Just wanted to share my experience since I saw a couple threads asking about formation services. I run a mobile pet grooming van (solo, no employees yet). Used ZenBusiness to set up my LLC and get an EIN. Honestly the process was pretty smooth. The dashboard is clean, they didn't upsell me aggressively like I feared. But there was a weird delay with my registered agent paperwork that took almost 3 weeks to resolve. Curious if anyone else has used them for a service-based business?
LLC Services
I used ZenBusiness for my mobile pet grooming business
I used them too, but for a totally different industry (freelance design). The dashboard is nice but I feel like they nickel and dime you for anything beyond the basic filing. Did they charge you extra For the EIN or was that included?
EIN was included in the tier I picked, but I think the cheapest package makes you pay extra for it. I went with the mid-tier because I didn't want to deal with the IRS form myself.
Wait, people pay for an EIN? It's literally free on the IRS website. Takes like 10 minutes. Not trying to be a jerk, just genuinely confused why anyone would pay for that.
Some people don't want to deal with the IRS site, especially if they're not tech savvy or English isn't their first language. I get it. My aunt used a service for hers and was happy to pay for the hand-holding.
Yeah, I know it's free but I was overwhelmed with the whole process and just wanted one place to handle everything. Paid for convenience, basically.
Fair enough. I guess I'm just cheap lol. Still, 3 weeks for a registered agent paperwork delay is kind of wild. Did they at least apologize or give you a credit?
No credit, just an apology email that felt copy-pasted. That was the only real negative. Everything else was fine. Not sure I'd use them again if I ever expand to a second LLC though.
Mobile pet grooming sounds awesome. Do you mostly do house calls or do you park somewhere? Sorry, off topic I know.
Haha no worries. Mostly house call, but I do a weekly stop at a dog park on Saturdays. Keeps things interesting.
I looked at ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom vs Northwest. Went with Northwest because their customer service actually picked up tbe phone. ZenBusiness kept me on hold for 40 minutes. Maybe that's changed in the last year or two.
40 minutes on hold is a no from me. I'd rather do the paperwork myself and save the money.
For what it's worth, I've had ZenBusiness for two years and never had to call them, so I can't speak to the Hold times. Renewals have been automatic and painless. Maybe they've improved? Or maybe I've just been lucky.
Automatic renewals scare me. I like to be in control of when money leaves my account. Do they notify you before charging?
Yeah, they send an emaIl about a week before. Not a huge deal for me, but I get why some people prefer manual.
I'll second that, they did notify me. Still, after the agent paperwork thing I'm keeping an eye on it. Might switch to a local guy for next year.
Local registered agent is usually cheaper and you can actually talk to a human. Learned that the hard way with one of those big online services.