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Active Filings Review 2022 – Things We Liked & Didn’t Like About Them

Ranked #14 on our Best LLC Services List

Active Filings is a renowned business service company that was founded in 2001. Despite being in the industry for several years, Active Filings is still pretty small and only has a few loyal employees. This company provides its services in English and Spanish.

Are you wondering if Active Filings would be the right choice for you? If that is the case, continue reading this review as we will talk about whether this company is reliable, what it offers and what you can expect from it. 

Go toActiveFilings.com

Active Filings Overview in a Nutshell

Sneak Peak: We Gave Active Filings 7 out of 10

Active Filings is a highly rated business service company with loads of clients. Despite being relatively young, this company has been able to gain a plethora of positive reviews, exceeding their customer’s expectations. 

Active Filings has its headquarters in Florida and offers several convenient, affordable packages. We have personally tried their cheapest ‘Starter’ package and in this review, we will talk about the following aspects of Active Filings:

• Price
• Turnaround time
• Customer service
• User experience
• Track Record

Ready to learn the nitty-gritty details of why we rated Active Filings a 7/10, learn the best alternatives and whether we truly recommend them? Read on.

Go towww.activefilings.com

In-Depth Review of Active Filings Service Features

Pricing: 10/10

Like most business formation organizations, Active Filings offers entry level packages, intermediate packages and premium packages. The company also has dedicated packages for people who are not from the U.S. We tried each package offered by this company and noted that they were priced appropriately and offered excellent value for money. 

Turnaround Time: 7/10

Unlike a lot of its competitors, this company maintains full transparency when it comes to turnaround time. If you choose the advanced package, Active Filings will make sure that your LLC is processed on the same day. On the other hand, processing for the beginner package takes about two to three business days. 

We really liked that this company shows its estimated dates for expedited filing and regular filing, making sure you can make a well informed decision. 

Customer Service: 8/10

We were incredibly satisfied with the customer service that Active Filings had to offer. Their customer support representatives are readily available and can patiently answer your queries in a simple, easy to understand manner. What makes this company’s customer service stand out the most is that they can communicate with their customers in 2 languages: English and Spanish.

User Experience: 7/10

Our experience with Active Filings has been quite pleasant. Unlike many filing companies, there can be a lot of vagueness and uncertainty involved when acquiring services. Fortunately, however, that was rarely the case with active filing. Sure, their website is slightly vague and finding certain information was challenging, but the company’s readily available customer support professionals helped us immensely. 

Track Record: 7/10

Ever since being founded in 2015, Active Filings has been able to maintain an impeccable track record with hundreds, if not thousands of satisfied customers from the U.S and other countries. The company takes great pride in maintaining full transparency and providing customers with timely, reliable filing services. Although it does not have a very long history compared to its counterparts.

Total Rating: 7/10!

We believe giving Active Filings a total score of 7/10 is a pretty fair representation of their service when taking into account all the aspects we talked about above.

Active Filings Service Plans and Pricing

Active Filings has some of the most appropriately priced packages that offer you great value for your money. 

Here’s a real quick table overview of Active Filings’ service packages and what you get (Please note that state filing fees are not included):

Now let’s dive into more detail with each of their offered service package.

Starter Package ($0 and State Fees)

Upon using this package, we realized that it is almost free, as you only have to pay the state fees. Active Filing’s starter package includes the 3 main services that most LLCs offer, which includes operating agreement, registered agent service and articles of organization or incorporation. 

Sprinter Package ($100 and State Fees)

While this service is quite reasonably priced, it does not add too much. We noticed that the Sprinter Package will only come in handy for people who want privacy related extensions/add-ons. This package includes everything present in the Starter Package, along with a few additions. 

Finisher Package ($250 and State Fees)

The Finisher Package offered by Active Filings costs $150 more than the Sprinter Package. The main additions in this package include a corporate book or seal, which we thought were not too necessary. Sure, they are nice additions, but corporations or LLCs do not require them. 

