ZenBusiness is a business services company founded in 2015 by Ross Buhrdor, and caters to both large and small business owners.
They offer several business structure options, and can help you set up a Limited Liability Company in any state. In addition to their LLC formation services, ZenBusiness provides Registered Agent services and a library of business document templates.
In this article, we’ll discuss their service features, packages, and price points, as well as their customer service and user experience quality.
Want a better deal? Hire Northwest instead ($39 + state fee). They have great prices and they don't have any upsells.
(See why Northwest is #1 in our Northwest Registered Agent review)
ZenBusiness Review – Services for LLCs
Like most LLC services, ZenBusiness offers 3 LLC service packages at different price points: the Starter, Pro, and Premium packages.
Warning! If you don’t live or do business in the state where ZenBusiness forms your LLC, you’ll need to register your LLC as a Foreign LLC in your home state. This means you need to maintain two LLC filings, pay two state filing fees, and maintain two Registered Agents.
Please see Best state to form an LLC to make sure you’re forming an LLC in the right state.
Starter Package
As the name suggests, the Starter package is the most affordable LLC formation option at $0 + state fee.
The Starter package simply includes the completion and filing of your business’ Articles of Organization.
Pro Package
The Pro package includes all the LLC formation services in the Starter package and several additional services.
For $199 + state fees, ZenBusiness will:
- form your LLC,
- get an LLC EIN,
- provide an Operating Agreement template, and
- include their Worry-Free Compliance service.
If you purchase the Pro package, ZenBusiness will get an Employer ID Number (EIN) from the IRS for your LLC. They normally charge $99 for this upsell if you purchase it separately. However, you can easily get an EIN for an LLC yourself in just a few minutes – and an EIN is free from the IRS. So this isn’t a huge perk cost-wise.
While ZenBusiness includes an Operating Agreement with this package, it’s a template, so it isn’t personalized with your business’ information. You must fill it out yourself. ZenBusiness also offers this template separately for $99. Or, you could fill out our free Operating Agreement template instead.
The Pro package includes 1 free year of ZenBusiness’s “Worry-Free Compliance” service, which sends you alerts when your LLC’s Annual Report is due. Note that the compliance services automatically renew at $199 each year. With this service, ZenBusiness will actually file your LLC’s Annual Report with the state, and will file up to 2 amendments to your LLC’s Articles of Organization or Annual Report each year.
The Pro package also includes Rush Filing, which means that ZenBusiness will submit your LLC formation paperwork to the state within 1 business day. However, you will also have to pay the state expedited fees on top of the state filing fee if you want the Secretary of State’s office to process your LLC faster, too. You can learn more about expedited filings by reading How long does it take to get an LLC?
ZenBusiness’ Premium package is priced at $299.
It includes all of the services in the Starter and Pro packages, plus:
- a business email address,
- a domain name registration for your website,
- a library of more than 25 business document templates, and
- access to an AI tool to help build your business website.
Some people find that helpful. However, we prefer to do these things ourselves so that we have control over the design and other elements of both your business domain and your website. We like the freedom to experiment and find the best brand image and name for our companies.
Want a better deal? Hire Northwest instead ($39 + state fee). They have great prices and they don't have any upsells.
(See why Northwest is #1 in our Northwest Registered Agent review)
Turnaround Times
ZenBusiness provides turnaround times that are about average for the industry. Their listed turnaround time for the Starter package is 7-10 business days. That said, most customer reviews report that ZenBusiness filed their documents with their state in 2 business days or less.
ZenBusiness offers their own expedited processing option called “Rush Filing”, which means they will file your documents with the state in 1 business day if you pay extra for the Pro or Premium packages.
And like other LLC formation services, ZenBusiness allows you to pay extra for the Secretary of State’s expedited filing option, which means the state will process your documents more quickly.
Upsells
ZenBusiness also provides services beyond LLC formation. And they promote these optional services when you are going through the order process. Some of these upsells are useful, while others aren’t the best use of your money, since some things can be done yourself for free.
EIN for your LLC
If you purchase the Pro or Premium package, ZenBusiness will request an EIN for your LLC. Otherwise, the EIN service is a $99 upsell. However, you can quickly and easily file for an EIN for your LLC yourself through the IRS website. And an EIN is free from the IRS. This means that the $99 charge for this service from ZenBusiness is definitely not worth it.
