The six numbers every care owner should see each month

Many care owners only find out how the business did when the year-end accounts arrive. By then, the money has already been made or lost, and there is nothing left to change.

You don't need a 40-page monthly report to fix that. Six numbers on one page will tell you most of what you need, while there is still time to act on them.

1. Occupancy or hours delivered

For a care home, that is occupied beds. For home care, it is the hours you delivered and were paid for. Compare it every month with your break-even point: the occupancy or hours you need just to cover your costs. If you don't know your break-even point yet, that is the first number to work out.

2. Average fee or hourly rate

If your average fee is slipping, the mix of who pays for care is probably drifting towards the lower payers. A few more council-funded residents and a few fewer self-funders can change your margin without anything else moving.

3. Staff costs as a share of income

Staff are the biggest cost in almost every care business. When this percentage starts creeping up, it is usually the earliest warning that costs are outrunning fees. Watch the trend, not just the month.

4. Agency spend

Agency staff keep shifts covered and residents safe, but agency spend is often where margin leaks out. Track it every month so you can see whether it is getting better or worse, and which home or service is driving it.

5. Money owed to you, and by whom

A fee that covers your cost can still leave you short on payday if it arrives two months late. List what each council, NHS body and private payer owes you, and how long you have been waiting.

6. A cash forecast for the next 13 weeks

This is the one that stops you topping up payroll from your own pocket. A simple rolling forecast shows the gap weeks or months ahead, so you can fix it before payday rather than on it.

Putting it on one page

None of these numbers needs new software. Most of them are already sitting in your payroll, rota and accounting systems. The work is pulling them together every month, the same way, so you can see the trend.

If you'd like to work out your true cost of care and your break-even point, my free checklist, What does your care really cost?, walks you through it step by step.

Every care business is different. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your numbers, book a call.