England · CQC registration · Business plan and forecast
A new home care agency must send CQC a business plan and a 12-month financial forecast. CQC wants eight sections, a clear pricing structure, and a forecast with income, itemised costs and your financial position for every month. Too little detail and the application may be rejected.
Quick answer
CQC requires a business plan and financial forecast from every new home care (domiciliary care) agency. It says "Your business plan helps us check that your service will be financially stable and well-managed."
The plan covers your background, management team, service, local market research, a SWOT analysis, who is responsible for each task, your ownership structure and your pricing. The forecast must show projected income, projected expenses and the resulting financial position for each of your first 12 months, with operating costs itemised every month rather than given as one total.
Home care agencies do not send a financial viability statement; the business plan and forecast take its place.
From CQC’s guidance on the business plan, updated 30 September 2026. "If your plan does not include enough detail your application may not be successful."
Section 1
Your company’s background and experience with this type of service, and how that experience helps you meet people’s needs.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 2
What you do and how you stand out, your management team’s relevant experience and qualifications, and why they suit this service. Tie it to the service user bands in your application form.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 3
The services you will provide, how, who for, why the service is needed and why it will succeed in the local market.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 4
Recent research in your area and how you did it, evidence of local demand, local competitors, markets you plan to target, and how you decided pricing and staff pay.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 5
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or an equivalent structured analysis.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 6
Every main task and role, with a named person responsible. Every significant task needs someone specific.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 7
Your ownership, including investors, and your company structure, exactly as they are.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastSection 8
How you will charge, down to call lengths, evenings, bank holidays and double-handed calls.
CQC, Business plan and financial forecastKeep it consistent. CQC asks you to make the management section relate to "the service user bands you’ve selected in your application form", and the market research to the same bands. Regulation 13 of the 2009 Registration Regulations links your finances to your statement of purpose: you must take all reasonable steps to stay financially viable so you can achieve the aims and objectives set out in it.
For a domiciliary care service CQC asks you to explain how you will charge, and gives four questions to answer:
Your market research must also show "how you decided your pricing and staff pay, including how much you will pay staff". The two need to fit together: your rates have to cover what you pay care workers for each call, plus everything else in your forecast.
CQC’s requirement is specific: "You must provide a 12-month financial forecast for your first year of business." For each month it must show projected income, projected expenses and the resulting financial position of the business, across the full 12 months.
CQC adds: "Your forecast must include a detailed breakdown of operational costs (for example, staff costs, technology costs and advertising) for each month, rather than a single monthly or annual expense total." And it explains why: "We ask for a month-by-month forecast because income and costs can change during the year." Your forecast should support what your business plan says.
Free download
A month-by-month sheet with income, itemised staff and operating costs, monthly net income and a running cash position. Totals are calculated for you. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets. The rows are our suggestion; change them to fit your agency.
| Section | Rows |
|---|---|
| Income | Local authority funded care, privately funded care, other income |
| Staff costs | Care worker wages, registered manager, office and coordinator wages, employer National Insurance, employer pension, holiday pay, mileage and travel, training, DBS checks and recruitment |
| Operating costs | Office rent and utilities, insurance, CQC annual fee, care planning and rostering software, phones and IT, advertising, PPE and equipment, accountancy and legal, loan repayments and bank charges, other |
| Position | Total expenses, net income for the month, opening cash (your start-up funds in month 1), closing cash |
CQC’s own examples of operating costs are staff costs, technology costs and advertising. The template gives each month a closing cash position, which is the "resulting financial position" CQC asks for.
CareRulebook
CareRulebook builds your CQC documents from one set of answers, so your business plan, statement of purpose and policies describe the same service, for the same people, in the same area.
CQC publishes two worked examples of homecare applications. Money was one of the clearest differences.
Refused
"There was a small amount of money to start up the business but Mrs Smith could not tell us where this money had come from. ... She had not looked at what money she needed to break even and was unaware of the real costs of running the business. The business plan did not consider essentials needed to run the service."
CQC, Examples of personal care applicationsRegistered
"He could tell us where this money had come from and had evidence of his business account. The business finance was sound and allowed for contingencies, such as loss of income. Mr Jones had looked at the local market very carefully including discussions with the local council and other commissioners."
CQC, Examples of personal care applicationsThree things to take from it: know where your start-up money comes from and be able to show it, work out what you need to break even, and allow for contingencies such as losing income. The same examples on policies →
CQC wants operating costs broken down each month, not one monthly or annual figure.
CQC"If your financial forecast does not contain enough detail for us to assess your service, your application may be rejected."
CQCYou must show you understand the local market and that there is demand for your service.
CQCEvery significant task must have someone specific assigned to it.
CQCOwnership and roles must reflect what is actually in place, including investors.
CQCSince 1 July 2025 CQC rejects homecare applications that are not complete or accurate on arrival, and a corrected resubmission counts as a new application.
CQCYes. CQC lists a business plan and financial forecast among the extra documents homecare (domiciliary care) agencies must send with a registration application. It uses the plan to check the service will be financially stable and well managed.
Projected income, projected expenses and the resulting financial position for each of your first 12 months, with a detailed monthly breakdown of operating costs such as staff, technology and advertising, not a single total. CQC says a forecast without enough detail may get the application rejected.
No. CQC exempts home care (domiciliary care) agencies from the financial viability statement, but they must send the business plan and 12-month forecast instead.
How you will charge: by the hour, 45 minutes or 30 minutes; for evenings and bank holidays; whether local authority and private clients pay the same; and what you charge for double-handed calls. Your market research should also show how you decided pricing and how much you will pay staff.
CQC’s business plan guidance lists what the plan must cover but does not include a template. CareRulebook’s free blank 12-month forecast follows CQC’s requirements for the forecast part.
In CQC’s published example, the refused applicant could not say where the start-up money came from, had not worked out what was needed to break even, and her business plan did not consider essentials needed to run the service.
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