Direct Incorporation LLC Service Review

Overview

Since they opened in 2003, Direct Incorporation has served 80,000+ customers. Although the LLC formation service industry is a crowded one, they have managed to carve out a relevant role in this line of business.

In this Direct Incorporation LLC service review, we’ll discuss some pros and cons of using their services. Then, we’ll break down their pricing and package options and take a look at their customer feedback to help decide whether or not they’re the right for you.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages of Direct Incorporation

✔ They offer some advanced features that few competitors provide. From trademark protections to full-service web design to logos and graphic design, Direct Incorporation can handle a wider variety of business needs than most of its competitors can.

✔ With their Executive Club service, which can be added to your formation for $13.99 per month, you have access to a number of features. You can create custom corporate documents, manage your company dashboard, and track tax filings and other government compliance requirements. It even includes asking legal questions to qualified business attorneys. In short, it’s a good value for so little money, and it’s no surprise that more than 25,000 businesses subscribe to the Executive Club.

✔ Every one of their LLC formation packages includes a federal tax ID number or EIN. This allows you to open business checking and/or savings accounts, hire employees, file business taxes, and much more. Most businesses need an EIN, but not many companies include one with all their LLC service packages like Direct Incorporation does.

Disadvantages of Direct Incorporation

✖ You can purchase LLC formation services from other providers for less money. Direct Incorporation’s base rate of $174 plus state fee is higher than other top-rated LLC services that can form an LLC for free (just pay your state’s required fee), like us at ZenBusiness.

Direct Incorporation LLC Packages

Direct Incorporation offers five different options for LLC formation packages: Standard, Premier, Elite, Venture, and Venture Plus. If you’re interested in reviewing all of the details, check out the breakdown below.

Standard = $174 + State Fee

Best For: Entrepreneurs who want to form an LLC and get a selection of helpful startup features.

➢ Business Name Availability Check: They will search through your state’s business database to ensure that your desired company name is indeed available and isn’t already taken by another company.

➢ Preparation and Filing of Articles of Organization: These are the forms that you need to submit to your state to officially create your company. Direct Incorporation will draft these documents for you, then file them with the appropriate state agency.

➢ Six Months Registered Agent Service: Every LLC operating in America needs to designate a registered agent. This is a person or entity that receives important document deliveries from the state on your behalf, then forwards them to you. Direct Incorporation includes this service for six months.

➢ Federal Tax ID Number (EIN): An EIN is a numerical code much like a Social Security Number that allows you to open business bank accounts, hire employees, file business taxes, and more. They will acquire this number for you from the IRS.

➢ Client Resource Center: With this feature, you have access to an online portal where you can check your order status, download copies of your formation documents, and more.

➢ S Corp Tax Designation: This only applies to a select few LLCs, but if you want your LLC to be taxed like an S corp instead of like a partnership, Direct Incorporation will file the relevant tax forms with the IRS.

➢ 3-Week Executive Club Trial: The Executive Club is Direct Incorporation’s legal services subscription service. You’ll be able to create business documents, track IRS filings, keep an eye on state compliance deadlines, ask attorneys legal questions, and more. After your three-week trial, Executive Club costs $13.99/month, although you are under no obligation to continue the service.

➢ Unlimited Customer Support: You can reach Direct Incorporation representatives via phone or email, from 9am to 6pm ET Monday through Friday.

➢ 1 Year Domain Name Registration

Premier = $297 + State Fee

Best For: Entrepreneurs looking for some business documents to go along with their LLC formations.

Everything from the Standard package, plus…

➢ Operating Agreement: This document is highly recommended for all LLCs, as it lays out the ground rules for how your company will be run, as well as defines your ownership structure. Direct Incorporation will provide an operating agreement for your business.

➢ Corporate Suite CD and Sample Forms: A disc full of sample documents and helpful guides. You will also receive several employment forms, like NDAs, contracts, etc.

➢ LLC Kit and Seal: A records binder with 20 stock certificates and an embossed LLC seal with your company name on it.

Elite = $429 + State Fee

Best For: Entrepreneurs who want LLC formation service paired with website-building tools.

Everything from the Premier package, plus…

➢ DIY Website Builder Software: Easily create your own basic business website with Direct Incorporation’s website builder tool.

➢ 5 Free Email Accounts

➢ Stock Logo: They’ll provide you with a shared license for a professionally designed stock logo that you can use to represent your company.

Venture = $873 + State Fee

Best For: Entrepreneurs who want full-service website and logo design features with their LLC formations.

Everything from the Elite package, plus…

➢ Web Design Service: Instead of designing your own website using their DIY website builder tool, they’ll build a basic business website for you.

➢ Custom Logo Design: A professionally designed logo created specifically for your business, with three drafts and three interactive revisions with your feedback.

➢ Trademark Protection: Direct Incorporation will run an extensive conflict search for your intellectual property and prepare a thorough report. They will also provide three months of their Trademark Protection Monitoring service.

➢ 1 Year Executive Club Subscription

Venture Plus = $1,495 + State Fee

Best For: Entrepreneurs with complex needs who want advanced features paired with LLC formation service.

Everything from the Venture package, plus…

➢ Subsidiary Entity Filing: Direct Incorporation will file formation documents for a parent-subsidiary company, a foreign entity filing (such as a foreign qualification or apostille), or a DBA (doing business as) name.

