7 Steps to Write a Sensory Integration Therapy Plan (5-Year)

How to Write a Business Plan for Sensory Integration Therapy Practice

Follow 7 practical steps to create a Sensory Integration Therapy Practice business plan in 10-15 pages, with a 5-year forecast (2026-2030), breakeven at 1 month, and funding needs near $843,000 clearly explained in numbers

How to Write a Business Plan for Sensory Integration Therapy Practice in 7 Steps

#	Step Name	Plan Section	Key Focus	Main Output/Deliverable
1	Define Mission & Service Mix	Concept	Value proposition, service mix, pricing structure. (e.g., $350/session evaluation)	Core service offering defined.
2	Analyze Demand and Referral Channels	Market	Key sources (pediatricians, schools) and volume targets. (e.g., 600+ treatments/month by 2026)	Required patient volume calculated.
3	Plan Facility and CAPEX Budget	Operations	Justify $108,000 capital spend for 6 clinician capacity.	Equipment and facility budget set.
4	Structure Staffing and Compensation	Team	Mapping FTE growth from 2026 (10 total) to 2030 levels.	Staffing roadmap finalized.
5	Build Patient Acquisition Strategy	Marketing/Sales	Marketing spend (80% of 2026 revenue) focused on insurance credentialing.	Initial patient flow plan established.
6	Develop 5-Year Financial Model	Financials	Projecting $842k (2026) to $49M (2030) revenue; 2715% IRR.	Full 5-year projection built.
7	Determine Funding Needs and Risk Mitigation	Risks	Covering $843,000 minimum cash need against utilization/payment lag.	Funding target and contingency set.

What specific patient segments drive the most profitable treatments?

The Adult Sensory Specialist segment drives higher revenue per session at $190 compared to the Senior OT rate of $175, making adult services the immediate profit lever for the Sensory Integration Therapy Practice, and you should review How Increase Profits Sensory Integration Therapy Practice? to understand the next steps; this is defintely where the margin lives.

Adult Segment Advantage

Adult Specialist sessions bill at $190.
Senior OT rate is fixed at $175 per session.
Higher rate means better gross margin per hour.
Focus marketing on adult support groups.

Hitting Year 1 Capacity

Goal is 70% utilization across 6 therapists.
This requires a steady stream of new clients.
Referral sources must target both age groups.
Adult referrals are needed to maximize revenue mix.

How fast can we scale therapist utilization rates safely?

You can safely scale utilization toward 80% by Year 3, but Year 1 requires balancing low initial utilization (50% to 60%) with securing enough physical space for 6 therapists to hit 600 monthly treatments. Hitting that initial volume demands immediate investment in dedicated clinical environments.

Setting Realistic Year 1 Capacity

Plan for an Adult Specialist utilization starting at 50% capacity.
Expect a Junior OT to start slightly higher, around 60% utilization.
The goal is aggressive ramp-up to reach 80%+ utilization across the board by Year 3.
Revenue is tied directly to these utilization percentages, so track them closely.

Space Needed for 600+ Monthly Treatments

To support 6 therapists delivering 600 treatments monthly, you need 6 dedicated therapy zones.
This means 6 private, equipped rooms are required from day one for smooth operations.
If each therapist sees 5 clients daily (100/month), scheduling gets tight fast without dedicated space.
You defintely need space for specialized sensory integration equipment in each zone.

What is the exact capital structure needed to cover the $843,000 cash minimum?

The required capital structure must fund the $108,000 in initial CAPEX and create a working capital buffer to cover $12,550 in monthly fixed overhead until insurance payments normalize. This breakdown accounts for the full $843,000 cash minimum needed to launch the Sensory Integration Therapy Practice successfully.

Initial Asset Deployment

Total initial capital expenditure (CAPEX) required is $108,000.
This includes major physical assets, such as Sensory Gym Structural Equipment priced at $45,000.
This spending happens before the first reliable patient payment arrives.
Secure this amount to ensure all physical setup is complete by your target launch date.

Overhead Runway Needs

Facility costs alone are $12,550 per month in fixed operating costs.
Insurance reimbursement cycles often lag 60 to 90 days, demanding a large float.
You need to model how long this cash will last; defintely budget for at least six months of runway.
This reserve covers overhead while you build utilization, which is key to managing What Are Operating Costs For Sensory Integration Therapy Practice?

