Even though most people prefer to use an incorporation service when starting their LLC, there are some disadvantages to using one. Doing the incorporation of your LLC on your own can offer some benefits.
Saving on costs
Incorporation services are very efficient and can help take you through all the important steps of starting a business if you are unsure. They can help you form any of the popular business structures, including those of a corporation, sole proprietorship, and a nonprofit. Most small business owners prefer to form an LLC and these formation services can also assist with the LLC operating agreement.
However, they do charge a fee to do this and if you decide to do it yourself, you will be saving on the starting costs of your business. When you form an LLC yourself, you will not be paying any of the fees charged by the incorporation service and you only need to pay your state’s registration fees.
Learn about the requirements for running a business
The requirements for starting and then successfully running a business are many. If you decide to use an incorporating service, you may never learn about some of the most important requirements.
By doing it yourself you will have to research the different state licenses and taxes, get all the applications, and complete them before submitting them. You will gain some invaluable experience and knowledge about starting and keeping a business running.
When you form an LLC, you are required to register the business and get a domain for its online presence. You will also need an Employer ID Number (EIN) and an operating agreement. Additionally, you will need to ensure that you are compliant from the beginning and that you stay that way over the years.
If you undertake these processes yourself, you will understand how important they are to running a successful and compliant business. You will also be aware of which requirements need only be done at the start of your enterprise, and which need to be renewed annually.
Do things your way
When you decide to use a business formation service, you will have to do things their way. If you are confident that you can every step right and can source what you need to successfully complete your business formation, then you are ready to do things your way.
You can either do everything online for fast results, or you may prefer to approach the various state departments yourself and to physically submit the paperwork required. However, this can be quite a time-consuming task, and applications completed in this way usually take a few days longer to be approved. However, if you are a hands-on person, then you may prefer to finalize each detail of your business formation yourself.
Don’t mind about your privacy
If you form your own LLC, you may also decide to act as your personal registered agent. This is fine if you don’t mind that your address will appear on all the legal paperwork for your business and being made public. The address you register will be where all legal and compliance notifications will be addressed.
This will save you money as you won’t have to pay a registered agent fee. However, you will always have to be at the address you have registered during normal working hours to receive important correspondence for your business.
Using professional formation services
If you decide that you prefer to avoid doing all the above yourself so you can save time, here are some of the best formation services that can help you form an LLC. They are effective and within a few weeks, the same amount of time as you would need, you can have your business up and running.
Incorporation services also usually provide free document downloads for LLC resolutions, meeting minutes, and other simple documents.
These companies do not charge a lot of money to provide basic formation services for you. They usually have other add-on services that are more profitable to them. However, they will charge something extra to speed things up. Most of them also offer the first year as your registered agent for free when they undertake your business formation. Protecting your privacy.