Incorporating your own business is easy these days, especially with the assistance of the right incorporation service. You won’t have to pay the extravagant fees charged by lawyers, and you can even do everything online. In fact, you don’t have to actually do much at all, after supplying the necessary business info to complete your application. The online incorporation service basically does everything for you, and they’ll guide you on whatever else you need to do to get your corporation running.
It does matter greatly that you work with a good incorporation service. At this point, you may wonder whether you should go with the MyCompanyWorks incorporation service or with Incfile instead. This guide will help you make an informed decision, by comparing the 2 brands with the following important areas in mind:
Brand History and Reputation
It’s best that you limit your list of viable incorporation services to brands with a long history and a solid reputation based on customer reviews. You can’t be too sure with a Johnny-come-lately brand, as you won’t have any real evidence to think that they can even do the job right. A brand-new incorporation service brand may even be a downright scam.
MyCompanyWorks
Obviously, MyCompanyWorks isn’t a scam at all. It’s a long-standing incorporation service that’s been around since 2001, although when it first started it was known as MyNewCompany.com. In the last 2 decades, they assisted in the establishment of more than 60,000 new corporations.
You’ll find plenty of satisfied clients, as proven by more than 3,500 customer reviews on the MyCompanyWorks website. You also find at least another thousand customer reviews on other sites if you look hard enough. The average rating given by all these customer reviews is 4.9 out of 5, showing that the vast majority of former clients give the brand perfect scores.
MyCompanyWorks Official Website
Incfile
Incfile may not be as old as MyCompanyWorks, but it’s certainly not a newbie in the incorporation industry. They’ve helped to incorporate a lot of business over the years since they started way back in 2004.
And even though Incfile is younger, they’ve become so popular that they have already assisted in the establishment of more than half a million new corporations. You’ll also find thousands of customer reviews online on Incfile, and like with MyCompanyWorks, most of these reviews are extremely positive.
Winner: Incfile
Sure, they have similar average customer review ratings and about the same number of customer reviews online. And it’s also true that MyCompanyWorks is a few years older by a few years.
But it’s hard to ignore the disparity between serving 60,000 customers and 500,000 customers. MyCompanyWorks averaged about 3,000 customers per year since they started. In comparison, Incfile averaged more than 29,000 customers per year!
Clearly, lots more people believe that Incfile is doing something right.
Incorporation Service Costs and Value for Money
Let’s take a quick look at the different incorporation packages that these 2 brands offer. Keep in mind that the state fee is separate, as the fee will vary depending on the state that you’re applying in.
MyCompanyWorks
Package | Cost | Features and Services |
Basic | $79 + state fee |
|
Entrepreneur | $199+ state fee | The Basic features, plus:
|
Complete | $279+ state fee | The Entrepreneur features, plus:
|
MyCompanyWorks really offers a long list of services, which is terrific for new small business owners. MyCompanyWorks basically holds your hand throughout the entire application process, as it also helps you take the starting steps you need to take to get your business running.
Just take note, however, that the registered agent service is only standard with the Complete package. The registered agent service is an available add-on for the Basic and Entrepreneur packages, but it will cost you $99 per year. That’s actually a very low price to pay for this crucial service.
Incfile
Here are the available incorporation packages you can choose from with Incfile:
Package Option | Cost | Features and Services |
Silver | Only the state fee
(free incorporation service) |
|
Gold | $149 + state fee | Silver Package features, plus:
|
Platinum | $299 + state fee | Gold Package features, plus:
|
Yes, it really is true that the Silver package is free aid from the state fees. It’s also true that all the packages have the registered agent service free for the first year.
Winner: Incfile
Incfile is the hands-down winner, unsurprisingly. Incfile offers reasonable rates and even a free incorporation package, and all these packages come with the registered agent service. That’s absolutely difficult to beat.
The MyCompanyWorks packages aren’t bad, but they only offer the registered agent service in the most expensive package. This is probably what’s keeping the MyCompanyWorks brand from becoming truly popular. It’s becoming standard among the top brands in the incorporation service industry that all packages should come with the registered agent service.
Ease of Process
It’s great that you won’t have to leave home and visit the incorporation service office in person to get your incorporation application started. But then the website you’re using should be easy to navigate and use. It should explain various features and services, and the cost should be transparent. The entire process should go smoothly.
MyCompanyWorks
Get to the MyCompanyWorks website and you’ll have no trouble finding the available incorporation packages laid out side by side. The costs are shown, and you get a running total of the costs as you add more services to your package. These include the specific state fee added to the total cost.
