In this Northwest Registered Agent Review, we cover everything you need to know before using any of their business formation services.
Northwest Registered Agent Complete Guide
Business entities like corporations, non-profits, and LLCs must have a registered agent during formation and a local registered agent in all states they do business.
Northwest Registered Agent LLC is a registered agent and LLC formation company with its head offices in Spokane, Washington. Their key function is to ensure that their clients are notified anytime their corporations or LLCs are involved in a lawsuit.
They are a family-owned medium-sized business with extensive experience since they have been operational since 1998.
They use the slogan “we are just not annoying” to set themselves apart from their competitors, with a strong emphasis on clear communication, excellent customer care and support, and effective data security and privacy protection practices.
While they help clients navigate legal formalities and information with LLC and corporation formation, they cannot offer legal advice or other legal services since they are not a law firm.
Check out the complete list of best LLC formation services.
Northwest Registered Agent Services
Northwest Registered Agent has different services to help business owners hustle-free and quick business formation and registration process. They have a team of specialists in LLC and corporation formation and registration.
Some of their main services include:
Business formation service
For people who want to start a business, the first and most important step is forming a limited liability company.
In the United States, the formation of limited liability companies happens at a state level where the business owner has to file incorporation articles with the appropriate state authority.
While it’s possible to go through forming an LLC alone, this process is usually time-consuming and tiresome because of the navigation of state-specific rules and bureaucracies. Making a mistake in this step could cost a business owner and the startup business a lot of time.
To avoid the hassle and avoid unnecessary mistakes, business owners seek out the services of registered agents, like Northwest Registered Agent. They take care of all the paperwork on behalf of the client and ensure that the process goes smoothly while sending client feedback.
Northwest Registered Agent has local business experts who will handle all the required interactions with authorities in whatever state the client wants to form the LLC. Not only is the process faster and smoother, but clients can follow up on the process online.
Before Northwest Registered Agent starts the process, they ask the client to answer some questions about their future business. Some of the questions include the desired business name and how they plan on managing the company.
The agents promise clients that they start filing documents of their LLC the same day they finalize the order. Every state charges an LLC formation fee, ranging from $40 to $500. The clients see the amount they need to pay at checkout.
After clients send all the required documents, they have to wait for their state to process them, and the waiting time depends on the state.
Clients can monitor their order and track the LLC formation progress via their online accounts on the Northwest Registered Agent website. Clients receive their filing paperwork via email once the process is complete.
Some states allow business owners to pay extra cash for expedited filing, which reduces the processing time up to one business day.
For this service, Northwest Registered Agent charges $100, or it comes included with the VIP package.
Registered agent service
Every state in the United States requires all corporations and limited liability companies to have a registered agent during formation.
The registered agent can be a person or company, and they act as the LLC’s or corporation’s service of process point-of-contact, which includes court summons. Companies without a legal agent risk damaging their good standing or hefty penalties.
The registered agent, a company, chooses must be a registered resident in the state where the LLC is based. They also have to be available daily during business hours to receive all important legal documents as they come in.
They should also have a public address and name to make it easier to reach them easily and freely. While businesspeople can be their own registered agents, some benefits of having a professional registered agent include:
- Their private name and address remains private
- They can travel frequently and not worry about missing any legal documents
- Their businesses can run in different states
Having a professional registered agent is also important for non-United States residents.
When business people approach Northwest Registered Agent for the service, they receive all the legal documents on behalf of the business and notify the owner immediately. Once they receive the documents, they legally scan them then send them to the business owner.
They charge a $125 annual fee, or the service could come with the VIP package. Monthly and up-front payments at Northwest Registered Agent include a default one-year term of this service.
Operating agreement and other legal documents
Once business people create an LLC, they must have certain documents like banking resolutions, operation agreements, and articles for the organization. Northwest Registered Agent provides its clients with templates for the documents for free.
Operating agreements are documents where LLC members set out rules on the LLC operations and every member’s rights. It might specify:
- Allocation of ownership interest between the members
- Management of the LLC
- Profit payout among members
- The process of members exiting the LLC and what happens next
While the operating agreement is important, it is not mandatory for LLCs in all states. Some states that require LLCs to have it include Delaware, California, Missouri, Maine, and New York.
Once business people for their LLC via Northwest Registered Agent, they receive pre-filled documents which they can download and use immediately. The templates are usually standard, and if clients require custom documents, they should consult with legal professionals.
Federal Tax ID Number/ Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Many businesses operating in the United States must have an EIN, which the IRS uses to track and identify companies for tax purposes. It normally serves as a business social security number.
People who want to open a business that will eventually have employees must have the EIN. Business people might also need it if the bank asks for it as a requirement to open an account or if the state law in their jurisdiction needs it.
