I did something on the weekend that I don't normally do. I engaged in a Facebook post that got quite heated, and it quickly turned into an us vs. them conversation between independent contractors and group practice owners.
I originally replied because I was hoping two things would happen. First, that group practice owners reading it would know there was someone speaking up for them. And second, that a contractor reading it might see the value in what they're getting in their agreement... or find a way to speak up if they're not getting it.
It feels like these posts are happening more and more, and I struggle with the lack of perspective and the unwillingness to even try to see both sides. People seem to struggle to allow both realities, and both sets of needs, to be true at the same time.
And it isn't just contractors. There are group practice owners who choose not to see things from a contractor's perspective too. Neither is good. Neither is helpful.
Afterward, one of the owners in my GPO Network Facebook group asked how the rest of us explain our splits to contractors who don't understand what it costs to run a practice, including all the unpaid pieces like consultation, team meetings and tracking metrics. The responses were so thoughtful that I wanted to bring some of them here.
Here's what I think matters most for us as owners.
1. Start with your numbers
Most of the comments in the original thread treated 70/30 as the fair standard and 50/50 as the outlier. I see it differently. A split isn't a fairness number you pick based on what other practices are doing. It's a reflection of what it costs to run your practice, and when most owners add up what they actually spend, 70/30 rarely covers it, let alone the owner's time.
Think about what your share has to pay for... your office or virtual platform, your EHR, marketing, admin support, bookkeeping, insurance, supervision, professional development, the unpaid hours you put into onboarding, consultation, team meetings and tracking metrics, and some profit so the practice can weather a slow month. Then add a fair wage for the time you spend running the business, because your leadership is work too. If you leave that out, you're quietly subsidizing every contractor with your own unpaid time... and that's how so many owners end up burnt out while paying out a "generous" split.
So yes, 50/50 or 70/30 can absolutely be the right split. But the number has to come from your expenses, not from what you've heard is standard. Before you offer a split, know your numbers. Know what it costs to deliver one session, what you need to pay yourself, and what that leaves for the contractor.
This is also where everything else in this blog post starts. When you know your numbers, you can explain them, and a contractor who understands what your share pays for is far less likely to feel like you're "taking half" of their fee.
For example, I have a group practice owner I’ve been working with for a while who started with an 80/20 split for her therapists because she thought that’s what everyone did, couldn’t figure out why anyone would join her otherwise, and didn’t do her own math. Two years in, and she was seeing 25 clients plus running a clinic and burning out. When we slowed down and looked at her numbers, she realized she needed a 60/40 split or there wasn’t going to be a clinic any more. Now that she’s changed that arrangement, she shows up more authentically and confidently. Isn’t tentative in her interviews about what she can provide financially and practically, and it has turned her practice around.
2. Be as transparent as you're comfortable being
Transparency looks different for every owner. Some share a lot of detail about what it costs to run the practice, others share percentages, and others simply say, this is what I'm willing to offer.
The owners in my community had some great examples of what this can look like:
Sharing percentages instead of dollar amounts, like what portion of revenue goes to rent, to advertising and to paying contractors.
Adding a short video to onboarding that explains where the practice's share goes and what's standard in the field.
Creating a simple pie chart of the year's expenses to share with the team at year end.
Being upfront about the split before the interview, so counsellors can decide whether it's the right fit before anyone invests their time.
Another owner shared that transparency goes even further when it comes with regular check-ins about how you can support your contractors, so they feel the benefits of being part of your practice.
Someone else pointed out that group practice models exist across healthcare, from physiotherapy and massage therapy to optometry and dentistry, yet there seems to be a particular amount of friction around counselling group practices. Another owner wondered whether the split model itself invites some of that, because as an employee she never questioned the clinic owner's profit, but once she knew what a split would cost her, she started weighing whether to go out on her own. I think that's worth sitting with.
And one owner asked whether sharing numbers would change a disgruntled contractor's mind at all. It may not. The core of transparency isn't winning everyone over, it's being confident and knowledgeable about what you're offering... and sticking with it. When you adjust your split because you're afraid someone won't accept you or what you provide, that doesn't help anyone.
3. Know what it takes to build a caseload
Know what it takes to build a caseload, how you're willing to do that for a contractor, and what you do and don't expect them to contribute. Some owners expect quite a bit from their contractors, and others believe it all falls on them. You get to choose how you run your business... I just ask that you be realistic.
Here's what I typically say. “With everything I do for the business, I can fill your caseload to about 75%. The other 25% needs your engagement, which means good clinical work, a strong bio, a video on the website, and things like blogs or reels that speak to your ideal client.”