Business Document Templates
Many users are curious about the ZenBusiness business documents service. When you start a new business, you might need contracts or invoices, or other more sophisticated business documents.
If you purchase the Premium package, you get free access to their business documents template library. Otherwise, this is a $99 upsell.
The ZenBusiness documents package includes various business contracts like a freelancer agreement and a non-disclosure agreement. Unfortunately, the library is pretty limited compared to some of the other sites that offer both legal and business formation documents.
Worry Free Compliance Service
If you purchase the Pro or Premium package, you get 1 free year of the Worry-Free Compliance service.
After that it renews at $199 each year. You can also purchase it separately for $199 if you choose the Starter package.
This is one of ZenBusiness’ more expensive upsells where ZenBusiness files your LLC’s Annual Report and up to two amendments to your Articles of Organization or your Annual Report.
However, you can file your Annual Report yourself using our step-by-step LLC Annual Report guides. Most Annual Reports are simple (they just ask you to confirm your LLC’s information and pay a fee). And since you will still have to pay the state fees when you use ZenBusiness’s Worry Free Compliance service, this doesn’t save you any money.
Clear, Helpful Language
ZenBusiness clearly explains their products and services.
ZenBusiness’ website makes everything very easy to understand, even if you have never formed a business before. We liked how the ZenBusiness website describes the services’ purposes and importance (even if we sometimes disagree).
However, they do fall short when it comes to presenting the pricing of their services with clarity.
All of ZenBusiness’ service packages that are free for 1 year, automatically renew each year – often at much higher prices.
ZenBusiness doesn’t explain their renewal process clearly enough for our liking. Many customers may assume that these packages don’t renew after the business has already been formed.
We also didn’t like that the Starter package ($0 + state fees) features listing includes a “Worry-Free Compliance offer“. It feels a little misleading if you aren’t reading slowly or carefully.
Also, ZenBusiness may or may not charge you a $25 cancellation fee if you decide to discontinue any of their services. Their website is unclear about when this fee applies.
Customer Service
ZenBusiness provides a solid customer service experience. They offer both chat and phone-based customer support.
ZenBusiness’ chat support is decent. The rep we interacted with answered our questions promptly and correctly. This is better than the copy and paste answers that we’ve seen from some competitors. However, the chat support didn’t go the extra mile to offer us extra insight or assistance.
ZenBusiness has excellent phone support. The rep we spoke to was friendly and very knowledgeable about the company’s services. Also, they didn’t upsell additional services, which is something that we’ve experienced from other company’s customer support reps. Instead, we got an honest assessment of which package we needed.
Hate calling customer support? Hire Northwest instead. They have great prices ($39 + state fee) and they do things right the first time, so you don't even have to experience their award-winning customer support. ;)
(Read our Northwest Registered Agent review to see why we're confident that you're in good hands.)
User Experience
ZenBusiness’ LLC purchase flow takes you through the formation process step-by-step while offering plenty of helpful information.
The step-by-step process offers you explanations of the different formation steps and features. Unfortunately, the process is very long and it also gives ZenBusiness the chance to advertise some additional upsells.
ZenBusiness asks a lot of questions that aren’t part of the Articles of Organization filed with the state, and we suspect that the extra information might be used to match you to upsells or service offers.
Once you’ve purchased LLC service through ZenBusiness, they offer their customers access to a well-designed dashboard. You can check on the progress of your business formation through this dashboard, and you’ll get notifications at each step of the process.
Add-on Services and Features
Like their competitors, ZenBusiness offers services and features that aren’t directly related to forming an LLC. These additional services include web services and financial management services.
Web Services
ZenBusiness’ web services add-ons include:
- a website builder,
- a website domain name, and
- a business email address.
ZenBusiness offers access to an AI website builder for $15 per month.
This website builder doesn’t come with the business domain name, which costs $35 per year.
And the business email isn’t included either. It costs $25 per year.
All 3 of these add-ons are included in the Premium package.
However, you can definitely get all of these things more cheaply if you go directly to a web hosting company, so we don’t recommend these upsells.
LLC University® offers a free step-by-step guide for how to get a business domain name.
Financial Management
ZenBusiness also offers add-on services for managing your finances, including:
- business banking,
- Money Pro bookkeeping, and
- unlimited tax advice.
