Is UpstartLegal.com right for me?
Why should I form an LLC?
Why do I need the other agreements?
When should I legally organize my work into a business?
How does UpstartLegal.com's pricing compare to competitors?
Does it matter which state I'm located in?
Do I need a registered agent?
Do I need a minute book, corporate seal or stock certificates?
What else do need to start my company?
How do I contact UpstartLegal.com?
If you're serious about making money from your work, creating your own job, freelancing, working from home or starting a company, I believe you should conduct yourself through a legal organization.
Consider these benefits:
- A separate identity for your business (company bank account, email address, etc.)
- Personalized business name (name the company, and it can be yours forever)
- Professional presentation
- Liability protection
- Possible tax advantages
The LLC has become the preferred form of business entity, instead of the corporation (including S corporation), for individuals to own and run their service-based businesses.
Advantages include:
- Easy and inexpensive to organize
- Easy to maintain (unlike a corporation, a Board, regular meetings and corporate minutes are not required)
- Easy to file taxes (if you are the sole owner, you make the same tax filing with the IRS that you would make as a sole proprietor, and unlike a corporation a separate tax return is not required)
- Permits creative and flexible allocations of profits and losses, should the owners desire
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In my experience, people get in trouble when they ignore the risks in what they're doing and, as a result, start doing their business without written contracts. Where I see the problems most frequently are when there's a difference in understanding between what you believe you are supposed to do and what the client believes you are supposed to do. This also comes up if you ask someone else, maybe a friend, to assist you in providing your services. Often, you're not on the same page about what you need from them or what they are going to receive in return. Or, if you have partners in the business, it is unfortunately common for partners to have differing expectations about their roles, responsibilities and ownership. The legal agreements in our Upstart Package help you create a clear scope of work and clarify expectations between you and your client or subcontractor and, if you have them, your partners.
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When you are ready to own your company and make it real. You're getting it set up correctly. Earlier is better.
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I'm confident that you will receive great value for your money with UpstartLegal.com and that our pricing compares very favorably with companies that offer competitive services. I've done the research. But you should too, before you purchase our Upstart Package or individual services.
When you do, I suggest that you keep in mind these key factors:
1. Are you comparing "apples to apples" services? Many of the most advertised companies charge you for services that we include in our Upstart Package price. You should check whether other companies charge you for things that we don't, such as EIN preparation, state registration, mailing your documents, copies of filed documents and the like.
2. Are you being charged for services you don't need? In developing the Upstart Package, I tried to include the essentials and never try to upsell you on extras. Other companies will offer you minute books, membership certificates, corporate seals, registered agent services, banking resolutions, etc. As a simple LLC, I don't think you need to spend the money for these items.
3. Are you getting key legal documents included in your price? Many companies that offer LLC formation services will charge you almost as much for that service, once you include the EIN filings, state registration and shipping, as UpstartLegal.com charges for our entire Upstart Package. I think the legal agreements included in our Upstart Package are as important as establishing your company as an LLC, and that you'll use the agreements over and over as tools in your business.
4. Specifically, how does UpstartLegal.com compare to LegalZoom?
The following compares the cost of obtaining the services included in the Upstart Package with LegalZoom's cost of obtaining the same services (as of January, 2011). In each case, the required state filing fee for the LLC is in addition to the total fees indicated below.
| | LZ Economy | LZ Standard | LZ Express Gold | Upstart Package |
| Legal entity filing (includes name clearance) | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Federal Tax ID number | $79 additional | $79 additional | $49 additional | Included |
| State revenue registration | $35 additional | $35 additional | $35 additional | Included |
| Operating Agreement (includes indemnification and transfer restrictions) | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Services Agreement | $19.95 | $19.95 | Included | Included |
| Subcontractor Agreement | $14.95 | $14.95 | Included | Included |
| Referral Agreement | $14.95 | $14.95 | Included | Included |
| Non-Disclosure Agreement | $14.95 | $14.95 | Included | Included |
| Upstart Kit (includes Startup Checklist) | Not available | Not available | Not available | Included |
| Professional proofreading | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Secure document access | Included | Included | Included | ncluded |
| Satisfaction guarantee | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Priority rush | Not available | Not available | Included | Included |
| Base Fee (in addition to state filing fee) | $99.00 | $249.00 | $359.00 | $395.00 |
| Additional charges (for comparable services) | $178.80 | $178.80 | $118.90 | $0.00 |
| Total charges for comparable services | $277.80 | $427.80 | $477.90 | $395.00 |
With regard to timing for processing an order (i.e., submitting the LLC formation filing to the state), our turnaround time of 48 hours compares with LegalZoom's highest price Express Gold package. LegalZoom's Economy Package does not appear to offer expedited service, in which case it seems that LegalZoom will take between 2 weeks and 20 days to process a comparably priced order.
But perhaps our greatest distinction is, with UpstartLegal.com, you receive a valuable set of legal agreements that I developed based on my 20 years of experience as a business attorney. I also offer a free consult, so you'll have the opportunity to speak with me to answer certain questions. While UpstartLegal.com is not a law firm and does not engage in the practice law, if your business needs additional legal services, I can provide them through my firm, Gerber Growth, LLC.
It should be noted that all of LegalZoom's packages come with its business newsletter and that LegalZoom's higher priced packages include the following:
- Deluxe LLC Kit embossed with company name
- Official company seal
- 20 customized membership certificates
- Membership transfer ledger
- PR Web
- Trusted ID theft protection for 60 days
- Sage Peachtree First Accounting download
Since one of the advantages of the LLC is that corporate formalities are not required, UpstartLegal.com saves costs (and does not upsell our customers) by not including a kit, seal, certificates or transfer ledger in our package.
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It does. Organization of your LLC is state specific, and our Tutorial/Questionnaire elicits information needed to properly form your LLC in the state in which you will be doing business.
As discussed further in the Package Details, enforceability of certain provisions in the form legal agreements provided in our Upstart Package, such as noncompetition provisions and legal liability exclusions and remedies, will vary from state to state. Nevertheless, I include those provisions in the form documents as statements of the intended rights and responsibilities that you and the parties you contract with are agreeing to be legally bound by.
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You do not. If you maintain an office in the state where your LLC is formed, you can serve as the registered agent for your LLC, and do not need to retain the services of a third party registered agent. Your office address will become public record.
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You do not. One of the advantages of the LLC is that there are limited legal requirements in terms of organizational formalities. It isn't legally required to issue certificates or maintain a corporate kit with a seal and minutes. So in practice, I recommend that most small LLCs not undertake these non-essentials.
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I have included a checklist of non-legal issues for startup companies for your convenience in our free Upstart Kit. Your needs may vary, but I hope you find this a helpful starting point.
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Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We are happy to assist!
Mail:
UpstartLegal.com
1229 Chestnut Street, #148
Philadelphia, PA 19107
E-mail:
support@UpstartLegal.com
Phone:
877-744-8778 (toll free)
215-964-9201