ZenBusiness Review 2024: Pros, Cons, & Pricing

A crucial step when starting a company is deciding which business structure will best suit your needs. This determines how your business will be taxed and your level of liability, among other things. If you’ve decided to incorporate, you’ll need to gather and file specific documentation with your state. ZenBusiness, an online legal service, can help make the process easier through its three filing plans and add-on services.

If you’ve tried to carry out one of the many legal steps required to start a business alone, you know how challenging it can be to stay on top of all the required tasks — especially when states vary in terms of business licenses, requirements and forms.

ZenBusiness makes it easier to keep track of these tasks, as well as others that you may encounter as your business grows. Although the features you receive with ZenBusiness will vary based on your pricing plan and location, some of its most noteworthy services include:

• Business formation (LLCs or corporations).

• Name availability search.

• Registered agent services.

• DBA (doing business as) registration.

• Operating agreements.

• Federal employer ID number, also known as an EIN.

• Ongoing state compliance requirements.

• Annual business reports.

• New York state business formation publication.

• Filing amendments.

• Certificates of good standing.

• Banking resolutions.

The ZenBusiness suite of services also includes add-on features, such as a complimentary assessment from a certified accountant to help set up bookkeeping, accounting and tax considerations within your first year of operation.

You can also acquire a business domain name from ZenBusiness, subscribe to money management services and weigh your options for the best business credit cards from within the platform itself.

ZenBusiness offers three service tiers, varying by included features and price. You can also opt-in for certain services at an additional cost, such as a business website and domain name, while remaining on a lower-priced plan.

Plans

• Starter: $0, plus state filing fees.

• Pro: $199 billed annually, plus state filing fees.

• Premium: $299 billed annually, plus state filing fees.

A-la-carte features

You may also choose to buy additional services to supplement a lower-tier plan without paying for services you don’t need. These include:

• Operating agreement: $125.

• Expedited processing: $79.

• Worry-free compliance: $199 per year.

• EIN filing: $99.

• Registered agent service: $199 per year.

• Annual report filing: $100.

• Amendment filing: $100.

• Certificate of good standing: $100.

• Business document template library: $100.

• Business website builder: $129 per year.

• Domain name with privacy: $35 per year.

• Business email address: $25 per year.

• All-inclusive business formation service: ZenBusiness makes the incorporation filing process straightforward, giving business owners everything they need to get their new business registered and filed with their respective state.

• Variety of add-on products: In addition to its filing services, ZenBusiness also offers money management, web hosting and registered agent services.

• Pricing: ZenBusiness gets high marks for its straightforward pricing model, especially for a-la-carte services. Not every business needs the full suite of services included in ZenBusiness’ annual plans, and if that’s the case, it’s easy to pay for a single service without having to purchase a yearly subscription.

• Alerts: One of the key features ZenBusiness provides is alerts to help business owners keep track of when recurring filings are due. This can be a huge help that not every filing company provides.

• Better deals for ancillary services elsewhere: ZenBusiness includes a range of features that may not be helpful for all business owners, such as finding the right business credit card. Other features, such as domain name registration and web hosting, might be more affordable if done elsewhere too.

• Recurring fee for worry-free compliance in basic package: Including a year’s worth of worry-free compliance in a basic-tier package is a helpful thing to have for most businesses. However, once that first year is over, you’re automatically opted into a $199 recurring annual fee to maintain filing compliance and avoid fees.

Before deciding which incorporation service best serves your business needs, consider these ZenBusiness alternatives as well.

LegalZoom

Similar to ZenBusiness, LegalZoom provides an array of business formation services for both LLCs and corporations, as well as additional business operation and intellectual property. services. It also provides free templates for various legal forms and agreements.

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings provides many of the same services as ZenBusiness, as it is also a digital service provider designed to file all the forms needed to get a company registered and ready for operation. It also offers three plans, ranging from $0 to $299 plus state filing fees.

Bizee

Bizee powered by Incfile, formerly known just as Incfile, is another online legal service you may want to consider for your incorporation needs. It also offers basic filing services for just the price of state filing fees, as well as add-on services.

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