ZenBusiness Review 2024
- LLC starts at $0 + state fee
- Trusted and affordable LLC service with fast filing speeds
- Registered agent & worry free compliance service
- Transparent pricing & top rated expert support
- 100% accuracy guarantee
- Doesn't offer the option to form a nonprofit
Top ZenBusiness Reviews (2024)
Overview
ZenBusiness helps entrepreneurs form their dream business quickly and accurately. They offer affordable incorporation packages and great customer support. And most importantly, they offer 100% accuracy guarantee so you can put your mind at ease knowing that professionals are taking care of your paperwork and helping you avoid any issues or delays.
ZenBusiness also strives to give back to the community with their public benefit corporation by loaning money to select women-owned and minority-owned companies in the US to encourage more business ownership.
ZenBusiness LLC – Worry-Free Compliance
This service keeps you updated and notified about annual filing, so you don’t miss deadlines or pay late fees. While this service was previously available only in the Pro and Premium packages, it is now also included in the Starter package for free for the first year. The only downside is that they don’t offer a free trial, but you do get a 60-day money-back guarantee on any package.
ZenBusiness review: Ease of use
The process of forming a company can be pretty complex and time-consuming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the legal aspect of it. ZenBusiness is a professional filing service that helps you register your business in less than 10 minutes.
I really like the fact that ZenBusiness performs a business name search in your state as soon as you start the LLC incorporation process. If your business name isn’t available, you will get a notification and be able to perform multiple name searches until you find the right one for you.
Following the name search, you’ll need only a few minutes to fill out the ZenBusiness purchase form and provide some basic information about your company. These will help ZenBusiness better understand your incorporation needs. The instructions are easy, even for total newbies.
And if you need any assistance along the way (or want to ask questions about ZenBusiness), their customer support team is available via live chat, email and phone call.
ZenBusiness will try to upsell third-party offerings during this initial step, but they’re not aggressive about it, so it doesn’t feel like an annoyance or pressure tactic at all and you might actually benefit from offers such as special promotion for a business bank account.
ZenBusiness Pricing
If you’re looking for a business formation option that won’t break the bank, then ZenBusiness is still probably the best option on the market (and they’ve been around only since 2015).
For starters, each ZenBusiness LLC package comes with the following:
- Preparing and filing articles
- Unlimited name availability search
- Unlimited customer support (phone and email)
- Online access to formation documents
- Free tax savings consultation
- Statement of organizer
ZenBusiness offers three main filing packages to get started with your LLC business:
ZenBusiness pricing – Starter package
The Starter package ($0 + state fees) has all the essentials you need, with a few additional new benefits:
- LLC filing (creating and submitting the necessary paperwork to the state to incorporate your LLC business)
- Worry-free compliance for the first year (renews at $199/yr)
- 100% accuracy guarantee
- Full customer support
If you’re just starting out and need an inexpensive way to get your LLC paperwork done, this Starter package is the most affordable one and it doesn’t renew. It includes the basics to get your business off the ground.
This package offers great value for money since you’ll get your LLC papers done and submitted, plus support from ZenBusiness customer service. So if ever you run into any issues, it will be solved immediately.
The first year of business is especially tough. As a new business owner, you’ll need every break you can get. Having this feature to keep tabs on deadlines, changes in legal requirements, or other regulations takes a huge load off your back.
Unfortunately, though, life gets in the way sometimes, and you still miss deadlines. ZenBusiness can help even with that. They provide a comprehensive action package to get businesses back on track.
This is a great service that may alleviate a lot of stress, especially for startup owners who may not be familiar with staying on top of compliance concerns. This package doesn’t offer expedited filing, so expect a 2-3 weeks turnaround.
ZenBusiness can also be your registered agent for an additional $199. If you avail of this add-on, all legal paperwork will be sent to them while they forward legal notices to you. The annual report service ($100 one-time fee) notifies you when it is time to send your annual report so that you don’t have to incur late fees.
ZenBusiness pricing – Pro package
The ZenBusiness pro package is the most popular option coming in at $199 (plus state fees). It includes everything in the Starter package, including Worry-Free Compliance plus significant additions:
- Fastest “rush” filing speed (1-5 business days on average)
- Operating Agreement template
- Statement of organizer
- Worry-Free Compliance
Worry-Free Compliance is also included for free in the first year and renews at $199/year like the Starter package. Furthermore, the Pro package will expedite your filing speed, which is great if you need to create an LLC quickly. The ZenBusiness pro-package also comes with optional month-long free trials for banking, bookkeeping, and website builder services.
ZenBusiness pricing – Premium package
The ZenBusiness Premium package ($349 + state fees) is your best bet if you want to incorporate an LLC in a hurry and get a great deal on all additional business services. It gives you all the features of the Pro package including Worry-Free Compliance plus additional benefits:
- Fastest “rush” filing speed (1-5 business days on average
- Domain name registration
- Domain name privacy
- Business email address
- Business website builder
- Business documents templates library
Similar to the Pro package, you can also try the bookkeeping and banking services for a free 1-month trial with the Premium package. Suppose you haven’t figured out how you’re going to build your company’s website or manage its email. In that case, the Premium package with its online tools bundle can be a good option for you because it’s a convenient and fast way to get your business online.
This package also promotes your LLC filing documents ahead of everyone else’s, making it ideal for those who need their LLC formed quickly. But even if you’re not in a rush, having a shorter turnaround time can still come in handy since you can get started earlier.