How will we recruit and retain high-quality specialists in a competitive market?

Recruiting 10 full-time equivalents (FTEs) by 2028 requires a tiered compensation structure that blends a base salary with productivity bonuses, starting with competitive pay well above the Practice Director's $125,000 base, which is defintely crucial if you're mapping out how to launch your Sensory Integration Therapy Practice How To Launch Sensory Integration Therapy Practice?.

2028 Staffing Roadmap

Plan targets 10 FTEs hired by the end of 2028.
Hiring mix includes 4 Junior Occupational Therapists (OTs).
We need 2 Senior OTs to mentor junior staff.
The remaining 4 roles cover administrative and support needs.

Compensation & Retention Levers

Junior OTs start near $80,000 base salary plus incentives.
Senior OTs command a base starting around $105,000.
Incentives tie directly to client utilization rates above 85%.
Retention includes continuing education stipends up to $2,000 annually.

Key Takeaways

Securing approximately $843,000 in initial capital is essential to cover $108,000 in CAPEX and working capital needed before insurance reimbursements begin.
The 5-year financial model projects aggressive scaling, aiming for $25 million in revenue by Year 3 and achieving a 2715% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).
Successful execution requires immediate focus on capacity utilization, targeting 70% in Year 1 and over 80% by Year 3 to offset substantial fixed overhead costs of $12,550 monthly.
The initial staffing plan for 2026 involves 6 clinical FTEs and 4 administrative FTEs, supported by a compensation structure featuring a $125,000 salary for the Practice Director.

Step 1 : Define Mission & Service Mix

Value Mix Definition

Defining your service mix sets the entire revenue engine. Focusing on both pediatric clients (ages 2-18) and adults with SPD means you need specialized scheduling blocks. If you don't nail this balance, utilization tanks fast. This dual focus is your unique value proposition, but it demands careful clinician credentialing and marketing spend allocation for both segments. You need to know what percentage of your capacity is dedicated to each group.

Initial Pricing Anchor

Start pricing based on complexity, not just time spent. The Clinical Evaluation Lead session is anchored at $350. This high-value initial touchpoint must cover the ramp-up time needed for new clients, whether they are school-aged kids or adults. Honestly, getting insurance contracts finalized quickly is the biggest hurdle for this fee structure. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises for those initial high-ticket evaluations.

Step 2 : Analyze Demand and Referral Channels

Volume Justification

Securing steady patient flow dictates your fixed payroll costs. You must prove demand exists before hiring 6 clinicians. This step identifies your primary acquisition channels: pediatricians and schools. If these sources can reliably deliver the required 600+ monthly treatments projected for 2026, the staffing plan holds up. What this estimate hides is the time lag between outreach and actual booked appointments.

Hitting 600+ Treatments

Focus your initial outreach on securing referral agreements. If one clinician handles 25 treatments weekly, 6 clinicians need about 150 treatments per week, or 600 monthly. That means each clinician needs roughly 25 new referrals flowing monthly, assuming full utilization. Start credentialing with major insurance payers now; slow payment cycles defintely impact cash flow projections.

Step 3 : Plan Facility and CAPEX Budget

Facility Readiness

Facility planning locks in your physical capacity before patient volume arrives. This capital outlay dictates how many full-time equivalent (FTE) clinicians you can support efficiently. Under-budgeting means delays; over-budgeting strains initial cash flow. You must tie every dollar spent on assets to a specific revenue-generating unit, like a therapist station.

The $108,000 capital budget is set to equip the space for 6 clinicians operating in 2026. This spend isn't just rent deposits; it's tangible assets supporting service delivery. The specialized gear is non-negotiable for sensory integration therapy. We need to show exactly where that money goes to prove operational readiness.

Asset Allocation Proof

You must itemize the required setup cost per therapist station. The $45,000 for Sensory Gym Structural Equipment is the core therapy environment. Add $15,000 for Clinical Furniture, covering desks and waiting areas. That leaves $48,000 ($108,000 total minus $60,000 specified equipment) for IT infrastructure and leasehold improvements.

