Wednesday, December 11th
2024 LLC Formation Service Reviews
Nolo
- Basic: $49 (not including state filing fees)
- Standard: $149 (not including state filing fees)
- Express: $299 (not including state filing fees)
- "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
Nolo provides a wide range of legal resources and do-it-yourself legal solutions for individuals and small businesses. Their products and services include books, online articles, software, and legal forms covering various legal topics such as estate planning, small business, personal finance, and more. They aim to make legal information and services accessible and affordable to everyone.
Hooray for improvements and upgrades
It seems like every time we revisit Nolo to evaluate their LLC formation services, we see vast improvements over the previous review. The company started out only offering books and forms, then later upgraded to serve as an online platform for creating an LLC - but their prices were much higher than many rival services. This time around, we were happy to see that Nolo compares quite favorably with a starting price of just $49.
Three options for pricing and services
You'll follow a three-step process to use Nolo. First, enter your preferred LLC name and choose the state in which you want to form it. Then answer a few more questions about the desired structure of your LLC and choose which of Nolo's three packages is best suited to your business needs.
- The Basic package is at that $49 price point we mentioned. It comes with LLC Name Validation, Articles of Organization Filing, Automated Error Checking, a Guide to Formalizing Your LLC, and customer service support via phone. You can expect it to take 2-3 weeks to file your paperwork.
- Upgrade to the Standard package at $149 and your services will also include the IRS Application for EIN and access to 30+ business forms like Independent Contractor Agreements, NDAs, Minutes of LLC Meetings, and so on. The filing timeframe will be the same: about 2-3 weeks.
- When you jump up to the Express package at $299, you'll get priority rush filing (7-10 business days) along with a Personalized LLC Records Kit & Seal.
Take a few minutes to fill out the questions
Next, you'll complete the step-by-step guide that walks you through the process of filling out your LLC formation documents online. For a Basic filing, Nolo estimates that you could be done and dusted within just a few minutes - but take your time, because your progress will be saved as you go and you can file whenever you're ready.
Time to submit and file
Finally, when you've submitted all of the required answers to Nolo's questions, they'll take over from there and get your LLC formation documents filed in your state. Remember that the package fees don't include any applicable state filing costs, but Nolo tells you upfront what you'll pay in the state you indicated.
Discounts may be offered
When we visited the Nolo site most recently, we got a pop-up offering a 10% discount on any small business formation services (LLC, Corporation, Non-Profit). The only requirement was entering our email address to subscribe to periodic emails from Nolo. Then as we browsed a little longer, we got a separate pop-up giving us a $15 discount; clicking on the "Redeem Now” button put the savings in our checkout automatically, and we didn't even have to sign up for emails.
Not enough feedback specific to LLC formation
We were excited to see that, according to Nolo, their LLC formation service had over 1000 reviews on Google averaging 4.4 out of 5 stars. But when we clicked Nolo's link to see those reviews, all we got was an error - leaving us to rely on the six scrolling ratings on the Nolo site. It would have been helpful to see client feedback specific to LLC formation because it's hard to suss out how this particular service rates against the backdrop of Nolo's many other services. Points to Nolo for having an "A+” rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, and for vastly improving its LLC formation offerings over the years, but they could still do more to show us what people are saying about this particular service.
Good but not quite great yet
We give Nolo a bump in our rating since our last review - yay for improved pricing and expansion to three service tiers instead of just two - but we'd still need to see more feedback specific to LLC formation in order to give it a higher spot in our rankings. We can comfortably recommend Nolo as an option, but not above our top picks yet.
More LLC Formation Service Reviews
The 14 Best LLC Formation Services
Which LLC Formation Service is the Best?
LLC formation is a common way for small business owners to limit their personal liability while operating their company. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a hybrid business entity that combines the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the liability protection of a corporation. LLCs are a popular structure for many small businesses because they offer many of the benefits of a corporation without the same level of complexity and formality.
Forming an LLC typically involves filing articles of organization with the state in which the business will operate. Your specific process and requirements for forming an LLC may vary depending on the state where you're doing business, but it generally requires selecting a unique business name, designating a registered agent, and paying a fee. Some states may have additional requirements such as issuing an operating agreement or publishing a notice of formation in a local newspaper.
LLC Formation Service FAQ
Continued from above...
There are many services that can help with LLC formation for small businesses. Many of these services offer a range of options for businesses at various price points, from basic do-it-yourself kits to more comprehensive packages that may include assistance with obtaining tax identification numbers, preparing and filing annual reports, and ongoing compliance support.
Which of these services should you choose? You want to get it right the first time, and forming an LLC can be complicated. Here are some of the most important criteria you should keep in mind as you choose how to take that next step for your business:
- Included services. What will you get when you sign up as a client? Does it include concierge-level assistance or will you be doing a lot of the legwork yourself? How personalized are the LLC formation services? Can you get one-on-one help if you need it?
- Cost. What will you pay to access the LLC formation services? Is it a comprehensive one-time fee, or will you discover extra charges as you move through the process? Does the service offer a solid value for what you're spending to form your LLC?
- Client feedback. What do other small business owners say about their experiences using the LLC formation service? Is there a lot of feedback to consider, or just a handful of comments (or even complaints)? Has the Better Business Bureau weighed in on the company? If so, is the service highly-rated and accredited?
Because forming an LLC can be an important step to protect your personal assets and limit your liability as a business owner, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular services. We're confident that our comprehensive reviews will help you choose the right provider to help you navigate the process.
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