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Written by: Coralee Bechteler
Coralee is a business writer with experience in administrative services, education, and software testing.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on August 14, 2022
Updated on March 11, 2024
If you’re starting an LLC in Rhode Island, the business entity formation process is one of the first and most important hurdles. This step can be terribly complex and time-consuming, which is why many entrepreneurs turn to professional formation services.
But which are the best LLC formation services in Rhode Island? This article takes a closer look, stepping into an entrepreneur’s shoes, to help you choose the service that puts you on the road to success.
Here we summarize our top picks for business formation services in Rhode Island.
Best for Startups
Best Registered Agent Service
Best Turnaround Time
Best Legal Assistance
Best Support for Small Business Owners
Best for Variety of Business-Essential Services
Best for Speedy Processing
For those venturing into establishing a Rhode Island LLC, ZenBusiness presents various plans to cater to your needs. Their Starter plan for a Rhode Island LLC comes at $0 plus state-specific fees and covers vital steps like a business name availability search in Rhode Island and state-focused formation support.
Upgrading to the Pro plan, priced at $199 plus Rhode Island’s state fees, brings additional services such as a custom operating agreement for Rhode Island, an EIN, an annual compliance service designed for the state, and rush filing.
The Premium plan, with a fee of $349 plus Rhode Island’s charges, offers everything in the Pro plan, along with valuable resources like a business document library, a domain name, a website, and an email tailored for your Rhode Island LLC.
When we evaluate LLC filing companies catering to Rhode Island, ZenBusiness emerges as the best. Their offerings, starting at a meager $0 plus Rhode Island state fees, ensure a blend of affordability and accuracy.
Notably, ZenBusiness, as a Public Benefit Corporation, operates with a mission mirroring nonprofits while still being a profit-driven entity.
Besides the core services for Rhode Island LLC formation, ZenBusiness extends additional offerings, such as registered agent services suitable for Rhode Island and versatile business tools. However, these can increase the overall cost. Over the years, many Rhode Island businesses have shared their positive experiences with ZenBusiness.
ZenBusiness offers valuable services for budding entrepreneurs. While registered agent services are an add-on, their excellent customer support, user-friendly site, and positive reviews make them a top choice.
Northwest offers a plan at $39 plus Rhode Island state fees. This plan encompasses various services tailored for the Rhode Island business environment: business formation, complimentary registered agent services for a year, a dedicated business address within Rhode Island, an operating agreement suitable for Rhode Island stipulations, and some additional resources.
The inherent value of this plan becomes evident, considering it includes registered agent services and a Rhode Island-compliant operating agreement, both crucial for businesses in the state. However, it’s important to note that even if you decide against availing the registered agent services for your Rhode Island LLC, the package cost remains unchanged.
Northwest Registered Agent, as suggested by their name, is renowned, particularly for their registered agent services tailored for Rhode Island. They stand out by offering personalized customer assistance and prompt correspondence notifications, ensuring your Rhode Island LLC stays compliant and informed.
We recommend Northwest Registered Agent because of their transparent pricing, outstanding customer service, and a commitment to maintaining your privacy. They pride themselves on personalizing their approach to meeting your registered agent needs, which are their specialty.
For those forming a Rhode Island LLC, Swyft Filings offers a Basic package at just the state fees. This includes company name verification, articles of organization preparation, and state document filing. Plus, customers receive online access to documents and continuous support.
For $199 plus Rhode Island’s state fees, the Standard package adds a custom operating agreement, a federal EIN, and tools for your first LLC meeting.
The Premium package, at $299 plus Rhode Island filing fees, incorporates all Standard features, expedited filing, a business document library, a domain and website, and a digital LLC kit, which includes a company seal and ownership certificates.
It’s worth noting: Swyft Filings is renowned for excellent customer support, making Rhode Island LLC formation seamless.
Swyft Filings offers fast processing but doesn’t include registered agent services in their packages, making additions somewhat costly. However, they provide good value overall and strong customer support.
LegalZoom’s Basic plan for a Rhode Island LLC is priced at only the state fees. It covers the essentials: a business name availability search in Rhode Island, a business formation service, and comprehensive customer support. To sweeten the deal, they provide a digital welcome packet, a business website, and 24/7 online access to your formation documents.
For those eyeing more, the Pro plan, priced at $249, brings all the Basic plan offers to the table for your Rhode Island LLC, but it enhances the package with an operating agreement, an EIN, a business license guide, and the valuable inclusion of initial phone consultations with specialists.
Then, at $299, there’s the Premium plan. This comprehensive package encompasses everything in the Pro Plan, along with the perks of unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations and adjustments to your Rhode Island LLC for an entire month, all under the expert guidance of a business attorney.
The standout feature of LegalZoom? Their vast range of additional legal services and documents offer Rhode Island entrepreneurs robust support for their LLC journey.
LegalZoom’s services are easy to use and they offer great customer experience. They offer a wider variety of legal services and have been in business for more than 20 years. Overall, they’re a great one-stop shop for all of your business formation and legal needs.
