Compliance or DIY

Keeping an LLC in good standing

A compliance service or doing it yourself: who keeps your LLC's filings

Every company has a list of things the state expects back from it. You can hand that list to a service or keep it on your own desk. Both are reasonable, and the better one depends on how long your list is and who will remember it.

Who we are Contact

Two lists, one company

What each route asks of you

The filings are the same either way. What changes is who tracks them, who submits them and who notices when something slips.

Doing the filings yourself

You become the person who knows what is due. That is very workable for a simple company in one state, and it asks for steady attention.

  • Learning which reports and renewals your state expects
  • Keeping your own calendar of when they come round
  • Filing through the state's own portal or forms
  • Updating the record when an address or member changes

Using a compliance service

Someone else holds the calendar. You still answer their questions and sign off, but the remembering moves off your plate.

  • Reminders or filings handled on your behalf
  • Registered agent duties, often in the same account
  • A single place to see what has been sent
  • Help when the company spreads to another state

Before you choose

Questions worth clipping to the front

None of these has one right answer. Working through them usually makes the choice for you.

How long is your list?

One company in one state is a short list. More states, more entities or a licensed trade make it longer quickly.

Who will remember it?

A filing that comes round once a year is easy to forget. Be honest about whose job it will be in a busy month.

What does missing one set off?

States treat a late or missed filing differently, and the consequences can reach a company's standing.

What would a service actually do?

Some remind you, some file for you, some do both. Read the scope before comparing anything else.

The sign-off list

The subjects behind the choice

  • Annual reportsWhat states ask a company to send back, and how it is filed.
  • Registered agentsThe role every LLC has to fill, and who can fill it.
  • Good standingWhat it means, and how a company falls out of it.
  • Licences and renewalsThe permits that sit alongside state filings.
  • Compliance servicesWhat they take on, and what they leave with you.
  • Company recordsKeeping the paperwork that backs up each filing.

Articles on these subjects are on the way.