Why you need a domiciliary care business plan
These are the key reasons why you need a business plan for your domiciliary care service:
To assess the feasibility of your business
Before you go ahead with your care business, you need to research your target market, industry trends, and competition to determine if your business has a realistic chance of long-term success. This will also allow you to identify potential issues early on, to develop strategies to deal with them in advance.
To document your revenue model
You need to know how your business will make money. Setting out your revenue model allows you to understand your expenses and how you will generate revenue to cover them. By calculating how you will make a profit, you can assess the viability and scalability of your business.
To position your brand against your competitors
Understanding your competition is vital when starting a business. By doing competitor research you can evaluate your competitors’ weak areas and plan what you can do to set yourself apart and stand out as a compelling alternative. This will allow you to articulate your brand positioning in a way that sets you up for success.
To create your marketing strategy
Evaluate the prevailing trends in domiciliary care. Work out who your target customers are and whether the market for your services is growing or shrinking. Understand your customers’ precise needs, to allow you to create better services for them. Decide the most cost-effective way to reach your customers.
To create a roadmap for your business
One of the most common reasons for business failure is lack of planning. A roadmap allows you to set, track and reach business milestones. Start by outlining your short long-term goals. Next, detail the specific steps needed to meet each goal. This ensures that you can stay on track and measure your progress along the way.
To comply with the CQC
The CQC (Care Quality Commission) require all care providers submit a business plan as part of their application to register with the CQC. The CQC needs to verify that you have the practical, material and financial resources to deliver care services that meet their quality standards.
Business plan for domiciliary care
Your domiciliary care business plan is an important strategic document that serves as a roadmap for business growth, a vision for success and an instrument for securing investment. Although there is no standard required format, a home care business plan should contain the following sections:
Executive summary
The executive summary is an overview of your business. Here you should highlight the key points that will be covered in more detail in your business plan. Be concise and clear to capture and retain the interest of potential investors and partners.
Make sure you include:
- What services you plan to offer
- Who your target market is
- How you will operate and structure your business
You should also include:
- Your business vision: Describe your future goals. This is important to inspire the leadership and employees to strive for excellence by giving a purpose and meaning to your organisation.
- Your mission statement: Describe what you’re doing in the present. Set out what you want to achieve, who you want to support, and why you want to support them.
Company description
State why you want to create the business, the problems you aim to solve, and your unique selling propositions (USPs). Describe your experience and track record in the care sector to lend credibility to your statements and assure potential investors.
- Give basic details about your business:
- Business name
- Legal structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited company)
- Ownership and management team (with experience and qualifications)
- Business location and areas you intend to serve
Services provided
List the services you will be providing, for example:
- Personal care: e.g. bathing, dressing, eating.
- Domestic support: e.g. cooking, cleaning, laundry.
- Companionship and social care: e.g. conversation, social activities, emotional support.
- Specialist care: e.g. dementia care, stroke care, disability support.
- Respite care for family carers
For each service, outline:
- Booking options: e.g. in person, phone, or online.
- Scheduling options: e.g. 30-minute appointments, eight-hour shifts, or 24-hour live-in care.
- Charging options: e.g. payment plans, contracts, or pay-as-you-go hourly billing.
- Payment options: e.g. cash, direct debit, or credit card.
- Legal and insurance requirements: e.g. CQC registration, staff qualifications, and insurance policies.
- Policies and procedures: e.g. grievance policy, confidentiality policy, and harassment policy.
Market research
Overview of UK domiciliary care market
Analyse the current UK domiciliary care market, particularly predictions for growth and industry forecasts. Look at the latest industry reports about market trends and use the data to justify your choice of services.
Analysis of your local market
Study your local market by researching online or speaking to your local community. Identify the demand for home care services in your local area, considering the size of the aging population and their specific needs. Highlight gaps in the market that you are equipped to fill.
Competitor analysis
There are two types of competitors: direct competitors (other domiciliary care providers) and indirect competitors (residential care homes or nursing homes). You can find your competitors by searching online and looking out for adverts in local media, billboards or branded vehicles.
