For entrepreneurs who are in the process of registering their company but can’t afford a lawyer to take care of their paperwork but are not yet comfortable managing their own legal and administrative documents, there is the option of a third-party incorporation service. These services are able to complete all of the documents necessary throughout the business formation and incorporation process and offer affordable peace of mind for entrepreneurs.

Types Of Business Formation Services

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness caters specifically to small businesses and is largely considered to be one of the best incorporation services available. They offer a very comprehensive set of business formation packages for LLC’s, partnerships and corporations, including compliance management, EIN registration, operating agreement generation as well as registered agent and accounting assessment services.

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer is a subscription-based model mostly known for their online legal advice. They offer free incorporation services, simple-to-use document and contract templates, quick answers to your legal questions and consultations with a business lawyer. They are also able to offer advice regarding any legal issues that may arise through their expansive set of legal resources.

Incfile

As well as offering similar business formation services to those of ZenBusiness, Incfile provides its clients with a free year’s worth of registered agent services, real-time order tracking for documentation and other related business items with free shipping and an online dashboard of compliance tools. Incfile has an excellent customer service track record with great online reviews.

Northwest

Northwest offers less features than the other companies on this list, but they also offer the lowest price and are still a good choice for your business if you don’t require too much additional support outside of your basic formation documentation. They offer a free managing agent services for one year as well as great customer support. They have experience in the industry but are still a small business and can therefore offer you an excellent level of customization for your particular business needs.

MyCompanyWorks

A very small company comparative to the others on the list, but with this small size comes excellent customer reviews and great support. MyCompanyWorks have a similar offering to ZenBusiness but are smaller in scale and therefore legal resources. They’re an affordable choice and the right company for you if you are looking for that personal touch.

LegalZoom

One of the more prominent formation services, LegalZoom’s basic package includes formation documents, their titular “peace of mind review” and 1-2-1 customer support. They also provide legal and accounting services to their clients and their scale, although helpful for their additional service offerings, means that their customer service level is not quite that of some of the other, smaller formation service companies.

BizFilings

For over 20 years BizFilings has been offering formation services to small businesses. Alongside their basic company formation services for a wide range of business sizes and scopes, they offer free educational content online, which can be exceptionally helpful for first time entrepreneurs. They also provide a free registered agent for 6 months within incorporation and reasonable and balanced packages for your business needs.

Pros And Cons Of Using Formation Services

The Benefits Of Using A Formation Service

You are able to have peace of mind regarding all of your business formation and incorporation’s documentation and future legal requirements, giving you the freedom to focus on the other aspects of running your business. You will have access to excellent customer support and legal resources.

The Downsides Of Using A Formation Service

The downside to using this kind of service is that the website is not able to provide the same kind of tailored service and additional insights offered by a lawyer.

Ultimately a business formation service can provide you with peace of mind and guidance during the stressful and complicated process of starting your business and is a worthwhile service to consider utilizing.