4 Best LLC Services in Michigan (2023) Tried & Tested

If you’re a Michigan-based entrepreneur or small business owner who handles everything in your firm, it can be challenging to deal with laws and regulations and run your business at the same time.

This is why many business owners decide to hire a reliable LLC service to handle their legal work.

To help you out, we consulted our legal team and made a thorough review of the industry-leading Michigan LLC formation services. We ranked these services based on their service features, price, and delivery time, including their pros and cons.

4 Best Michigan LLC Formation Services (May 2023)

1 - ZenBusiness (Editor's Choice)

Would you recommend ZenBusiness?

ZenBusiness provides three subscription tiers for LLC formation to accommodate your specific business needs at a price that fits any budget.

Our findings show that ZenBusiness has already assisted over 300,000 LLCs nationwide. That is quite a feat for a company that is still relatively new to the LLC formation industry.

We had an outstanding experience with their customer support team, who were quick to respond and provide detailed clarifications.

Service Features:

• Starter Formation Package ($0 + $50 State Fee): LLC formation services, free operating agreement template, and standard filing speed (2 to 3 weeks).
• Pro Package ($199 + $50 State Fee): Pro Package features the LLC formation service options above plus faster-expedited filing speed (4 to 6 days), Employer Identification Number (EIN) registration, handling of annual report filings, and two yearly amendments.
• Premium Package ($299 + $50 State Fee): The Premium Package has the Pro Package LLC formation service features plus rush filing (1-2 days), business domain name, website email address, and domain privacy.
• Registered Agent Service ($199): You may renew it for $199 after the subscription expires.

Sign Up To ZenBusiness

2 - Northwest Registered Agent

Would you recommend Northwest Registered Agent?

With Northwest Registered Agent you can be sure that professionals will handle your formation process.

They have highly qualified employees, and we can attest to it because we had a lot of law-related questions and they provided an instant answer to each.

In our experience, they have highly trained customer service operators to assist you through each stage of the formation process, which will guide you through every formation step.

Partnering with Northwest Registered Agent for your Michigan LLC formation gives you the perks of contacting them anytime if you have questions or require assistance.

Service Features:

• Basic Plan ($39 + $50 State Fee): Some of many Basic Plan features are the formation of LLCs, articles of organization, corporations, nonprofits, an operating agreement, a year of cost-free Michigan registered agent service, with two processing speeds available: standard and expedited.
• Full-Service LLC Formation Plan ($225 + $50 State Fee): In Full Service Plan you will receive all features from Basic Plan plus limited mail forwarding for free, business filing on the same day, and client account filed with tools and free forms.
• Registered Agent Services ($125): Using any Michigan LLC formation service plan with Northwest will get you a cost-free first year of registered agent service. Some of the features you get are professional corporate guides, privacy, and cost-free email forwarding.

Sign Up To Northwest Registered Agent

3 - IncFile

Would you recommend IncFile?

IncFile is one of your best options if you're on a tight budget but still want to push your Michigan business.

They provide free Michigan LLC formation services, so you only have to pay the state fees and other minor charges due to the Michigan Secretary of State.

Based on our observations, if you only need your formation documents filed as quickly as possible, IncFile is the way to go.

IncFile is promoted as one of the top web services to use when creating your business online, so we decided to test it. It is fair to say that we were not disappointed. They provided us with a full year of guaranteed free registered agent service, making the process smoother.

Their rate was one of the best for this type of service, and the customer service was helpful, although from our experience they could have had a faster turnaround time.

Just like Northwest Registered Agent, they offer privacy protection, by using Norton Web Security, which gave us peace of mind, but they were missing business experts for support and some basic features such as document scanning, which is helpful and can speed up some processes.

Service Features:

• Silver Package ($0 + $50 State Fee): Many great features such as unrestricted name searches, drafting and submitting organization articles, the first year of cost-free registered agent services, email support, and the unlimited phone is included in the Silver Package.
• Gold Package ($199 + $50 State Fee): Gold Package is equipped with all Silver Package features plus banking resolution and banking business accounts. This great Package also comes with IRS Form 2553 and tax consultation for your business, EIN Business Tax Number, access to an online dashboard, and lifetime company alerts with an operating agreement.
• Platinum Package ($299 + $50 State Fee): Many business contract templates, next-day filing, domain name, and business email addresses are features you get with the Platinum Package on top of all of the Gold Package features.
• Registered Agent Service ($119): The first year is free of charge for buying any LLC formation package. If you want to continue with Registered Agent Services for next year, the renewal will cost you $119 per year. Great features of getting Registered Agent Services are a personalized dashboard with access to your documents online.