Thoroughly research your competition to identify their strengths and weaknesses to identify where you can position yourself to stand out. Consider what services aren’t currently available, what price points aren’t catered for, and what customer needs aren’t being met.
Target audience
Clearly define your target audience, including their needs and preferences. Consider their demographics such as age, location, lifestyle, medical conditions, and cultural backgrounds. This information will enable you to customize your services and marketing to attract and retain your target demographic.
Marketing strategy
Outline how you will promote your services and engage potential customers, including:
- Branding: Logo, colours and key messages.
- Marketing channels: Local newspapers, radio, website, and social media.
- Networking opportunities: Partnerships with local care associations, healthcare providers, and community groups.
- Customer acquisition strategies: Referrals, word of mouth, content marketing, and paid ads.
- Customer retention: Exceptional care quality, regular communication, and relationship building.
Management structure
Your management team are the heart of your business. Showing that you have the right team with the right background and skills will establish that you are able to deliver high quality care to your chosen customer base.
Introduce the key members of your management team, setting out their roles, expertise, achievements and qualifications. Highlight any special qualities they have that will enable you to serve your target audience and cater to their individual needs.
Financial forecast
A financial forecast is vital to show that your domiciliary care business is viable and sustainable. It demonstrates your ability to plan and manage your finances. A financial forecast is also needed to attract funding from investors or lenders.
If you’re starting a business, you won’t have historical data about your finances. Instead, do market research and use publicly available data to guide your forecast.
Your financial forecast should cover a period of at least two years and should have the following three components:
- Cash flow statement: The cash inflows and outflows for your business. This measures how well your business generates cash to fund operating expenses and pay your debts.
- Income statement: Your business’s revenue, expenses, gains and losses. This measures how efficient your operations are and your performance relative to your peers.
- Balance sheet: Your business’s assets, liabilities and shareholder equity. This measures how effectively you manage your financial resources.
Sample business plan for domiciliary care agency
Our downloadable sample business plan for a domiciliary care agency is intended to give you an idea of how a real business plan might look, using the details of a fictional agency. The main structure is set out in full, although some of the finer details have been omitted for the sake of brevity.
The sample business plan covers all the sections of a real domiciliary care agency business plan, with examples of what might be written for each:
- Executive summary
- Company description
- Services provided
- Market research
- Management structure
- Financial forecast
Software solutions for domiciliary care
Your domiciliary care business plan is the roadmap for your success. As your business grows the right software solution will help you make proactive, data-driven decisions to enhance the quality of your service and achieve your goals.
At Access we have been creating software solutions for the care industry over the last 30 years. We currently work with over 11,000 registered care locations in the UK.
Our comprehensive suite of home care management software collects all the domiciliary solutions you need in one place.
- Care planning and delivery: Electronic management of care planning and delivery with care plans, forms, visit logs, eMAR, call monitoring, and mobile app.
- Scheduling and employee management: Create and template schedules, match carer skills to client preferences, reconcile payroll with hours worked, and calculate travel expenses with Google Maps.
- Electronic MAR (eMAR): Provide carers the medical information they need on their mobile app, require carers to record medicines as given or skipped, and reduce medicine-related regulatory risks.
- Electronic call monitoring: Evidence correct visit time and length and alert care coordinators with late and missed visits, all with online and offline functionality.
- Audits and mock inspections: Access complete library of service audits, conduct mock CQC inspections, create action plans to address uncovered issues.
- Comprehensive care training: Interactive courses available online and on mobile, reports on individual and team progress, and comply with regulatory and legal training requirements.
- Virtual competency assessment: Courses for domiciliary and community care, realistic virtual care scenarios, all designed to meet regulatory requirements.
- Policies, procedures and compliance documentation: Comprehensive policies and procedures for regulatory compliance, regularly updated to reflect the latest regulatory changes, accessible on browser-based app.
We also offer a range of software packages for home care start-ups.
To find out more about the home care management software we offer at Access, contact us here to discuss your needs or book a demo.
