In the ever-evolving landscape of business, a trusted partner to guide you through the intricate process of business formations, compliance, and management can be invaluable. BizFilings, an online legal services company, has steadily established itself as such a partner.
This article will provide an in-depth review of BizFilings, exploring its services, user experience, customer support, pricing, and overall reputation in the industry. Our objective is to equip you with the necessary information to determine whether BizFilings is the right service provider for your business needs.
From its formation services to ongoing compliance support, we delve into what sets BizFilings apart and where it may fall short, offering a comprehensive and unbiased perspective.
Services Overview
Business Formation Service
BizFilings
Plans and Pricing
3 plans: Basic, Standard and Complete; $99 – $359 + state filing fees
Registered Agent Service
Included for 3 months, then $220 annually
Operating Agreement
Included in two top-tier plans, $39 for Basic
Annual Report Service
Not included
Processing Time
Standard state times, expedited with two top-tier plans
Customer Support
Chat, email, phone; Mon – Fri 8am – 7pm CT
Business Documents Online Library
Yes
Other Services Offered
Yes, variety of filing and compliance services
Number of Business Served
More than 500,000
Money Back Guarantee
Yes, for errors only
Our Verdict on BizFilings
BizFilings can take the time and hassle out of starting your business. However, they are a bit more expensive than competitors. Most of the competitors offer a free business formation plan, and BizFilings’ highest tier plan is pricier compared to similar packages from other business formation services.
We praise the site that’s very easy to use and rich with resources that offer invaluable assistance to budding entrepreneurs. Given that BizFilings was established in 1996 by entrepreneurs, it’s safe to say that the team behind the company possesses an in-depth understanding and hands-on experience of the services they provide.
We recommend BizFilings due to its user-friendly website packed with resources for budding entrepreneurs, coupled with the fact that it’s a company founded by entrepreneurs, ensuring a deep understanding of the services they offer.
Visit BizFilings
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Quick and easy purchase process
- Additional resources for entrepreneurs
- Over 20 years of experience and an A+ rating from the BBB
- Good customer support
- Part of Wolters Kluwer company, a global leader in expert solutions
Cons
- No free business formation plan; slightly expensive services compared to competitors
- Some customers had issues cancelling recurring services
- Lack of online customer reviews
BizFilings Services
Business Formation Service
BizFilings will assist you with the formation of various entities such as LLCs, S Corps, C Corps, or nonprofits.
Before forming your business, it’s essential to confirm that your preferred business name is not already taken. BizFilings checks the Secretary of State database and alerts you if your name is available or in use within one business day.
Your LLC must be formed with your state by filing articles of organization, sometimes called a certificate of organization or a certificate of formation. This can be done online or by mail. BizFilings handles the filing for you online, and the LLC approval time varies by state.
This can be a time-consuming and difficult process for an entrepreneur, and getting customer support from your state government office is often a challenge.
Once your LLC is approved and official, you can access your formation documents on the BizFilings website at any time.
Registered Agent Service
In most states, when you form an LLC, you need a registered agent. A registered agent is a person or business authorized to accept and respond to legal, tax, and financial documents on behalf of your business.
For $220 per year (first three months free), BizFilings can act as your registered agent and handle official correspondence and documents for your business. Registered agents ensure that all official correspondence is handled on time and properly filed. They also keep track of deadlines and send reminders of things you need to file, such as tax forms and annual reports.
A registered agent service will help keep you in compliance with the law and save you time by keeping track of key documents and filing deadlines. The agency will also provide support if any issues arise.
Operating Agreement
BizFilings offers an operating agreement template. An operating agreement for an LLC is an important legal document that details who owns the business and also provides essential information pertaining to member duties.
An LLC operating agreement establishes the financial relationship between business owners (“members”) and the basics of the working relationships between those owners and the managers who oversee daily operations.
By using the BizFilings template, you can just fill in the blanks rather than having an attorney draw up the agreement for you from scratch. At an ala carte price of $39 with the Basic plan, it’s a good value compared to the attorney fees you would otherwise pay. It’s included in the Standard and Complete plans.
Only a handful of states require an operating agreement, but having one is highly recommended.
EIN
An employer identification number (EIN) is a tax-identifying number for your business. It’s required if your LLC has more than one member or has employees. It’s obtained by applying through the IRS.
BizFilings will handle the application process for you and send you your EIN as soon as it’s approved. If you go with the Basic and Standard plans, obtaining EIN through BizFilings will cost you $79. However, this service is included in the Complete (highest tier) plan.
Business License Research Package
Business licenses and permits are mandatory for most businesses. With the Business License Wizard tool, you answer a few questions, and BizFilings instantly researches state and local licensing requirements (including tax registrations) for your business type and location. The cost for this service is $99, and it’s not included in any package.
Annual Report Service
BizFilings takes responsibility for overseeing, handling, and submitting all your annual reports, ensuring they meet the deadlines and adhere to the specific requirements set by the state.
Annual reports aren’t included in any of the plans. To get a quote, you must call BizFilings’ incorporation specialists at 855-396-4406.
Online Document Library
Included in all plans is access to a library of business document templates such as business contracts.
