | 7 | 401 | +33 |
As the brand reported it.
The franchised count grew 18% in three years while company-owned halved. 333 to 394 franchised, 13 to 7 company-owned. Six of the franchisor's own territories moved into franchisee hands. That alongside 39 new territories in 2025 makes this a system adding units at a steady clip.
Questions we get asked
What should my territory be billing?
By group median. $595,084 at 12 to 23 months, $1,135,200 at 24 to 35, $1,036,070 at 36 to 47, $1,524,138 at 48 to 59 and $1,452,858 past 60 months. Year two nearly doubles the median and the years after add very little. Seven in ten territories sit in the mature group. So $1,452,858 is the number most owners should measure against the $1,839,518 average.
What happens if I fall below the performance standard?
The royalty is 5% of sales, or a fixed minimum if that is higher. The minimum is set by a sales standard that runs $400,000 in year two and $1,250,000 from year ten. At year ten the minimum royalty is $62,500 a year. The middle mature territory sells $1,452,858, which is $10,143 above the minimum. A 14% fall in sales reaches it. Below that the fee stays the same as sales fall. At $201,251 of sales the royalty works out at 31.1%.
Does the business keep growing after five years?
The average does and the median does the opposite. Average revenue rises from $1,572,157 at 48 to 59 months to $1,839,518 past 60, while the median falls from $1,524,138 to $1,452,858. So the highest-selling mature territories keep pulling away while the middle of that group has plateaued. The sales standard rises every year to year ten, so the minimum rises while flat sales stay put.
How wide is the difference between territories?
Thirty times in the mature group, from $201,251 to $6,109,541, and 39 times in the youngest. Time narrows it a little and stops there. That points at territory quality, referral relationships and staffing depth, and it means a franchisee buying an existing territory should be studying that specific business.
Who does bookkeeping for a Senior Helpers franchise?
Royalty is charged every two weeks on the greater of 5% of that period's Gross Sales or a fixed minimum. So a quiet fortnight costs more than the percentage suggests and your fee owed needs to run period by period. Each territory reports separately, so an owner with several needs per-territory statements alongside the consolidated view, because each one is measured against its own performance standard. The marketing fund steps down above $2,000,000 of annual sales per territory and resets each calendar year. 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 Helpers
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 Helpers 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.
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