Sign Up To IncFile

4 - LegalZoom

LegalZoom provides every legal service you might need.

Business formation with them is more expensive compared to their competitors, but they justify it with a 60-day money-back satisfaction guarantee.

We never had to request this guarantee from them, as their service was reliable and professional. They even provided us with regular access to an attorney.

Their entry-level plan is affordable, but it lacks the feature set of ZenBusiness and IncFile.

Service Features:

• Basic Package ($0 + $197 State Fee): This package has some great features, including an LLC welcoming packet, a name check, and an article of organization. It also offers WIX website optimization.
• Pro Package ($249 + $197 State Fee): The Pro package has an all-inclusive Basic package with a personalized notebook, founder’s kit, and tax-saving consultation. You'll also get an EIN and a comprehensive business licensing guide.
• Premium Package ($299 + $197 State Fee): The Premium package includes an engaging professional business attorney guide and unlimited 30-minutes consultation. The package also adds an applied changes service for your LLC formation document in the first 3 subscription months.
• Registered Agent Services ($299): If you choose LegalZoom to create your startup, you will pay $50 less for the registered agent. After that, renewing would cost $299.

Sign Up To LegalZoom

Advantages of Creating an LLC in Michigan

Here are three benefits of creating an LLC in Michigan:

1. Personal Asset Protection

Personal assets are protected under LLCs, which means that if your Michigan business is sued, business creditors cannot target your personal assets, such as your bank accounts, home, or vehicles, but only the LLC business assets.

2. Tax Options

LLCs are not subject to double taxation. Instead, they're subject to passthrough taxation [1]. This means taxes are passed through the business entity and paid directly to the LLC owners as personal income taxes.

Michigan LLCs can also qualify for many tax abatement and credit programs, including the "Industrial and Hi-Tech Tax Abatement" program [2].

As part of this program, tax breaks are given to LLC businesses that renovate, expand, or create new buildings.

2. Flexible Dissolution Decisions

Michigan law is particular that they only dissolve when: the members specified in the articles that the LLC will dissolve under specific circumstances, all eligible members vote unanimously to dissolve LLC, or when a judge orders dissolution.

Michigan LLC Formation Process

The process of starting an LLC is pretty simple. So, even if you use an LLC formation service, you must understand the six steps to form a Michigan limited liability company.

• Step 1: Register Your Company with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
• Step 2: Name Your Michigan LLC
• Step 3: Find Yourself a Michigan Registered Agent
• Step 4: File Michigan LLC Articles of Organization
• Step 5: Formulate a Michigan LLC Operating Agreement
• Step 6: Fulfill Michigan LLC Employer Obligations

Our Selection Process

During our trial and testing, we followed a specific selection process based on these four key aspects; customer support, service features, turnaround times, and pricing structures. Here's a detailed explanation.

1. Customer Support

We tried to get in touch with every Michigan-based LLC service provider, and we chose the most helpful one through chat, email, and phone conversations.

You need a service provider you can contact if you experience even minor problems with your LLC firm because forming an LLC is extremely difficult.

2. Service Features

We investigated every Michigan LLC service and selected those offering exceptional package features. We chose LLC services that provide advantageous and necessary service qualities, mainly for startups, like hassle-free paperwork and tax advantages.

3. Pricing Structures

We evaluated the various pricing schemes while assessing service providers in Michigan to ascertain which service or bundle delivers the most value for money.

After signing up for several packages, we rated the ones we thought were the most economical while still offering the crucial elements that company owners require to launch their ventures.

Remember, a premium package could significantly increase the cost of starting an LLC in Michigan, and that's why we advise your to book a free bundle service.

4. Turnaround Times

We verified that these Michigan providers' turnaround times were as quick and effective as possible before selecting any of them. During testing, we submitted several orders on each LLC portal, and we waited to see how quick delivery was completed.

We then graded business service providers with the best and fastest LLC processing time in Michigan, ranging from one to seven business working days.

FAQs

What Is the Best LLC Service in Michigan for You?

In our opinion, the best Michigan LLC service is one with competitive package pricing, ease of use, excellent customer support, and a proven track record.

After thorough LLC service research and testing, we ultimately recommend ZenBusiness because this company meets all the criteria mentioned above.

With ZenBusiness, you can choose from a variety of add-on services to build a plan that suits your business entity's needs.

Additionally, ZenBusiness has extended customer care hours, so you know your problems will be fixed as quickly as possible.

This is something that we can confirm from our experience. Having someone to reach out to when a burning situation appears on weekends is more than helpful.

Another excellent thing about this Michigan LLC service is that it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee if you are dissatisfied with the package you've picked. We didn't have to use it, but we loved that we had this option.