Best New York LLC Services Reviewed by ZenBusiness

Northwest

Northwest Registered Agent charges $225 (plus state fee) for LLC filing services. That said, Northwest’s personalized customer support is a feature that could make their prices worth paying for some entrepreneurs.

• Higher Prices: Northwest charges $225 + state fee to form an LLC in New York. However, that $225 package does at least include a year of registered agent service.
• Customer Reviews: Northwest receives mostly positive customer feedback, but with several hundred reviews instead of the thousands you’ll find with the other companies in this guide, they can’t match competitors like us for review volume.
• Known for Service: While some competitors outsource customer service to third-party call centers, Northwest keeps its support team in-house.

Overall, Northwest does have some points in its favor. However, keep in mind that it charges $225 (plus your state’s required fee) for its LLC filing services.

Want to learn more? See this Northwest LLC review.

LegalZoom

LegalZoom is one of the biggest names in the industry, with millions of customers served and frequent advertising efforts. LegalZoom provides an LLC filing package for free (plus the state’s fee).

• Higher Average Prices: While LegalZoom charges $0 (+ your state fee) for LLC service, it has higher price points for some other services. For instance, it typically charges a rate of $249 per year for registered agent service and at least $149 to form a corporation.
• Features: LegalZoom sometimes excludes valuable features from its LLC filing service packages. For instance, its Basic LLC service package includes only a digital welcome packet and a trial for a third-party web design service.
• Service Guarantee: Much like ZenBusiness, LegalZoom offers a 60-day, 100% satisfaction guarantee that is among the best in the industry.

LegalZoom is a huge company, so while it offers extended support hours, the quality of its customer support may vary a bit from representative to representative.

Want to learn more? See this LegalZoom LLC review.

Incfile/Bizee

Incfile/Bizee offers LLC formations for free, as long as you pay your state’s fee. Incfile and ZenBusiness have some similar characteristics, but there are also some significant differences that set the two apart.

• Lots of Reviews: Incfile/Bizee has tens of thousands of customer reviews with strong average rating scores.
• Customer Support: If you prioritize responsive customer support, Incfile/Bizee may not be your best option. At times, their responses can be slow and some customers complain that they don’t get a response at all to emailed support inquiries.
• Upsells: Incfile/Bizee can also pile on the upsells, with lots of suggested add-on services sprinkled throughout the order form.

If you’re looking for a cheap LLC formation service in New York and ZenBusiness doesn’t feel right for some reason, Incfile/Bizee could be worth a closer look.

Want to learn more? See this Incfile/Bizee LLC review.

How to Set Up a New York LLC on Your Own

Technically speaking, you don’t have to use an LLC formation service like ZenBusiness or LegalZoom. These services are incredibly helpful, but you can save money by completing the process yourself.

You can read our complete guide to DIY an LLC setup in New York, but here’s a quick look at the process:

Choose a business name

Every LLC in New York needs a name that’s memorable and gives potential clients a good idea of what goods or services are available. The name also needs to be unique — both for legal reasons and so your business stands out from the competition.

Appoint a NY registered agent

As we’ve mentioned in this guide, every LLC needs an agent who can accept service of process on your behalf. In all states, you can act as your own registered agent as long as you have a physical address in the state. That said, we generally recommend that you appoint someone else (like an online service) to act as your agent.

File the Articles of Organization

This document, once filled out and filed, officially forms your business in the state of New York. You’ll need to provide some important information, including your contact information, your business address, signatures for your LLC’s members, and more. New York charges $200 for the Articles of Organization. You will also file a Certificate of Publication, which requires you to publish a notice about your business in local newspapers. The fee for the Certificate is $50, meaning your total cost to register will be $250, plus the cost of the newspaper advertisements.

Setting up the LLC is as easy as 1-2-3; it’s the maintenance requirements that are a bit more complicated:

Register for and pay taxes

If you have employees, you’ll need to get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. Then there are state-specific taxes, too. Understandably, one of your largest tax burdens will be the state’s income taxes. Currently, New York has a flat corporate rate of 6.5%; individual rates fall between 4% and 8.82%. You’ll also need to account for the state sales tax (4%). You can learn more about these and other miscellaneous taxes at the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.

Get licenses and permits

There’s no general state business license in New York, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need to get professional licenses, such as those listed on New York’s Licenses Database. There are more than 1,200 licenses across the state, so there’s a good chance at least one will apply to your business.

Create an operating agreement

Even single-member LLCs should create a “master document” that sets out how the business will operate, both now and in the future.

File your biennial report

Every other year (on odd-numbered years), your LLC will need to file a biennial report to update the state about the standing of your business. It’s due by the end of your LLC’s anniversary month, and there is a $9 filing fee.

Obtain business insurance

Every business with employees needs to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and a commercial vehicle policy for company-owned vehicles. You may also want to get a general business liability policy, too.

Get a business bank account

You should sign up for a business bank account so you can write checks and make purchases in the name of the business instead of pulling from your personal accounts (a legal no-no).

This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. For more detailed guidance, we recommend contacting an attorney or checking out the full New York LLC Formation Guide.

What Is a New York LLC?

LLCs are formal legal entities that are typically taxed similarly to sole proprietorships and general partnerships, in that the owners include any company profits or losses into their personal returns — the LLC itself does not owe income taxes. For more a more in-depth description see: What is an LLC?

The Total Cost of Forming and Maintaining an LLC in New York

In addition to the costs of a business formation service or hiring an attorney (which are optional, as we’ve discussed), there are quite a few other required and optional expenses when forming and maintaining a New York business. You cannot form an LLC in New York without filing the Articles of Organization, the document that officially registers your business within the state. This document has a $200 filing fee.

You will also need to submit a Certificate of Publication ($50), which requires you to post an ad in your local paper alerting the public about who you are and what your new business is. You must post this ad once a week for six weeks in two local papers before you can submit the publication certificate.

Another common requirement is the Biennial Statement, which New York requires you to submit every other year. This simple filing keeps the state up-to-date about some basic but vital business information, such as your address and registered agent. The filing costs just $9. Read more about New York costs – New York LLC costs.