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Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.
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 September 4, 2022
Updated on April 9, 2024
In the dynamic world of business, starting and managing a company comes with a range of challenges. One crucial aspect that demands careful attention is the complex process of business formation. To address this need, companies like Inc Authority have emerged, offering specialized business formation services to streamline the process and empower entrepreneurs on their path to success.
In this article, we will provide an in-depth review of Inc Authority, exploring its features, benefits, and overall value proposition. From its incorporation process and available packages to pricing and customer satisfaction, we will evaluate the company’s offerings, enabling you to make an informed decision about your business formation needs.
Inc Authority provides valuable services for aspiring business owners and can ensure your new business gets off on the right foot. Their service is easy to use, but their customer service is lacking, and they use aggressive sales tactics.
Their free option is a great value, but the prices for a la carte services are quite high. With that in mind, as well as the poor customer service, we are hesitant to give Inc Authority a strong recommendation.
Pricing
Turnaround Time
Help and Support
Customer Satisfaction
Ease of Use
Overall Score: 3.4/5
Before forming your business, it’s essential to confirm that your preferred business name is not already taken. Inc Authority will check your business name within your state.
Inc Authority offers free LLC registration. With regard to filing fees, you only pay the mandatory Secretary of State Fees, which you’ll need to pay regardless of who forms your LLC for you.
Your LLC must be formed with your state by filing articles of organization, sometimes called a certificate of organization or a certificate of formation. Inc Authority will prepare your entity formation documents and submit them to the state. Please, note that LLC approval varies from state to 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. With Inc Authority, you have access to customer support during normal business hours.
A digital copy of your start-up legal documents, including your articles of organization, will be delivered to you and stored for easy access in Inc Authority’s online client portal.
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.
All orders receive a free 1-year registered agent. If you want to continue with Inc Authority’s registered agent service after the first year, it will cost you $179 per year.
Inc Authority can act as your registered agent and 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. Inc Authority will also provide support if any issues arise.
Inc Authority offers an operating agreement template customized for your state. 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.
Inc Authority offers a tailored operating agreement for your LLC and state at a cost of $89.
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.
Inc Authority will handle the application process for you and send you your EIN as soon as it’s approved.
At the time of writing, Inc Authority offered free EIN ($49 value) with our registration.
In most states, LLCs are required to file periodic reports, usually annually. Inc Authority’s annual compliance service will send you email reminders before your reports are due. Failure to file these reports can result in the dissolution of your LLC.
You’ll need to file Form 2553 if you want your LLC to have S Corp status. An S Corporation refers to an LLC’s tax classification. It is a corporation or LLC that, by meeting certain requirements, can be taxed as an S Corporation.
With an S Corp, as with an LLC, income passes through the business to shareholders or owners without that income being taxed as corporate income. In contrast, in a regular corporation, also known as a C Corp, the corporation and the dividends shareholders receive are taxed, which is sometimes referred to as double taxation.
Inc Authority prepares and files the S-Election document Form 2553 with the IRS.
Inc Authority offers a domain name and five business email addresses with their paid plans. They handle the setup, and then you’re responsible for ongoing annual fees.
It’s possible to add the Online Business Presence to your free plan for only $10 and a custom website for $99.
With their two top-tier plans, you’ll receive a business license report that shows what business licenses you may need based on your location and industry.
Your new business entity will receive a Tax Planning Consultation to help you save more of your business income.
A Business Credit and Funding Expert will review your business credit and financing needs and share solutions with you.
The flagship LLC formation product of Inc Authority is the Free Formation plan. All essential services are free, but the pricing for this package varies depending on your state’s filing requirements. The free plan includes additional services for anywhere between $10 and $200. The package also offers one year of registered agent service and an employer identification number (EIN) for free.
Inc Authority also offers two premium business bundles that you can only purchase through Inc Authority’s team of Business Startup Experts (877-684-2836).
| Premium Service Bundles | Starter Business Bundle | Fast Track Business Bundle |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Agent Service (1yr) | √ | √ |
| Business Name Search | √ | √ |
| Custom State Filed Articles | √ | √ |
| Operating Agreement | √ | √ |
| Deluxe Record Book | √ | √ |
| Ownership or Stock Certificates | √ | √ |
| Initial Meeting Minutes & Resolutions | √ | √ |
| EIN/Tax ID Number | √ | √ |
| Corporate Forms Package | √ | √ |
| Annual Compliance Notifications | √ | √ |
| Professional Tax Consultation | √ | √ |
| Web Domain + 5 Email Addresses | √ | √ |
| INC Success Advisor Package | Add-on | √ |
| Private Banking Specialist | Add-on | √ |
| Personalized Business Advice | Add-on | √ |
| Expedited Filing | Add-on | √ |
Turnaround times are advertised on the site as follows:
For month-to-month subscriptions, you can cancel within 14 days of your initial order to be fully refunded. There’s also a 60-day money-back guarantee where Inc Authority will refund you your costs minus the state or third-party service fees.
