IncFile – What Is It?
IncFile is an online platform designed to help startups and small businesses register a company. Still, this is not all the IncFile offers, as it also has other essential features that help with the legal aspects of running a company.
Apart from assisting the initial LLC or corporation formation, IncFile also has other legal services to help businesses grow. All of these features are created with the intent of helping the running of companies. These features include:
Help with company changes
-
Amendment with addresses, company name, or membership
-
Dissolution when formally terminating an entity
-
Foreign qualification when expanding to new states
-
Fictitious business name when a company needs an assumed/fictitious name
Help with compliance
-
Filing Annual Report
-
Certificate of Good Standing
-
Business License Search
-
Trademark Name Search
Registered agent services
-
Order registered agent services
-
Renew registered agent services
-
Change registered agent services
Help with all sorts of IRS filings
-
EIN/Tax ID #
-
Filing of business taxes
-
Filing S Corp Tax Election
Corporate LLC kits and stocks certificates
-
Slipcase and binder
-
20 Custom printed stock certificates
-
Metal die-cast embossing seal
-
Stock transfer ledger
-
Operating agreement for LLCs
-
Minutes and By-laws for corporations
IncFile Pricing Plans
Here is an explanation of the pricing plans offered by IncFile. The pricing plans differ in their features, and the final fee you need to pay depends on the US state where you wish to register your company. Here is an overview of the IncFIle pricing plans:
- Silver – $0 + State Fee. The silver IncFile package offers help in preparing and filing the articles of the organization, unlimited name searches, and free registered agent service for a year.
-
Gold – $149 + State Fee. The gold IncFile package includes all the services from the silver package and EIN business tax number, IRS form 2553, corporation by-laws, banking resolutions, lifetime company alerts, online access dashboard, unlimited phone and email support, and business banking account and business tax consultation.
-
Platinum – $299 + State Fee. The platinum IncFile package offers all the services from the gold package and business contract templates, expedited filing, domain name, and business email.
I need to note that the state fee is mandatory when registering an LLC, an S or C corporation, and a Nonprofit organization. Moreover, IncFile has made adjustments to their prices, so even startups with a limited initial budget can use their services.
No matter the package you select, with the IncFile services, you will get help with your business banking account setup, next business day processing, and online access to incorporation documents. You will also get registered agent services for one full year; lifetime company alerts, online order status tracking, statement and resignation of the organizer, and electronic delivery of all filed documents via the IncFile online dashboard.
Depending on the package you select, you may need to pay additional fees for corporation premium services. To facilitate things for owners, the IncFile staff takes care of all the filing and signing of the documents. After the incorporation process is finished and your company is officially in business, the IncFile staff will send you all the relevant documentation via mail.
I’ve made a comparison between IncFile and LegalZoom, so you can see the features and pricing plans for both these platforms side to side and see which would suit your needs. Below you can see a comparison table between the most famous online business formation platforms today.
BRAND |
BASE PRICE |
PLAN |
ADVANTAGES |
LIMITATIONS |
IncFile |
$0+state fee |
Company formation, annual compliance, free registered agent for a year |
Very affordable, next-day processing, free registered agent service, simple ordering process |
Limited services in the free package, customer service can be tardy |
LegalZoom |
$79 + filing fees |
Company formation, patent registration, custom legal forms |
Excellent customer support, excellent legal services |
30-day processing time, expensive yearly upkeep, no advisory services |
LegalNature |
$39 + state fee |
Legal documents of any kind, business formation, business management software |
All legal documents in one place, excellent customer support |
Services get expensive very fast, additional up-sells |
IncFile Comparison with Similar Platforms
The main IncFile competitors are LegalZoom and LegalNature. All of these platforms offer a variety of services, including business formation services. However, the most affordable plan for business formation is provided by IncFile, as it charges only the state filing fees, and it comes with a free registered agent service for one year.
Unlike IncFile, LegalZoom charges $79 + state filing fees and does not offer any free services. LegalNature also has a pretty high initial price and does not offer any free services. However, unlike the IncFile customer service, which is somewhat slow, the LegalZoom and LegalNature customer service agents are much faster in answering their client inquiries.
CRITERIA |
CUSTOMER SERVICE |
PRICE FOR BUSINESS FORMATION |
SPEED OF BUSINESS FORMATION |
COMPLIANCE SERVICES |
USABILITY |
IncFile |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
LegalZoom |
5 |
4 |
3.5 |
4 |
5 |
LegalNature |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
IncFile User Experience
IncFile has a long history in this business, and they’ve honed their services and focused on offering an excellent user experience. They have facilitated things for their users and provide step-by-step instruction to simplify the business launching process further.