Based on our experience of using these packages, we suggest to opt for the starter or intermediate (Sprinter) package. Sure, you get a few things extra with the finisher package, but you can easily do without them, especially if you want to save some money. 

International Packages

Active Filings offers 2 packages especially made for international filers. These packages include handy services that can come in handy for people who want to start a corporation or LLC in the United States but aren’t based there. These are the 2 packages the company offers. 

International Silver Package ($999 and State Fees)

The Silver Plan by Active Filings includes most of the services present in its domestic packages, including:  Registered Agent Service, LLC incorporation or formation, annual report compliance and EIN filing. The most notable addition in this package includes U.S mail forwarding, which will get you a physical mailing address in the United States. 

The services offered in this package are quite useful and offer excellent value, considering it only costs $999 without state fees. Some may feel the price tag is too high and may look for cheaper options offered by other firms. 

International Gold Package ($1499 and State Fees)

The International Gold Package by Active Filings comes with a more add-ons for international filers. However, these extra add-ons may not be enough the package’s massive price tag of $1499. This package includes everything present in the company’s silver package, with the addition of:

Expedited Service

Similar to the expedited services offered in the finisher and sprinter packages, the relevant authorities will get your documents in a quick and timely manner. You will also receive these documents back from the authorities quickly. 

Certificate of Incumbency

This certificate lists info about an organization’s owner, officers, members and shareholders.  You will especially need the certificate of incumbency if you live in another country and want a business bank account in the U.S.

Apostille

This information is used for authenticating official paperwork produced in a country to ensure they are recognized by other countries’ governments. Some national governments or foreign states need individuals to have particular apostille-certified documents to prove the legitimacy of their U.S based business. 

Active Filings versus Competitors Pricing

Here you will find a simple chart quickly comparing Active Filings prices with their biggest competitors.

Basic Package: That one covers the most basic and required business entity creation. It will include filing of the Articles of Organization and the Operating Agreement drafting for an LLC.

Full Package: this will include everything on Basic Package plus a Registered Agent service, EIN, bylaws and some other non-essentials but mostly ‘good-to-have’ stuff.

Full Package + Biz Website: includes everything from 2 above and a fully functional and secure business website done by professionals.

* — free ($0) formation actually means the very very basic services that you will get without any additional features and state fees. Most of the companies offer free registered agent service for the 1st year only, after that you’ll get charged a yearly fee.

Also, if you take any additional features like expedited filing, EIN obtaining or etc. – you will be charged for that.

Pros and Cons of Active Filings – What We Liked and Didn’t Like About Them

Based on our experience with Active Filings when ordering their package, we have outlined the following pros and cons.

Pros:

– They Have a Very Affordable Basic Package

It would be fair to say that Active Filings is one of the few companies that offers free formations. Their beginner package is almost free, as it only requires you to pay state tax. The package also comes with a year’s worth of service by a registered agent for absolutely free. 

According to the company’s terms and conditions, a third party performs the registered agent services. While this may not be ideal for privacy, it is still free. 

– Excellent Turnaround Time

As we mentioned initially in this review, this company has two speed tiers, expedited and standard. The regular filing speed of this company is decent, but some people have complained that it can get slow. During our experience with the company, however, the turnaround time was surprisingly fast. 

Plenty of other customers of the company have also stated that their turnaround times are great and did not require them to wait for too long. It is also worth keeping in mind that the company can prioritize your process for a tiny fee of $50. While some may say that fifty dollars is too much, it is not a big deal considering that their other essential services are available for free. 

– It is Ideal for People Who Speak Spanish

Since the person who founded this company is an Argentinian immigrant, it is not surprising to see that Active Filings has a few Spanish speaking staff members. The company especially stands out for its multiple resources that can speak in Spanish, making communication easier with thousands of customers. 

You can find Espanol and Hablas Espanol buttons on many of Active Filing’s web pages. The company takes convenience for its Spanish clientele to another level by providing them with a Spanish version of its website. We notice that Active Filing’s Spanish website version was slightly better compared to the English one as it didn’t have too much clutter and everything was well organized. 

