Non-Medical Home Care Business Plan: What to Include (+ Free PDF Template)
- Katarina Mirkovic Arsic
- 6 days ago
- 12 min read
Starting a non-medical home care business requires more than licensing and staffing. At some point, every business owner will be asked to produce a formal business plan.
You can expect to need such a plan for a bank, an investor, or a state licensing authority. Even if no one requires it, writing one forces you to pressure-test your business model before you commit capital.
This article focuses specifically on the document itself: what to include in your home care business plan and how to structure each section so it reads professionally and holds up under review. You will also find a downloadable non-medical home care business plan PDF that you can use as your guide.
Tip: If you’re still in the early planning phase, review our guide on how to start a non-medical home care business first. |
Table of Contents
How to Write Each Section of Your Home Care Business Plan
Your business plan should read like a professional document you can hand to a bank, investor, or state reviewer. Each of the sections below represents a formal section in your document.
A strong non-medical home care business plan covers everything from non-medical care services and staffing to financials and marketing. These are the areas where home healthcare business plans differ significantly from other healthcare services.
Unlike agencies that provide medical services such as skilled nursing or therapy, your plan must demonstrate how your agency delivers reliable care within a non-medical scope.
Executive Summary
What this section is for: Your executive summary is the first thing a bank officer, investor, or licensing reviewer will read. It sets the tone for the entire business plan.
Its job is simple: Show that this is a viable, well-thought-out home care business.
If someone reads only this section, they should clearly understand:
What you do
Who you serve
Why you’ll succeed
What you need (if funding is involved)
Write it last. Even though it appears first. You will have more clarity after you are done with your home care business plan.
What to include: Keep this focused and direct, and make it one to two pages maximum. Make it concise, specific, and professional. Your executive summary should briefly cover:
Your mission statement
The home care services you provide
Your target market and service area
What differentiates your agency
Financial highlights (projected first-year revenue and break-even timeline)
Startup funding needs (if applicable)
The financial highlights do not need to be detailed. Just one or two sentences showing you have done the math is enough. A lender scanning your executive summary wants to see numbers, not just narrative.
Need help writing the vision and mission statements? Check out our Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Mission and Vision Statements for a Caregiving Business |
Company Description
What this section is for: The Company Description establishes the legal and structural foundation of your home care business. It tells the reader how the agency is organized, where it operates, and how it complies with state requirements.
This section is factual. It is not promotional.
A reviewer should finish this section understanding who owns the company, what is its legal structure, where it operates, and what regulatory requirements it meets.
What to include
Keep this clear and direct. Cover:
Legal structure (limited liability company, S-Corp, Corporation, etc.)
Business name and ownership structure
State of registration
Founding purpose and relevant background
Licensing or registration status
NAICS code (621610 for home health care services)
Brief description of the service area
Insurance coverage (general liability, professional liability, workers' compensation)
Short-term and long-term business goals
You do not need to restate your non medical home care services in detail. That belongs in a later section. If your state regulates non-medical home care agencies, note the specific licensing authority. If it does not, state that you will comply with all applicable business and employment laws.
Your founding purpose does not need to be long. One to two sentences explaining why you started this home care business and what gap it addresses. Lenders want to see motivation grounded in market awareness, not personal anecdotes.
Organization and Management
What this section is for: This section shows who is running the business and whether they are qualified to do it. A lender or investor reviewing your home care business plan will scrutinize this section closely. Weak management sections are one of the most common reasons business plans are rejected.
A reviewer should walk away confident that the business owner has the relevant experience, that roles are clearly defined, and that the agency has a realistic plan for scaling its team.
What to include:
Start with the owner. State their role, relevant background, years of experience, and any credentials or certifications. Two to three sentences establishing credibility is enough.
Describe your management structure. Most non-medical home care agencies launch with a lean team where the owner handles operations, compliance, scheduling, and referral development. That is fine, but state it clearly rather than leaving it implied.
Address growth. As your client base grows, you will need to add roles. Outline which positions you plan to fill and when. For example, a care coordinator at month six, a scheduling manager by month nine, or an office administrator in year two. Presenting this as a simple table of roles and anticipated timelines strengthens the section.
If you work with an attorney, accountant, or industry advisor, mention them briefly. Outside advisory support signals to a lender that you are not operating in isolation.
Including a simple organizational chart in your appendix is recommended. It just needs to show reporting lines clearly.
Market Analysis
What this section is for: The Market Analysis proves there is real demand for your home care agency in your service area.
A lender or licensing reviewer wants to see that you are not launching based on assumption, but on data. This section should demonstrate that you understand your local senior population, your competitors, and your referral landscape.
It should answer one core question: Why will potential clients choose this agency in this location?
