How to start a homecare business

Considering starting a domiciliary care business? We’re proud of you. 😊 Taking that first step in setting-up a care agency will have a real impact on people’s lives - both for the people receiving the care and their families.

But there is a lot to think about! For example:

1. Understanding the care market - where should you locate your business to best meet people’s needs?
2. Registering your care business - when do you need to register with regulatory bodies and what paperwork do you need?
3. Recruiting care workers - how are you going to find the right staff for your care agency?
4. Finding clients - how are you going to get clients?
5. Managing your care business - how will you structure your business and run everything day-to-day?

Read the article below, or fill in the form to get a downloadable PDF - with many more bonus tips on how to start a home care business!

1. Understanding the care market

The first thing to do when starting a homecare agency is to get a really good understanding of the care market you’re looking to operate in.

Nationwide, the need for care is growing significantly. The most recent estimates from Skills for Care (2024) indicate that:

• The number of people aged 65+ (in England alone) is projected to grow from 10.5 million to 14.5 million between 2020 and 2040

• Based on this growth, by 2040 the care sector will need 540,000 extra new posts (29% growth)

• There will be more than twice the number of people aged over 90 by 2045 (according to Age UK)

But it’s important to understand what the need is like in the particular area where you are thinking of starting a care agency. Get a copy of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for your area - which is a document which outlines the health and wellbeing needs of people living in the region. Most councils will have this published on their websites. You can also speak directly to local commissioners for your specialism, for example adult social care or children’s services. It can be as simple as calling and emailing the general contact point for your local council and asking to be put in touch with the right person. They can and want to speak to you! The only time they won’t speak to you is if they have an open tender for care services (which hopefully you will be applying for anyway).

Watch: Business advisor Kate Pym gives advice on getting a new care company off the ground.

Care is a regulated industry, which means there are specific laws and regulations that your business will need to comply with. It’s pretty likely you already have a lot of experience of this if you’re planning on starting a homecare agency. But if you don’t, working together with someone who has hands-on experience of care - such as a care worker or care manager - is a really good idea.

2. Registering your care business

Registering your new care business with the regulator in your country is compulsory. You don’t have to do it right away, but it is a good idea to do it sooner rather than later. Understanding what the regulator requires from you and needs to know about your business, is actually a really helpful way to start planning how to set-up your new domiciliary care business. There is a fee to register, which is related to your company's size.

Find more information about your region.

England:

• all care providers must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Wales:

• all care providers must register with the Care Inspectorate / Arolygiaeth Gofal Cymru

• people working in care need to register with Social Care Wales / Gofal Cymdeithasol Cymru

Scotland:

• all care providers must register with the Care Inspectorate

• people working in care need to register with the Scottish Social Services Council

Northern Ireland:

• all care providers must register with the Regulation and and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)

• people working in care need to register with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council

Ireland:

• While not currently mandatory, a new law is imminent from the Irish government that will require homecare providers to register with the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). 

3. Recruiting care workers

You’ll want to select a team of skilled and passionate care professionals to make up your homecare team. It’s a good idea to start this process early and have one or two great care workers who you know you can trust and rely on in the early days of your business. Reputation is everything!

Your care team will need to have specific qualifications, checks and registrations, depending on which part of the UK you intend to operate in. Find out more about the requirements for being a care worker here. But above all else, you want people who are caring, adaptable, keen to learn and great at making meaningful relationships. That’s what makes a great care worker. ✨

So where do you find your care workers? Try:

• Speaking to local colleges and universities

• Advertising in local job centres and community centres, even supermarkets!

• Posting in one of the many Facebook groups for care workers around the UK

• Using an online job board like Indeed

• Running an advert on Facebook/Instagram that reach people in your area with the right skills, qualifications and interests - spending just £1-£3 a day will reach a lot of people

• If you have an office building, put a poster up in the window!

> See our recruitment checklist for more ideas.

4. Finding clients for your care business

There are two main ways to get clients for your new homecare business - council tenders and private clients.

Council tenders

Council tenders are contracts with a local authority that pay you to deliver care to people on the council’s behalf. Getting a contract like this is usually a competitive process where the council publishes a specification of what they want, and care providers submit a formal response which outlines how they will deliver the service and what it will cost. Usually tenders are for a fixed amount of time, and if you are awarded the contract, the council will send you clients and pay you a pre-agreed amount, for the duration of the contract. Sadly, often the cheapest price wins.

Having said that, many care providers have great relationships with their commissioners and are able to work together to meet the needs of their local populations. It’s a good idea to try to collaborate with your local council and come up with creative ideas on how to support people better.

> Here are some tips on applying for tenders

Private clients

Private clients are people who pay you directly for the care that they want. Typically you can charge more and be more flexible in what you offer. But you have to find the clients and convince them to buy from you.

> Read our guide to finding more private homecare clients

5. Managing your care business

The final consideration is how you will set-up and manage your new care business day-to-day.

Setting-up a care agency

There are a number of things to consider in how you structure and organise your homecare business. You’ll need to have defined these as you go through the registration process. For example:

• Legal structure - nominate your company directors and the legal roles required for registration

• Business or trading name - check Companies House to see whether the name you’ve chosen is already taken

• Tax and accounting - set-up a company bank account and seek advice from a finance professional early on

• Insurance - get the right cover in place for the services you plan to offer

• Premises - you’ll need a physical base to operate from

• Policies and procedures - these will underpin how you run your business and meet all of the legal and regulatory requirements. Nursebuddy Policies - powered by Bettal, can help you with ready-made policies, procedures and other documents which are suitable for homecare.

> You can find more help and advice with setting-up your business in your local area, via business.gov.uk.

Providing care services

You also need to decide on what kind of care you want to provide. This will depend on the needs in your local area (see the Joint Area Needs Assessment) and your experience. Some of the things you need to think about are:

Who you will support, e.g.

• Older people

• Children

• People with learning disabilities

• People with disabilities or sensory impairments

• People with mental health problems or substance misuse

The type of care you will provide, e.g.

• Personal care - things like washing and dressing

• Help with cooking and preparing meals

• Cleaning and housekeeping

• Companionship - providing company and social activities

• Delegated healthcare activities - like skin or wound care and support with medications

How your visits will be structured, e.g.

• 15 minute check-ins

• Longers shifts - e.g. 2-4 hours

• Overnight - sleeping or waking visits

• Round-the-clock, live-in care

Care operations

And then there are decisions to make about how you’ll manage your care business day-to-day. For example, do you begin with paper records or start as you mean to go on with the right software and tools in place? In our experience of automating hundreds of domiciliary care businesses, many of our customers came to us because pen and paper were slowing down their management and growth. So if you are a care director aiming to grow your homecare business in the future, adopting technology from the beginning will benefit you, your business and your staff in the long run. Additionally, regulators like the CQC increasingly prefer to see software in place when care providers register.

A final thought

Right now you might be feeling a little daunted by the prospect of starting a homecare agency. Or maybe you’re feeling excited and ready to go! 💪 Either way, we want you to know that we admire you and are here to support you. So we wish you the best of luck! ✨

Find out more about how Nursebuddy helps new homecare providers.