Other Business Services
Here are additional business services that BizFilings offers:
- Compliance Kit & Seal for LLCs: It includes the tools needed to make keeping your company compliant with state-imposed rules and regulations easy. It’s included in the Standard and Complete plans. Otherwise, it’s $99.
- Compliance DVD: Informational DVD guides you through the basic requirements imposed by the state after you form your business. The cost is $39, but it’s included in the Complete plan.
- Payroll Tax Registration: BizFilings’ team of experts can streamline this process to register your business and ensure your tax withholding and unemployment accounts are properly established with the state. The cost for this service is $199 + state fees.
- Sales Tax Registration: This includes preparing necessary applications for sales tax registration and filing registration documents with the required jurisdiction. Service starts at $199 + state fees.
- Certificate of Good Standing: A Certificate of Good Standing is an official document that confirms a company is legally registered and compliant with its state’s regulations and tax obligations. The cost for this service is $59 + state fees.
Plans and Pricing
| Basic Plan | Standard Plan | Complete Plan |
| Price | $99 + state filing fees | $229 + state filing fees | $359 + state filing fees |
| Business name verification | √ | √ | √ |
| Preparation & filing of all documents | √ | √ | √ |
| Registered agent service* | √ | √ | √ |
| BizComply – 24/7 business monitoring tool and documents library | √ | √ | √ |
| LLC kit and seal | $99 | √ | √ |
| Sample operating agreement and other LLC forms | $39 | √ | √ |
| Expedited processing | $60 | √ | √ |
| EIN number | $79 | $79 | √ |
| Compliance DVD | $39 | $39 | √ |
| Certified copy of state file documents | $39 | $39 | √ |
| Overnight shipping | $20 | $20 | √ |
Basic Plan
The Basic plan includes a business name availability search through your state and the business formation service, as well as registered agent services for three months, which is something that some competitors do not offer. It also offers a 24/7 business monitoring tool and a library of common business documents.
This plan is of great value and appropriate for entrepreneurs with a limited budget who just want help to get their business up and running and get the benefits of the registered agent service. They can choose to add additional services at the time of purchase, such as an operating agreement or expedited filing.
This plan also may be appropriate for established businesses forming a new business structure or changing their business structure.
The fee is higher than the starter-level plans of LegalZoom and ZenBusiness, but the BizFilings package comes with three months of registered agent services, which makes it a good value. Again, though, note that the registered agent services are only offered for three months and cost $220 afterward.
Note that this plan costs $198 in Nevada.
Standard Plan
The Standard plan includes all the services included in the Basic plan, but with the addition of an LLC kit and seal, an operating agreement and other form templates, and expedited processing.
An operating agreement template is of great value to an entrepreneur, and the expedited processing helps you to get your business up and running faster.
This package is appropriate for businesses that want a little more help in terms of the operating agreement, which is a critical document, and those who need their LLCs formed faster. The price offers good value considering the extra services.
Note that in Delaware, this plan costs only $159, whereas, in Nevada, it costs $268.
Complete Plan
The Complete plan includes everything in the Standard plan with several added benefits, including:
- EIN number
- Compliance DVD
- Certified copies of LLC documents (state fees apply)
- Overnight shipping
These advantages are of some value, particularly if you’re in a hurry to have your official documents in hand. However, the EIN can easily be obtained by you for free through the IRS website.
This plan would be beneficial for a business owner who wants to have a one-stop shop for their business services. Otherwise, it does not seem worth the extra money that you’ll pay compared to the standard plan.
Note that the price for the Complete Plan is different in six states:
Turnaround Time and Cancellation
Via email, we asked customer service about filing turnaround times and received an initial response within 1.5 hours and an answer to our question in about 2 hours.
- Regular filing – 17 to 19 days
- Expedited filing – 7 to 8 days
- Rush filing – 24 to 48 hours
However, these times are dependent on state processing times.
All of the services offered by BizFilings have one-time fees except for the registered agent services. We called customer support to ask about the cancellation process for those services. We were told that we would have to file a change of registered agent with our state and call BizFilings at 855-351-0580 to cancel the service. This is a bit unusual, as most other LLC formation sites will cancel the service for you.
Signing Up Process
When you first go to the BizFilings site, you can choose a type of business formation and enter your state to get custom pricing for the plans, meaning that some of the state fees are shown. This is the only way to get information about the plans; it’s not included in the menu.
The plans are in a format that allows you to easily choose your plan and extras.
Once you’ve selected your plan and extras, you’ll see your costs and can select to order the plan. It will then take you to a page where you’ll enter all your business information.
When going through the process of entering information, we found that you can choose your registered agent plan, but you cannot opt out so you’ll need to be prepared for the fee in three months unless you cancel the service.
The registered agent services fees are as follows:
- $220 one-year plan
- $320 two-year plan ($160/year)
- $420 three-year plan ($140/year)
After you make your registered agent choices, you’ll be offered to complete the information to obtain your EIN. At any time during the process, you can edit your order by adding (or removing) more services. You’ll then be taken to a page where you can review all your information before making payment.
