Monday, March 16, 2009

Online Incorporation Services: The Affordable Way

By Rex McDaniels

When starting a new business, one of your most important considerations will be your liability risk. If you do not incorporate your business, your personal assets may be at risk. Incorporation will provide you with limited liability, which will protect your personal assets.

As Internet use has become so widely accepted for commerce, online incorporation services have become the most efficient way to acquire these services. However, if you do any kind of research in this area, you will find hundreds of companies offering this.

Here are three factors you need to consider when choosing an online incorporation service:

1. Read the Fine Print

Many online incorporation services will offer a very tempting introductory rate to reel you in. You need to do your homework and read the fine print in order to see the real cost of doing business with any company.

In the fine print, you'll discover hidden additional fees such as shipping charges, processing costs and administrative fees that are tacked on to the initial order.

Also, with most of the entry level pricing packages, the turnaround times to complete the service is way too long- sometimes 6 to 8 weeks. Now, they will not advertise their turnaround times and so what they hope is you will buy it and then later upgrade by having to pay more for a faster processing time.

2. Planning the timing for forming your LLC

You need to have a time frame in place for when you want to begin operations, since it would be unwise to start without your legal entity in place. With a time frame in mind, you can then begin researching incorporation services and choose from those services that can meet your deadlines.

Tip #3: Guarantees/Credibility in Incorporations is Important

The rules for preparing and filing documents for incorporation vary from state to state, each having its own set of laws and regulations governing the process. And these can be changed at any time by legislatures and state agencies.

Accordingly, it is essential that your chosen incorporation service be a reputable company who has experience in this area of expertise. When doing your research look on the websites for evidence that the business knows what it is talking about. Good companies will have helpful articles or reports on their site.

One way to separate the experienced businesses from the rest is to insist on a compliance guarantee. Every reputable online incorporation service should offer a guarantee that their document preparation and filing will be in compliance with state requirements. - 15246

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