What to include: Keep this practical and data-driven. Cover:
Local aging population data (65+ and 75+)
Population growth trends
Income levels relevant to private-pay home care
Target market segments (private-pay seniors, post-hospitalization families, adults with disabilities requiring daily living support)
Number and type of competing home care agencies, including their strengths and gaps
Key referral sources (hospitals, discharge planners, senior centers, physicians)
Underserved populations in your area
Data sources cited
Avoid broad national statistics unless they directly support your local case. The home care industry is growing nationally, but your lender cares about your county.
How to structure it (Washington State example): This section should feel analytical, not promotional. It usually runs 1–3 pages depending on depth.
Start with demographics:
Then address competition:
Then referral channels:
Then identify your positioning
All demographic and market claims should be sourced. The U.S. Census Bureau, your state Department of Health, and your local Area Agency on Aging are standard references. Citing your data builds credibility and shows a lender the analysis is grounded in fact, not assumption.
Services and Care Plans
What this section is for: This section defines the scope of your agency's home care services and explains how care is structured, delivered, and monitored. It should clearly communicate two things:
What types of non-medical home care your agency provides.
How those services are organized into individualized care plans.
This is where you demonstrate operational clarity.
What to include: Describe your service model in paragraph form. Explain the types of support potential clients can expect, how care is initiated, and how it is managed over time.
For a non-medical home care agency, services typically include personal care assistance, companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, transportation, and medication reminders.
However, instead of listing them mechanically, describe how these services offered function together to support clients safely at home. Explain how assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming, and mobility support fits within a broader care plan designed around each client's needs.
Then explain your care planning process. Who conducts the initial assessment? How are care plans created? How often are they reviewed? How are changes documented?
Describe how your agency tracks client satisfaction and what quality assurance processes are in place, such as supervisory visits and incident reporting.
If your agency offers hourly, per-visit, or package pricing, briefly describe your pricing model here. Detailed rates belong in your financial projections, but a reviewer should understand the general structure.
If you operate in a regulated state like Washington, clarify that services will remain within the scope of non-medical care and that your agency will refer clients requiring skilled care or medical care to appropriately licensed providers.
Marketing and Client Acquisition
What this section is for: This section explains how your agency will consistently acquire new clients via planned marketing efforts.
Many business plans fail here because they assume demand automatically turns into revenue. It does not. This section should demonstrate that you understand how home care clients are actually referred, how long it takes to build trust in the community, and what your marketing strategies will look like in practice.
A reviewer should walk away confident that you have a realistic plan to build a steady client base.
What to include: Describe your primary client acquisition channels in paragraph form. Focus on how relationships will be built and maintained, not just where you will advertise.
Referrals drive growth. Make sure that your non medical home care business plan addresses this with a clear idea how to acquire such referrals. This often includes relationships with hospital discharge planners, rehabilitation facilities, physicians, case managers, and senior centers. Community events, professional networking, and outreach to local senior service organizations will support long-term referral development.
Address your online presence. Outline your plan for a professional website for your home care business, local search visibility, and a Google Business Profile. These marketing efforts are often the first impression potential clients and their family members have of your agency. Avoid overstating social media platforms unless they play a clear role in your strategy.
Describe your client acquisition process. For most home care agencies, this follows a structured path: initial inquiry, in-home consultation, assessment, and signed service agreement. Include a projected client acquisition timeline in your business plan showing how many new clients you expect per month during your first year.
Acknowledge the timeline. It may take several months to build referral relationships and consistent inquiries before you are serving enough new clients to sustain operations. A realistic ramp-up period strengthens your credibility.
Staffing and Caregiver Recruitment
What this section is for: This section demonstrates that your agency can recruit, train, and retain qualified caregivers. Home care businesses often struggle because they cannot build and maintain a reliable care team.
A lender or regulator reading this section of your non medical home care business plan needs to see that you understand this challenge and that you have a clear plan on how to overcome it.
What to include: Describe how you will recruit caregivers, what qualifications you require, and how you will ensure compliance with state regulatory requirements.
Start with classification. All caregivers should be clearly identified as employees of the agency, not independent contractors.
Misclassification is a common compliance risk in the home care industry and should be addressed directly in your business plan.
For Washington State, this includes acknowledging Home Care Aide (HCA) certification requirements and required training hours. If applicable, explain how you will track training compliance and continuing education.
Describe your onboarding process. Include orientation, supervised shadowing, and competency verification, so a reviewer can see that new hires are prepared before they are assigned to clients.
Include staffing projections. Estimate how many caregivers you will need at months three, six, and twelve based on your projected client volume. This connects directly to your financial projections and shows that your staffing plan is grounded in your business model rather than guesswork.
Address compensation realistically. State the anticipated hourly pay range based on your local labor market and how that aligns with your billing model. Competitive pay is important, but it is only part of retaining caregivers.
