Can I pay my caregivers as 1099 contractors or do they need to be W-2 employees?

Home Care FAQs

We've brought together a team of educators and home care experts to answer the burning questions that you and every home care owner will ask at some point.

Sales & Marketing Recruitment & Retention Care Operations Leadership Legal Software Request/Contribute Job Ad Templates Finances

When does my home care agency legally have to provide employees with healthcare benefits?: Brian Cottone Jr.

Benefits expert at VItable Health
What are the essential steps to starting a home care agency?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Should I use an LLC or an S-Corp for my home care agency's tax structure?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Am I at risk of HIPAA fines if I use texting to communicate with caregivers?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Are there mistakes I'm making with my website that could be hurting my ability to get new business?: Jeremy Fuller

Managing Director of Grow Home Care Marketing; website, SEO, and digital marketing expert
Is there a spreadsheet I can download to easily calculate how much I need to charge to break even?: Julio Briones

CEO of Briones Consulting - helping 7-figure home care agencies grow
How should I decide which referral partners to work with and which to avoid?: Debbie Miller

Former pharma sales rep who built a $10M home care company and founded 52 Weeks Marketing
What are the best (and worst) talking points to use with each type of referral source?: Debbie Miller

Former pharma sales rep who built a $10M home care company and founded 52 Weeks Marketing
What should a 90-day caregiver retention plan look like?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What roles should I hire for in my home care agency's office staff and when should I hire them?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What basic financial statements should I be using for my home care agency and where can I get templates?: Mark Johnson

EA specializing in home care agencies
All the applicants are going to work for Amazon, Walmart, and Uber. How do I compete?: Shelby Palmeri

Hiring expert at CareerPlug
What can I do to make sure my home care agency's Google My Business Profile is top-notch?: Jason Chagnon

CEO of Home Care Marketing Pros; digital marketing consultant to senior care businesses
What are some good professional referral sources my home care agency can partner with?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
How should I handle service recovery if one of my caregivers makes a huge mistake?: Jonathan Chapman

Director of Customer Education at Careswitch, former head of franchisee training at SYNERGY HomeCare corporate
How can I make sure my home care agency's training is meeting state compliance requirements?: Becki Harrington-Davis

Senior Content Marketing Manager at CareAcademy
Is there a way for home care agency owners to get their agency management/scheduling software for free?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Should I pay my caregivers for time spent on training if I'm not legally required to?: Becki Harrington-Davis

Senior Content Marketing Manager at CareAcademy
Can I pay my caregivers as 1099 contractors or do they need to be W-2 employees?: Ilya Vakhutinsky

Careswitch CEO, home health aide's son, Forbes 30 Under 30, caregiver advocate
How can I avoid payroll-related lawsuits and make sure my home care agency is on the up-and-up?: Sabrina Sattler

Account Executive at Careswitch, home care agency advisor specializing in startup success and longevity
Where can I get a sample template for a caregiver job ad that will help my agency stand out to applicants?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What should I do if I have a caregiver who is consistently late to shifts or not following care plans?: Jonathan Chapman

Director of Customer Education at Careswitch, former head of franchisee training at SYNERGY HomeCare corporate
When is it time to hire a recruiter for my home care agency?: Rachel Gartner

Former home care recruiter who was so successful that she founded her own recruitment firm (Carework)
I just started my agency. How should I go about getting my first five clients?: Gregg Mazza

Founded a home care agency, almost ran out of capital after two years, figured things out and scaled past $5M
What should a good job ad look like for a home care marketer?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What should a good job ad for a home care coordinator/scheduler look like?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Where can I get a good job description template for a Director of Operations at my home care agency?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Are there any financial statements I might not be using that would give me a leg up in my home care agency's financial health?: Jennifer Ramos

Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
Are there any value-adds home care owners overlook that can help maximize the value of their agency?: Jennifer Ramos

Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
How do I know if I should fire a client?: Brett Ringold

Vice President of A Long-Term Companion
How much should I pay a home care marketer?: Erica Horner

Home care sales consultant & project manager at corecubed
At what point should I hire a marketer for my home care business?: Erica Horner

Home care sales consultant & project manager at corecubed
What’s the biggest mistake home care owners make when preparing to sell an agency?: Jennifer Ramos

Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
What's the best way to recruit caregivers for my home care agency?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Should I apply for Employee Retention Credits and how do I know if my home care agency qualifies?: Angelo Spinola

Home health, home care and hospice chair at Polsinelli
How can I decide how many referral partners to work with?: Brett Ringold

Vice President of A Long-Term Companion
What are the most important things a home care agency owner should be thinking about now if they want to sell in five years?: Jennifer Ramos

Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
How should I organize paperwork such as client files and care plans?: Jessica Nobles

Co-founder and business coach for Home Care Ops, built a 7-figure home care business in one year
How do I get more applicants to show up to interviews?: Madeline Cecil

Content Writer @ Hireology
Is there a payroll system that's built into a scheduling software? Are there advantages to this?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What's the best way to tell our clients that we're increasing our rates?: Adam Corcoran

Director of Business Development at Golden Care, owner of Home Care Flyers, helped build a multimillion dollar agency from the ground up
Should I focus on local SEO rankings?: Jason Chagnon

CEO of Home Care Marketing Pros; digital marketing consultant to senior care businesses
We've just had our first state audit and we failed in a couple areas. How can I make sure we pass future state audits?: Ilya Vakhutinsky

Careswitch CEO, home health aide's son, Forbes 30 Under 30, caregiver advocate
How do I get my home care agency to show up first in local Google searches?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
How can I attract quality online caregiver applicants who are ready to work?: Rachel Gartner

Former home care recruiter who was so successful that she founded her own recruitment firm (Carework)
How can I make sure my caregiver training is in compliance with state requirements?: Gina Murray

Started and sold a $5M agency in 6 years; co-founder of CINCH Community Care Management
How many referral partners should I touch base with per week?: Tim Murray

Started and sold a $5M agency in 6 years; co-founder of CINCH Community Care Management
How can I build referral relationships with hospitals?: Tim Murray

Started and sold a $5M agency in 6 years; co-founder of CINCH Community Care Management
What are the biggest mistakes home care agency owners make when building their sales process?: Jonathan Chapman

Director of Customer Education at Careswitch, former head of franchisee training at SYNERGY HomeCare corporate
What's the best home care software to run my agency with?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
If there's an economic recession this year, how will that impact my home care agency?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
What are the best ways home care owners can overcome revenue plateaus?: Clint Nobles

Built a multimillion dollar home care agency, founded Home Care Ops, operational methodologist for Fortune 500 companies
What's a good profit margin for a home care agency and how big a cut should I take as the owner?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
How much does it cost to start a home care agency?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
One of my clients has started paying their caregiver under the table. What should I do?: Gina Murray

Started and sold a $5M agency in 6 years; co-founder of CINCH Community Care Management
I have a question I'd like to get answered. How do I submit it?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
I want to contribute an FAQ response to this page. What are the guidelines?: Connor Kunz

VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years