An LLC or limited liability company is a business entity which provides limited liability asset protection to its owners. This is greatly beneficial as it provides two way asset protection. This means that an owner's assets will be protected from company liability and a company’s assets will be protected from owner liability. This protection can be achieved through a corporation but these are more difficult to establish and maintain as well as come with additional tax requirements. The US Small Business Administration considers LLCs a good choice for those who have personal assets to protect, are operating in a medium to high risk space or who wish to avoid paying the higher tax which a corporation would require. 

Establishing an LLC is not without its own difficulties and nuances but these are milder compared to a corporation. Unfamiliarity with state or federal law as well as the complex relationship between these types of law will make establishing an LLC more difficult. This difficulty can be eroded by the use of an LLC formation service. These services will take care of the process on your behalf, saving you both time and administrative work. They will also ensure that there are no errors in your documentation and will not miss a step of the process. Two tasks which can be daunting for those not used to how bureaucratic structures operate in the US. 

Another benefit of LLC formation services is that they often provide registered agent services on top of their LLC formation service. A registered agent is an individual or business who bears the responsibility of receiving important documentation on behalf of the company. This must be an entity which has an address in the state in which your LLC is registered and this address cannot be a PO Box. This is a particularly useful service for European companies as they will not necessarily maintain addresses in the state in which they have incorporated their LLC. 

Best LLC formation services 

There are many other benefits to LLC formation services such as convenience and the removal of administrative paperwork. There are however a plethora of LLC formation services available and picking the right one is just as important as using one of these services in the first place. For a comprehensive list of the best LLC formation services available consult this resource. For a brief overview of the cream of the crop read on to find out more. 

Photo: Incorporation GuruPhoto: Incorporation Guru

ZenBusiness 

ZenBusiness offers an all-round LLC formation package at a very competitive price point. The cost of establishing your LLC through them includes a year of registered agent service for free. There are multiple tiers to their packages but all of them come with the requirements needed to establish an LLC including the aforementioned extra of a registered agent service on top of this. Once this free year has lapsed you have the option to continue using their services as a registered agent for an equally competitive price point to their initial cost. The efficiency which ZenBusiness offers is largely due to their automation of many aspects of the LLC formation process. The company markets this efficiency by offering competitive rates for their services. Providing you with an effective and efficient option for your LLC formation. 

Northwest

Northwest offers their services at the same price point as ZenBusiness. This also includes a free year of registered agent services. The trade off with Northwest is that they have the best customer service in the industry but their packages do not offer quite as much of a comprehensive service as ZenBusiness. Additionally, ZenBusiness offers their registered agent service for a lower rate after the free year. A unique feature of Northwest is that they scan every document which they receive on your behalf, not just the documents which they are legally obliged to. Northwest values their clients and this is represented by their exceptionally high quality of customer service. They also value straightforwardness as they have a streamlined process for using their service which does not overwhelm the customer with frills. 

Incfile 

Incfile offers an extremely compelling reason to choose them as your LLC formation service. They have no upfront fees for their services and they provide a year of registered agent service for free as well. They also offer fantastic customer service at every phase of your order. Their quality as a service provider is evidenced by their significant amount of positive feedback from their customers. Another selling point of Incfile is their superior speed of service. They guarantee to file your LLC formation paperwork with the state in which you are registering in only one business day. The only downside of their service is that they try to upsell you on your package and have many offers from third parties for additional services. 

Final thoughts 

The importance of an LLC cannot be overlooked in the US business environment. This structure offers robust asset protection without any tax implications or the hassles associated with a corporation. The LLC can offer its own complexities when it comes to setup especially to those who are unfamiliar with US law. This is why LLC formation services are so useful. Picking the right one will be a matter of knowledge of the industry and personal choice as many of the best services vie with one another to be the best in class. 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is being provided solely for informational and promotional purposes and should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.