Starting a care business
Start your care business with the right registration foundations.
We help aspiring providers understand what must be in place before regulated care can be delivered, with practical steps for service model, evidence, governance, staffing and registration readiness.
1. Decide your service type and model
A domiciliary care agency, residential care home, nursing home and supported living service are not the same registration project. The service model affects regulated activities, staffing, policies, premises, risk controls and the evidence CQC will expect.
We help you describe the model clearly, decide what you will and will not provide, and avoid contradictions between your business plan, Statement of Purpose and policies.
2. Company set-up basics
We can talk through general start-up considerations such as limited company set-up, SIC codes, insurance evidence, business planning and accountable leadership.
This is general guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Providers should take advice from qualified accountants, solicitors, insurers and other professional advisers where needed.
3. What CQC expects before trading
Carrying on a regulated activity without CQC registration is unlawful. We help you prepare properly before you trade, so your evidence shows how the service will be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led from the start.
That includes leadership, recruitment, training, safeguarding, medicines, care planning, governance, complaints, incidents, data protection and quality monitoring.
4. Build policies, governance and staffing first
Policies must describe your real service, not a generic care business. Your staffing plan, training plan, supervision approach and governance schedule should all connect to the people you intend to support.
We check whether the documents tell one coherent story and whether managers can explain how the systems will work in practice.
5. Prepare the nominated individual and registered manager
The nominated individual and registered manager need to demonstrate fitness, knowledge, governance oversight and understanding of risk. We support preparation through evidence review and interview practice.
We focus on plain-English explanations, not rehearsed answers that fall apart under follow-up questions.
6. Realistic timelines and common delays
New providers are often delayed by inconsistent documents, unclear regulated activities, weak governance plans, incomplete policies, missing recruitment evidence or interview gaps.
We help you spot those issues early, prioritise them and build a practical route to submission.
How we structure evidence
The five key questions stay visible.
We use Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led as the recurring structure so actions and evidence do not drift away from what matters in adult social care.
What's included
- Start-up consultation around your service model and regulated activities.
- Document and evidence readiness review before submission.
- Policy, governance and staffing gap check.
- Nominated individual and registered manager preparation.
- Plain-English action plan with priorities and owners.
Ready to talk?
Share your service type, where you are in the process and what needs attention first. We will scope the support before work starts.
Engagements are scoped and priced individually. Haverton Care Hub supports and strengthens services, but never guarantees CQC registration, inspection outcomes, ratings or compliance. Haverton Care Hub is an independent consultancy. We are not endorsed by, affiliated with, or acting on behalf of the Care Quality Commission.