Being a good business owner entails having a keen awareness of the different variables that come into play from launch to sustaining operations. You can’t have tunnel vision when making major business decisions, especially when you are still in the starting phase of your entrepreneurial journey.
North Carolina has earned the top spot in 2023 for the annual rankings of best states for business. It gets the number one spot because of its high placements in healthcare, cost of living, business cost, workforce, and infrastructure, among other things. Thinking about all these factors is important when choosing where to establish your business.
Regardless of what state you choose, you are required to have a registered agent. This process isn’t something you want to take lightly either. Make sure you know the key variables to consider when picking the right one for your needs.
1. Experience
There is some considerable freedom when it comes to choosing who your registered agent will be. In theory, you can even get an employee or any trusted individual to serve as your agent. That said, this may not be the best route to take when it comes to such a pivotal role. There are many legal obligations and compliance measures that hinge on the experience of your registered agent. As such, you’ll want to make sure you get someone who has actually studied or at least had real-life experience in this arena.
There are plenty of commercial services that have a pool of registered agents who are dedicated to this role. Resource management is one of the most important aspects of long-term management for tech companies in America, especially since you don’t want to overcommit and end up being unable to focus the right resources on your projects. With a solid registered agent, you can have the comfort of knowing that your compliance will be handled accordingly as you focus on other tasks.
2. Range of Services
Not all registered agents offer the same services. While the basic function of the role is to receive service of process and ensure timely communications with legal and official offices, more comprehensive services also help with document scanning and digitization. This can be very useful for tech businesses that primarily operate digitally.
Certain states also have commercial services that specialize in mail forwarding and providing reminders for annual reports, licensing renewals, and tax notices. For instance, those looking how to find the best registered agent in Oregon they will likely be directed to the likes of LegalZoom or Northwest Registered Agent. These services handle the entire process for filing your registered agent and even offer some virtual office services with a dedicated address to represent your business on public record.
3. Availability
You don’t want a registered agent who won’t actually be able to get to your legal notices and the like on time. With that in mind, you will need to make sure they are available during business hours and will be able to stick to compliance deadlines. You may even want to adopt a feedback policy and invest in tech to elevate this process even further and ensure business continuity without your presence. These are key factors in Innovative Management as well, so it will serve your business in more ways than one.
4. Address
When it comes to location, you should know that practically all states require that a registered agent reside in the same state as the business they represent. At the very least, you’ll want to get a commercial agent service that has operations in the same state. This will also allow you to provide a different address that is dedicated to the receipt of notices and service of process.
Considering how major hubs like San Francisco are seeing major brands pull out because of increasing business-targeted crime, the address your registered agent uses matters more than ever. It’s essential to minimize the risk of unwanted solicitation and invasion of privacy in this climate.
5. Costs
Finally, you want to consider the costs of getting a registered agent. Registered agent services vary depending on where you live and what agent you get. This can be determined by the individual themselves or their parent company (in the event that you get one from a commercial agent service.)
Make sure you do your research when it comes to annual fees and registration fees on top of service costs. Wyoming has some of the cheapest annual fees that dance around the $50 mark. Of course, that doesn’t cover other costs like registration, reports, and the like. You’ll want to take this into account so that you can allocate financial resources accordingly. With good planning, you’ll be able to invest in other helpful endeavours like Local Business Marketing.