Note: None of these add-ons are included in any of the packages.
Business Banking
For $5 per month, ZenBusiness offers a business bank account in partnership with Thread Bank. We don’t recommend this – the bank account has high maintenance and transaction fees, and you should use a bank with local branches where you do business.
Money Pro Bookkeeping
ZenBusiness offers a bookkeeping subscription through their partner, Money Pro. Money Pro is an accounting software subscription that allows you to link your bank accounts and track income, expenses, and tax deductions like mileage.
ZenBusiness charges $20 per month, or $200 per year for this service if you purchase the Money Pro annual plan through them. Money Pro bookkeeping isn’t included in any of their packages.
Additionally, Money Pro offers 3 subscriptions directly on the Apple and Microsoft App Stores:
- Basic ($0.99 per month)
- Plus ($4.99 per month)
- Gold ($9.99 per month)
Unlimited Tax Advice
ZenBusiness will connect you with a CPA at 1-800-Accountant, who will assess your business and determine what sort of accounting services you will need. These free assessments are often simply sales pitches for the CPA’s services, and only cover advice about your taxes.
This $49 per month plan doesn’t include any actual tax filings. At that price, we think an expert should file your taxes for you.
If you’d like to explore other options for business taxes and bookkeeping assistance, you can do your own research or browse through our accountant recommendations for LLC owners.
ZenBusiness’ Registered Agent Services
- Learn more: What’s an LLC Registered Agent?
Price (plus state filing fees)
ZenBusiness has a Registered Agent Service which will receive legal documents sent to your business.
And in 2022, ZenBusiness significantly increased the prices of both of their Registered Agent packages.
If you purchase this service with your LLC formation service, you’ll be charged $199 for the first year after your LLC is approved. And the service will auto-renew at $199 each year after that.
If you purchase 1 of the 2 Registered Agent packages separately from the business formation services, you’ll have 2 options:
- Registered Agent with Worry-Free Compliance
- Just Registered Agent
The Registered Agent service with Worry-Free Compliance option costs $199 for the first year, and renews at $398 per year. The Worry-Free Compliance addition means ZenBusiness will file your LLC’s Annual Report with the state. Meaning, you’ll pay $0 plus state fees for your Annual Report filing if you select this package.
The Just Registered Agent option costs $99 for the first year, and renews at $199 per year.
Be careful – if you purchased the Pro or Premium packages to form your LLC, this Worry-Free Compliance package is already included. Don’t pay for it twice!
These packages are pretty expensive compared to the industry average of between $100 and $300 (plus state fees) per year. And many LLC Formation companies offer 1 free year of Registered Agent services with your LLC formation package. Zenbusiness doesn’t offer this included feature.
Mail Forwarding
One of the most important aspects of any Registered Agent’s services is how they forward your legal documents.
ZenBusiness does this by scanning the legal documents they receive and uploading them to your business dashboard on their site. You will also receive a notification when ZenBusiness has received a new legal document on your business’ behalf.
You could work with Northwest instead.
Northwest Registered Agent is our #1 recommendation for LLC formation. They'll take care of everything for $39 + state fees, and you'll get your first year of Registered Agent service for free.
(See why Northwest is #1 in our Northwest Registered Agent review)
Is ZenBusiness Worth It?
Is ZenBusiness a good choice for LLC services and Registered Agent services? All things considered, they can be. Their services offer many pros, and a few cons (like the confusing pricing of their auto-renewing subscriptions).
We are concerned that some ZenBusiness customers may accidentally purchase things more than once because of the confusing packages and purchase flow. We especially don’t like the fact that some initial offerings auto-renew at a much higher price.
Besides this, however, ZenBusiness is a good choice. ZenBusiness offers 3 packages with plenty of features at reasonable initial prices. And you can avoid certain upsells by doing some filings yourself.
ZenBusiness offers good customer service, which is more than can be said about some of their competitors. And their Registered Agents make things convenient by uploading scans of any documents they receive to their dashboard.
We especially like the fact that ZenBusiness themselves run their Registered Agent services, which means that you don’t have to deal with a separate company.
If you’re still shopping for LLC Services, you can compare ZenBusiness vs their top competitors in our Zenbusiness Alternatives Review.
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.