This allocation proves you have the necessary environment to handle the planned 2026 volume, which requires 6 active providers. If onboarding takes 14+ days, defintely review vendor timelines now. That $48k buffer is tight, so watch for scope creep on office build-out.

Step 4 : Structure Staffing and Compensation

Staffing Capacity Mapping

Scaling staff correctly dictates whether you hit that $49 million revenue target by 2030. Staffing is your biggest operational cost, but it is also your capacity ceiling. You start with 6 clinical FTEs and 4 administrative FTEs in 2026 to support $842k revenue. If you grow revenue nearly 58 times by 2030, your clinical staff must grow proportionally to deliver the required volume. You need to map this growth now, defintely, because hiring specialized therapists takes months, not weeks.

The core challenge is ensuring clinical capacity matches demand without overspending on non-billable roles too soon. You must project the required clinical headcount based on the 2030 revenue goal and assumed utilization rates. This projection tells you the exact moment you must initiate hiring cycles for new licensed therapists to keep pace with patient flow.

Admin Ratio Control

You must define the ratio of administrative support to clinical volume right away. In 2026, you have 4 admin staff supporting 6 clinicians-that's a 0.67 admin-to-clinical ratio. As volume explodes toward $49 million, this ratio might shift slightly due to new software, but you can't let the Billing Coordinator get swamped handling claims.

If 2030 requires roughly 100 clinicians (based on revenue scaling), you'll need about 67 admin FTEs if that ratio holds steady. Your administrative functions-like billing, scheduling, and intake-must scale predictably. Track administrative overhead as a percentage of total payroll; if it creeps above 15% too early, you're burning cash inefficiently before the revenue fully materializes.

Step 5 : Build Patient Acquisition Strategy

Initial Marketing Push

You need a massive push upfront to build your pipeline; this isn't a slow burn. In 2026, expect marketing to eat 80% of your $842,000 revenue, meaning about $673,600 goes straight to acquisition. This heavy spend funds the critical work of getting credentialed with payers and building referral trust. If you don't spend big here, you won't hit the 600+ monthly treatments needed to keep your first 6 clinicians busy. It's a necessary investment to de-risk utilization.

Focus Spend on Contracts

Your marketing budget must prioritize two things: insurance access and direct referrals. Credentialing with major insurers takes time, often 90 to 180 days, so start that process yesterday. Allocate funds for dedicated outreach staff to visit pediatricians and school districts weekly. This targeted approach beats general advertising for specialized care. Honestly, if you wait for patients to find you, you'll defintely run out of cash before month six.

Step 6 : Develop 5-Year Financial Model

5-Year Growth Validation

You need this projection to show investors the path from startup costs to significant scale. It connects the initial $108,000 capital spend (Step 3) and staffing plan (Step 4) directly to investor returns. The model proves that scaling patient volume from $842,000 revenue in 2026 to $49 million by 2030 is achievable. This growth trajectory underpins the projected 2715% Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Honestly, without this map, the funding ask is just a guess.

Modeling Scalability Levers

Achieving that high IRR hinges on two main operational levers. First, utilization must climb steadily; that means getting your 6 initial clinicians booked much tighter than they start. Second, you must control your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). Therapeutic Supplies are a major variable cost here, starting at 45% of revenue in 2026. If you can negotiate supply costs down even slightly as volume increases, say to 35% by 2030, that margin improvement flows straight to the bottom line when you hit $49M. You'll defintely see the impact.

Step 7 : Determine Funding Needs and Risk Mitigation

Covering the Cash Floor

Securing the $843,000 minimum cash need defines your operational runway. This isn't just startup capital; it's the buffer against early operational friction. The biggest early hurdle is cash flow timing. If insurance reimbursement cycles stretch past 60 days, or if initial client utilization lags the 600+ monthly treatments projection, you burn cash fast. This calculation must cover 9 months of operating expenses defintely.

Buffer Calculation

To mitigate slow insurance payments, factor in a 90-day Accounts Receivable float on top of the $843k baseline. If utilization hits only 70% of target in the first six months, you need an extra $150,000 for payroll coverage. Honestly, aim to raise $1.1 million total to safely navigate these initial shocks. That extra cushion protects against hiring delays too.