Best Massachusetts LLC Services

Features

Some new Massachusetts LLCs want their formation service to handle only the preparation and filing of their paperwork with the state. Others look for an LLC service that will provide supplemental business services such as a website, domain name and business email. ZenBusiness has both groups covered, offering bare-bones LLC prep and filing for only the Massachusetts filing fees, as well as two full-featured packages.

The downside of ZenBusiness’ fees-only service is having to wait two to three weeks for your application to be processed. You’ll also be charged $199 after your first year of service for the company’s Worry-Free Compliance protection. Upgrading to the company’s $199-a-year Pro or $299-a-year Premium plan cuts down the processing time to one business day, which doesn’t include the state’s processing time. However, the Pro package requires that you pay extra for a website, email and ZenBusiness’ document templates.

The Starter plan from ZenBusiness includes only the actual LLC filing with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Corporations Division, excluding the state’s charges for the certificate of organization ($500) and other documents such as the annual report ($500). New LLCs that are starting from scratch are better served by the company’s Pro offering that includes an operating agreement, an employer identification number (EIN) and Worry-Free Compliance (included for the first year with Starter and $199 per year thereafter).

The Pro plan charges extra for access to ZenBusiness’ document template library and site hosting, a domain name and business email, all of which are included with the Premium package. None of the LLC formation plans come with registered agent service, which costs $199 annually as an add-on. Other extras are fast filing for $79, a business license report for $99 and a certificate of good standing for $100.

Pricing

The value of ZenBusiness’ Starter service is diminished somewhat by the cost of the add-on services your company may require such as an operating agreement for $125 or an employer identification number (EIN) for $99. The Pro package ($199 a year plus state fees) includes both, along with faster processing and compliance protection ($199 a year after the first year with Starter).

However, it charges extra for document templates ($99), website ($15 a month), domain name ($35 a year) and business email ($25 a year).

All these features are bundled with ZenBusiness’ high-end Premium offering that costs $799 including state filing fees. However, Premium subscribers may still find themselves shelling out for added services from the company such as e-commerce for their site ($279 a year) and tax services (from $49 a month).

Customer Service

ZenBusiness customer support staff can be reached by telephone or live chat from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. You can also contact support by email, which the company attempts to respond to within one business day. Self-support options include FAQs and a knowledge base.

Reputation

ZenBusiness claims to have helped more than a half-million businesses get started since its founding in 2017. The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and it is highly rated by customers posting reviews on Trustpilot. The service is noted for being easy to use and responsive to customer requests.

Learn more: Read our full ZenBusiness review.

Features

Small business owners who are looking for more of an all-inclusive service with legal documents and support might want to consider Rocket Lawyer. With its memberships, create an unlimited number of documents and have them reviewed by one of the professionals at Rocket Lawyer. The memberships also provide you with an opportunity to receive quick responses if you have legal or tax questions. They also include Document Defense®, where you’ll be able to consult with an attorney to review contracts under dispute.

Rocket Lawyer provides Rocket Legal+ members with discounts on a variety of other business, tax and legal services such as hiring an attorney, working with a tax professional to file taxes, obtaining a trademark or registering an LLC.

Pricing

Rocket Lawyer is more costly than many other LLC services. However, those with more complex tax or legal needs may find that the added cost is justified based on the additional features and discounts that come with it. All Rocket Lawyer customers must sign up for a membership (with a seven-day free trial available).

The Rocket Legal membership costs $39.99 per month. This is more expensive than the Rocket Legal+ membership, which costs $19.99 per month. However, with the Rocket Legal+ membership, you’ll be billed annually for the price for a full year instead of being able to cancel at any point. It also offers discounts on legal, tax and business services, which can add up quickly.

For example, retaining a legal professional costs just $74.99 per 15 minutes compared to the full price of $149.99 for 15 minutes with a standard membership. Filing an LLC is also free (plus the Massachusetts state fee of $500) with Rocket Legal+, compared to the full price of $99.99 plus the Massachusetts state fee for the standard membership. Registered agent services also come down to $124.99 per year, which is half of the regular price of $249.99 that Rocket Legal subscribers would pay.

Customer Service

With phone, email and live chat support available, Rocket Lawyer customers can choose their preferred method of communication. However, support is only available on weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT.

If you have a more general question or need support outside of business hours, you can check out the Frequently Asked Questions page. Here, find common questions about free trials, memberships and technical support, along with their corresponding answers.

Reputation

Rocket Lawyer was founded in 2008 and the company has established an overall positive reputation. It has earned an Excellent rating on Trustpilot from customers, with over 80% of reviewers giving it 5 stars.

Learn more: Read our full Rocket Lawyer review.

Features

Any delays in getting the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Corporations Division’s approval of your LLC application can be disastrous for a new business. Luckily, Swyft provides same-day filing to help speed up the process.

Otherwise, the Basic plan from Swyft Filings covers just the bare minimum such as performing a name check and preparing and filing the Massachusetts LLC formation documents. We find its feature set isn’t quite as robust as we’d like, with other service providers offering more in their starter plans. For example, compliance services, including the annual report filing, are available only with the two paid plans.

