FirstLight Home Care Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FirstLight Home Care is an in-home care franchise providing non-medical personal care and companionship for seniors and other adults. Franchisees run an agency recruiting and scheduling caregivers and managing client care in a protected territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A FirstLight Home Care franchise requires a total initial investment of $151K – $256K, including a $52K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 4.8% charge-off rate across 63 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $151K – $256K
- 85th pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 24th pct Senior Care
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 3rd pct Senior Care
- Units
- 284
- 88th pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- 4.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care avg · 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 $151K – $256K including a $52K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.2M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 100/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 4.8% across 63 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 39.9% CAGR over 3 years with 284 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- FirstLight HomeCare Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Cornerstone Franchise Brands, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Cornerstone Franchise Group, LLC
- Predecessor
- none
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO/President
- Glee McAnanly
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7870 East Kemper Road, Suite 400, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249
- Auditor
- Douglas Corey & Associates, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $22.5M
- vs $19.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Cornerstone Franchise Finance
- and shares our pr
- Surv Franchisor
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Glee McAnanly
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2009
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 37
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 21% below the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $52K | $52K | |
| Training Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Travel and Training Expensesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Business Premisesnot refundable | $900 | $4K | |
| Start-Up Supplies and Inventorynot refundable | $300 | $900 | |
| Employment Screeningnot refundable | $300 | $1K | |
| Equipment, Signage, Graphicsnot refundable | $250 | $2K | |
| Marketing, Advertising and Promotionsnot refundable | $5K | $9K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Other Paid Expensesnot refundable | $6K | $8K | |
| Business Permits, Licenses and Feesnot refundable | $200 | $9K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $8K | $18K | |
| Computer Equipmentnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds: 3 to 6 Monthsnot refundable | $66K | $129K | |
| Total initial investment | $151K | $256K |
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
- $151K – $256K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $66K – $129K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $52K – $52K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $195 |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $300 – $900 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the senior care norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$294K
19.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
97%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one FirstLight Home Care unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
97%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 FirstLight Home Care units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.5%
3.79× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.64×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$8.0M
on $18.5M purchase
Total debt
$10.6M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
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 Revenue by cohort (months in operation)
- Sample size
- 194 territories
- vs category median 22 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $152K→$11.3M
- 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 7.6x 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 $1.5M/year in gross sales. Median is $1.2M — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 7.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Senior Care average of 7.7%.
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 expanding at 39.9% CAGR over 3 years across 284 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 averages
How FirstLight Home Care Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 284
- Opened
- 52
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +39.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +39.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 52
- Closed (3yr)
- 6
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 9
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 4.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 97.9%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 3.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 37 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
37
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 63
- Loan volume
- $13.9M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 4.8%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 95.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 12.5%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 22
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 8.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 6216
- Jobs supported
- 1,864
- 14.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
FirstLight Home Care charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing FirstLight Home Care franchisees
Showing 3 of 22 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.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 4.8% — 70% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
FirstLight presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, ambiguous royalty terms, and rapid growth that lacks corresponding financial transparency.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Largest disclosed settlement: $52,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Douglas Corey & Associates, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to verify actual profitability despite $1.55M average revenue claims
- 02MINORRoyalty structure includes undefined 'Minimum Performance Standard' threshold that could trigger higher payments regardless of actual gross revenue
- 03MEDNo litigation disclosed but home care industry faces inherent regulatory and liability risks (caregiver background checks, client safety, wage/labor compliance)
- 04MINOR19.3% YoY unit growth may indicate aggressive recruitment masking underlying franchisee satisfaction or retention issues
- 05MEDInitial investment range ($151K-$256K) is substantial with no disclosed net income baseline to evaluate ROI timeline
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Cincinnati, OH (AAA) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | OH |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 62 hrs
- Training location
- FirstLight Home Care home office, Cincinnati, OH; plus phone/web conference and franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
257 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
FirstLight Home Care · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a FirstLight Home Care franchise?
The total investment to open a FirstLight Home Care franchise ranges from $151K – $256K, with an initial franchise fee of $52K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do FirstLight Home Care franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the FirstLight Home Care FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the FirstLight Home Care 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 FirstLight Home Care FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is FirstLight Home Care's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, FirstLight Home Care has a charge-off rate of 4.8% across 63 loans, meaning 4.8% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many FirstLight Home Care franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, FirstLight Home Care has 284 total units in the United States, including 284 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 52 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is FirstLight Home Care a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates FirstLight Home Care as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 100 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent FirstLight Home Care, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.