To start the process, you need to select the type of entity you wish to register and select the state of formation. After, you select the package that suits your needs and budget and follow the on-screen instructions. Finally, you will need to fill out all the vital information, including contact information and business info, filling out the detailed online order forms.
Once you make the initial signup on the IncFile website, you’ll get access to your business dashboard, where you can see and review all the necessary order details and confirm everything is in order. In addition, on the dashboard, you can see all the filed articles and any additional services and documents related to your business.
Among the IncFile services that I found interesting is the Name Availability Search option. As each company’s name must be unique, IncFile does a thorough name search within the state you wish to register your company. For anyone who already has a name in mind, IncFile also has a Business Name Search tool.
The IncFile staff prepares all the Articles of Incorporation (for Corporations) or Organization (for LLCs), and they take care of delivering them to the governing state agency with each state. In my opinion, this dramatically reduces the hassle of having to prepare all legal documentation by yourself.
After the IncFile staff has filed everything related to incorporating your business, you will be notified by text, email, and the IncFile dashboard. Here I need to outline that the IncFile dashboard also offers a suite of startup services that help support a business after its formation and lifetime. For example, over 150 business contracts are available, a business formation kit, lifetime company alerts, preparation and filing of taxes, IRS Form 2553, and many other vital parts of establishing and running a business.
As a part of offering a better user experience, IncFile offers the option for its users to receive text and email notifications and order updates and compliance alerts from within the custom business management dashboard.
IncFile’s business management dashboard also takes care of the mandatory Annual Report and provides a Registered Agent renewal every year. Another feature that improves the IncFile user experience and what many satisfied IncFile users have found quite helpful and convenient.
IncFile Customer Service
While researching IncFile, I read many reviews from users who have used this service. At this time, IncFile enjoys quite the reputation on Shopper Approved with an overall 4.8-star rating from over 21K reviews. Still, many of the reviews have notes about the IncFile customer service.
The overall satisfaction with the IncFile service is terrific, but there are some concerning notes about their customer service. It pertains to the inability of many users to reach the customer support agents on time. The IncFile phone support is available from Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM CST. After writing to them, I found that they respond to their email inquiries within a reasonable time frame. Still, for more pressing matters, it would be better for them to shorten their response time.
On the other hand, the official IncFile website has quite an extensive knowledge base with good articles explaining a lot of the legal jargon that most people are not familiar with. Moreover, the navigation through it is simple, and with just a few clicks, you can get an answer to your inquiry.
The IncFile knowledge base contains definitions of LLCs, S and C corporations, and Nonprofit organizations. There is also a lot of pertinent information about state laws on LLCs, corporations, and Nonprofits. Along with this, there are other helpful tools like the S corporation tax calculator, entity comparison chart, state filing fees list, state filing times chart, and an ongoing filing requirements list. I find all this information quite helpful, as it is presented understandably even so people with limited legal knowledge can understand everything.
IncFile Online Security
The IncFile online platform is safe to use, as it has all the necessary security protocols in place. This, however, does not stop hackers with malicious intent to try and penetrate the security measures and gain access to your company’s data. It would be better if they had a two-factor authentication upon login on the site, as this type of sign-in process enables a double layer of security.
Even if you are using the free version, you still need to enter your personal and credit card credentials to pay for the mandatory state fee, which leaves your info exposed. To help with this, you need to create a strong password when you create your user account. Also, keep your passwords, and devices secure and not easily accessible by third-party or untrusted persons.
On their end, IncFile uses modern SSL encryption technology to safeguard all the necessary client information, and their servers are kept in secure data centers. In addition, the data on the servers is backed up hourly to ensure no user data is lost.
Conclusion: Use IncFile To Start Your LLC Business
IncFile is an online service that enables people to register and incorporate their business in every US state. The IncFile service is straightforward to use, and all the features are designed to help startups, small business owners, or entrepreneurs easily register their companies.
The official website has a wealth of information regarding LLCs, S and C corporations, and Nonprofits, along with essential information on registering a company in every US state. The IncFile prices are also very affordable and attractive for people starting a company with a limited budget. From what I found, they could use faster customer service, but overall, IncFile is a good choice for a business formation online service.