While people can file the necessary paperwork themselves, Northwest Registered Agent offers to do all the paperwork on behalf of its clients, making the process easier and faster. For residents, they charge $50, but for non-residents $200.
S-Corp election
S-Corp is an IRS assigned classification on businesses for tax purposes. LLCs and corporations can elect to become S-Corps, which comes with tax advantages when they pay out profits
LLCs and corporations can make that choice later when their businesses are stable, but it involves a lot of paperwork. To save time and avoid the hassle, business owners can seek those services from Northwest Registered Agent.
They handle all the necessary paperwork to file an S-Corp operation on behalf of the organization for $50.
Annual business compliance filing
The law requires a majority of the businesses operating in the US to file certain reports annually with their state authorities. These reports usually contain the LLCs’ or corporations’ basic information like the name, address, and names of managers or members.
These reports help the governing authorities know about all the businesses running in their jurisdictions. To avoid penalties and other consequences, LLCs and corporations must file those reports before or due date.
Some states usually have a fixed date for all LLCs to submit their reports, but other states require the LLCs and corporations to submit their reports on the anniversary of their formation. Other states require the report after two years instead of annually.
The majority of the states also require that business entities pay a fee when submitting the report. The fee usually differs in different states but is usually not more than $100. The states require the businesses to pay the fee regardless of whether they earned revenue over the year.
Business entities that do not pay this fee risk being dissolved. LLCs and corporations should check with their secretary of state over the phone or online to avoid confusion.
Because of other business operations, business owners could forget or find it time-consuming to file the report and pay the fee, which is why they need professional services.
For $100 plus the state fee, Northwest Registered Agent can file the annual paperwork and foresee the whole process for business entities. The employees guarantee a correctly prepared report submitted before or on the provided due date.
Mail forwarding, Virtual office, and VoIP
Northwest Registered Agent allows their clients to use their office address as the business address for their LLC or corporation. They receive phone calls and correspondence, which they forward to their clients’ business phone numbers or addresses.
This is a perfect service for business people who want their phone number, address, and name to remain private.
Northwest Registered Agent Pros
Same-day filing
Hiring Northwest Registered Agent is the best choice for people who want to form their LLC quickly. They promise to file clients’ LLCs on the same business day after they place the order.
Clients might still have to wait a few more days before the state processes all the filing documents despite the same-day filing from the organization. The wait time depends on the state the client is forming the LLC.
Good customer reviews
Many people read customer reviews before working with any business or buying products. Northwest Registered Agent has fewer overall online reviews than other competitors, but most of those reviews are highly positive, making them stand out from the competitors.
They are highly rated on the Better Business Bureau, Google, and Yelp. On Google, they have 4.6 stars and 157 reviews.
On yelp, they have four stars from 38 reviews, and on BBB, they have a 4.51/5 rating.
Customers mostly praise the friendliness, simplicity of service, helpfulness, quick turnaround times, and professionalism of the employees.
Great customer support
The organization prides itself in providing competent, quick, and hassle-free customer support and services through the in-house customer service and support team.
Whether clients reach them through the phone or via email, Northwest Registered Agent promises to answer them in good time and give them the help they need. They promise clients to speak to one representative, unlike other competitors where clients have to talk to different representatives.
They help solve problems and answer questions about the general business formation or specific questions about their business. They can do that because they have a Corporate Guides team, who have extensive knowledge and information of LLCs and corporations.
Clear communication, easy to use, and no upselling
People who have worked with Northwest Registered Agent have said that it was easy to use and fast. Clients need to submit information about the business, like the company’s state, the desired name, and the management.
After that, Northwest Registered Agent takes care of everything else and may contact the client if they need additional information or clarification.
They also have a lot of legal explanation articles on their website, which help answer most of the questions that clients may have about the business entity formation process.
They have also made it easy for the clients to access the articles written in an easy-to-read and understand format and language.
Northwest Registered Agent also does not upsell services that clients do not need.
Great privacy protection
Everyone working with an online company always requires that their private information remains private and safe from cybercrimes. Northwest Registered Agent prides itself on protecting user privacy.
They have developed their businesses processes to limit exposure of clients’ personal information and protect their privacy from the public. Some of their privacy policies include:
- Using their information like IP address instead of the clients when filing documents
- Ensuring secure and robust IT infrastructure
- Never selling or disclosing clients’ personal information to third parties
- Never asking for information from clients unless they need it in filing orders or fulfilling other clients’ needs
- Limiting clients’ personal information to certain employees in the organization
Northwest Registered Agent Cons
Clients must call to get a refund
If clients change their minds and no longer want to work with Northwest Registered Agent, they must call them to request a refund. However, if clients had paid for VIP services, the organization does not offer refunds because they front state fee costs from the VIP services.