"Online Legal Protection For Your Business"
Since 2004, Incfile has completed more than 150,000 company formations. They have an excellent reputation, both as an "A+" rated business with the BBB and a nearly perfect five-star average over more than 3,000 independently-verified customer reviews. Their company incorporation services are the most affordable on the market, while still including an amazing number of perks even at the lowest price point.
We love how clearly Incfile shows you what you'll pay: no hidden costs and no surprises. This applies to their own fees as well as what you'll pay to your state of incorporation. Some sites keep that information in small print, but Incfile wants to make sure you know exactly what your company incorporation will cost.
Incfile also makes it crystal clear what to expect for your state's ongoing compliance requirements, listed directly below the three package descriptions. You'll see at a glance how often you need to submit a report (annually, in most cases), your anticipated due date, your filing fees, and any other important information.
If you have any questions during or after your company incorporation, you'll have an easy time getting the help you need. Because incorporation is the only service Incfile offers, and most of their staff has worked there since the company's start in 2003, their representatives are extremely knowledgeable about every step of the process. You can reach them from 9A-7P CST at their toll-free number, Monday through Friday, as well as via email. Customers have reported that their responses have been very helpful and specific to the situation (as opposed to the form/template-type emails often sent out by other companies). Incfile does say that the very fastest way to get a prompt response to any question is through the messaging tool at the bottom right of each page on their website.
When it's time to incorporate your company, Incfile should be your first choice. Their fees are extremely affordable, while still providing full-featured service. And, with thousands of satisfied customers, Incfile has proven that they deliver what they promise. They earn our highest rateing for the best company incorporation service.
While they don't have a similar tool to walk you through the initial stages of incorporation – like which type of business entity should you choose - they do have many helpful articles that will explain your options and help you decide. You'll find these resources and more at the bottom of the page, under the headings of Start a Company and Manage a Company.
When it comes to incorporating a company, there's a lot more to it than just filing paperwork: making sure to do that legally, while continuing to fulfill all of the requirements to stay legal, can be a part of the process that gets the best of a well-meaning business owner. Harbor Compliance aims to change that. Beginning in 2012, they've helped more than 10,000 customers to create and maintain their business incorporation and licensing across a wide variety of industries.
The first thing you may notice is their pricing: Harbor Compliance is the most expensive company incorporation service on the market, with their two packages priced at $499 and $899. And no, those costs do not include any mandatory state filing fees. Unfortunately, these high prices may put their services out of reach for business owners who are looking for help with incorporation that is more affordable than working with an attorney.
So, for what type of business owner would Harbor Compliance be ideal? We suggest that if you have more to spend, and if you want a concierge-type experience with not only your company's incorporation but also its maintenance after that process is complete, you may find Harbor Compliance to be your best fit.
Compliance Specialist: this is probably the most well-loved feature, according to Harbor Compliance's previous and current clients. Within one business day of starting the process, you'll be introduced to your personal representative who will prepare each of your filings and work with you one-on-one to incorporate your company. This person will be your dedicated rep throughout the entire process; your calls or emails will never go to a third-party call center or a bank of customer service agents.
Is it worth the investment? Only you can determine the answer to that question for your business, but you can rest assured that if you do choose Harbor Compliance, they have an excellent reputation for meticulous attention to detail and warm, knowledgeable customer service. You'll find evidence of this not only through their A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, but also in their client testimonials that express gratitude for the step-by-step guidance received through Harbor's dedicated service representatives.
Harbor Compliance does what it promises and does it extremely well. But, for our purposes, we give them a middle-of-the-pack rating because their fees and limited two-package options won't give many small business owners the company incorporation services they can afford.
Although they've existed under several names in their company history which spans more than a century, Incorporate has helped more than 750,000 corporations and LLCs to file all of the necessary paperwork to successfully form their businesses and stay in compliance with all legal requirements. You may be familiar with their previous names of The Company Corporation and Corporation Service Company (CSC).
Although they don't feature it very prominently on their site, Incorporate does offer a Startup/Business Formation Wizard that may help you determine what corporation structure is best for your current business needs. We found that tool at the bottom of the main page and in their Learning Center, and the questions were very easy to answer. Otherwise, you can get help by contacting their customer service department, either via toll-free number or live chat, from 8A-8P ET every weekday.
The Starter: for $99, you'll get completion and filing of formation documents, $75,000 Corporate Compliance Guarantee and online access to company documents. If you opt in to their Registered Agent Service for $235/year, you'll also get their access to their CSCNavigator online tool.
The Essentials: priced at $249, this package includes everything from the Starter. You'll also get a Compliance Kit and company seal (with free shipping), a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), and Annual Report Preparation/Filing. You'll also need to choose Incorporate as your registered agent to get that last service.
The Works: you'll pay $349 to get all the features of The Starter and The Essentials, plus a Business License Compliance Package, Bylaws, and the Corporate Records Handbook.
Just looking at their Registered Agent Service alone, you'll see where Incorporate starts to fall short when compared with their competitors: many offer this free for the first year of incorporation, and even those that charge for it typically have fees of less than $100 per year. Given that you're expected to pay those agent fees from year to year, that cost difference could really add up over time - especially if you're like some of the business owners we've found (across company incorporation services, not just Incorporate) who forget that they are expected to pay this fee and then write nasty complaints blaming the provider for charging them.
Their package prices described above are also higher and less robust than what we found with other company incorporation services.
We like the idea of working with a provider that has not just decades but centuries of experience with helping businesses of all types to easily and legally incorporate. And, as you'd expect with longstanding company, their reputation with the BBB is solid: an A+ rating at the time of our review. But, "established" isn't always the best choice when there are other companies providing the same level of quality service for more affordable prices. We give Incorporate a 3-star rating and hope to see them become more competitive in the packages and prices they offer.