Is buying a nanny agency different from buying a home care agency?

Both businesses connect families with people who help in the home, so they are easy to confuse. Underneath, they run on different models. Knowing which one you are looking at shapes the questions you ask, the records you request and the plan you make for the first year after closing.

Who the worker answers to

In a placement agency, the agency matches and screens, and the worker then takes direction from the family. In a home care agency, caregivers follow the agency’s schedule, and the agency supervises, assigns and bills the work. Ask the seller to describe how a typical placement or shift is set up. How workers are classified is a legal question, so put it to your lawyer early.

What recurs and what does not

A placement agency tends to earn when a match is made, so new families must keep arriving. A home care agency tends to earn as care continues, so existing clients and caregiver availability carry the business. Ask each seller what share of this year’s work came from people already on the books. The answer shows how much income depends on existing clients.

What transfers to a buyer

With a placement agency you mostly take over a candidate database, family contacts, screening practice and a name families trust. With a home care agency you also take over caregivers, client schedules and ongoing care commitments. See how two kinds of home care agency compare for the second model in detail.

Records and questions

• How candidates and families are recorded, and who may see those files
• Written terms families and workers agreed to
• Open guarantees or ongoing care commitments
• The owner’s part in matching or scheduling