| ZenBusiness Review: The Summary Box ZenBusiness is one of the leading business formation companies that makes it easy for entrepreneurs to start and run a business. In addition to a free LLC and Corporation formation package, ZenBusiness offers affordable paid plans. While being known for its user-friendly platform and fast LLC formation, ZenBusiness also offers a wide range of services, such as tax consultation, expense tracking, website building, invoicing, and banking.
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ZenBusiness is one of the leading names in the industry, with over 8 years of experience in the field.
In this detailed ZenBusiness review, we will take an in-depth look at the features and services the company offers, in addition to its pricing, pros, and cons.
Read on to make an informed decision when it comes to picking a business formation service provider.
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Established in 2015, ZenBusiness has helped 400,000+ entrepreneurs form a business entity of their choice.
As a top-rated business formation service, ZenBusiness offers a range of features and benefits to help business owners start and grow their businesses.
In this ZenBusiness review, we will talk about the reasons to choose ZenBusiness for your business formation needs.
Like many of its competitors, ZenBusiness offers a free plan in addition to affordable plans.
But where it scores over most others is in its transparent pricing. All the price points, including state filing fees, are clearly listed on the ZenBusiness website, making it easier for users to make an informed decision.
This makes it easy for users to make an informed decision instead of contacting the sales team and waiting for the quotes.
Most users appreciate ZenBusiness’s user-friendly platform and services, so we had to include them in our ZenBusiness review. Forming an LLC or a Corporation is easy and quick thanks to the streamlined business formation process.
There is also a chatbot that uses a conversational tone to guide users through the process, removing the hassles and confusion involved in choosing your business structure.
Our ZenBusiness review team was impressed by the expedited filing options available. ZenBusiness allows businesses to expedite their LLC filing process from a few days or weeks to 1 to 2 days.
While fast filing is included in its Premium plan, users can purchase this service for a one-time fee of $79 even with the free plan.
You can read more about this rush filing speed feature in the post on Incfile (Bizee) vs ZenBusiness.
In addition to business formation, ZenBusiness also offers a range of additional services, such as worry-free compliance, an annual report service, and a business website. We’ll touch upon some of the important services in this ZenBusiness review.
One of the differentiating aspects, we have to highlight in this review, is the Money Pro tool that helps business owners track their expenses, tag tax deductions, track mileage, and manage their invoices.
Form your LLC for free with ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness offers a free Starter plan that does not renew after the first year. In this section of the ZenBusiness review, we will list the services in the free plan:
For $0 (plus state fees), ZenBusiness will handle the paperwork involved in business formation. This includes preparing and filing the Articles of Organization for LLCs and Articles of Incorporation for corporations.
The standard filing speed for this service is 2 to 3 weeks. You can get the fast-filing service at an extra cost if you need to fast-track business formation.
During this ZenBusiness review, we found the expense tracking feature particularly useful for small business owners.
Once you integrate your business bank account with the ZenBusiness Money app, it imports your expenses from the bank account and identifies the ones that are eligible for a tax deduction. This feature simplifies your financial management processes, which is crucial for most businesses in 2024.
This will simplify your tax and expense management, at no extra cost. This gives ZenBusiness brownie points for the purpose of this review.
A free tax consultation is included in all of ZenBusiness’s plans including the free plan.
Business owners can get insights on tax planning and deadlines through a 30-minute phone consultation with a tax planning expert. This service can help you navigate complex tax issues in a timely manner.
ZenBusiness has partnered with 1-800Accountant, the well-known virtual accounting service provider that helps small businesses streamline financial planning.
Explore ZenBusiness’s Starter Plan
There are two paid plans that are billed annually. In this section of the ZenBusiness review, we’ll discuss these.
Priced at $199 per year, the Pro plan offers many useful features designed to remove the hassles from the business formation process. Here’s a quick review of each.
ZenBusiness typically processes business formation applications within 4 to 6 business days, depending on the state and the type of business entity being formed.
