Paralegal Power
v.
Swyft Legal Filings
They say that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. And the second best time to plant a tree is now. When it comes to making your business a reality, this is very true.
However, twenty years ago it was much more difficult to start a business. It was also more costly. Now with all the business formation service options online the average prospective entrepreneur has a lot more opportunities than people did twenty years ago.
Today’s blog is the first in a series where we look into all the major business formation services and compare them to Paralegal Power Co.
We want you to be able to make well-informed decisions regarding your business formation needs. Paralegal Power Co. would love to help you, but we do offer a very specific set of services that may not be what you need.
Since we are in the business we have definitely done some considerable market research on business formation services. We would like to share these findings with you. Sort of like a “consumer report” of business formation, back when consumer reports meant something. Actually more of a consumerist report.
How We Are Alike
Paralegal Power Co. and Swyft Filings, LLC business formation services both offer document filing services. Neither one of us are law firms and, as such we do not offer legal advice. We both like lots of disclaimers reminding you of this.
We also both offer money-back guarantees and lifetime customer service. We are pretty sure Swyft Filings, LLC are the only business formation service besides us that offers lifetime customer service. We are very proud to be here for our clients whenever they need us, so we were impressed to see Swyft Filings, LLC doing the same thing.
Swyft Filings, LLC, like Paralegal Power Co., continues that commitment to customer service by making sure shipping and handling is always included.
We Have Been Around
We have both been around for awhile. Paralegal Power started in 2010. Swyft Filings, LLC started just two years later. That really does make us both veterans in this area.
Online commerce revolutionized how business formation services were offered in the ’90s. Yet, most of these businesses come and go, so it is important to find one that has staying power.
Every Business Needs A Website
It just makes sense to get our business formation clients off to the right start by giving them a business website.
We both offer business website options, although the services we provide are different. We go in to detail what is provided later in this blog.
How Are We Different?
However, Swyft Filings, LLC really makes Paralegal Power look like little shrimp in terms of volume. Swyft Filings, LLC has helped tens of thousands of businesses get started and they have almost ten thousand legit customer reviews.
In our defense, Paralegal Power offers a lot of services, and have only recently begun to offer business formation services directly to the public. Nonetheless, Swyft Filings, LLC can definitely be relied upon to offer trusted business formation service.
Swyft Filings, LLC Has A Bare Bones Package
As I begin to discuss the business formation package fees, remember these are the fees for the business formation service only. The amounts quoted for the services will not include any extra fees that must be paid to any local, state and/or federal entities for filing or publication.
Swyft Filings, LLC offers a $49 option. This is literally the bare bones just to get your business started. But as far as minimum plans go in business formation services, it’s not bad.
We do not even offer a plan like this because we have come to find our clients need complete services. They need all of their business formation service needs handled for them, and usually do not have the time to figure out what filings are still outstanding, let alone fill them out and submit them.
But like I said, that’s why we want to let you know about the other services out there, because services like Swyft Filings, LLC have these options that might meet your needs.
The $49 “Basic” option includes:
- Verify Company Name Availability
- Preparation of Articles of Incorporation
- Document Filing with Secretary of State
- Statement of the Incorporation
- Free 30 Minute Business Tax Consultation
- ComplianceGuard Company Alerts
- Free Domain Name
We cannot deny that’s a pretty impressive business formation package for less than fifty bucks. But keep in mind, this package is so basic it probably won’t meet all the needs of most new businesses.
The next package is $149 and includes everything in the “Basic” package, plus:
- Federal Tax ID (EIN) Obtainment
- Custom Corporate Bylaws
- Custom Corporate Banking Resolution
- Custom Corporation Meeting Minutes
So their “Complete” package will get you what you need to get your business financials started. These first two packages are processed in standard time.
Their most elaborate package is $299 and includes everything the first two packages have plus:
- Express Filing Time
- Shipping Tracking #
- Electronic Delivery of State Documents
- Customized Digital Corporate Kit
- Website Builder Tool
- 3 Months Web Hosting
Express Time Filing
The express time filing option puts you ahead of all the standard orders and instructs the state to expedite the filing. I was trying to get an exact time frame from them, but they only tell me that “orders are processed in the order they are received. However, clients that select Expedited processing will have their orders processed before Standard processing orders.”
Paralegal Power Co. immediately processes all orders received before 5 PM Central Standard Time (6 PM Eastern | 4 PM Mountain | 3 PM Pacific). Paralegal Power estimates you will have your documents within 2-3 business days for our 24-hour service, 5-7 business days for our express services and 10 to 15 business days for standard.
Customized Digital Corporate Kit
This is an electronic version of your business documents. Below is a pic of what it entails.
Customized Digital Corporate Kit is included in all of Paralegal Power’s business formation packages.
Installment Payment Option
Swyft Filings, LLC has an installment option. However it is very different than Paralegal Power’s installment payment option. Their installment option allows you to pay half of the total at the time of purchase and the other half of the purchase will be billed once the state accepts your filing or within 30 days. Although all states vary, they usually accept your filing in anywhere from a day to a week or so after submission.
Website, Domain & Web Hosting
As we stated earlier, Swyft Filings, LLC understands you need a website now that you are in business. As such their packages come with a domain name for a year and three months access to a website building tool that includes web hosting. After the first three months the service is $25 a month.
What We Like
- We love their legal education. They have a learning center. If you need to educate yourself regarding the best fit for your business, Swyft Filings, LLC really is a great resource.
- They have so many great tools on their website. One cool tool they have on their front page is a free business name search form. You fill the form out and then in like a day they will email you and let you know if the name you want for you business is available or not. If you still haven’t decided on a name yet, use Freshbooks Free Business Name Generator for some inspiration.
- But the most amazing tool is their state guide, which lays out the pros and cons of each legal structure in every state. You don’t have to wait at all to get your information. You just plug in the legal structure and the state and it will automatically give you some really insightful information on forming that business in that state.
- If you are doing a lot of research or still do not know what the best legal structure and state to form in is, you definitely want to hang around their site. Their blog has a lot of useful information in a fun design. Like this article “MANAGING YOUR BUSINESS: Should You Use Personality Tests in Your Company?“
- Their customer service policy is great and they actually respond rather quickly to the chat box on their website.
- I like that they have a website option to at least get businesses going on this vital part of having a successful business.
- Although none of their packages include Registered Agent Services, you can add them for an additional $149 a year. For this reason we feel they are a great alternative to Paralegal Power Co.’s business formation as all of our packages include the first year of Registered Agent services.
What We Don’t Like
- I don’t like that their processing times are not more explicit. But we understand depending on volume, it can be difficult to promise immediate processing.
- I like that they offer the website option, but it is a DIY option and results in an additional $25 monthly bill eventually.
However, they make it clear that it is easy to reject this offer and just go without. But ultimately the value for the price is great. No one would expect to get a custom-built website for $299 let alone your business filings and a custom-built website. And many would-be entrepreneurs are happy and eager to build their own website if it means sticking within a small budget.
Final Verdict
Our final word is this is a good alternative to Paralegal Power Co.’s business formation service packages as our top packages include custom-built websites and all of our packages include the first year of Registered Agent Services. Given that their website has one of the best educational libraries we have seen, it’s at least worth checking them out when you are shopping for business formation services.
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Paralegal Power Periodical
In addition to Registered Agent Services for a full year,
these business formation packages also include:
3 1/2 Months of GSuite
1 Year of Freshbooks
AND
1 Year of Monday.com.
Check out our previous blogs.
About the Author
Valentina Zapata Harris
Mother | Advocate | Blogger
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