Was all set to finally make the jump and then the filing fees + registered agent + all the 'just in case' stuff hit. I was about $300 short and honestly almost said screw it. Just felt like every door had a fee attached. Any of you actually push through this or did you just stall out?
LLC costs
I nearly gave up because of the upfront formation costs
Yep. Sat on my hands for almost 8 months because of it. Not proud of that.
Wait till you find out about the annual report fee lol. It never really stops.
What state are you in? Some are way cheaper than others. The 'just in case' stuff is optional anyway, you can skip the fancy stuff and just file the basics.
NY. The fees aren't even the worst part, it's the publication requirement for some counties. Batshit.
Oh you're in NY? That publication thing is a trap. I'd look into whether your county actually enforces it before paying anyone.
Not to be that guy but if $300 stops you, the business might not be ready. Just saying.
That's a cold take. Some of us have $300 tied up in actual inventory or tools. Formation fees are pure paperwo rk tax, they don't build anything.
Also GrumpyMoose is conveniently ignoring that a good chunk of those fees are unavoidable in some states. Like you can be as 'ready' as you want and still get walloped by a mandatory newspaper notice
I used a registered agent service that bundled the first year for like $50. Not a shill, just saying the sticker shock is often worse than the actual math if you shpo around.
The math only works if you don't need the entity for another 6 months. If you need a bank account or a client contract right now, waiting to save $40 is dumb.
OP do you actually need an LLC for your thing? Depending on what it is you might be able to nust operate as a sole prop for a bit and skip all this noise.
Sort of jeed it for liability stuff, I'm doing residential work. Not trying to get personally sued over a slipped ladder.
Then yeah, pay the fee. A sole prop in residential work is asking for a bad time. The upfront cost is cheap compared to one claim.
This explains a lot. The people who complain about formation costs are usually exactly the people who need the liability shield most and don't realize it.
Yeah but that doesn't make it less annoying to be short on cash.
One thing that helped me: I applied for a small local business grant and a credit union startup loan at the same time and the CU actually covered the formation costs. Might be worth a look if you're in a bigger county.