wow $200/mo recurring fee.. and they don't do your taxes? operating a compliant LLC isn't that complicated. I'd be curious to hear what they're doing that is worth $2500/yr.
Hey steve, arjun here from doola, this is really valuable feedback because *we do your taxes (form 5472/1120) AND your annual compliance as part of our plan! Our messaging / copy clearly doesn't indicate this / message this properly so we are going to implement a fix asap that improves this.
As to justifying the cost for our plan, if you factor in the cost of having a lawyer/CPA do your IRS filings (there can be heavy fines up to $25K for not filing or incorrectly filing form 5472 https://www.doola.com/blog/filing-requirements-for-foreign-o...) and certain CPAs can charge well upwards of $1000 for this filing alone + your annual report with the state + registered agent, US address, our entire perks and rewards database (https://www.doola.com/rewards), and access to us on a monthly bases for free tax consultations, LLC amendments etc, we've heard there is lots of value BUT we are always on the lookout to add more and as a little sneak peek, stay tuned for some bookkeeping, payroll + banking stuff we have in the works (note we can help with all three of these things now but we do it through partners, we have some ideas to more tightly integrate / embed this in to our offering to provide even more value and a better customer experience).
Yeah, that's abrasive even by the warped incorporation services standards.
They take advantage of people that have an initial negative reaction to doing anything that sounds "legal-y" but really all they are doing is submitting 2 forms (certificate of organization with the state, application for EIN with IRS), giving you some template document for an operating agreement, and then once a year filing a one-page form to keep the company in good standing. If you're paying more than $100 for this, you're being taken for a ride.
It costs around $150 to file articles of corporation/llc, and then an annual report is $99-149 depending per state.
EIN is free. You can do all above, in less than 30 minutes.
Not to defend, atlas, or this or any other service, but if they act as an agent or offer a virtual address, they may be why the cost is high. You do need a physical office address, even if it's a virtual office, for service, and paperwork.
You should be able to find the agency/agency of incorporation for the state - https://corp.delaware.gov/howtoform/ this is for Delaware, and right there #2 is registered agent.
Depending who you go to for virtual office, it may be $50-200/month.
Now, is it a business idea to offer this service yourself, rent a space, and also have an accountant, - yes.
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But it's pretty cheap in general, other countries in the world, the cost of doing business for this meta/paperwork is double or triple.
In Indonesia, Doing a PT. PMA, sort of similar to a LLC, minimum setup cost is about $4000, but it nets you a visa.
Japan, requires $50,000 fiat, getting a hanko - and while it gets you a visa, is much more complicated.
Hey! Responded to steves comment above with more color on what is included in our plan (tldr we do include IRS tax filing + annual compliance and more) but it is again very valuable for us to see that we are not messaging this clearly enough on our pricing page!
Hi! Arjun here from doola. This is spot on, we have worked with 1000s of customers and we believe we're experts BUT that doesn't justify not having enough value in our offering and we are always on the lookout / prowl to add additional services/products to our suite to truly provide a "one-stop-shop" offering!
even that's a high charge. if I showed you the processes they were doing then you would laugh. Only exception would maybe be if you were creating a Delaware corporation.
