How Do Walk In Clinics Make Money

Start a walk-in clinic by following these 10 steps:

You have found the perfect business idea, and now you are ready to take the next step. There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your walk-in clinic. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Check out our How to Start a Business page.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What are the startup and ongoing costs?
Who is your target market?
How much can you charge customers?
What will you name your business?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What are the costs involved in opening a walk-in clinic?

As mentioned, this is a capital intensive business venture. Total costs vary, depending upon clinic size, services offered, region, and staff size. Business owners who are starting with a blank slate should plan on a budget of $750,000 to $1 million. This covers all start-up costs, as well as operating expenses for the first three months. Three months is the standard time it takes to receive payments from insurance companies.

Key items to factor into your budget:

Purchase, build, or lease facility space - It is recommended that you allocate 1,500 square feet for each physician. This should offer enough room for each doctor to have three exam rooms. An additional 1,000 square feet should suffice for a lab, radiology, and patient waiting room.
Facility improvements - While some improvements will be handled by the landlord, the national average is $100 per square foot. Only $30-$50 of this will be paid for by the building owner.
Furniture and fixtures
Clinic equipment and software - Equipment costs range anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000. Whenever possible, consider leasing the equipment.
Professional fees - There is a great deal of planning and thought that goes into starting this type of business. It is recommended that you seek the advice of an attorney and business consultant to ensure everything is handled efficiently, economically, and legally.
Insurance - Seek the advice of a licensed professional when determining the type of coverage needed.

If this career move is important to you, but you lack the necessary funding, consider approaching your local hospital. Many busy hospitals are investing in clinics as a way to keep emergency and primary care patients separate.

What are the ongoing expenses for a walk-in clinic?

There are a number of operating expenses that should be considered when constructing your business plan. Proper management and working as lean as possible will help ensure your facility gets out of the red in three to six months.

The following are standard expenses incurred by walk-in clinics:

Payroll and taxes
Electronic Medical Records/EMR software - Investing in a cloud-based system could help reduce costs, but does usually come with a monthly fee, based on the number of users.
Radiology and lab fees - Will this be handled in-house, by a member of your staff, or will you contract this work out?
Insurance - At the very least, you need property, liability, and malpractice insurance. A professional can assist you in determining the proper coverage for your business.
Professional fees - It is advised that you remain in contact and seek the advice of professionals, such as a CPA, attorney, and business consultant. These fees will vary, depending upon the scope of their work.
Maintenance and cleaning - The facility should be kept clean and well maintained.
Write-offs for nonpayment

Who is the target market?

Due to changes in the healthcare system, many consumers are now turning to walk-in clinics when they require medical treatment and/or advice. This expands your target market to virtually every American, insured and uninsured. The key is to choose a location that lacks this type of facility. Your space should be easily accessible, have ample parking, and stand out to those driving by.

How does a walk-in clinic make money?

Each patient seen by the clinic will help generate revenue for the business. To ensure patients receive the best possible care, many urgent care facilities offer additional services such as lab work and X-rays.

How much can you charge customers?

Fees will vary, depending upon the type of services a patient receives. Since medical coding for this type of facility can be quite complex, it is recommended that clinics do one of three things: invest in an EMR specifically written for this type of medical facility, hire a billing company or coder, or invest in additional education on this subject for billing personnel.

While insurance companies will handle much of the reimbursement, patients are also required to fulfill their deductible and copays. These fees vary depending upon the client's medical plan.

How much profit can a walk-in clinic make?

Profits are directly tied to the number of patients you see, average fees charged for each client, and operating costs.

If you have one physician on staff, who sees two patients for a nine hour day, 5 days a week, at $150 per patient:

$150 x 2 x 9 x 22 = $59,400 per month. That comes out to approximately $713,000 annually.

To determine profit, you must now subtract out clinic costs, including salaries for the physician and staff.

Successful clinics report break even numbers of between 12 and 23 patients per day, depending upon the specifics of their business and region.

How can you make your business more profitable?

It is critical that your clinic offer appealing hours, including weekends and evenings. Offering services such as laboratory tests, X-rays, and on site casting and suturing will help attract more patients and increase profits. Some have even found success offering assistance to local nursing homes. Weight loss programs and substance abuse treatment could also help expand your customer base.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don't already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Walk-In Clinic Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

Your state's business records
Federal and state trademark records
Social media platforms
Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your walk-in clinic is sued.

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can start an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.

Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.

Small Business Taxes

Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation (S corp).

You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:

LLC Taxes
Sole Proprietorship vs LLC
LLC vs Corporation
LLC vs S Corp
How to Start an S Corp

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get credit cards and other financing in your business's name (instead of yours), better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.

Open a business bank account

This separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
It also makes accounting and tax filing easier.

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Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank, credit union, business-loan friendly banks, one with many brick-and-mortar locations, and more.

Open net-30 accounts

When it comes to establishing your business credit, net-30 vendors are considered the way to go. The term "net-30," which is popular among vendors, refers to a business credit arrangement where the company pays the vendor within 30 days of receiving goods or services.

Net-30 credit terms are often used for businesses that need to obtain inventory quickly but do not have the cash on hand.

Besides establishing business relationships with vendors, net-30 credit accounts get reported to the major business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.

Get a business credit card

This helps you separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
It also builds your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money and investment later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company's financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you're unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it's a great place to start for your business.

Learn more about General Liability Insurance.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers' Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it's a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

How to promote & market a walk-in clinic

This industry is becoming increasingly competitive, so proper branding should be a top priority. The outward appearance of your facility, location, logo, and website are all critical components of the branding experience. Consider seeking professional assistance when developing your branding and marketing strategy.

How to keep customers coming back

Your patients know that, if they do not have a positive experience at your facility, they can simply go down the street to another one. Therefore, customer service should be a top priority. Satisfied customers should be encouraged to post online reviews, which is a wonderful way to attract and retain clients. A monthly newsletter is a great strategy for reminding patients you are there to serve their needs.

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Still unsure about what kind of business you want to start? Check out the latest Small Business Trends to help inspire you.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it's out of their reach because they don't have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn't delay building your website:

All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don't need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn't take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That's not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We've reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use.