The provider also boasts a “free statement of the incorporator to open a business bank account” for all plans. It’s a smart idea to open a separate business bank account, as it can help protect your personal finances. However, banks typically just ask for your business formation documents (the approved certificate of organization) to open an account, making this free statement potentially not very useful.

While there are other perks in the higher-tier plans, such as customizable legal documents, alternative providers offer this as well. We do like the one-year domain subscription from Web.com that’s included in the top plan. A business website is pretty much a must these days.

Pricing

Swyft Filings starts its LLC formation services at $0, excluding Massachusetts’s $500 state fee. For additional benefits, there are two higher-tier plans, Standard ($199, plus the Massachusetts filing fee for a total of $699) and Premium ($299, plus the state filing fee for a total of $799). The pricier plans may be worth the extra expense, as they include perks such as instant electronic delivery of state documents when forming your LLC.

Swyft Filings offers a 100% money-back guarantee of any service fees paid to the company. However, the company can’t refund state or government fees.

Customer Service

The Swyft Filings learning center includes useful state-specific guides, among other resources. Telephone customer support is available Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. We were unable to find a chat support option.

Reputation

Swyft Filings has an excellent Trustpilot rating, backed by more than 6,000 reviews. We did notice that some negative reviews were updated after the company took notice and resolved the complaint, which seems like a good sign. This company pays attention to what its consumers have to say. That said, this LLC service is not BBB accredited.

Learn more: Read our full Swyft Filings review.

Features

We found Northwest Registered Agent’s state-specific LLC formation guides of note, with helpful information on specific Massachusetts requirements such as publication requirements when forming an LLC. For this reason, we think it’s best for business owners who plan to expand their LLC across state lines.

Otherwise, Northwest Registered Agent is a bit different from the other names on our list, as it’s first and foremost a registered agent service. That said, the company also offers LLC formation, plus add-ons that can help business owners, including a business website.

There is also trademark service available, with support from attorneys—something that we didn’t see a lot of competitors advertising. A trademark can be useful if you want to protect your business name, services or goods at the national level.

Pricing

Northwest Registered Agent’s LLC formation services cost $39, plus the $500 Massachusetts state fee. This is one of the few providers we surveyed that doesn’t have a free basic plan. That said, when you use the LLC formation service, the registered agent service is included for free for the first year. Some other providers charge extra for the registered agent service, so the costs may balance out.

You can get a refund for up to 90 days after your purchase. However, refunds may be prorated, meaning you’ll only get a partial refund based on how long you’ve used the service.

Customer Service

We didn’t find a lot of information about Northwest Registered Agent’s customer service offering. There is a contact page, with a phone number, address and online contact form but no mention of customer service hours. We do have to give a nod to its detailed resource guides, which cover everything from how to choose a business location to how to file your annual report.

Reputation

Northwest Registered Agent’s Trustpilot profile is unimpressive, compared to the competition. The company has barely 100 reviews, and we saw complaints about everything from erroneous filings to a slow customer portal. Although the company does have positive reviews and an overall strong rating on the BBB platform, it is not BBB accredited.

Learn more: Read our full Northwest Registered Agent review.

Features

Filenow offers two core LLC formation plans that are clearly priced with no hidden fees and offer everything you need to create a new business. Some of the more basic features, such as filing the certificate of organization and performing a business name search in Massachusetts, are included in the lowest-tier plan. This plan also includes electronic delivery of the documents from the state of Massachusetts as well as electronic alerts about filing deadlines and other important dates to stay on top of.

Additional features are included in the Premium plan. Some of these include a year of registered agent service, an employer identification number (EIN), a banking resolution, an operating agreement for your business and expedited 24-hour processing.

Pricing

When you’re looking for the best value for your business, Filenow may be a solid choice, depending on the specific features you need. For those who are looking to bundle registered agent services, an operating agreement and an EIN with the plan they choose, Filenow’s Premium plan, which costs $199 plus the Massachusetts filing fee of $500, may be a good choice. This plan also includes additional features such as a banking resolution and business contract templates. Filenow puts the total value of the plan at over $400.

However, those with more basic filing needs may find that a free plan from another LLC service provider offers a better value for their needs. Filenow’s cheapest plan costs $49 plus the Massachusetts filing fee, but many of the features included with it, such as name searches, electronic document delivery and filing the certificate of organization for your business, are included with the no-cost plans from other providers.

Customer Service

Customers can contact a member of the Filenow customer service team by phone, email or chat. Filenow also offers 24/7 customer support, a service that is lacking in most other LLC service providers. For more basic needs, small business owners can also use the frequently asked questions page to help them locate the information they need quickly.

Reputation

Filenow does not have as many customer reviews as other companies. However, based on the reviews that are available, it appears that most customers are mostly happy with the company. It has an average of 4.8 stars from Shopper Approved (with over 700 reviews), an average of 4.3 stars on Google (with nine reviews) and an average of 3.8 stars on Trustpilot (though, only based on two reviews).

Learn more: Read our full Filenow review.