5 Best LLC Formation Services in Michigan

Michigan is a great place to do business. With its low cost of living, strong workforce, experienced leaders, and business-friendly environment, Michigan offers an environment where your small business can thrive.

One of the first steps you need to take when starting your small business is choosing a business type. For many businesses, an LLC is the best solution to meet your future challenges.

Basics of an LLC

What is an LLC? A Limited Liability Corporation is a business structure you register with the State of Michigan. Once you register your business as an LLC, the law will treat your business as a separate entity. This will protect you and the other business owners from potential future liability. If there is an accident and someone sues your business, you cannot be held personally responsible.

In order to start an LLC in Michigan, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Choose a unique name for your LLC.
  2. Choose your Michigan registered agent: the person in your organization who will be the point of contact for all your important correspondence, including government, tax, and legal communications.
  3. Prepare and file articles of organization: These articles include all the important information about your small business, such as the legal name, address, business purpose, the name of your registered agent, member names and addresses, and all the rights, powers, duties, and other obligations of the business members.
  4. Get a certificate from the State of Michigan. Every LLC doing business in Michigan needs this to prove you have a business license.

Usually, you will also create an LLC operating agreement and get an EIN (employer identification number) from the IRS. After that, you will need to take care of needs specific to your business, such as getting a business bank account and/or credit card, ordering business cards, purchasing insurance, filing an annual report, etc.

Taking into account everything you need to take care of, it’s not surprising if you consider leaving the formation process to a third-party service provider that can handle it for you, which has its benefits but also adds up to the other Michigan LLC costs. In case you want to go this way there are multiple alternatives and navigating through them isn’t always easy, but this post will try to help you explore your options and see which is the most well-suited for you.

Disclaimer: the rates and offerings below are subjected to changes made by the service providers.

Tailor Brands

Tailor Brands has helped countless people from around the world create their LLCs. Our goal is to empower each customer so they can achieve all your goals.

Every small business has unique needs and goals, and Tailor Brands will work with you to create a plan for both your short and long-term goals. If you change your mind, or if your needs change, we will continue working with you to make sure your business achieves its maximum potential.

Services and offerings

Tailor Brands offers all the services your small business needs when you are establishing your LLC, including:

Pricing 

Prices vary depending on your unique needs, starting at $0 plus Michigan state fees. The more extensive plans include expedited processing of your LLC as well as annual compliance and reporting, with the essential plan priced at $199 and the elite plan that also includes our branding toolkit at $249. We also offer add-ons, such as expedited processing for $49, and there is a very reasonable operating agreement add-on for only $29.

Overall

Tailor Brands is unique because there are so many choices and options and our platform is designed to easily guide you throughout the process and later on when you manage and operate your business. You can get limited services when you start, and then add on as your needs change and your business changes course.

ZenBusiness

Zen Business is another company that offers extensive services related to creating LLCs. As a company of entrepreneurs, Zen Business encourages their customers to take advantage of their services so that they can create and grow their own businesses.

Services and offerings

ZenBusiness can help you decide on your business plan by encouraging you to look at the current market and then choose the products that are best for you. You can choose from among several services, including:

Pricing

Prices vary depending on what services you choose. For the most basic starter services, you only need to pay the required state fees. Pro services start at $199 per year, not including state fees, and premium LLC creation services start at $349 per year, plus state fees.

Overall

ZenBusiness can assist you with various kinds of business formation, and will work with you to create the best plan using all the services that will work best for you.

LegalZoom

You may choose Legal Zoom to start your LLC. Legal Zoom wants to help your business become independent by providing you with all the tools you need to get your small business off the ground, and they are unique because they also offer several legal services.

Services and offerings

Here are some of the services offered by Legal Zoom:

Pricing

As with the other companies mentioned so far, the least expensive way to get started is with an option that will only cost you the state filing fees. If you opt for more intensive services, you can pay $249 plus state filing fees for pro services or $299 plus state filing fees for premium services.

Overall

Legal Zoom can be a good choice if you will need to use a licensed attorney for related tasks. Instead of getting help from different places, you can get legal assistance at the same time as you are taking the steps to start your LLC.

RocketLawyer

Rocket Lawyer is a company that offers legal services to individuals and businesses. Rather than focusing on creating LLCs and other kinds of businesses, Rocket Lawyer can help with everything from business documents to wills to leases to divorce.

Services and offerings

Rocket Lawyer can help with all of these tasks associated with your small business formation:

Pricing

Rocket Lawyer’s prices for LLC formation start at $0 plus the state filing fees. Because of their business model, Besides the basic service, Rocket Lawyer offers some services at fixed fees but also offers a membership. If you decide to purchase a membership, you can get a free 7-day trial and then pay $19.99 or $39.99 per month. The membership gives you access to documents and other basic services and also offers discounts on additional services, such as trademarks.

Overall

If your business needs to have regular access to legal documents, Rocket Lawyer’s membership may be a good choice.

Swyft Filings

The owner of Swyft Filings is a lawyer who wanted to make it easier for small businesses and individuals to pursue their dreams, by helping with the registration process.

Services and offerings

Among the services offered, Swyft Filings can help with

Pricing

The most basic LLC formation service will only cost you the state filing fees. The “standard” package includes features such as custom organizational minutes and costs $199 plus filing fees, while the premium services cost $299 plus filing fees and include same-day services and access to over 250 business documents.

Overall

Swyft Filings offers all the basic services a small business needs to get started and maintain an LLC.

Can you form your LLC in Michigan by yourself?

You can create a Michigan LLC on your own. You can find free LLC forms on the State of Michigan website. You can also read the law explaining the legal requirements in Michigan.

If you choose to do it yourself, you will need to learn all the procedures to make sure your small business complies with all the state laws, including tax laws. Unfortunately, the consequences can be serious if there are any errors. The state could revoke your LLC or you may even be open to liability if the LLC is not filed correctly.

When you use an LLC formation service, you can rest assured that those matters are done correctly. Businesses that help you set up your LLC have the experience and knowledge you need to avoid the problems that can happen when trying to navigate the red tape in setting up your LLC.

Conclusion

Creating an LLC can be complicated and time-consuming, especially if you have little experience with these kinds of processes. You don’t have to do it yourself.

The best LLC services have seen every kind of variation and will be able to tailor their services to meet your business’ unique needs. When choosing a service, it is important to make sure that the company has the experience you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and read customer reviews. When customers are satisfied, you know the company will work for you.

This portion of our website is for informational purposes only. Tailor Brands is not a law firm, and none of the information on this website constitutes or is intended to convey legal advice. All statements, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions are solely the expression of the author and provided on an as-is basis. Accordingly, Tailor Brands is not responsible for the information and/or its accuracy or completeness.

Terry O'Toole

Terry is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building businesses across multiple industries – construction, real estate, e-commerce, hotelier, and now digital media. When not working, Terry likes to kick back and relax with family, explore Taoism’s mysteries, or savor the taste of fine Italian red wine.