A mature, single-unit SYNERGY HomeCare business may produce roughly $14,000 to $145,000 in annual manager-run, pre-tax owner earnings under the independent scenarios below; the base case is about $74,000. If the owner personally fills the Designated Manager role, estimated owner-operator benefit rises to about $132,000–$263,000, but part of that amount is compensation for the owner's full-time labor rather than passive business profit.
Estimated pre-tax residual after modeled operating costs and a $117,960 manager salary proxy, before financing and personal taxes.
Includes residual business earnings plus the modeled value of the Designated Manager work performed by the owner.
2025 median for 45 single-unit businesses open at least one year; revenue, not owner earnings.
Revenue after caregiver wages only; caregiver payroll taxes and workers' compensation are excluded from cost of goods sold.
Each operated one Protected Territory and had been open at least one year as of December 31, 2025.
What does the 2026 FDD actually disclose?
The strongest same-brand evidence is an official revenue and gross-margin disclosure, not an owner-profit disclosure. Item 19 reports 2025 Gross Sales and an Average Gross Profit Margin for franchised SYNERGY HomeCare businesses. It separates single-unit businesses from multi-unit businesses, which matters because multi-unit figures are reported per business portfolio rather than per Protected Territory.
| Single-unit operating cohort | Businesses | Average / median Gross Sales | Average Gross Profit Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 10 years | 16 | $2,500,418 / $1,948,828 | 49% |
| 6 to 9 years | 5 | $965,392 / $1,198,610 | 54% |
| 1 to 5 years | 24 | $579,980 / $378,078 | 54% |
| All single-unit businesses over 1 year | 45 | $1,305,626 / $858,791 | 51% |
Official source: 2026 SYNERGY HomeCare Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, pp. 42–45. The figures are unaudited and were not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Sixteen of 45 single-unit businesses, or 36%, met or exceeded the cohort's average Gross Sales; 23 of 45, or 51%, met or exceeded the Average Gross Profit Margin.
Item 19 states that, as of December 31, 2025, the system had 246 franchised businesses operating 626 Units. The performance tables included 186 businesses operating 523 Units that had been open at least one year. They excluded 56 businesses operating 98 Units that had not reached one year, three mini-territory businesses, and 16 businesses operating 23 Units that closed during 2025. Item 20 reports no company-owned outlets, so there is no same-brand company-operated profit proxy.
The Federal Trade Commission Franchise Rule Compliance Guide explains the regulatory framework for financial performance representations. The FDD itself says written substantiation for Item 19 will be made available on reasonable request and warns that individual results may differ.
How is the annual owner-earnings range calculated?
The estimate starts with the official $858,791 single-unit median Gross Sales and applies a transparent revenue spread, the official 51% Gross Profit Margin, disclosed recurring fees, and modeled overhead. Conservative, Base, and Upside are analytical cases, not probabilities and not FDD quartiles.
- Revenue spread: 80%, 100%, and 120% of the official $858,791 median, producing $687,033, $858,791, and $1,030,549. This spread is editorial, not FDD-reported.
- Other overhead: 22%, 19%, and 16% of revenue. This bucket is an explicit scenario assumption for caregiver payroll taxes and workers' compensation, required non-caregiver staff, office costs, insurance, scheduling software, recruiting, background checks, professional services, and other normal operating costs. The declining percentage reflects assumed fixed-cost scale.
- Manager wage: $117,960, the May 2024 national median for Medical and Health Services Managers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is a national occupation proxy, not a SYNERGY HomeCare salary and not total employer compensation.
- Excluded from the result: interest, financing principal, depreciation, capital expenditures, owner personal income taxes, and any owner-specific benefits or distributions. Scheduling software is included within modeled other overhead rather than deducted separately.
Estimated annual residual after modeled operating expenses and the manager-wage proxy.
Interpretation: the model is highly sensitive to revenue and overhead absorption. The Base result is not a forecast or the most likely outcome.
Sources: 2026 FDD Item 19, pp. 42–45; Item 6, pp. 6–10; BLS May 2024 Medical and Health Services Managers median wage; editorial scenario assumptions stated above. Values rounded to the nearest dollar after full-precision calculations.
How does owner involvement change the economic result?
Owner involvement changes the classification of the result more than it changes the modeled operating cash generated before manager pay. A manager-run owner pays for the Designated Manager role and keeps the residual. An owner-operator avoids that modeled salary expense but must perform the work, so the higher number is an owner-operator benefit that combines business profit with labor compensation.
The $117,960 gap in each scenario is modeled manager labor value, not additional passive profit.
Interpretation: active operation can improve cash retained by the owner, but the difference compensates the owner for a management job. It should not be described as passive income.
Sources: 2026 FDD Item 1, p. 1; Item 15, p. 37; Franchise Agreement §13.4; BLS manager-wage proxy; scenario calculations above.
Which FDD fees materially affect annual earnings?