This is significantly faster than the average processing times with the Starter package and government agencies.
A key point in our ZenBusiness review is the inclusion of an operating agreement in higher-tier plans. While an operating agreement is not a requirement for forming an LLC, it is highly recommended.
This document sets out the rights and responsibilities of the LLC’s members and managers and the rules of governance for the company. It’s an essential service for ensuring smooth business operations.
This service is included in both the Pro and Premium plans and is also available as an add-on. You can use ZenBusiness’s operating agreement template to fast-track the document preparation.
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Next in this ZenBusiness review is the worry-free compliance service it offers to help small business owners stay on top of their compliance requirements and avoid any legal issues.
Worry-free compliance is a service designed to help small business owners stay on top of their compliance requirements and avoid legal issues.
Here are the inclusions with this service:
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In addition to the inclusions in the Pro plan, ZenBusiness’s Premium plan offers these services and features at a price point of $349 per year. As we move forward in this ZebBusiness Review, let’s take a look at the services offered in this plan.
The Premium plan offers the fastest filing speed of 1 to 2 days.
The expedited filing speed of ZenBusiness is particularly beneficial for business owners who need to establish their companies quickly to start generating revenue and serving customers.
Our ZenBusiness review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning their website-building tools. ZenBusiness makes it easy to build a custom business website optimized for search engines. Here are the features it offers:
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Having a professional business website is crucial in today’s digital age, helping you establish credibility and reach more customers.
As we conducted this ZenBusiness review, we noted the value of the included domain and email services. Every new business owner needs a professional online presence.
The Premium plan offers both a business domain name and a business email address. Having a dedicated business domain helps establish credibility and makes it easier for customers to find you online.
Meanwhile, your professional business email address comes with 5GB of free storage, calendars, and an address book, helping you manage communications effectively.
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ZenBusiness also offers a domain search tool that businesses can use to find a relevant domain name. Once you find a suitable name, ZenBusiness will register it while securing domain hosting.
All of the services listed in the above plans are also available as add-ons. This gives more flexibility for business owners to purchase the essential services they need without committing to a higher-tier plan.
Here are some other services you can purchase for an additional cost.
A crucial aspect of our ZenBusiness review is its registered agent offering. Businesses are required by law to appoint a registered agent to receive official correspondence and legal documents on their behalf.
While ZenBusiness does not offer free registered agent service like many of its competitors, it does offer the service at a cost of $199 per year.
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This registered agent service is available to corporations and LLCs in all 50 states. ZenBusiness will accept all legal documents on your behalf, scan the documents, and provide online document access so you can easily view them from your dashboard.
They will also inform you of any tax or legal matters that need your action or attention.
EIN is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to identify businesses and other entities for tax purposes. It’s also sometimes referred to as a tax ID number.
Business owners will need it for various tax and legal purposes, such as filing tax returns, opening business bank accounts, and hiring employees.
ZenBusiness handles all the paperwork necessary to file for and obtain an EIN so that you can start hiring employees, file tax returns, and open your business bank account.
From service agreements and confidentiality agreements to breach of contract and freelancer agreements, every business needs a variety of documents.
While this process can be time-consuming, requiring the assistance of legal and compliance experts, you can use ZenBusiness’s document templates to create the documents quickly and easily.
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ZenBusiness’s document template library includes over 25 important business formation documents, saving you time and potentially costly legal fees. Some of these templates include:
If you are forming an LLC in New York, you need to meet publication requirements as part of the LLC formation process.
Per New York State law, LLCs must publish a notice of formation in two newspapers in New York for six weeks.
ZenBusiness’s New York Publication add-on service takes care of this requirement in addition to getting you the lowest possible price.
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They will contact the County Clerk’s office to find out which newspapers to publish the notice of formation in, receive the Affidavit of Publication from the newspapers, and forward it to the state.
Every business will need certain licenses and permits to legally operate in the state of their choosing.