ZenBusiness pricing – Additional costs
Renewal cost
Renewal cost is $199/year and it covers annual report filings and two additional amendments each year to ensure compliance as state filing requirement might change. Keep in mind that renewal cost may apply for some of the additional services that you subscribe to as well.
Before checkout
If you choose the Starter package, you can add a la carte services according to your needs. Alternatively, you may build your own package and choose the services you require. There is a comprehensive list of services and charges laid out on the ZenBusiness Pricing Page.
We really like the summary screen that ZenBusiness displays before finalizing your purchase. It shows you exactly what you’re paying for and allows you to edit any of the items in your cart separately, in case you want to make changes to your order.
ZenBusiness review: List of services
ZenBusiness offers many stand-alone services such as:
ZenBusiness registered agent service
You can’t form a business entity in the United States without appointing a registered agent to receive your tax and legal documents. However, most business owners do not want to deal with all that paperwork.
ZenBusiness can handle all correspondence with the Secretary of State or other state agencies, so you don’t have to worry about missing any legal or tax paperwork. They’ll also scan and upload documents on your behalf and mail out any important legal matters to you. And if that weren’t enough, they even assist with changing your registered agent, service of process (SOP), and mail correspondence.
The ZenBusiness Registered Agent Service is available for $199 per year. It’s a bit pricey but I think it makes sense to use the ZenBusiness registered agent service if you register your business with them. Especially as they also offer the worry free and compliance services so it makes sense to keep all business services under one roof.
ZenBusiness DBA (doing business as)
If you’re going to use a DBA (a.k.a. “fictitious business name” or “assumed name”), most states require that it be filed for the protection of consumers. Contingent on how your business is set up legally (for example, as an LLC or a corporation), you might have to register a DBA with both the state and the county. Often, it’s just with the county.
Depending on the jurisdiction, it can take 1-4 weeks to do this. For just $95 (plus state fees), you can have ZenBusiness handle your DBA filing. This way, you’ll have no additional taxes, maintain your branding flexibility, and comply with state laws.
ZenBusiness – Additional services
- Business email address: $25/year (includes an address book, calendars, and 5GB of cloud storage)
- New York LLC Certificate of Publication: $200 (plus publication fees)
- Worry-Free Compliance: $199/year (annual report filings, two additional amendments per year)
- ZenBusiness Banking: $5/month (business bank account, debit card, unlimited transactions, online checking, and more)
- ZenBusiness Money Pro: $30/month (tax savings help, business expense tracking, customized invoices, and more)
- Website Builder: $15/month (templates, SEO tools, scheduling widgets, embedded social media, and more)
ZenBusiness is an excellent option for anyone looking to start an LLC in a fast and efficient way. They can help you form an LLC in any state and provide the necessary forms, filing documents, and more.
The process is pretty easy, and they give you information on all the basics, such as how much it’s going to cost and what other fees you might expect.
After you’ve decided on a state, ZenBusiness will guide you through the following 4 steps to get your business off the ground:
- Completion of the necessary forms and selecting the required services.
- Submitting your paperwork to the state.
- An official from the state verifies the facts, and once your company’s existence is approved, ZenBusiness will alert you.
- ZenBusiness will upload and store all of your documents in a safe online account that you can access anytime.
ZenBusiness review: Customer service
It’s easy to feel a little lost when you’re starting your business. The only way to stay afloat is by having a strong support system, and ZenBusiness offers one of the best customer services there is.
It’s easy to ask questions and resolve issues since you can connect with ZenBusiness’ customer service team via chat, email, and phone call during business hours. Additionally, you will find useful FAQs on their website and a blog where you can read updates on regulations and news.
Although starting a business can seem daunting, with the support of ZenBusiness, you get a big chunk of the burden removed from your shoulders.
Is ZenBusiness legit?
ZenBusiness secured $200 million in a Series C funding round (August 2022), and a $1.7 billion valuation which shows that investors see potential in the company’s platform. It has also served over 250,000 businesses around the world. These are what make ZenBusiness compelling. It’s not just another startup trying to make it big on hype alone—it’s already a success.
They’re likewise set to launch some new features on their platform that should make it even more powerful for entrepreneurs. They aim to develop a tailored, guided path for each customer to make their first dollar faster. Making it an integrated platform for managing all financial needs, from categorizing expenses using AI to issuing invoices for free, is also in the works.
“We handle the ‘business stuff’ so our customers can focus on their passion and build the life they want, stress-free and without sacrificing their well-being,” said Ross Buhrdorf, Founder and CEO of ZenBusiness.
ZenBusiness review: Verdict
ZenBusiness is a wise choice for any business owner who wants to set up their company as quickly and easily as possible. You get all the essentials of a new LLC with just one click: legal forms, business formation documents, tax filing services, and compliance solutions.
When it came to price and convenience of use, we found that ZenBusiness considerably outperformed its competitors. It’s easy to see why this service has an average rating of Excellent 4.7 stars from 13,000+ reviews on TrustPilot!
We especially like their Worry-Free Compliance option, which gives business owners peace of mind knowing that compliance and paperwork are being taken care of by industry experts.
The best part about Zenbusiness is that it makes starting your business simple and stress-free—all you have to do is choose your package, fill out some forms and pay some fees. That’s it! You’ll be on your way to managing your business in no time.
ZenBusiness Reviews summary (2024)
Pricing:
Starts at $0