Plenty of websites, especially in the United States only focus on their main (usually English) version and treat the translated version as an afterthought. However, things are vastly different with Active Filings as the company has developed the Spanish version of its website with a great level of care and attention to detail. 

Cons:

While Active Filings provides its customers with some exceptional benefits, this company does have some weak points. Let us discuss some of those week points here. 

– Their Resources are Quite Limited

Despite being around for almost two decades, this company is not the biggest name in the LLC formation landscape. Sure, many LLC companies tend to be quite lean and rely on only a few employees, but Active Filings is downright small. 

On the company’s about us page, we noted that they only have a total of 4 employees (not sure if it’s true or not, probably not). Sure, there is no denying that smaller companies can offer customers a personal experience. However, there are some downsides to keep in mind. For instance, the company’s shortage of employees often forces it to outsource some of its services, which include things like Registered Agent Services.

– Support Is Not Always There For You

Also, while Active Filing’s customer support team is highly responsive, there may be times when they may pick up after a few calls (when we called them, they picked up after 3 failed calls). What makes things worse is that they do not offer customer support during the weekends. There are only a select few companies capable of offering the wide range of legal and formation services that bigger companies provide. 

The primary services provided by Active Filings are not as extensive as those provided by its competitors. Also, since smaller companies do not have as many customers as bigger ones, there is a smaller review history to go through. Sure, there are plenty of excellent customer reviews, but there is a chance that you may miss out on some negative ones. This is because the few customers who had a negative experience with this company may simply not have bothered to post a negative review. 

– Active Filing’s Website Can Be Slightly Confusing and Vague

While people praise Active Filings for its affordable packages and high-quality services, they may not feel the same about their website. While most of the company’s competitors have excellent, well-developed websites, Active Filing’s website is full of clutter and vague information. One of the most frustrating things we noticed while exploring the company’s website was that it doesn’t outline the packages and prices in detail. 

Because of this, you will need to do a great deal of searching, which could take you some time. For instance, if you check the website’s section named “Manage Your Business,” you will notice that it has loads of subsections like Buy-Sell Agreements, Certification of Status, and Foreign Qualifications etc. All of this can make things quite confusing.

In most cases, you will need to read through every section to get a clear idea of what is written and there is still a chance that you may not understand it. What’s more, if you go to Active Filing’s packages section, every package has a list that shows what is and what isn’t included in each tier. However, some of the services are not mentioned in the checklist and you will find them in other areas of your website. 

For example, the operating agreements service is included with the company’s packages. However, this is not mentioned in the checklists present on the package page. In most cases, companies try to go above and beyond to make sure their packages look impressive. That is not the case with Active Filings. Let us take the Lifetime Support service as an example. This service is as important as any other, but for some reason, Active Filings did not highlight it, making it seem like an afterthought. 

When searching for a reliable formation service, people want to save time. Unfortunately, despite all of Active Filing’s pros, the company’s website is quite confusing and requires visitors to dig around in order to determine what services it does or doesn’t offer. As mentioned abundantly, this can take a great deal of time and may even make customers want to look for other firms with user-friendly websites. 

– There is Too Much Upselling on the Company’s Premium Packages

While this company’s starter package is quite budget friendly, only requiring you to pay state fees, its more advanced packages are slightly more costly. Sure, the Sprinter Package is not the most expensive option out there, but it does not add enough to justify its price, especially considering that most people don’t even use the added features.  

The Finisher package is the most costly, adding $150 to the intermediate package. We wouldn’t recommend you to choose this option as it only adds a seal and a corporate book to the mix, which again, does not provide any real value. Also, while the international packages of this company will not apply to most business owners, they are still slightly expensive and you can find more affordable ones from other companies. 

If you are an international filer, we would advise you to look for a larger company that has more resources to offer. 

And, of course, they try to push those expensive packages as much as they can (which probably makes sense when you have a “free” package). Although, it is still a bit annoying.