For instance, a food service business may need various permits and licenses such as health permits, seller’s permits, alcohol permits, and fire permits.
Here’s where ZenBusiness can help. It offers a business license report as an add-on service in partnership with Avalara, a tax compliance solutions provider. This service can make your business operations smoother by ensuring you have all the necessary licenses.
The business license report helps businesses stay compliant with state and local licensing requirements. This is crucial for most businesses, as operating without proper licenses can lead to fines or even forced closure.
The report, delivered within 1 to 3 business hours, can save you time and potential legal headaches.
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Once your industry, business activities, and location are keyed in, Avalara’s system identifies the specific licenses required for your business in the state.
ZenBusiness delivers the report within 1 to 3 days of ordering it.
Most states require LLCs and corporations to file an annual report with the state’s Secretary of State or a similar agency.
The due date for filing annual reports can also vary by state, and late filing or failing to file the report may result in penalties or loss of good standing for the LLC.
With ZenBusiness’s annual report filing service, you can ensure you stay compliant with the state’s requirements while focusing on your core business tasks.
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After filing the required annual reports, ZenBusiness will update you on the same.
Whether you have changed your business address, its name, or your Registered Agent, it is important to update the Secretary of State on these changes in time.
This is done through a business amendment filing, a process by which a business entity makes changes to its existing business formation documents.
This add-on service from ZenBusiness is designed to help you quickly file an amendment.
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A Certificate of Good Standing is an official document issued by an authorized body or a government agency. It verifies a business’s legal status and confirms that it is in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.
For $100 (plus state filing fees), ZenBusiness will confirm that your business meets the state’s compliance and legal requirements and apply for the Certificate of Good Standing from the state on your behalf. This can be of notable importance when dealing with lenders, investors, or other business operations.
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When you register your domain name, you will need to provide contact information including your name, email address, phone number, and mailing address to the registrar.
This information is publicly available to those looking for such information with the WHOIS domain lookup.
If you are concerned about your data privacy, you can purchase the domain name privacy service from ZenBusiness.
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This service allows you to hide your personal contact information from being publicly displayed in the WHOIS database. As a result, this feature helps limit solicitation while preventing scams and spam.
This is one of the unique services offered by ZenBusiness as an add-on, so we’re including it as part of this ZenBusiness review.
For just $5 per month, ZenBusiness Banking services will help you manage your finances with ease.
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Unlike most business bank accounts, ZenBusiness bank accounts can be opened with a zero deposit without worrying about meeting the minimum balance requirements. This service also includes tools for managing your business credit card transactions and other financial aspects of your operations.
In addition to a business checking account, you will also get bookkeeping tools such as tax deduction tagging, tax preparation, and expense tracking tools.
Free ACH transfers and virtual debit cards are the other benefits of ZenBusiness banking.
Businesses tend to use different tools to prepare and send invoices, accept payments, and track mileage or tax deductions.
But, with ZenBusiness Money Pro, you don’t need to invest in different tools for these activities. It offers all these features in one integrated platform.
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In addition to making it easy for you to create and send one-time or recurring invoices, the platform tracks expenses, income, profit, and loss.
A banking resolution is a document that authorizes a specific individual to open a business account on the company’s behalf.
The resolution is adopted by the shareholders of a corporation or the board of directors.
ZenBusiness provides this service at a starting price of $0.
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A great way to ensure your chosen name is available till you are ready to form your LLC or corporation is to opt for a business name reservation.
Starting at $0, the company will reserve the chosen business name, which is valid for 120 days. This service comes with a thorough name availability search to ensure your desired name isn’t already taken.
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For business owners looking to sell products online, ZenBusiness offers an ecommerce website solution.
This service includes everything you need to set up a professional online store, including customizable templates, secure payment processing, inventory management, and mobile optimization. All for $279 per year.
What’s more?
The ecommerce platform integrates seamlessly with your business website, allowing you to start selling quickly and efficiently.
