After getting quoted $800 by a service, I just did it myself on my state's website. Total cost: $125 filing fee. Took about an hour to fill out the LLC Articles of Organization. The site had a live chat that helped when I got stuck. Figured I'd share since I almost paid someone to click buttons for me.
Registration
The cheapest way I found to get my business officially registered
Wait till you find out the annual report fee. That's the real kicker.
What state? Because in mine the site is a nightmare and the help line is just a recording telling you to check the FAQ.
Oregon. And yeah, the annual report is $100 but at least it's online too. The live chat person actually knew what they were talking about, which surprised me.
I paid a service because I was scared of messing up the paperwork. $125 vs $800 is a big gap. Did you need an EIN too? That part is free from the IRS at least.
I did the same thing. The only annoying part was the registered agent requirement. I just used my own address but now I get junk mail constantly. Worth saving the money though.
Junk mail is an understatement. I got a fake invoice that looked official for $150 for 'certificate of good standing' that I didn't need. Almost fell for it.
So basically the cheap way is just... do it yourself and ignore the scams. Revolutionary.
Ha, fair. I just know a few people who paid the $800 and didn't realize it was optional. The scam mail is real though, good call.
One more thing: if you're a sole proprietor, some states let you file a DBA for like $20-50. Way cheapeer than an LLC if you're just testing an idea.