MyCorporation’s Basic plan, priced at $99 plus Rhode Island state fees, offers services such as business formation, a name availability search in Rhode Island, and online document storage for easy access.
Elevating their offering, the Standard plan at $124 annually (plus Rhode Island state fees), introduces annual report filing for your Rhode Island LLC.
Taking it a notch higher, the Deluxe plan, at $224 annually (plus Rhode Island state fees), offers both annual report filing and registered agent services tailored for businesses in Rhode Island.
For those seeking a comprehensive service, the Premium plan, priced at $324 annually (plus Rhode Island state fees), integrates a unique service termed MaintainMyBiz.
Note that MyCorporation marks up your state fees to make an additional profit, which is highly unusual in the industry.
Beyond the primary packages, MyCorporation offers an array of additional services, albeit at extra costs. Some of these services, like unemployment insurance and tax withholding registration, are rare offerings in the business formation industry, making them stand out.
We put MyCorporation on the list because of the extensive list of services they offer, although we are not a fan of the marked-up state fees that are not disclosed. They have, however, been in business for a long time and have a good Trustpilot rating.
Tailor Brands has services tailored to meet the needs of businesses in Rhode Island. Their Lite plan, priced at $49 plus Rhode Island state fees, facilitates business formation in Rhode Island along with standard state processing times.
The Essential plan, designed specifically for Rhode Island businesses, steps up the game. For $199 annually, businesses not only get the basic formation services but also benefit from annual compliance service, an operating agreement suited to Rhode Island LLCs, and expedited processing.
Going beyond the basics, their Elite plan for Rhode Island LLCs, available for $249 annually, packs in a domain name, eight distinct logos, and a business website builder, among other added benefits.
What makes Tailor Brands stand out, especially for emerging businesses in Rhode Island, is their modern business toolset. Offering services such as logo creation, website development, and domain registration, Tailor Brands is uniquely positioned to support the digital needs of today’s businesses.
Tailor Brands’ plans are a decent value, but the main reason that we chose them for the list is the extensive business tools they offer. If you can overcome their aggressive sales tactics, you can access a variety of services to meet all your business needs.
Filenow’s Starter plan, available at $49, caters to the essential needs of a Rhode Island business by providing company compliance alerts, specialized tax consultations tailored to Rhode Island regulations, and a business bank account.
For businesses seeking a more comprehensive package, Filenow’s Premium plan, priced at $199, is a standout offering for Rhode Island LLCs. It incorporates all the features of the Starter plan and adds on a free year of registered agent services, an operating agreement designed for Rhode Island standards, an EIN, a banking resolution, business contract templates fit for the state and a swift 24-hour processing time.
Filenow’s commitment to efficiency is evident in their rapid processing times, making them a top choice for Rhode Island entrepreneurs. Coupled with their money-back guarantee and the unmatched value of their Premium plan, Filenow emerges as a go-to for Rhode Island LLC formation.
Filenow’s Premium plan is an exceptional value based on what you get for the price. It’s less expensive than similar plans offered by competitors. They also offer fast turnaround times, and a money back guarantee.
A business formation service handles the business formation process for you, making it nearly seamless while offering additional services that can make life easier for a new business owner. Whether you’re forming a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, a business formation service takes care of all the red tape, freeing you up to focus on growing your business.
With so many business formation services to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. There are four essential elements that can help you make your decision.
Each service offers various products and services, and their plans are all designed differently. You may need some services but not others, so you need to choose the service that offers everything you need. For example, only some of the providers offer annual report filing.
If it’s important to you to get that task off your plate, you’ll want a service that offers that feature. Another feature you might need is a digital dashboard where you can always access your business formation documents.
You’ll want to choose a service that has everything you need to make starting and running your business as easy as possible.
Of course, you’ll want to get the best value for your money!
Compare the cost of each service for everything you need. The price can really add up when you start adding extras, so be careful not to go too far. You also want to get good value and great customer service, so if you’re considering the cheapest service, check the reviews to see how people feel about it.
Business formation turnaround times vary with each service, so if you’re in a hurry to get your business up and running, you’ll want to look for the quickest service. You don’t want your order to sit in an office too long before your paperwork gets filed with the state. Some services differentiate themselves with fast turnaround times, so if they also offer good value, that might be your best choice.
One good way to learn about the quality of anything you’re buying is to listen to what people are saying about it. When we review services we look at Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot ratings and reviews. It’s wise to look at both positive and negative reviews to find out what people love about the service and about issues customers have encountered.
Remember that fake reviews are common, so you should take some of the reviews with a grain of salt.
As an entrepreneurial advisory site, we take our responsibilities seriously. We understand that countless entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, rely on our judgments and insights, particularly when it comes to creating their business.
As a result, our writers do their utmost to gain a comprehensive understanding of the services offered and the actual customer experience. In nearly every case, we:
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewers are able to provide the most complete and insightful analysis of various LLC formation services.
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