A professional logo is crucial for brand identity. ZenBusiness’s Logo Kit service provides you with a custom-designed logo that represents your business structure and values for a one-time fee of $60.
The kit includes multiple file formats suitable for both digital and print use, ensuring your branding is consistent across all platforms.
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ZenBusiness partners exclusively with Chase to offer three business credit card options, catering to different business needs and spending patterns. These are the only credit card options currently available through ZenBusiness:
The specific offerings may change over time, so it’s important to check the current terms when applying. Also, while ZenBusiness doesn’t issue these cards directly, they provide guidance to help you choose the card that best aligns with your business structure and spending habits.
Managing taxes can be complex for new business owners. ZenBusiness has partnered with 1-800 Accountants to offer comprehensive tax services to help you navigate this area.
These services include tax preparation and year-round tax planning advice, with pricing starting at $49/month.
ZenBusiness’s tax expert partner can help you understand your tax obligations based on your business structure and location, potentially saving you money and ensuring compliance with tax laws.
Like many of its competitors, ZenBusiness has a free plan in addition to two paid plans. Here’s an overview of ZenBusiness pricing:
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There are several additional services that are priced individually that you have read about in the previous section of this review, giving small business owners more flexibility in terms of picking the ones they need.
Here are the different add-on services and their pricing.
Annual billing
One-time fee
In this section of this ZenBusiness review, we will look at the pros and cons of using this service.
Some areas where ZenBusiness is rated highly include the ease of LLC formation, affordable plans, and a range of add-on services.
However, like most of its competitors, ZenBusiness does have a few disadvantages, which we’ll cover in this review.
Let’s first look at the pros of choosing ZenBusiness for your LLC or corporation formation in this section of the ZenBusiness review.
ZenBusiness offers a free Starter business formation package designed to help entrepreneurs and business owners get started at no cost, aside from any state filing fees that may apply.
One of the aspects that we have to highlight in this ZenBusiness review is the affordable pricing the company offers.
The Starter package is free, while the pricing of the Pro and Premium plans is on par with the pricing points of most of its competitors in the industry.
The individual pricing points of all the different add-on services ZenBusiness offers, such as Registered Agent, operating agreement, and EIN, are also reasonable.
One of the key benefits of using ZenBusiness is the fast filing speeds it offers. The Premium plan offers a quick turnaround time of 1 to 2 days, while with the Pro plan, you can form a business within 4 to 5 business days. This rush filing speed can be crucial for entrepreneurs who need to get their businesses up and running quickly.
Like most company formation services, such as Inc Authority and Bizee, ZenBusiness offers all the features that you would look for in an LLC formation service provider.
In addition, ZenBusiness provides other useful business services, such as tax consultation, assistance with choosing a business credit card, website design, business domain registration, and more.
ZenBusiness Money lets you keep track of your business finances in addition to allowing you to send invoices and receive payments.
The features of ZenBusiness Money, such as the automatic expense and income tracker, the ability to send recurring invoices, tax prepping tools, etc. are designed to streamline your tax and revenue management.
ZenBusiness offers a variety of resources to help new business owners with their LLC formation needs.
Some of the topics covered in ZenBusiness’ resource library include company formation, choosing the right business structure, understanding tax obligations, and developing a business plan.
These resources can be a valuable source of information for individuals who are new to entrepreneurship.
In this ZenBusiness review, we will also explore the cons of this service provider to help you make the right choice.
Unlike Inc Authority or Bizee, which offer a lot of features like free Registered Agent in their free plans, ZenBusiness offers only the preparation and filing of Articles of Organization in their Starter package.
In addition, the free plan is valid only for the first year, after which you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
If you are opting for the free plan or the Pro plan, you may need to purchase several add-ons such as Registered Agent, operating agreement, and EIN.
As each of these services comes at an extra cost, the total cost per year will quickly add up to a significant amount.
