What does BrightStar Care provide, and what does it charge for?
BrightStar Care gives new owners 49 hours of classroom training.
Across 15 home care systems
Which systems train new owners longer than BrightStar Care? →
Classroom hours a new owner gets, across the systems that state them
Owner and principal-operator programmes only — audiences are never added together.
›View data & method
| System | Classroom hours |
|---|---|
| A Place At Home | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Amada Senior Care | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Assisting Hands Home Care | 13 |
| BrightStar Care | 49 |
| CareBuilders at Home | 41 |
| ComForCare | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Comfort Keepers | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Executive Home Care | 30 |
| FirstLight Home Care | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Griswold | 72 |
| Hallmark Homecare | Not stated in a form we could read |
| Home Instead | 25 |
| HomeCare Advocacy Network | 54 |
| Homewatch CareGivers | Not stated in a form we could read |
| HomeWell Care Services | 40 |
| Nurse Next Door | 33 |
| One You Love Homecare | 56 |
| Right at Home | 85 |
| Senior Helpers | 43 |
| Home Matters Caregiving | 62 |
| Seniors Helping Seniors | 32 |
| SYNERGY HomeCare | 60 |
| Visiting Angels | Not stated in a form we could read |
Read from each filing’s own training table — its totals row, or the sum of its rows where every row states a number. A blank cell is never counted as a zero, and self-paced online study is not counted as on-the-job training, because the tables print them as different columns.
Where it happens, and who has to be there
How long: two, 3 to 4-day sessions (no more than 12 days total)
Where: our corporate headquarters in Bannockburn, Illinois or in a nearby conference center located in Lake County, Illinois
Who must attend: you (or your owner) and your branch/operations manager, salesperson, and director of nursingp. 52 ↗
What BrightStar Care says it will do for an owner
Every item below is described in this filing. A system that does not mention something has not necessarily withheld it — Item 11 is written by the franchisor, and silence is silence.
- Pre-opening guidance
- Website / digital marketing presence
- Annual conference / convention
- Business coaching / field support visits
- Initial training program
- Ongoing / additional training
- Local marketing materials and templates
- National / brand fund marketing
- Operations manual access
- Technology / software platform provided
- New services / system improvements
BrightStar Care requires an owner to run 8 systems of its choosing.
The technology fee is $250/mo, near typical in this field. Monthly Athena Business System and Email Service Fee: the higher of $250 per month or 1% of the prior month's Net Billings; Microsoft Enterprise Package $14.50 per seat; Multi-factor Authentication Security License up to $5 per account per month — covers: Athena Business System (ABS) and Email Service; Microsoft Enterprise Package; Multi-factor Authentication Security License. Excludes third-party approved solutions (i.e., Microsoft Enterprise Package, Hireology, CRM, payroll, EVV, HR/workforce, or WorkBright).Source ↗
- cash application and collection softwareRequired
- Great PlainsNamed in the filing
- Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting softwareRequired
- revenue cycle management services (True North)Required
- Bright Connect / BrightConnectNamed in the filing
- GbBis mapping applicationNamed in the filing
- intranetNamed in the filing
- disk encryption softwareRequired
- Microsoft Windows operating systemRequired
- Microsoft 365Required
- office suiteNamed in the filing
- HireologyNamed in the filing
- WorkBrightNamed in the filing
- SEM/PPC advertising vendor partnerRequired
- www.brightstarcare.com (website)Named in the filing
- CRM system and application service systemsNamed in the filing
- Athena Business System (ABS)Required
- payroll software (alternative vendor)Named in the filing
- ABS MobileNamed in the filing
- e-learning platformNamed in the filing
BrightStar Care requires its owners to attend the annual conference.
What BrightStar Care says it earns from what an owner has to buy
- Items purchased from franchisor or affiliate (pricing)
You must pay then-current price; cost may be higher than similar market products
- Quill (office supplies, ink & toner, cleaning & breakroom, general practice supplies)
Quill pays volume rebates: 3% of net sales up to $300,000 and 3.5% over $300,000; during 2025 fiscal year did not receive any rebates based on franchisee purchases
- BrightStar Technology Group, LLC (affiliate)
Affiliate BrightStar Technology Group, LLC derived $6,175,995 from required franchisee purchases during year ended December 28, 2025
- Supplier approval evaluation (unapproved supplier requests)
May charge up to $5,000 for evaluation if supplier approved; minimum $2,500 fee if vendor needs technology platform access
How to read what a system provides
- This is what each filing says it does, not a scorecard. We list the support a system describes. A system that does not mention something has not necessarily withheld it — Item 11 is written by the franchisor, and silence is silence.
- Hours belong to an audience. A filing states training hours separately for an owner, a manager and clinical staff, and those figures are never added together. Only the owner's hours compare across systems.
- Required is not the same as named. A system an owner must buy and use is a different commitment from one the filing merely mentions, and we keep the filing's own word for it.
›The numbers behind this page
What the filing says, in its own words
- Pre-opening guidance: “Assistance with ordering business cards, brochures, and initial recruiting and marketing materials as listed in the Operations Manual (§5.10).”p. 44 ↗
- Website / digital marketing presence: “Maintain the Athena Business System, including the website (www.brightstarcare.com) or any other website we establish that will support multiple functions (i.e., sales, billing, etc.) (§1.8).”p. 45 ↗
- Annual conference / convention: “We may hold an Annual Conference for all franchisees at a location we select. We will determine the topics and agenda for the conference to update franchisees and regional and branch leaders on new developments affecting branch operations, exchange information between franchisees and our personnel regarding Agency operations and programs and recognize franchisees for their achievements.”p. 58 ↗
- Business coaching / field support visits: “Provide consultation and advice in response to your inquiries about specific administrative and operating issues. We may decide how best to communicate this consultation and advice to you, whether by telephone, in writing, electronically or in person. The method we choose may be different than the methods we use for other franchisees (§5.3.7).”p. 44 ↗
- Initial training program: “Provide you with two, three to four day training sessions (no more than 12 days total) for new owners at our headquarters, a nearby training/conference center, or conducted virtually (§5.3.1).”p. 44 ↗
- Ongoing / additional training: “To assist you in operating your Agency, we may offer additional training programs and/or refresher courses. As of the date of this Disclosure Document, we are not able to state or estimate the location, duration, or frequency of any additional training programs and/or refresher courses as these programs and courses will depend on your needs and the needs of our other BrightStar Care franchisees.”p. 58 ↗
- Local marketing materials and templates: “Assistance with ordering business cards, brochures, and initial recruiting and marketing materials as listed in the Operations Manual (§5.10).”p. 44 ↗
- National / brand fund marketing: “Administer the General Marketing Fund (also referred to as the National Ad Fund) and provide libraries of approved marketing and advertising materials for local use (§7.1).”p. 45 ↗
What this filing does not disclose
- Nothing material to this question is missing from this filing.
Everything on this page is what BrightStar Care’s 2026 filing says it provides, in the filing’s own terms. Nothing here is a comparison except the training hours: the rest is a description a franchisor wrote about itself, and the absence of an item means the filing did not mention it. Source ↗
Ask HQ reads across your scheduling, billing and recruiting data and answers the questions none of them can on their own.