The features for each package are listed and explained. Just hover the mouse pointer over each feature to get more info.
You get all the info you need before you finish the tedious step of entering your business info. It’s annoying to complete the business info step and then find out you’re not okay with the services you’re getting with your money.
Incfile
Incfile also has an easy-to-use website. The various packages are laid out neatly for comparison, with the costs shown along with the state fee. The listed features also have links to explain what they all mean for you.
However, you do have to enter your business info first before you get the final total cost of the incorporation package and the add-ons you picked. That can be really annoying, especially when you realize that the costs (or what you’re getting for your money) aren’t really to your liking.
Winner: MyCompanyWorks
While both have terrific website designs with well-defined features and transparent costs, it’s all about when you get the info. Specifically, it’s all about when you get the total cost. MyCompanyWorks is better because you get the final tally of the cost even before you enter your business info. With Incfile you only get this info when you’re done entering your business info.
Formation Speed
How long must you wait before everything’s done? A large part of the answer to that question depends on the particular state you’re applying in. You’re dealing with state governments, so don’t be surprised that it takes weeks to finish the entire process. States tend to take in a lot of incorporation applications each day, and right now they don’t really have too many state employees to handle the workload.
Of course, it’s better if the incorporation service works on your application ASAP. This can be a problem with very popular incorporation services, as you’re generally set at the back of a long line. But you may wish to consider paying extra for expedited service to cut down on the waiting time.
MyCompanyWorks
MyCompanyWorks doesn’t handle as many applications as Incfile does each day. That’s probably why they’re able to promise that they can process your application on the same day, provide you finish the entire form by 3 PM (EST). If you finish after that time, they’ll process on the next business day. This feature applies to every incorporation package.
You also can opt to cut down on the waiting time, by paying an extra $20. That’s among the lowest fees you’ll pay for expedited service in the industry.
Once you’re done with the application form, you’ll see how many weeks it will take for the entire process to finish. You’ll get time estimates with the standard and expedited services.
Incfile
What’s really great about the Incfile website is that they have a separate webpage displaying the estimated waiting times for all the states. You don’t need to complete the form first before you get this info.
In most states, the waiting time is about 3 to 6 weeks total. Keep in mind that Incfile is a very popular service, and you’re not the only customer they’re helping for the day.
They do offer an expedited service which cuts down on the waiting time considerably. The normal waiting time for Alaska is 3 weeks, but with the expedited service, this goes down to only a single business day. For California, the normal 6-week wait becomes just a matter of 14 business days.
The fee for the expedited service also depends on the state, but for most states, the fee is just $50. In 7 states, the fee is higher with a few states costing more than $150.
Winner: Incfile
Incfile gives you the time estimate even before you finish the application form, which is convenient. And while Incfile charges more for the expedited service, you really cut down on the waiting time as well. You also get the expedited service if you opt for the Platinum package.
Customer Support
Even the best websites may not readily offer the info you’re looking for, so you may want to contact customer support at some point.
MyCompanyWorks
You can contact the MyCompanyWorks customer support either by email or phone. The email support is available from 7AM to 5PM. You get a nice, informative response within 24 hours.
Over the phone, you can contact them on weekdays from 8AM to 4PM PST. You’ll get someone knowledgeable and polite, who will provide you with clear and detailed answers.
Incfile
Contact Incfile at anytime through email, and you’ll get your response within 24 hours. The response will be very detailed, so that’s it’s very unlikely you’ll need to file a follow-up email for clarification.
Over the phone, you’ll also get a polite expert who will answer your questions succinctly. At least you can easily ask follow-up questions during your conversation. You can call Incfile Monday to Friday from 9AM to 6PM CST.
Winner: Incfile (by a nose)
Both offer terrific customer support, with prompt and clear answers over both email and phone. It’s just that with Incfile, the email responses are incredibly detailed so you certainly get everything clarified immediately.
Conclusion: Incfile Wins
For most areas, Incfile and MyCompanyWorks compare nicely with each other. But the compelling reason for picking Incfile has got to do with the incorporation services. Incfile astonishingly offers a free basic incorporation package, and you’ll rarely find a similar offer in another incorporation service.
What’s more, Incfile offers the registered agent service for all their packages. MyCompanyWorks only offers this with their most expensive package.
You actually have a good incorporation service working with you, regardless of whether you go with MyCompanyWorks or with Incfile. It’s just that with Incfile, you pay less and get a great deal more.