While ZenBusiness provides customer support, some users might find the lack of extensive phone support a drawback. If you prefer to handle your business matters over the phone, you might want to consider this factor.
While the Starter package is free, the turnaround times for business formation can be anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks. To fast-track the process, users have to buy the expedited filing speed feature at an extra cost. This means the actual ZenBusiness cost can be higher than the base price if you need faster services.
Based on our ZenBusiness review findings, these types of businesses would benefit most from their services:
Some of the top competitors of ZenBusiness are Bizee, Inc Authority, and LegalZoom.
In this ZenBusiness review, we’ll take a closer look at these top ZenBusiness alternatives in the industry and compare their features, pricing, and overall value to help you make an informed decision about which provider is right for your business.
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Both Inc Authority and ZenBusiness are trusted LLC formation service providers. However, some differences do stand out.
The key difference is that Inc Authority not only offers free limited liability company formation but also includes a long list of features in its free package. Inc Authority also offers multiple other business formation services in addition to LLC services, such as business planning, tax consultation, and one-on-one planning.
Image via Inc Authority
Inc Authority also offers multiple other business formation services in addition to LLC services, such as business planning, marketing, and one-on-one credit coaching.
In terms of customer support, Inc Authority has 4.9/5 star ratings on Trustpilot with most users appreciating their responsive customer support.
However, Inc Authority has not listed the pricing for its paid plans or additional services. Also, users find the upselling tactics that Inc Authority employs throughout the process of online business formation. You can read a detailed review of Inc Authority for better comparison.
Image via Bizee
Bizee also offers free LLC services that include free 1-year registered agent services in addition to unlimited business name checks.
The pricing for paid plans is similar to that of Incfile (Bizee) alternatives, such as ZenBusiness ($199 and $349).
However, Bizee has a lot more inclusions in its paid plans compared to what ZenBusiness offers.
Image via Bizee
However, Bizee is not known for its efficient customer support. While Bizee offers finance and bookkeeping services, this comes at an extra cost of $90 per month.
In contrast, ZenBusiness Business Banking, which includes bookkeeping costs just $5 per month.
Image via LegalZoom
Offering online legal services is one of the strong points of LegalZoom, a feature we have explored in the Inc Authority vs LegalZoom post. It also offers an extensive legal forms library in addition to comprehensive tax advice.
LegalZoom’s paid plans fall in a similar range to that of ZenBusiness, with its Pro plan at $249 and its Premium plan at $299 plus state fees.
Image via LegalZoom
The free plan, however, includes Articles of Organization, a name availability search, a digital welcome packet, and a custom website. While we are considering the competitors, you might be interested to read a detailed comparison of Incfile vs ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom.
To complement our ZenBusiness review, we’ve included feedback from actual users. On Trustpilot, ZenBusiness has earned a rating of 4.8/5 and 87% of reviewers have given it a 5-star rating.
Here are some of the ZenBusiness reviews that you might find useful:
| “I appreciate the speed in which I was able to set up my LLC. It’s was easier than when I first formed a company more than 25 years ago. I most appreciated the “one-stop” shopping for my EIN, my registered agent, email and web domain. Can’t wait to see how setting up my van account and other fiduciary services unfold! Thank you ZBiz!!! – Larry M |
| “So far, it’s been a pleasure having Zen business setting everything up for me, they answer my questions, they drive me to get things done, very organized. I’ve worked with other companies in the past where I had to do all the work, figure things out on my own, these guys help you get things done.” – Ron Vernon |
Q1. Is ZenBusiness worth it?
A. Yes. ZenBusiness is one of the most reliable LLC formation companies and has been helping form LLCs, corporations, and non-profits since 2015. Their free plan is ideal for startups looking for basic company formation services.
Read our ZenBusiness review to learn more about their useful services, such as banking, Money Pro, and others.
Q2. Is ZenBusiness a good registered agent?
A. ZenBusiness’s Registered Agent services cost $199 per year.
As an experienced company in the industry, ZenBusiness offers reliable Registered Agent services that include receipt of documents and uploading of digital copies that you can view on your dashboard.