➢ Second Trademark or Copyright Filing: Do you need to register multiple trademarks or copyrights? The Venture Plus package is for you!

➢ Business Address in Michigan: This feature includes a physical office address in the state of Michigan. This is a great feature for non-Americans who own American LLCs and need a U.S. address.

➢ Live Support for Initial and Annual Meetings: If you hold organizational or annual meetings for your LLC, Direct Incorporation will provide live support for these events.

Direct Incorporation Customer Reviews

There aren’t a ton of Direct Incorporation reviews online, but you can find a small collection of them on BBB.org and Yelp.

Not only does Direct Incorporation lack customer feedback in general, but what they do have isn’t great. Their rating scores are acceptable but unimpressive, especially with such a limited sample size of reviews. They do have quite a few customers who seem pleased with their efficiency and ease of use, but some others complain about billing issues and problems with the company’s website services.

Here are some of the things customers like about Direct Incorporation:

• Business logo or website (offered in some of their packages) makes the new business stand out
• Good customer support and follow-up after purchase
• Easy to use

And here are some of the negatives:

• Automatically subscribed to marketing emails and phone calls
• Ongoing services can be hard to cancel

Is Direct Incorporation Right For You?

Direct Incorporation is a strong contender to form your new LLC. Obviously, no one service is going to be ideal for every entrepreneur, so to finish this review we’ll go through some scenarios where you might want to use their services, and also some that might make you want to look elsewhere.

✔ When to Form an LLC with Direct Incorporation

If your company wants to take advantage of the advanced features in the Venture package, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal for features like web development and graphic design. It’s a lot of services to kickstart your business bundled into one package.

✖ When NOT to Form an LLC with Direct Incorporation

If you just want the standard ingredients of LLC formation, you might want to use another service. Several competitors offer basic LLC formations for lower rates than Direct Incorporation charges.

Final Verdict

Direct Incorporation approaches limited liability company formations a bit differently than most competitors in this industry. In addition to forming your company, they offer advanced features in the areas of logo design, web hosting, trademark protections, and more ― none of which are commonly found with other LLC formation services.

However, there are other services that can save you money while also providing a full year of registered agent service, so whether Direct Incorporation is a good choice for you depends on what your company’s unique needs are.

What Other Services Does Direct Incorporation Offer?

As with most competitors, Direct Incorporation provides a wide variety of additional services to help entrepreneurs form, maintain, and grow their businesses.

We dug into the list of features Direct Incorporation offers to see how much they charge for each of these services, which can be especially interesting when examining a la carte pricing for features included in their formation packages.

Let’s take a look at everything Direct Incorporation offers and discuss which services are good deals and which ones you can ignore.

• DBA Name ($89): A DBA (doing business as) name is an alternative to forming a business entity, as it gives you the legal right to use an assumed business name. This is a bit lower than the industry-standard rate of around $100.
• Foreign Qualification ($199): If your LLC already exists in another state, you need to file a foreign qualification rather than a formation. This isn’t a terrible price point (and LegalZoom charges the higher rate of $229), but you can still get a better deal with a company like MyCompanyWorks, which supplies foreign qualifications for just $99.
• Amendments ($149): If you need to amend your LLC’s formation documents to reflect important changes made to your business, Direct Incorporation will file amendments for $149 each, plus the state fee. Some competitors charge around $100 for this service, so DIrect Incorporation’s offer isn’t a great deal.
• Dissolution ($132): Are you ready to shut your LLC’s doors for good? Direct Incorporation will complete and file your dissolution paperwork, closing your business and removing your responsibility for keeping up with ongoing maintenance requirements. This is a reasonable price point that aligns with the rates offered by competitors.
• Executive Club ($13.99 per month): If you want to purchase Direct Incorporation’s legal services subscription service without purchasing one of its higher-end LLC formation packages, you can add it for $13.99 per month.
• Business Compliance Program ($9.99 per month): With this feature, Direct Incorporation will track your annual report and tax filing due dates and provide access to a software tool that helps you track and define your LLC’s formal structure. Considering that this feature does not provide any assistance with the annual reports themselves, and merely reminds you that they’re due, we don’t think it’s worth ten bucks a month. Some competitors include similar features for free with LLC formation packages.
• Annual Report ($97): Most states require some sort of annual or biennial report from entrepreneurs. This report keeps the state updated regarding some basic attributes of your business, like your address or your registered agent’s name. This is in line with the industry-standard $100 price point for annual report service.
• Trademark Search and Registration ($395): Direct Incorporation won’t just search the federal trademark database and register your mark on your behalf — they also provide legal counsel from an experienced trademark attorney. However, IncFile offers a nearly identical service for just $199.
• DIY Website Builder with Domain Name ($13.95 per month): You’ll receive access to Direct Incorporation’s website-building software, a domain name for your website, and business email addresses for a total of just under $14 per month.
• Custom Logo Design ($374): With this feature, Direct Incorporation will work with you to design a custom logo for your LLC.
• Ecommerce “Online Marketplace” Package ($395): This comprehensive online store package includes a retail sales permit for your state, a shopping cart for your website, a merchant account that allows you to accept credit cards in your online store, and personalized support.