How much does it cost to start a care agency?

To start a care agency in the UK it can cost anything between £3,000 to £15,000. With this amount you can buy everything that you need to run your business professionally. Of course, opinions will vary but we believe it shouldn’t cost more. This depends on the following factors:

1. Your budget
2. Who will you hire to start your care agency 
3. What package will you select
4. Additional savings for wages
5. Working from home or renting an office
6. Your connections

We will explain each factor in detail.

If you need more details on how to start a care agency, we have written these comprehensive blogs:

How to start a Nursing Agency in the UK

How to start a Domiciliary Care Agency in the UK

1. Your budget

Probably 70% of people who are looking to start a care agency have their budget from personal savings (small budget). The other 30% have other businesses and they want to expand (large budget). 

2. Who will you hire to start your care agency

There are a few niche companies that offer Starter Packs for new care agencies. Some are more expensive than others and their services vary. Do your research and spend your money wisely. Make sure the company you choose has previous experience. Ask to show you previous projects (websites, design elements, logos, forms, marketing material). Your business must look professional. Our advice is to select companies that offer full packages. Do not ask 3 companies to do 10 different things for you. Your company will be a mess.

3. What package will you select

The companies that offer specialised starter packs for care agencies offer various packages for various budgets. Of course the cheaper the package the less elements they offer. You will need a professional website, email address, all the corporate documents (policies and procedures, contracts, job application forms, reference request forms etc.) and marketing materials (business card, flyers etc.). We sell an e-book which explains everything, from A to Z, on how to start a Healthcare Recruitment Agency. You can buy it here -> Click to buy the e-book.

You can buy the documents branded by the company that sells them to you, which will cost you more. Or you can buy the unbranded version of the documents, which of course will cost you less. We sell both and you can find the unbranded versions here.

4. Additional savings for wages

Some new starters will spend all their savings on the starter pack. They will not have money to pay the staff until they get paid. Invoices are paid usually on monthly basis. How will you pay the staff? Well, you have to start with small contracts. You will have to honor the shifts yourself and wait until you get paid. Maybe you have family members and friends that are willing to help you. They will need to take on some shifts and wait until you get paid for the first invoice. Once you start getting paid then you can save and use the money to pay the staff weekly. Some new starters have a large budget to pay the staff before they get paid for the first invoices (£10k-£50k British pounds).

5. Working from home or renting an office

Renting an office is ideal but more expensive of course. You can do it from home, especially now with the COVID-19. A lot of people work from home. If you work from home please study the recruitment process very carefully. You can do the interviews via Skype or Zoom. 

6. Your connections

This is important as it can cut down marketing expenses. Marketing expenses can reach to £1k or £10k per year (depends on the budget). If you have previous experience or you worked in the care industry it is possible that you have a couple of contracts guaranteed, from the start. How good is that, right?

This is a blog post that explains more in depth the process of starting a care agency in the UK.

You can also visit our website for more details about the full services we offer.