Explain your retention strategy. High turnover is common in home care. Your plan should outline how you will support caregivers through structured onboarding, supervision, flexible scheduling, and ongoing training. Agencies with clear retention strategies attract better potential candidates and deliver more consistent quality care to clients.
Avoid writing "we will hire compassionate caregivers." That is not a strategy.
Caregiver staff training can get very complicated, very fast. Explore Cornerstone's caregiver staff training solutions tailored to support you and your staff with staying compliant. |
Financial Projections
What this section is for: The Financial Projections section demonstrates that your agency is financially viable and built on realistic assumptions for long term success. A lender or investor reading this section wants to see that you understand your startup costs, your revenue model, and how long it will take to reach profitability.
This is not the place for aggressive growth claims. Conservative, clearly explained assumptions and financial projections build credibility. Think of this section as your financial plan, and not a sales pitch.
What to include: There are three main areas to explain here:
Expected costs: Begin by outlining your startup costs in practical categories rather than presenting one large estimate. For a non-medical home care business, these typically include state licensing fees, incorporation and legal expenses, insurance premiums, office setup, care management software, marketing, and payroll reserves for the first several months of operation. Present these as a table with each category and its estimated cost.
Predicted earnings: Next, explain your revenue model. Describe your anticipated hourly billing rate, projected caregiver compensation, and the resulting gross margin per billable hour. This is the core of your home care business model — the difference between what you charge and what you pay determines whether operating expenses, payroll taxes, insurance, and administrative overhead can be covered.
Realistic timeline to break even: Most new agencies require several months to build a stable client base and consistent scheduling patterns. Avoid optimistic language. Replace assumptions with simple calculations and clearly stated projections.
Your financial projections should also document key assumptions: average hours per client per week, client retention, client acquisition rate, caregiver utilization rate, and billing rate range. Stating these explicitly shows a reviewer that your projections are built on researched inputs, not estimates.
Funding Request
What this section is for: This section is included only when your agency is seeking external financing. If you are self-funding your home care business, you may omit it.
A lender reviewing this section wants to see exactly how much capital you need, what you will use it for, and how you plan to repay it. Vague funding requests weaken an otherwise strong business plan.
What to include: State the total amount of financing you are requesting and how those funds will be allocated. Be specific. Break the use of funds into categories such as licensing, insurance, office setup, marketing, and payroll reserves. This should align directly with the startup cost breakdown in your financial projections.
Specify whether you are requesting debt or equity financing, and include your preferred repayment terms. A lender needs to see that you have thought through the repayment structure, not just the amount.
Then explain your repayment strategy. Most non-medical home care agencies plan to repay financing through operating cash flow as revenue stabilizes. If you have a different exit strategy, such as a planned sale or refinancing, state it here.
If you anticipate needing additional funding in the future, note it briefly. If you do not, say so. Clarity on future funding needs helps a lender assess long-term risk.
Non-Medical Home Care Business Plan Template
Your home care business plan should be tailored to your specific situation. However, the core sections and their purpose are the same for every home care agency. Below you will find a non-medical home care business plan PDF that you can use to structure your plan.
The template follows a section-by-section format aligned with SBA business planning standards. Each section includes sidebar guidance explaining what to include and professional example text showing how a completed section might read. It also includes a competitor analysis table, a startup cost breakdown table, and a planned hires table to help you organize key information.
Use this template as a starting framework, not a finished document. In your completed plan, most sections should expand to one to three pages supported by your own local market data, financial projections, and state-specific documentation. Replace all bracketed items with information specific to your agency.
Frequently Asked Questions About Non-Medical Home Care Business Plan
Is a non-medical home care business profitable?
Yes, when managed carefully. Profitability depends on maintaining a sustainable margin between your billing rate and caregiver compensation, controlling overhead costs, and building a steady referral pipeline. Agencies that price home care services appropriately and manage staffing efficiently can become profitable, but most require several months to reach break-even.
How much does it cost to start a non-medical home care business?
Startup costs typically range from $40,000 to $100,000, depending on your state's licensing requirements, insurance costs, office setup, marketing, and payroll reserves. Agencies operating in highly regulated states or competitive metro areas may fall toward the higher end of that range. A detailed startup cost breakdown in your financial plan will help you estimate more accurately for your specific market.
What is the 80/20 rule in home care?
In many home care agencies, approximately 20% of clients generate 80% of revenue. These are often long-term, high-hour cases. Understanding this dynamic helps business owners plan staffing, pricing, and growth strategy more realistically.
Do I need a license to start a non-medical home care agency?
Licensing requirements vary by state. Many states require formal licensure through the state health department, while others require registration or have limited regulation for non-medical home care agencies. Before launching, confirm requirements with your state's regulatory authority to avoid delays or compliance issues.
