How do I work out what a therapy practice owner actually earns?

A seller may say the practice supports a good living. That can be true and still tell a buyer little. In a counselling, speech or occupational therapy practice, the owner often does most of the billable work. The income is partly pay for clinical hours and partly a return on the business. A buyer who steps in as the clinician is buying a job; one who hires a clinician is buying a business. Separate the two.

The owner’s own sessions

Ask for a breakdown of revenue by clinician, including the owner. Then ask how much of the owner’s time is spent with clients and how much goes to everything else. Sessions the owner delivers would have to be delivered by someone after the sale. If you plan to treat clients yourself, that income is a wage for you. If you plan to hire, it is revenue that needs a clinician behind it.

What replacing the caseload would cost

Work out what it would cost to hire a clinician for the owner’s caseload, including benefits, supervision and the time to build their own client base. Compare that with the revenue those sessions bring in. The gap is what the practice earns on that work. Ask the seller’s accountant how the books treat the owner’s pay, because it may be shown as salary, as dividends or not at all.

Associate splits and unpaid hours

If associates keep part of each session fee, check what the practice keeps after that split and after rent, supplies and software. Then count the work nobody is paid for: scheduling, billing, follow-up, marketing, clinical notes. Ask whether these tasks are done after hours and how they are recorded. A buyer either does that work or pays someone to, and the cost belongs in the picture.