– Their Facebook Review Page Is Full of Fake Advertorial Reviews

Active Filings should really hire somebody to look at their social media more seriously. Because now their facebook review page is full of fake 5-star reviews actually not commenting on the company’s service but advertising some crypto trading bots, random financial consultants and etc.

As it doesn’t impact their service directly — it just doesn’t look good.

3^rd Party Reviews and Customer Testimonials of Active Filings

The customer testimonials and third-party reviews for Active Filings have been excellent so far. Of course, there are some odd negative reviews but it has been smooth sailing for the Florida-based filing company so far. While this company indeed lacks manpower, but it more than makes up for it by offering personalized, high-quality services at affordable rates. 

Yes, we mentioned that the company’s intermediate and advanced packages are quite costly and do not add too much, but their beginner package is excellent and almost free. If you just want straightforward filing services with a decent turnaround time, few companies will be better than Active Filings. 

That being said, you may want to look for other options if you are an international filer and we would suggest a bigger company with more manpower. One of the biggest complaints that people have had with this filing company is that its website is quite cluttered and doesn’t mention the company’s services and packages clearly. You may need to get in touch with Active Filing’s customer support team to clear your queries regarding the information on their website, which can be time-consuming and inconvenient. 

Now let’s have a quick look on Active Filings ratings on major review and testimonial sites:

• Active Filings have a great rating of 5 stars on their Facebook reviews page.
• As for Yelp reviews – they can boast a decent 4-star rating.
• They have a truly great rating of 5 stars on their BBB (Better Business Bureau) page.
• Lastly, based on just ~28 reviews, they have a near-perfect rating of 4.6 stars on their Google reviews profile.

And here are some screenshots from their Facebook review page:

Is Active Filings the Best Choice for You & When Should You Choose Them?

With an excellent turnaround time, easily affordable basic package and high quality filing services, Active Filings establish itself as one of the most competent companies in the business formation landscape. You will especially like this company if you speak Spanish as the company especially caters to its Spanish audience. 

The only thing holding this company back is its lack of resources. Other than that, however, our experience with Active Filings has been fantastic and we fully recommend businesses to choose its services. While the company’s international services are also top-notch, it may prove to be slightly costly and there are plenty of other options that offer similar services but at lower rates. 

Best Active Filings Alternatives

#1 Alternative: Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest Registered Agent offers its excellent LLC services online and offline. Their rates are quite cheap and their turnaround time is quite fast (not more than 1 or 2 days.) Customer support is one of Northwest Registered Agent’s strongest suits and their representatives are quite helpful and responsive. 

It is ranked #1 on our best LLC services list. And you can check out their full review here.

$39 + State Fees

Go toNorthwestregisteredagent.com

Northwest Registered Agent is one of the top-rated LLC services with one the best customer support in the market. It ranks #2 in our best LLC services list.

#2 Alternative: ZenBusiness

If you are looking for a reliable LLC service that offers affordable price plans, look no further than Zen business. What makes this company unique compared to many others is that it is quite flexible and offers a fantastic money-back guarantee of sixty days (state fees not included.) If you are not happy with Zen Business’s services, you can always request a refund. 

It is ranked #2 on our best LLC services list. And you can check out ZenBusiness’ full review here.

$49 + State Fees

Go tozenbusiness.com

ZenBusiness is the top-rated LLC service with one the best quality to price ratios in the market. It ranks #1 in our best LLC services list.

Final Thoughts

Whether you want to register your LLC, or nonprofit or are simply looking for a business address and name, Active Filings can help you out. We have used this company’s services extensively and can safely safe that it is among the most reliable companies in the business formation landscape. With Active Filings, you can easily steer clear from the trouble of dealing with a variety of complicated legal documents and let the pros take over these tasks. 

While this company only has a limited number of customer reviews, the ones that are available are quite positive. Based on our experience with this company’s services along with several online reviews and testimonials, Active Filings gets a solid 7 out of 10, making it a suitable option for your business needs. 

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