MyCorporation Business Incorporation Service – The Inside Scoop

Deborah Sweeney, the General Manager of MyCorporation, Intuit Small Business Web agreed to give us the inside scoop and answer a few questions about forming a business, choosing a business entity, challenges of forming a business, and the various services that MyCorporation offers entrepreneurs.

How is using MyCorporation to form a business different than working with an attorney?
MyCorporation files the corporate documents with the secretary of state. While MyCorporation does not provide legal or financial advice, we do have tools that can help a customer make the decision on entity type.

We also find that many customers consult with lawyers and/or accountants prior to using the services of MyCorporation so that the customer has the information needed to make the right decision about entity formation. MyCorporation, which now offers free incorporations & LLCs is certainly a lot less expensive than a lawyer.

What information do you offer on choosing a type of business entity (corporation vs LLCs, etc)
MyCorporation offers extensive resources on entity types. We offer a learning center with an entity decision tool, comparison charts, and a free incorporation guide to help understand the differences between entity types. We also can provide information regarding state fees and filing times so that the customer understands the fees and time required to get documents filed with the secretary of state.

What do entrepreneurs get when they signup for your incorporation service?
MyCorporation provides the incorporation or LLC filing service for free. With the free service, entrepreneurs will receive their articles of incorporation or articles of organization with a corporate package. The corporate package includes a CD explaining the materials in the package, sample bylaws or operating agreement, sample minutes, and stock/membership certificates. In addition, MyCorporation offers entrepreneurs a free copy of Quickbooks Simple Start with every order.

What’s been the biggest challenge for your customers with business formation and how have you addressed it?
The biggest challenge for customers who form a new corporation or LLC is how to maintain the entity. Entrepreneurs are focused on their business and they often don’t want to worry about what they need to do to maintain their corporation or LLC.

We’ve developed an offering called MyIncGuard, which provides new entrepreneurs with reminders about deadlines such as tax due dates, annual report filing requirements, and end-of-year deadlines. The MyIncGuard product also provides customers with sample corporate documents (Employer/Employee agreements, Consulting agreements, Notices & Waivers of Meeting documents), in addition to a free Nolo book about starting a new business.

What’s the best feedback you’ve received about your incorporation service?
Customers love that we’re a 1-stop shop, and that we’re affiliated with a trusted company like Intuit. Many of our customers were unaware of an offering like that of MyCorporation, and they’re thrilled that they don’t have to pay high attorney fees, as well as delighted that they don’t have to figure it out themselves. Now that we’re offering free incorporations & LLCs to give back to the small business community, customers are beyond happy.

What other services does MyCorporation offer for entrepreneurs?
MyCorporation offers many other business filing services. MyCorporation can help entrepreneurs file for protection of their trademarks and copyrights. We can also file all annual filings required of a corporation or LLC, including amendments and annual reports. We’ll obtain an EIN, file for s-corp election and serve as an entity’s registered agent. We’ll even work with entrepreneurs to register their DBAs and, should the need arise, file dissolutions to dissolve an entity that is no longer in business. Beyond that, we offer many free Intuit products, which is an added value for MyCorporation’s customers.

Thanks to Deborah for taking the time to answer our questions and thanks to MyCorporation for helping small businesses by offering offering free online incorporation services.