We found the site to be very useful compared to some other similar services. We liked how the packages and extras were presented, with plenty of information about each product.
A few things were confusing, such as the registered agent service prices compared to what we were told by customer service. But mostly, the information and service details were clear.
Overall, the site was easy to use, and business formation can be completed in a few minutes.
Customer Support
We tested all the customer service options by asking real questions through chat, email, and phone.
Chat support
When we tested the customer service response time through the online chat option on a Sunday, we received no response, so chat support is not available on the weekends. When we tried again on Monday, we received a response immediately.
Here was our question:
“Are the package fees annual fees or one-time fees— and if they are annual fees, does that mean the registered agent services will continue after the first year?”
The response was that the plan fees are one-time fees, but the registered agent service is an annual fee of $220. We asked if the registered agent services were included for the first year, and the answer was that they are only included for three months, and then the annual fee kicks in.
They were very polite and clear in their responses. However, the cust-serv rep did not mention that BizFilings offers discounted multi-year registered agent plans, as detailed above.
Support Rating:
Response time:
Phone support
We called BizFilings and asked about their cancellation policy for recurring registered agent services. Our call was answered immediately, and the answer was that you must file a change of registered agent with the state and then call BizFilings to cancel the service. The customer service agent was very friendly and professional and did not try to sell us anything.
Phone Support Rating:
Response time:
Email support
We sent an email asking about the various business formation turnaround times — regular, expedited, and rush. We received an initial response in an hour and a half, but the response was a question about what state we were filing in and stating that turnaround times vary by state. We answered the question and got our next response with a clear and professional answer in about 15 minutes.
Email Support Rating:
Response time:
Customer Reviews
The best way to learn about BizFilings is to see what real customers thought of their experience. We visited Google reviews, the Better Business Bureau, and Trustpilot.
BizFilings has an A+ rating from the BBB but has no customer reviews. They have been an accredited BBB business since 1997. They have received one complaint in three years, and they’ve closed it.
There are no reviews of BizFilings on TrustPilot, but on Google, they have 4.5/5 stars from 28 reviews.
Alternatives to BizFilings
BizFilings is more expensive than competitors and offers fewer services and slower turnaround times.
| BizFilings | ZenBusiness | Swyft Filings | Bizee |
| Plans and Pricing | 3 plans, $99 – $359 | 3 plans, $0 – $349 | 3 plans, $0 – $299 | 3 plans, $0 – $299 |
| Registered Agent Service | Included for 3 months $220 annually | Not included, $199 annually | Not included, $199 annually | Included for one year, $119 annually |
| Processing Time | Standard state times | Standard, rush | Same day, Standard, and Express | Standard state times, expedited with top tier plan |
| Money-Back Guarantee | For filing errors only | 60 days | 100% satisfaction guarantee; refunds minus state fees | No |
| Our Rating | 4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Our Review | | Full Review | Full Review | Full Review |
| Website | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness has three packages of services as well:
- Starter – $0
- Pro – $199
- Premium – $349
ZenBusiness offerings are very similar to those of BizFilings. However, ZenBusiness is a subscription service, while BizFilings packages are one-time fees.
Swyft Filings
Like BizFilings, Swyft Filings is not a subscription service. They charge a one-time fee of $0 for basic business formation services, and other ongoing services can be added. The differentiating factor for Swyft Filings is their speed. Their signup process is quick, and they have faster business formation turnaround times.
Bizee
Bizee has very competitive pricing. Their basic plan (Silver) costs only state fees and includes registered agent services for a year. Their Gold package is only $199 and includes the operating agreement and EIN. Their Premium package costs $299.
Company Background
BizFilings is a service of Wolters Kluwer, which is, according to their website, “a global provider of professional information, software solutions, and services for clinicians, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors.”
According to the Better Business Bureau, BizFilings has been in business since 1996, is managed by Mark Williams, Director of Operations, and is located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Our Approach
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 this case, we:
- Examined every single page of the BizFilings website
- Reviewed all of their offerings, from a la carte products to packages
- Put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, creating an account
- Communicated with customer service via chat, email, and phone
- Gained a full understanding of the customer experience and service value
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewer and team are able to provide the most complete and insightful review of BizFlings’ LLC formation services.
FAQs
Why should I use BizFilings to form my LLC?
A service like BizFilings can make the business formation process easy and ensure that it’s done correctly. They provide customer support and additional services to support your business.
What’s good about BizFilings?
BizFilings offers business formation services to handle the paperwork and cut through the red tape with your state, so you don’t have to. They also offer additional services, including registered agent services and an operating agreement.
Is BizFilings expensive?
BizFilings is a bit more expensive than some competitors. Some other services offer a free starter business formation plan.
What do real customers think of BizFilings?
BizFilings does not have many online customer reviews, but the ones they do have are overwhelmingly positive.
How can I cancel my account with BizFilings?
All of the services offered by BizFilings have one-time fees except for the registered agent services. We called customer support to ask about the cancellation process for those services.
We were told that we would have to file a change of registered agent with our state and call BizFilings at 855-351-0580 to cancel the service. This is a bit unusual, as most other LLC formation sites will cancel the service for you.
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