ZenBusiness is a leading online service for forming Limited Liability Companies. In this ZenBusiness review, we’ll go over pricing, features of ZenBusiness, customer reviews, and how it helps business owners on their journey to form an LLC online.
What is ZenBusiness?
ZenBusiness is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation service that aims at helping small businesses achieve a stress-free business formation process. The company has assisted several US-based entrepreneurs in starting, managing, and growing their LLC companies.
ZenBusiness started in 2015 in Austin, Texas, at the hands of a team of entrepreneurs who faced some of the challenges that most new business owners face today when starting their business.
Entrepreneurs who desire to lead a successful business with little or no prior knowledge about starting and running an LLC business can trust ZenBusiness to help them. Despite being a new member of the LLC formation industry, ZenBusiness has become a big name in the LLC service industry.
The company combines automation with their years of experience in the LLC formation industry to outshine its competitors. Most ZenBusiness clients commend their customer care service, affordable business formation packages, positive customer reviews, and easy-to-understand LLC formation plans.
ZenBusiness has different packages, and prospective clients can pick one depending on their budget. But we’re sure you’ll get the best value for the package you choose.
The Best Business Formation Service for You?
When you consider all the features you’ll get when you choose any of ZenBusiness’s packages; you’ll see that their business formation services are second to none. Their packages have the most competitive prices you’ll find among other LLC services. Hence, you won’t have to break the bank before you can access high-quality business formation services.
The ease of use of the ZenBusiness platform is also unmatched by any other LLC service. You can easily organize your vital documents on the dashboard when you log in to the platform. Your business will benefit significantly from all ZenBusiness services if you choose to start your business with them.
ZenBusiness Services Offered
Below is a list of services that ZenBusiness offers to their prospective clients, along with additional details.
Free CPA Assessment
Tax compliance and accounting are among the essential requirements for a company to stay ahead of its competitors. You’ll need a good knowledge of tax compliance, bookkeeping and other necessary startup obligations. ZenBusiness’s CPA assessment will teach business owners all of these obligations and many more.
ZenBusiness helps businesses with obligations like tax filing, book management, tracking and paying invoices. They make their accounting assessment available to their clients via the dashboard after forming the LLC. Bear in mind that the company does not offer this feature separately; it is part of its starter, pro, and premium packages.
Business Formation
When starting a new business venture, establishing a new legal entity should be the first step. The benefits of having a distinct corporate structure for your company are numerous, and it can shield you from liabilities.
Business formation is ZenBusiness’s primary service for prospective business owners. ZenBusiness will help new businesses to escape the stress that poorly built and slow state websites tend to project while filing paperwork online. In addition, the company will alleviate the business formation hassles that result from bureaucracies at every government level.
Registered Agent Service
Registered agents are a must-have for new business entities that want to become LLC according to state regulations. The agent is your business’s contact person and receives legal documents and correspondences on your organization’s behalf.
It is expedient for your registered agent to be always available during working hours. Apart from receiving legal documents, the agent also files essential documents like formation papers. They also keep your files, confidential records, and personal information private.
ZenBusiness includes Registered Agents in all its packages – Starter, Pro, and Premium.
Business Websites, Domain, and Email
Websites are essential and useful features that every new business should have. It can create an online presence for your business, provide contact information to prospective clients, boost your business credibility, and bridge the gap between a business owner and existing clients.
When you choose a domain name for your business website, ZenBusiness helps you register the name and create a basic website with it. Apart from the website, they can also help you create a branded email for your business and employees.
However, this feature is only available for clients who choose the Premium package.
ZenBusiness Pricing Structures
ZenBusiness package prices are among the most affordable you’ll find on the market. The company has three pricing packages for their clients to choose from, depending on the incorporation services and advanced features they desire. Below is a breakdown of each pricing package:
Starter Plan – Starts at $0 (+ State Fees)
This plan is ZenBusiness’s cheapest and basic business formation package. The package includes the basic features, such as registered agent services and incorporation services, you’ll need for your LLC registration and operation.
A registered agent (RA) will help you maintain compliance with your state government since they receive all the vital deliveries on your company’s behalf. The package also includes a risk-free accounting assessment and corporate bylaw templates describing your company’s ownership structure.
Key Features
- Free Worry-Free CPA Assessment
- First-year free Registered Agent service ($119 for subsequent years)
- Standard article filing service
- Free LLC operating agreement template
- Customer care support through email and phone
- Access to LLC related essential documents and paperwork
- Name availability search
Pro Plan – $149
The Zenbusiness pro package includes all the features in the starter plan as well as three other key features. Hence, the package is helpful for entrepreneurs who need more advanced features than the starter plan but cannot meet up with the price for the premium plan.
