Harbor Compliance Registered Agent Service Review
ZenBusiness reviews its own products and services and compares them to others in the industry.
BizFilings Registered Agent Service Review
BizFilings has plenty of experience, but its higher pricing for registered agent service is a drawback. With us at ZenBusiness, you can save $21/year compared to BizFilings.
Starts at $199
If you want to form a business in the United States, you will need to designate a registered agent. The role of the registered agent involves the usage of their address as your official business address, which means they’ll receive important document deliveries on your behalf, including service of process and official correspondence from your state government.
While you can legally serve as your own agent and still operate a compliant business entity, there are some other benefits of hiring a registered agent service. Having a registered agent makes it so that you don’t need to be available at your place of business during all standard business hours, and it also cuts down on the amount of junk mail you’ll receive.
There are many LLC formation services that also offer this vital service to businesses, and it can be difficult to discern which one is the best option for your company. In this review, we’ll take a close look at BizFilings, one of the most popular service providers in the industry. Are they the right registered agent service for your business?
About BizFilings
BizFilings has been around since 1996, and they’ve formed more than half a million businesses in that time. The company is a subsidiary of the global information services company Wolters Kluwer.
On its website, BizFilings shares its mission statement as follows: “Our single focus is to help entrepreneurs and business owners start, run, and grow their companies. We work with companies of all sizes and offer products, services, and tools that provide companies the support they need throughout the life of their business.”
30-Second Summary
BizFilings has plenty of experience, with more than 500,000 business filings since they were founded in 1996. It charges $220 per year for registered agent service. In addition, all of their LLC formation packages include six months of registered agent service.
BizFilings Strengths
- Solid track record and customer volume – With 20+ years of experience and more than 500,000 clients served, BizFilings has plenty of experience.
- 6 months registered agent included with each package – BizFilings includes six months of registered agent service with every one of their business formation packages. This service costs $220/year otherwise.
- Good customer service with long availability hours – You can reach BizFilings’ customer support representatives from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. ET every weekday. This is a longer window of availability than many competitors provide.
BizFilings Weaknesses
- Few customer reviews available – Despite having formed more than 500,000 businesses, BizFilings has just a small handful of customer feedback on reputable third-party review websites.
- Prices aren’t great – While their price point of $220 per year for registered agent service is reasonable, there are quite a few competing service providers that undercut BizFilings’ pricing without sacrificing anything when it comes to included features. For instance, we charge $199/year for registered agent service.
Pricing and Additional Features
BizFilings provides registered agent service for $220 per year, and they offer six months as an included feature if you purchase any of their LLC formation packages. They also include their BizComply online compliance monitoring tool, as well as franchise tax and annual report filing alerts.
BizFilings vs. Other Registered Agent Services
BizFilings does have some attributes that we appreciate, like their experience level, and the fact that they include six months of registered agent service with their formation packages. On the other hand, there are several cheaper options that provide similar services. BizFilings charges $220 per year for registered agent service, while ZenBusiness has a price point of $199.
For more information, check out our list of the top registered agent services available online.
Online Customer Reviews
While BizFilings has been around for decades, and they’ve served hundreds of thousands of customers, we were only able to find 18 customer reviews online. It’s hard to do much analysis on such a small sample size but we will point out that they’re mostly positive.
Customer Service Quality
BizFilings provides customer support via phone and email. With either option, you’ll receive prompt service from knowledgeable professionals, and their hours of operation are longer than the vast majority of their competitors. You can reach BizFilings support reps from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
Main Reasons to Use BizFilings
If experience matters to you, they could be worth a look. In addition, their inclusion of six months of registered agent service with every business formation package is always welcome.
Main Reasons Not to Use BizFilings
ZenBusiness offers LLC formation service starting at $0 (only pay your state’s fee) and registered agent service for $199 per year. BizFilings charges $99 and $220, respectively. Also, some of their competitors have thousands of positive reviews available online, while BizFilings barely has any customer feedback at all.
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Frequently Asked Questions About BizFilings Registered Agent Service
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BizFilings has been in business since 1996, and to date, they’ve helped form more than 500,000 business entities. However, we were only able to find 18 reviews of their services, so it’s hard to get a complete picture of the way their customers feel about BizFilings.
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We’ve done countless hours of research on this topic, reviewing and comparing registered agent and LLC formation services. We invite you to check out some of our comparison guides, which take a head-to-head view of the competition between BizFilings and their top competitors:
BizFilings vs. ZenBusiness: We’ll form your LLC for free (just pay your state’s required fee). Meanwhile, BizFilings charges at least $99 for its LLC service, and you’ll still need to pay the state’s fee on top of that. We have more than 12,000 positive customer reviews online, and BizFilings has hardly any feedback. We also charge $21/year less than BizFilings for registered agent service.
BizFilings vs. Northwest Registered Agent: Northwest charges $225 while including a year of registered agent service, while BizFilings charges $99 and includes a registered agent for six months. Another noteworthy difference is Northwest’s 800+ mostly positive customer reviews, compared to fewer than 20 for BizFilings. Additionally, Northwest charges $125/year for registered agent service (BizFilings charges $220). If you want help with state-specific compliance requirements (like New York’s publication requirement), you may prefer BizFilings or ZenBusiness.
BizFilings vs. Incfile: Like ZenBusiness, Incfile offers LLC formation service for free (plus state fee), compared to BizFilings’ base rate of $99. Incfile also has 75,000+ mostly positive customer reviews, while BizFilings only has a handful of feedback. On the other hand, again, Incfile doesn’t offer state-specific compliance services, while BizFilings and ZenBusiness do. Incfile has an annual fee of $119 for registered agent service, $101 less than BizFilings.
BizFilings vs. LegalZoom: LegalZoom offers LLC formation for free (plus your state’s fee), while BizFilings charges $99 and includes a registered agent for six months. LegalZoom has more than 4 million customers served, and it has thousands of customer reviews available online. However, BizFilings’ $220/year rate for registered agent service is a bit lower than LegalZoom’s $249/year price point.
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You can contact BizFilings from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, via phone, email, or web chat. Their phone number is 608-827-5300, and you can reach them by email by filling out the contact form on their website.
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In short, yes, every LLC and corporation operating in America today needs to designate a registered agent. This person or business entity receives service of process and important document deliveries from the state, then forwards them to your business. It’s a crucial part of any LLC or corporation’s compliance. However, you don’t necessarily need to hire a registered agent service — you can serve in this role yourself, appoint a family member or friend, hire an attorney or accountant to handle it, etc.
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BizFilings’ refund policy isn’t generous, as it includes some significant processing fees that range from $50 to $75. If you make a purchase from them, don’t expect a refund if you decide you’re unsatisfied.
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BizFilings offers business formation service, managed annual reports, business license research, business forms, and ownership certificates. They can also provide certified documents like Certificates of Good Standing, apostille, and certified copies. In addition, BizFilings offers some other filing services, including foreign qualifications, dissolutions, amendments, EINs, conversions, and reinstatements.
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The biggest advantage for BizFilings is the fact that they offer state-specific compliance assistance, much like we do. Their biggest disadvantage is that they charge at least $99 to form an LLC and $220/year for registered agent service. By contrast, ZenBusiness offers a free LLC service package — and you’ll have to pay your state’s required fee either way. We also offer registered agent service for $199/year.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
Registered Agent Services Reviewed
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