I'm okay with that, because we're both running businesses here. I realize most of the responsibility for filling a caseload is on me, and I need my contractors to help build the know, like and trust factor with our network and potential clients.
This applies to virtual work too. A few owners in my community shared that a virtual caseload doesn't cost them any less to fill, and for one owner whose clients are mostly in person, attracting virtual-only clients costs more in marketing. So if a contractor asks for a higher split for virtual work, make sure you know your numbers before you answer.
4. Be prepared to raise your rates
We all know things are expensive, and people should be compensated for good work. What that looks like is different for every group practice owner. Some offer a 1% increase every year, sometimes up to a set cap. I offer a 2% increase after two years, and I raise my rate to clients at the same time. Others tie increases to training or client retention.
If you're considering retention, be realistic about what your ideal retention rate looks like, since obviously clients have the right to end counselling at any time and pay that depends on them staying longer than their modality actually operates from can put the clinician in a conflict of interest.
So what is your plan for raises? Your contractors will want to know, and it's much easier to share a plan you've already thought through than to come up with one on the spot when someone asks.
5. Know where the contractor line is
If you've chosen to work with independent contractors, know where the contractor line is and treat them that way, with realistic expectations of both yourself and them.
Working with contractors comes with a trade. The practice gets flexibility and lower costs than it would have with employees, and in exchange it gives up much of the control.
When the Canada Revenue Agency decides whether someone is an employee or self-employed, it looks at the whole working relationship. That includes how much control the practice has over the work, who supplies the tools and workspace, whether the worker carries financial risk, and whether they have a chance to make a profit or a loss.¹ It also looks at whether the practice has the right to control those things, even if it never uses it.
So when a practice sets rules about when contractors can take time off, requires them to attend practice activities, sets their schedule, or asks them not to see clients anywhere else, the arrangement can start to look less like a contract and more like employment... without the benefits that come with it. That's a risk for the practice, and it's a big part of why contractors push back on these agreements.
This isn't legal or tax advice, and every situation is different. If you haven't reviewed your contractor agreements with an accountant or employment lawyer recently, it's worth doing.
It goes both ways
Contractors aren't the only ones who can fall into assuming the other side is just taking. We can do it too, especially when someone leaves.
I remember one shooting star contractor who came in, did everything I told her to do, and had a full caseload within two months. Within a year she left to do her own thing, even though she'd told me she wasn't going to, and she now has her own group practice. I could resent her for that... or I could realize that was her purpose in joining my group practice, and that it speaks to what I was able to teach her about being successful.
I had another contractor who was a rock star. She didn't do many of the things I told her to do to build her caseload, apart from good work and the odd reel. She grew slowly and consistently, she was a great team member, and she appreciated everything we did so that she could come in, do her work and go.
Both of them were good for my practice, just in different ways. When we expect every contractor to stay forever, or to build a caseload the way we would, we set ourselves up for resentment. And when contractors assume every owner is getting rich off their work, they miss how many of us are paying ourselves less than our associates while carrying the lease, the marketing, the admin and the risk. One longtime owner in my community shared that her profit margins rarely exceed 12%.
Can I let both realities be true... that I'm running a business that needs to be sustainable, and that the people working with me are building lives and businesses of their own?
Before you defend your split
Take a few minutes with these questions:
Do I know what it costs my practice to deliver one session, including a fair wage for my own time?
How transparent am I willing to be, and am I confident enough in my split to stick with it?
Have I been realistic and clear about how I'll help fill a caseload and what I expect from my contractors?
What's my plan for raises, and have I shared it?
Do any of my rules look more like employment than a contract?
Am I letting both sides' realities be true, or only mine?
Final thoughts
I don't think 50/50 is wrong, and I don't think 70/30 is automatically fair. Every split should come from your own numbers, including what you pay yourself, rather than from what other practices are offering. And once you've set it, the way you talk about it and the way you build everything around it tells contractors a lot about whether you see them as colleagues or as costs.
Some owners in my community feel the best response to these heated threads is not to engage at all, and I understand that. I engaged because I hoped at least one person would read it and gain a bit more understanding or appreciation for their group practice relationship... and I still hope that. Contractors and owners need each other, and we'll both do better when we stop assuming the worst about the other side.
If you'd like to work through your own splits and contractor agreements with other owners who understand the weight of these decisions, Group Practice Connection is a great place for that conversation, and I'd love to have you in the room. And if you want to look closely at what a clinician costs your practice and what a fair split looks like for your numbers, that's exactly what we dig into in The Numbers Room.
References
Canada Revenue Agency, Employee or Self-Employed? (RC4110).