If you choose this plan, ZenBusiness will assist your business to acquire its EIN from the IRS and provide you with a banking resolution template. The banking resolution allows a business owner to authorize another individual to open a business bank account on its behalf and perform other banking transactions.
The package also includes a Worry-Free Guarantee which encompasses compliance management service and annual report. ZenBusiness will prepare and file your business’s yearly report if you choose this package, including two amendment filings per year.
Key Features
- Worry-Free Guarantee, including insurance to keep yur business in good standing if you fail to submit the filings on time
- Accelerated filing speed (they complete the formation document within a week)
- Employer Identification Number (EIN) (or pay $70 to purchase separately)
- Banking resolution
- Compliance guarantee
- Domain name registration at $25
- Includes all starter package features
Premium Plan
The premium plan is ZenBusiness’s top-tier package for an extra $100. The package combines all the starter and pro plans’ features and includes more features and perks. One of the unique features in this package is the rush filing speed which guarantees that your business will start operating in 3 – 5 days.
The ZenBusiness premium package is for business owners who desire to have a stress-free business starting experience. The package takes care of several details necessary to successfully run a business while the owners focus on growing the business.
Some of the features include
- domain name registration/privacy
- rush filing speed
- business website
- business email address with 5G free storage space and anti-spam feature
- business name reservation
- certificate of good standing
- it includes all the starter and pro package features
How Does Zen Business Compare to the Alternatives?
ZenBusiness stands out among other Limited Liability Companies. The organization combines premium features with affordability and timely service delivery that you won’t find with most LLC services.
Nonetheless, if you need an LLC provider that focuses more on legal services or holds more brand power, there are other options you can check out.
ZenBusiness Vs. LegalZoom
LegalZoom is one of ZenBusiness’s fiercest competitors in the business formation industry. The two are the best in the industry, but each has its uniqueness.
Pricing
ZenBusiness offers more valuable services in its $0 + State fees package than LegalZoom does at its $149 base price. The pro package from ZenBusiness provides extra features like EIN, compliance monitoring, but LegalZoom does not have any useful advanced features.
Customer Support
ZenBusiness’s customer support responds swiftly to phone calls and emails from their customers. Customers can also reach their customer support via the web chat option on the company’s website. On the other hand, LegalZoom’s customer care correspondents sometimes take time to respond to emails, and when they finally do, they do not attempt to fix the problem; instead, they’ll send you a form.
Therefore, ZenBusiness has better customer support than LegalZoom.
LLC Formation Speed
The fastest turnaround time for ZenBusiness is 3 – 5 days, and you’ll only get that if you subscribe to their premium package. LegalZoom also estimates its turnaround time based on the customer’s package, but the fastest is 7 – 10 days for their most expensive plan.
Ease-of-Use
ZenBusiness is far less complex than LegalZoom. While ZenBusiness’s processes are straightforward and only require you to fill a quick form, LegalZoom reversed their ordering process. Hence, you’ll need to first choose a list of add-ons before choosing a pricing package to add them to. So, ZenBusiness is a better business formation service in this regard.
ZenBusiness Vs. BizFilings
Both ZenBusiness and BizFilings are excellent business formation services, each with its pros and downsides. We’ll compare these two formation services under the following features:
Pricing
ZenBusiness’s starter package costs as low as $0 + State fees. This price is one of the cheapest in the business formation industry. As affordable as the package is, it includes essential business formation features like corporate bylaw templates, registered agents for the initial year, and accounting assessment.
On the other hand, BizFilings’ basic plan costs $99 and includes a registered agent for the first six months. However, because the company operates a variable price model, it’s difficult for business owners to analyze their business’s value.
Therefore, in terms of pricing, ZenBusiness is a better option.
Customer Service
Both ZenBusiness and BizFilings provide excellent customer service for their customers. You can reach both their customer services via web chat, email, or phone. Their customer care response time is pretty fast, and you won’t have any long waits when you call them.
Ease of Use
ZenBusiness provides its services in the simplest ways possible. When you contact them for your business formation, you need to provide essential business and personal information.
BizFilings has an incorporation wizard that helps prospective clients decide which business structure suits them most. However, there are several third-party and upsell offers that can complicate the registration process.
In terms of ease of use of both platforms, ZenBusiness is superior.
Formation Speed
ZenBusiness’s business formation speed depends on the rush filing or packages you subscribe to, but generally, ZenBusiness is faster than most other LLC services.