The largest disclosed recurring burden is 9% of Gross Sales when the percentage-based Local Advertising requirement applies: 5% royalty, 2% Marketing Fund contribution, and at least 2% local advertising. That burden equals about $77,291 at the $858,791 Base revenue level, before the Systems Fee and variable software charges.
| Recurring obligation | FDD amount | Base-scenario treatment | Owner-earnings relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty Fee | 5% of Gross Sales | $42,940 | Direct percentage deduction from revenue. |
| Marketing Fund contribution | 2% of Gross Sales | $17,176 | Direct percentage deduction from revenue. |
| Minimum Local Advertising | Greater of $300 monthly or 2% of monthly Gross Sales | $17,176 | The 2% calculation is higher at the modeled sales level. |
| Systems Fee | Currently $100 weekly, beginning four months after the agreement effective date | $5,200 annualized | Modeled separately as a fixed recurring charge. |
| Scheduling software | $200 monthly below 22 active clients; otherwise $7–$9 per active client monthly by tier | Included in other overhead | Varies with active-client count and cannot be calculated from Item 19 sales alone. |
Official source: 2026 FDD Item 6, pp. 6–10. Minimum royalty and Marketing Fund payments can apply beginning in month seven when the business misses its Minimum Monthly Sales Quota. Other contingent or variable charges may also apply.
Why is the evidence confidence limited?
Confidence is limited because the FDD stops at Gross Sales and Gross Profit Margin, leaving material operating costs undisclosed. The revenue anchor is same-brand and current, but the overhead ratios and manager wage are not official SYNERGY HomeCare profit data.
- Gross Sales: revenue reported by the franchise business under the FDD definition. It is not salary, distributions, or take-home pay.
- Gross Profit Margin: revenue less caregiver wages, divided by revenue. It is not operating margin because caregiver payroll taxes, workers' compensation, administrative payroll, occupancy, franchise fees, and other expenses remain.
- Manager-run pre-tax owner earnings: modeled cash residual after normal unit-level operating costs, disclosed recurring fees, and a manager salary proxy, but before interest, financing principal, capital expenditures, depreciation, and personal income taxes.
- Owner-operator benefit: modeled manager-run residual plus the market value of the management labor performed by the owner. It combines business return and labor compensation.
- Business versus Unit: Item 19 defines one Unit as one Protected Territory, while a multi-unit Business can operate several Units. The $1,763,025 multi-unit median is per business portfolio, not per Unit, so it is not used asthe single-unit revenue anchor.
The most important unresolved variable is the true expense structure below the FDD's gross-margin line. Caregiver payroll taxes and workers' compensation alone can vary by state and claims history. Administrative staffing, licensing, paid lead generation, insurance, office costs, overtime, client acquisition, scheduling intensity, and local wage levels can shift residual earnings substantially. The BLS proxy is also national: the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables should be used to replace it with state or metropolitan wage data during local underwriting.
What should a buyer verify before relying on this range?
A buyer should replace every scenario assumption with territory-specific evidence and actual franchisee expense records. Item 19 provides a credible starting point for revenue, but it cannot establish net owner earnings without operating-cost substantiation.
- Request Item 19 written substantiation: confirm how Gross Sales and Gross Profit Margin were compiled, whether any corrections were made, and how closed businesses relate to the reporting population.
- Interview comparable franchisees: prioritize single-unit full-territory owners with similar state licensing, caregiver wage levels, client mix, age, and owner role. Ask for payroll burden, workers' compensation, admin payroll, insurance, software, marketing, and bad-debt percentages.
- Separate owner labor from return on capital: ask owner-operators how many hours they work, which Designated Manager duties they perform, and what it would cost to replace them.
- Underwrite the territory, not the brand average: test local caregiver supply, bill rates, referral channels, licensing requirements, minimum wage, overtime rules, office costs, and client-acquisition spending.
- Model financing separately: obtain actual loan amount, interest rate, amortization, fees, and required working capital. Do not subtract the FDD's initial investment from one year of sales.
- Review Item 20 contacts and exits: speak with current and former franchisees, including transferred or closed operations where available, while recognizing that some contacts may be subject to confidentiality restrictions.
What is the most defensible earnings view?
The most defensible current view is a scenario-based range of about $14,000–$145,000 in annual manager-run, pre-tax owner earnings for a mature single-unit full territory, with a Base result near $74,000. An active owner who performs the Designated Manager role may receive about $132,000–$263,000 in owner-operator benefit, but the difference is primarily labor value and should not be treated as passive profit.
The strongest evidence is the 2026 FDD's 2025 single-unit median Gross Sales of $858,791 and Average Gross Profit Margin of 51% for 45 businesses open at least one year. The largest earnings driver is the spread between client billings and the full labor burden, followed by whether fixed administrative overhead is absorbed at the achieved sales level. The largest unresolved uncertainty is the expense stack below caregiver wages. Before making a decision, a buyer should verify Item 19 substantiation, local payroll and insurance costs, actual manager compensation, and comparable franchisee income statements.