Inc Authority’s cancellation policy for registered agent services is as follows:
“In the event that (a) your business entity voluntarily or involuntarily discontinues business operations in a jurisdiction where Inc Authority provides Registered Agent services; (b) you wish to abandon your business entity; or (c) you wish to discontinue Inc Authority’s Registered Agent services, you agree to satisfy at least one of the following cancellation conditions (collectively, “Cancellation Conditions”):
The business entity must be properly and legally dissolved, withdrawn, cancelled or otherwise terminated in that jurisdiction either through Inc Authority independently or through another service provider; or
The business entity must assign another registered agent in said jurisdiction; or
The business entity must resign Inc Authority as registered agent in said jurisdiction and pay any document preparation fees as well as all filing fees related to same.
You hereby acknowledge and agree that if you do not satisfy at least one of the Cancellation Conditions before the date your annual registered agent service fee is due, Inc Authority shall continue to act as registered agent in connection with that business entity, and you will continue to incur fees and late penalties (if any) in connection with such services. If, thereafter, you satisfy one of the Cancellation Conditions, you will not be entitled to a pro-rata refund.”
Once you’ve satisfied the conditions, you can call Inc Authority at (877) 684-2836.
The Inc Authority site offers very little product information. On their homepage, they emphasize that their business formation service is free and tell you what’s included with their free entry-level option. No other product information can be found.
You’re prompted to go ahead and get started by entering your business name.
Once you enter your business name, you’re prompted to enter all your business information.
The questions were simple and quick, but most people might find it preferable to be able to see the service packages and products before going through the process.
After you enter your business information, you’re offered all of the a la carte products as add-ons to your free business formation. You can choose or reject any of the products.
Then you’re taken to the page with your total cost, including state fees, and are prompted to complete the payment process.
Note that the bundles of services that we’ve described are NEVER offered, which seemed odd until we found out they can only be bought through Inc Authority’s business startup experts.
Overall, the site is easy to use if you’re ready to go and just want to complete the process. Otherwise, information is hard to find on the website. It seems that they really want you to call them with questions so they can upsell you products.
We tested all the customer service options by asking real questions through chat, email, and phone.
The chat option seems to be available only sporadically. When we tested the customer service response time through the online chat option, we received a response immediately.
We asked for information about their various service packages and were told that our best bet was to call for information so they could help us choose the right option for us.
It seemed odd that we were not given the requested information.
Chat Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
We called the customer support line to ask what the registered agent services fee is after the first year. The customer support person would not answer the question and said they had to transfer us to a sales representative. Very disappointing!
Phone Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
There are two different email options on the Inc Authority site. There is a direct email address and an information request form.
Through direct email, we asked about the annual cost of registered agent services after the free first year.
Through the form, we asked for detailed information about their service packages.
After five days, we received no response to either request. We were, however, bombarded with multiple sales emails.
Email Support Rating:
Response time:
Reasonable
The best way to learn about Inc Authority is to see what real customers thought of their experience. We visited Trustpilot and evaluated customer reviews.
The Trustpilot score for Inc Authority is 4.8/5 stars from more than 26,000 reviews. 93% of customers rated the company as excellent.
Many positive Trustpilot reviews revolve around great customer service and mention their Inc Authority representative by name.
Some of the less favorable reviews revolve around their aggressive sales tactics, both by email and phone.
The Inc Authority free option is hard to beat, but beyond that, most competitors offer better prices.
| Inc Authority | ZenBusiness | Swyft Filings | Bizee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plans and Pricing | Free Formation, Starter and Fast Track Business Bundle | 3 plans, $0 – $349 | 3 plans, $0 – $299 | 3 plans, $0 – $299 |
| Registered Agent Service | Included for 1 year, $179 annually | Not included, $99 first year, $199 annually | Not included, $199 annually | Included for one year, $119 annually |
| Processing Time | Standard state times, free express processing | Standard, Rush | Same day, Standard, and Express | Standard state times, expedited with top tier plan |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 60 days | 60 days | No, but they offer 100% satisfaction guarantee and refunds minus state fees | No |
| Our Rating | 3.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Our Review | Full Review | Full Review | Full Review | |
| Website | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
ZenBusiness has three packages of services:
ZenBusiness is a subscription service.
Swyft Filings charges 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 has very competitive pricing. Their basic plan, called the Silver package, is free and includes registered agent services for a year. Their Gold package is only $199 and includes the operating agreement and EIN. Their Premium package is $299.
Inc Authority has been in business for over 30 years. They claim the following:
“Inc Authority was created to take the fear, confusion and high cost out of business formation. We offer round-the-clock expert support to help you make the best decisions for your business.”
No other information about the company can be found.
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:
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 Inc Authority LLC formation services.
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