With BizFilings, the formation speed depends on how much you invest in their services. Their most expensive package, which is also the fastest, takes between 7 – 10 days. You’ll need to pay an additional cost to have an expedite filing speed.
Therefore, ZenBusiness’s services supersede those of BizFilings in business formation speed.
ZenBusiness Vs. Corpnet
Corpnet is another LLC formation company with an excellent overall value. But which one is better between ZenBusiness and Corpnet? Let’s compare them:
Pricing
As against the $0 + State Fees in ZenBusiness’s starter plan, Corpnet’s pricing starts at $108 (including a $29 shipping fee). While ZenBusiness’s basic plan offers a 1-year registered agent, Corpnet only provides a 60-day registered agent trial in their basic plan.
LLC Formation Speed
Corpnet and ZenBusiness both have a pretty fast turnaround time compared to other LLC services. Corpnet even guarantees a 24-hour turnaround in document preparation when you choose their Complete and Deluxe packages.
Ease-of-Use
Comparatively, the two services have intuitive, user-friendly, and easy-to-understand formation services. Nevertheless, ZenBusiness goes above and beyond to make incorporating hassle-free and quick.
Customer Service
Both business formation services allow you to reach their customer care through webchat, email, or phone. Their customer care representatives offer quality assistance within the shortest time possible. You’ll also enjoy a same-day response if you contact them via mail on a business day.
ZenBusiness Vs. MyCompanyWorks
ZenBusiness and MyCompanyWorks are similar in several ways, including efficiency, affordability, excellent customer support, and customer feedback.
Pricings
ZenBusiness starter package is cheaper and includes more advanced features than any services MyCompanyWorks offers.
Customer Service
Both ZenBusiness and MyCompanyWorks are similar in terms of customer service, particularly in their response times.
Ease of Use
Both of these business formation companies offer pretty easy-to-use services throughout the entire LLC formation process. Also, neither of them is free from hassles with third-party partnerships.
LLC Formation Speed
While ZenBusiness’s LLC formation services speed depends on the package you choose, MyCompanyWorks seems to handle this aspect differently. MyCompanyWorks is the better choice in terms of formation speed as they guarantee a same-day service delivery if you purchase their service before 3 PM ET.
Pros & Cons of Using ZenBusiness
Pros of ZenBusiness
- ZenBusiness prides itself as one of the cheapest LLC services available, and you’ll get the best value for your money. ZenBusiness’s packages start at $0 + State Fees, which is $40 (80%) less than its closest competitor.
- ZenBusiness does not trick or compel clients into buying add-on services. Instead, it offers its services and advanced features in a delectable and attractive manner.
- The majority of the 6200+ ZenBusiness online reviews are positive
- The company includes annual report filing and several other LLC maintenance services to help their clients start and maintain their business.
- ZenBusiness is not just an LLC business; it is also socially conscious and awards loans and grants to small business owners. The organization partners with some lending and humanitarian services like Kiva, which prioritizes lending to minority- and women-owned businesses to start their operations.
- ZenBusiness LLC services are pretty easy to understand and are always straight to the point.
- The organization’s premium package includes extra features like business email, business website, and business domain name.
Cons of ZenBusiness
- Employer Identification Number (EIN) and other essential business formation services attract extra charges (additional $70 for EIN) in ZenBusiness’s basic plan.
- Although ZenBusiness’s services and overall value are excellent and come at the lowest prices, other LLC services (like IncFile) charge less. But you may encounter more upsells as a result.
- ZenBusiness does not offer a company seal.
- Lastly, ZenBusiness does not have as much brand recognition as many of its competitors because it is relatively newer.
Summary of 3rd Party ZenBusiness Reviews
IN this ZenBusiness review, we’ve established that ZenBusiness is unarguably the best LLC service out there. When we compared the business with other LLC formation services, ZenBusiness outshines others in many ways – from affordable services to excellent customer reviews, free registered agents, and overall value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now, let’s provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about ZenBusiness.
Is ZenBusiness Good for LLC Formation?
ZenBusiness is the best choice for an LLC formation. The company offers high-quality business formation services at the most affordable rate and the best turnaround time. No other LLC formation has as many features as you’ll enjoy from ZenBusiness’s starter package, which only costs $0 + State fees.
If you need advanced features for your LLC, you can choose the pro or premium package from ZenBusiness, and you’ll get the best value for your money. Most ZenBusiness’ customers have only positive things to say about the company, particularly their customer support and the ease of using the platform.
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