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The practical guide to running a domiciliary care agency

Practical guides, checklists and calculators for starting, operating and growing a domiciliary care agency. Registration lessons apply to England; wider operational guidance carries its own jurisdiction label.
Built from CQC guidance, UK employment rules and real care-workforce workflows. Reviewed 20 July 2026.
Explore the care hubStart an agency

Explore available guides

Start with the decision that cannot wait.

All six practical pathways are open now, each with a decision process, checklist, records to keep and current official sources.

PATH 016 guide topics

Start a care agency

Define the service model, establish who will provide and manage it, and prepare a coordinated registration application.

  • Define your care service
  • Set up provider, manager and location
  • Prepare your CQC application
Open practical guide
PATH 024 guide topics

Recruit and onboard staff

Recruit suitable care workers, complete distinct pre-employment checks and prove competence before lone working.

  • Safer recruitment
  • Role and staff-file controls
  • Competence and deployment
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PATH 036 guide topics

Plan and deliver care

Turn assessed needs into covered visits, clear care instructions and evidence managers can review.

  • Domiciliary care rota planning
  • Missed and late visits
  • Care-plan reviews
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PATH 046 guide topics

Manage your care workforce

Keep availability, attendance, leave, supervision and safe staffing decisions visible.

  • Safe staffing guide
  • Staff file checklist
  • Working time and rest
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PATH 056 guide topics

Prepare for CQC

Build practical evidence from everyday care, governance and improvement activity.

  • CQC inspection checklist
  • Evidence categories
  • Framework transition
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PATH 066 guide topics

Run a profitable agency

Connect visit costs, travel, approved hours and payroll so margins are based on real delivery.

  • Travel time and minimum wage
  • Care-worker cost controls
  • Visit-to-payroll guide
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Inside the live pathways

Featured practical guides

Jump straight to the checklist, decision or record you need inside each published pathway.

Plan → prove → approve → pay

One operational record, from planned visit to correct pay

A reliable service keeps the planned work, delivery evidence, manager decision and pay result connected.

  1. 01

    Plan the visit

    Start with assessed needs, risks, visit outcomes, duration and the skills required.

    • Rota planning
    • Safe staffing
    • Skill matching
  2. 02

    Prove it happened

    Record attendance, task outcomes, notes, changes and exceptions against the planned visit.

    • EVV
    • Visit notes
    • Missed visits
  3. 03

    Approve the work

    Investigate gaps and make a clear manager decision before records move downstream.

    • Timesheets
    • Exceptions
    • Manager controls
  4. 04

    Pay correctly

    Use approved care time, travel, mileage and agreed pay rules to prepare payroll.

    • Travel time
    • Mileage
    • Minimum wage

Live tools

Care operations calculators

Use live calculators and checkers to test care costs, visit risk and payroll assumptions before they become operational problems.

Checker · Ready to use

EVV readiness checker

Find gaps in arrival evidence, offline processes and missed-visit handling.

Calculator · Ready to use

Missed-visit cost calculator

Model the admin, revenue and service exposure created by unresolved visits.

Calculator · Ready to use

Domiciliary care hourly-rate calculator

Include wages, travel, mileage, on-costs, overhead and target margin.

Checker · Ready to use

Travel-time minimum-wage checker

Test how travel time, mileage and deductions affect effective hourly pay.

Find your starting point

Browse by your role

Start with the controls and records closest to your day-to-day responsibility.

Care agency owner

Pricing, margins, workforce capacity and the route from visits to payroll.

Registered manager

Care evidence, governance, staffing decisions and inspection readiness.

Care coordinator

Rotas, matching, visit delivery, exceptions and manager approval.

Payroll or finance lead

Travel, approved time, minimum-wage checks, payroll and reconciliation.

Source checked

Recently reviewed guidance

Current operational guides with visible review dates and direct links to official sources.

Where Workmax fits

Keep the operational record connected.

Workmax connects care plans, rotas, visits, workforce records, approved time and payroll. The Care Hub explains the management decisions around that workflow.

See the care workflowBook a care demo

Keep building the operating library

All six pathways are now open. These supporting guides are next on the editorial roadmap.

Recruitment capacity planning and ethical international recruitmentProbation, supervision and continuing competence reviews