Interim HealthCare

The primary franchise fee is $75,000 — the highest initial fee in the home care category, but this covers both personal care/home health and staffing services together. VetFran provides a 10% discount ($67,500). Adding a second territory costs $50,000; adding additional service lines (home health or hospice) concurrently runs $60,000 each. A $20,000 territory reservation deposit is required before signing; it credits toward the $75,000 at closing.

Total investment of $156K to $239K for the primary franchise is reasonable for a medical staffing operation. Key costs beyond the franchise fee include three months working capital ($55K–$67K), three months of rent and deposits ($5K–$15K), training travel ($3K–$8K), licenses and certifications ($1K–$10K, which can be substantial in regulated home health markets), and opening marketing ($3K–$8K).

If you add the home health service line, the FDD estimates an additional $108K–$178K in working capital on top of the $60K franchise fee — making a full primary-plus-home-health launch a $422K to $628K investment. Multi-service operators drive the revenue numbers at the top of Item 19, so understand that the base investment buys a less-complete business than what the high-revenue operators are running.

Ongoing royalties are tiered by service type: 3.5% on palliative/private pay home care, 4.5% on Medicare/Medicaid home health, 5.5% on staffing and all other services. The national marketing fee is 1% of weekly sales, plus a local advertising obligation of at least 1% of prior year's sales. Technology runs $485/month. Minimum weekly royalty is $100 per service line, regardless of revenue.

Interim HealthCare provides detailed Item 19 data for 165 territories that reported full-year 2024 data.

All 165 reporting territories in 2024: - Average gross revenue: $3.65M - Median gross revenue: $1.66M

The average-median gap is large, meaning a small number of very large operators skew the average significantly. The top 50 territories averaged $9.23M — these are multi-service, multi-decade operations with deep relationships in hospital discharge networks and government healthcare programs.

Mature territories (10+ years, 88 territories) in 2024: - Average gross revenue: $6.44M - Median gross revenue: $3.58M

For a new operator entering with the primary franchise only (personal care and staffing), the realistic year-one target is well below the median. Year one in healthcare staffing is almost entirely relationship-building — with hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, VA programs, and case managers. Revenue growth is typically back-loaded, with the business compounding as your referral network develops. At $1.66M median revenue with a blended royalty of roughly 5% plus 2% marketing fees, you're paying approximately $116K/year to the franchisor — reasonable for a $239K-or-less total investment.

Note that the FDD also discloses total average sales declined 12.99% from 2023, which is a meaningful headwind. Understand the cause — whether it's system-wide pricing pressure, loss of large staffing contracts, or geographic concentration issues — before assuming recovery.

The Interim HealthCare system has been declining gradually: from 248 units in 2022 to 238 in 2023 to 230 in 2024. The 2024 closures (29) outpaced openings (22), producing a net -8 change. This is not a collapsing system — it's been stable in the 230–250 unit range for years — but it's not a growth story either.

More concerning is the 12.99% decline in total system revenue from 2023 to 2024. Revenue per unit falling while the system shrinks is worth investigating. Competition from national staffing agencies (AMN Healthcare, Cross Country, Aya Healthcare) and direct competition from non-franchise home care agencies is intense in most markets. Healthcare reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid have been under pressure.

Transfers are active (4 in 2024) but modest — suggesting the resale market exists but isn't robust. Interim has operated since 1966 and is backed by Caring Brands International, which adds corporate stability that newer franchisors can't offer.

The 12.99% system-wide revenue decline in 2024 is the biggest concern in this FDD. Understand the cause: is it specific to certain service lines (e.g., staffing demand normalizing post-COVID surge), geographic concentration, or a structural decline in the business model? Ask franchisees directly.

State licensing for home health agencies varies enormously. In certificate-of-need states, getting licensed to provide Medicare/Medicaid home health services can take 12–24 months and involve significant legal fees. If you're in a CON state, your path to the most lucrative service line (home health/hospice) is long and uncertain. Budget appropriately for licensing costs, which the FDD estimates at $1,000–$10,000 but which can run much higher in regulated markets.

The minimum weekly royalty ($100/week per service line) starts immediately. If you have two service lines and zero revenue in week one, you owe $200/week to the franchisor. This is a real cash flow consideration in a slow-ramp healthcare business.

The transfer fee is meaningful at ~$25,000 (one-third of current IFF), which limits your exit optionality if you need to sell before building full territory value.