ActiKare Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $33K – $58K
- Disclosed sales
- $827K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 16 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
ActiKare is an in-home care franchise providing affordable non-medical companionship and personal care to seniors and other adults. Franchisees run an agency recruiting caregivers, scheduling visits, and managing client care in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ActiKare franchise requires a total initial investment of $33K – $58K, including a $20K – $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $827K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $33K – $58K
- 1st pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $827K
- 12th pct Senior Care
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 150
- 73rd pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $33K – $58K including a $20K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $827K/year (median $636K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (20 opened, 17 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ActiKare, Inc.
- CEO title
- Director and CEO
- Mark Lucas
- CEO experience
- 2007 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Florida
- HQ
- 15310 Amberly Drive, Suite 175, Tampa, Florida 33647
- Auditor
- Optimus Financials, Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.5M
- vs $2.1M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- ML Capital Group
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Mark Lucas
- Headquarters
- Florida
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 34
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 67% below the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $20K | $40K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses during Training | $1K | $2K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $500 | $500 | |
| Computer and other Equipment, Supplies | $550 | $1K | |
| Insurance | $700 | $2K | |
| Scheduling Software | $130 | $200 | |
| Business Telephone Number, Web Hosting and Email Account (3 months)not refundable | $150 | $150 | |
| ActiKare Business Package (3 months)not refundable | $750 | $750 | |
| Initial Launch Advertising (4 months)not refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $3K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $33K | $58K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $33K – $58K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $6K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $50 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $250 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 22% below the senior care norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for ActiKare until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$50K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one ActiKare unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $827K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $636K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Gross sales by hours-worked segment (8 cohort tables split by weekly hours tier and 12mo/24mo tenure)
- Sample size
- 67 outlets
- vs category median 22 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $241K→$1.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 31 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 79 Senior Care brands
Revenue is 18.4x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $827K/year in gross sales. Median is $636K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 18.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Senior Care median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+4.3% 3-year CAGR) with 150 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 4% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Senior Care medians
How ActiKare Compares
Category median of published Senior Care brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 150
- Opened
- 20
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 17
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 3.6%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +4.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 2
- Reacquired
- 14
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 53
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 27 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
45 current owners across 28 states.
- IL 3
- NV 3
- SC 3
- AL 2
- AZ 2
- CA 2
- FL 2
- IA 2
- IN 2
- MA 2
- MO 2
- NM 2
- +16 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 16
- Loan volume
- $2.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 16 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 16 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 16 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 16 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 8.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 7.5%
- n=1,624 loans
- Jobs supported
- 196
- 9.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 50%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 70% went to startups / new businesses, 30% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in home health care services, franchised businesses charge off at 7.5% vs 11.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 35% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing ActiKare franchisees
Showing 3 of 7 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for ActiKare from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 6.3%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 79%
- Avg interest rate
- 8.45%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $126K
- Lender concentration
- 50.0%
- Job velocity
- 9.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 5.7%
- NAICS 621610
- Jobs supported
- 196
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 50% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 5 | $650K | 100.0% |
| 2 | First Bank | 2 | $398K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Live Oak Banking Company | 1 | $350K | N/A |
| 4 | First National Bank of Pennsylvania | 1 | $467K | N/A |
| 5 | The Huntington National Bank | 1 | $143K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| VAVirginia | 2 | 0 | -- |
| ALAlabama | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| FLFlorida | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NVNevada | 1 | 0 | -- |
| PAPennsylvania | 1 | 0 | -- |
| SCSouth Carolina | 1 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
ActiKare presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to missing profitability disclosure, stagnant unit growth, and lack of clarity on royalty application mechanics despite reasonable initial investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Optimus Financials, Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited financial statements exist per Item 21 (audited Balance Sheet, Income Statements, Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity, and Cash Flows for periods ending Dec 31 2025, 2024, 2023), but the Exhibit B statement pages rendered as blank/non-extractable scanned images in the text, so balance-sheet figures (assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity), net income, and the CPA/auditor name could not be captured. total_revenue of $2,502,676 for FYE Dec 31, 2025 is taken from the Item 8 disclosure ("total revenues of $2,502,676"); other_revenue of $8,436.25 is the franchisor's FY2025 revenue from franchisee purchases of support services/trademarked material (Item 8, ~0.34% of total revenue). Item 19 reports whole-unit ANNUAL gross sales in 8 cohorts segmented by weekly hours and tenure; avg/median/high/low here come from Table One (67 single-unit franchisees, 12+ months same-owner, 35+ hours/week, FYE Dec 31 2025) as the primary full-time cohort. Figures are unaudited and self-reported by franchisees.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORMinimal system growth at 2.1% YoY with only 147 units — suggests market saturation or recruitment challenges
- 02MINORHybrid royalty structure (5%-3% or $450-$550/month) is ambiguous — unclear which franchisees pay and under what conditions
- 03MINORNo going concern statement but minimal financial transparency raises questions about franchisor financial health
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 7 years |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 14 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 180 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 15 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | AAA office closest to franchisor's headquarters (Tampa, Florida) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Tampa, Florida (onsite) and Web-based (online)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
45 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ActiKare franchise?
The total investment to open a ActiKare franchise ranges from $33K – $58K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ActiKare franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ActiKare FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $827K. The median is $636K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns ActiKare?
ActiKare is franchised by ActiKare, Inc.. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the ActiKare FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the ActiKare FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is ActiKare's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ActiKare (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many ActiKare franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ActiKare has 150 total units in the United States, including 150 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 20 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ActiKare a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ActiKare as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 79 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.