Q3. Is ZenBusiness trusted?
A. Absolutely. With a 4.5-star rating on Trustpilot, ZenBusiness is one of the most trusted business formation companies.
In addition to its free package, the company is known for its transparent pricing and specialized business tools and services such as Money Pro, expense tracking, and business banking. Our detailed ZenBusiness review provides you with an in-depth look at what the company has to offer.
Q4. Do I need to renew ZenBusiness every year?
A. Yes. As mentioned in this ZenBusiness review, you will need to renew the subscription plans each year. However, some of the services require only a one-time fee, including an Operating Agreement, Employer ID Number, license report, and Certificate of Good Standing.
Q5. What is ZenBusiness Money Pro?
A. ZenBusiness Money Pro is a financial planning and management tool offered by ZenBusiness that costs $30 per month.
This tool is designed to help small business owners manage their finances more efficiently by providing features such as tax deduction tagging, bank account integration, expense tracking, invoicing, and financial reporting.
Q6. How much does ZenBusiness cost?
A. As explained in this ZenBusiness review, ZenBusiness pricing varies depending on the plan you choose. Their Starter package is $0 plus state fees, while the Pro plan is $199 per year and the Premium plan is $349 per year. Additional services may incur extra costs. Always check the ZenBusiness website for the most current pricing information.
Q7. Does ZenBusiness offer support outside of regular business hours?
A. ZenBusiness provides customer support during standard business hours. While they don’t offer 24/7 contact support, their extensive online resources and online document access mean you can find answers to many questions at any time. For urgent matters outside of business hours, you can leave a message or use their email support.
Q8. Does Mark Cuban own ZenBusiness?
A. No, Mark Cuban does not own ZenBusiness. However, Mr. Cuban is a prominent investor in the company. In 2021, Mark Cuban made a significant investment in ZenBusiness, joining other notable investors.
While he doesn’t own the company, his involvement has brought additional attention and resources to ZenBusiness, potentially benefiting small business owners who use their services.
Q9. How does ZenBusiness handle state filing fees?
A. ZenBusiness clearly separates its service fees from state filing fees. When you use their service, you’ll pay ZenBusiness for their formation package (which starts at $0 plus state fees for the Starter package), and they’ll also collect the necessary state fees.
These state filing fees vary depending on your location and the type of business entity you’re forming. ZenBusiness then forwards these fees to the state on your behalf when they file your formation documents. It’s important to note that state fees are mandatory and are charged regardless of which formation service you use.
Q10. Can ZenBusiness help with ongoing compliance alerts after business formation?
A. Yes, ZenBusiness offers ongoing compliance support through its worry-free compliance service as explained in this ZenBusiness review.
This service, which is included in their Pro and Premium plans (and available as an add-on for the Starter plan), provides compliance alerts for important filing deadlines and requirements. These alerts help ensure that your business stays in good standing with state authorities.
The service includes annual report filing reminders, two yearly amendment filings, and notifications about changes in state requirements. This can be particularly valuable for new business owners who may not be familiar with all the ongoing compliance requirements for their business structure.
In this detailed ZenBusiness review, we have explained all of its features and services that are designed to help you form your business quickly and easily.
ZenBusiness is known for its user-friendly online LLC formation services and fast filing speeds. There are also other useful business services on offer that you can purchase as your business grows.
Whether you’re looking for a basic LLC service or need help with everything from business formation documents to worry-free compliance, ZenBusiness has options to suit various needs.
Overall, ZenBusiness is the right choice if you are looking for:
Another plus point with ZenBusiness is that it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee in addition to a free plan.
In our opinion based on this detailed ZenBusiness review, ZenBusiness is a good option to consider given its affordable pricing, user-friendly platform, and commitment to customer satisfaction. It is particularly beneficial for budding entrepreneurs who want to streamline their business formation process.
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