LegalZoom Annual Report Service Review

LegalZoom is a popular annual report service (and one of the best LLC formation services). It offers affordable pricing for basic annual reports and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, attributes we’ll always appreciate. But is it the right company for you or should you seek an alternative to LegalZoom?

An Overview of Annual Report Filing Services

If you’d like to receive some assistance with your annual reports, you’re in luck! The same companies that offer reliable business incorporation services also typically provide annual report services.

Some of these companies (like LegalZoom) simply offer to complete and submit the annual report form for an affordable rate. Meanwhile, some competitors (like us at ZenBusiness) also provide managed services in which they keep track of your due dates and file your reports each year.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what LegalZoom has to offer for annual report service and also take a look at several other important aspects of this company. Let’s get started!

LegalZoom Annual Report Service Review

Let’s quickly review its pros and cons before we dig into the details.

Pros

• Solid pricing model
• Plenty of experience
• Satisfaction guaranteed
• Solid customer feedback
• Extended customer support hours

Cons

• Mediocre pricing for some other services

The LegalZoom Annual Report Service Package

For $99 (plus your state’s fee), LegalZoom will prepare and file your annual report with the relevant state government agency, usually the Secretary of State. This package includes no additional features or perks although, for an additional $20, you can add expedited processing and express return shipping.

Overall Pricing and Value

LegalZoom has a roughly industry-standard price point for annual report service at $99 per year. To be honest, pricing is sometimes what holds LegalZoom back, as its pricing for things like registered agent service is quite high. But for basic annual report services, LegalZoom provides a reasonable rate.

Track Record

LegalZoom has more experience than the majority of its competitors. Since it formed in 2001, LegalZoom has served around 6 million customers, which includes the formation of more than 2 million businesses.

We were able to find around 6,000 reviews for LegalZoom’s services. The majority of these reviews are positive, as LegalZoom maintains an average rating score of roughly 4.3 out of 5 across the three sites.

In their positive reviews, LegalZoom clients often comment on the helpful support they received from LegalZoom representatives, frequently thanking them by name. However, in their negative reviews, clients often complain about the poor quality of customer support, so it seems this aspect of their business is a bit inconsistent.

Customer Support

In our experience, their phone support is good, as we’ve received thorough and accurate responses from their service reps whenever we’ve called them with questions or concerns. On the other hand, we’ve also tested their email support, which is a different story. We’ve actually waited over a full week to get a response to emails in the past, and when LegalZoom does respond to email inquiries, it’s often just a form email that doesn’t actually answer our questions.

In short, we can see why they have a mixed reputation in this regard because our own experiences with them have been hit-or-miss as well. That said, we always appreciate their long hours of availability, as LegalZoom’s support team is available on evenings and weekends when some competitors are out of the office.

Ease of Use

Do you prioritize using a tech-savvy company with an intuitive user interface and a simple ordering process? If so, LegalZoom is a viable option. This company offers an easy-to-use website and plenty of advanced tech to help your business.

How does LegalZoom work?

The process of ordering annual report service from LegalZoom is simple. Here’s an overview of what you can expect when you click the “Get Started” button on LegalZoom’s annual report service page.

Keep in mind that this process can vary a bit from state to state depending on specific regulations, but for the most part, it will look something like this.

• Choose your service package: First, you’ll need to select your state and entity type from the drop-down menus at the top of the page. Then, select whether you’d like LegalZoom’s standard annual report service package, or if you’d rather pay an additional $20 for upgraded shipping and processing.
• Create your LegalZoom account: Before you get any further into the process, LegalZoom requires you to create an account. Simply provide your email address and choose a password, and you’re on to the next step.
• Provide business details: Next, you’ll fill in some important information about your company, including its official business name, a brief description of its business purpose, the date on which the business was formed, the entity’s filing number, its federal employer identification number (EIN), the principal office address, the name and address of the company’s registered agent, and the name and address of each business owner.
• Final steps and payment: Finally, you’ll enter your name, address, and phone number, along with your credit card info. Once you submit your order, LegalZoom will take it from there.

What are LegalZoom customers saying?

As we mentioned earlier, we found about 6,500 mostly positive reviews for LegalZoom. We’ll note that this is a smaller volume of reviews than some competitors (like Incfile, ZenBusiness, Rocket Lawyer, etc.) have available, and the quality of LegalZoom’s reviews lags slightly behind these companies as well.

We found plenty of customers who seem pleased with the service they receive from LegalZoom. These people often discuss how helpful LegalZoom’s support network is and how easy it is to use its services.

On the other hand, we also found a decent chunk of reviews from people who were not as satisfied. These customers talk about things like high price points and inconsistent customer support. Overall, LegalZoom’s customer satisfaction reputation is definitely more good than bad, but it’s not all sunshine and roses either.