Northwest

Core Services & Offerings

Northwest’s LLC formation service is comprehensive and includes all the elements to establish an LLC seamlessly. The service handles the LLC state form, also known as the ‘Articles of Organization,’ filed with the Secretary of State.

As part of the LLC formation service, Northwest also provides a business address. If you don’t have a physical address for your business in the state you’re registering your LLC in, or if you don’t want to use your own address, you can use Northwest’s address. It also includes a year of registered agent service, where Northwest will handle all the correspondence with the state and receive mail on your behalf.

LLC formation also includes free mail forwarding, so any mail from the state about your LLC can be forwarded to an address of your choosing.

Northwest handles LLC formation in all 50 states and is well-versed in the state-specific requirements that apply.

The Employer Identification Number (EIN), issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax purposes, is not included in the LLC formation process. You can purchase this service as an add-on and receive an EIN in four days.

In addition, Northwest also provides free templates for operating agreements and LLC resolutions for opening a bank account.

Formation Process

Northwest LLC formation service uses an online form that collects all the necessary information required for registering a business in your selected state.

Here’s what the process looks like:

• Fill out the form: A detailed step-by-step online form begins with order information, where you select the state and expedited processing (if available in that state). The form asks about your business name, description, and address (if you want to use yours and not theirs). You also have to provide your contact information, which the company doesn’t share with anyone.
• Select add-ons: As part of the form, you can select any add-on services. LLC formation comes with a complimentary 90-day trial of the company’s business identity services, which include a business domain, website, email, and phone service. It also offers optional Tax ID filing, premium mail service, and trademark service for an additional fee.
• Pay the fee: Based on your selections, your total will appear on the right side of the page. You can pay with a debit or credit card.
• Account creation: As part of the form, your account on the Northwest portal is created, allowing you to log in, track your progress, and order and manage additional services after your LLC has been formed.

The entire process is straightforward, simple, and transparent. All the requirements and fees are based on the selected state.

The service doesn’t require the user to create an account and then fill out the form. Instead, the account is created alongside the form, which is convenient and quick. This also adds to transparency, as the user knows the fee and related costs without needing to create an account first.

Legal & Compliance Tools

Northwest offers compliance filing services as part of the LLC formation package, but it’s not free. With this service, the professionals at Northwest complete the compliance forms required by the state, typically on an annual basis.

Northwest will send a reminder 90 days prior to the compliance filing due date. Then, it will file the appropriate forms with the state and charge any applicable state fees, as well as a $100 service fee. All LLC formation customers are automatically registered for this service and can opt out at any time through the customer portal.

Northwest doesn’t offer tax consultation or tax filing assistance.

Regarding data security and privacy compliance, Northwest’s Privacy by Default feature ensures data protection. The company states that it does not sell user data.

Additional Services & Add-Ons

In addition to the basic LLC formation service, Northwest also offers:

• Tax ID service—obtains EIN from the IRS on your behalf (also available for non-US citizens).
• Trade Name or Doing Business As (DBA) filing—all the paperwork for filing a pseudonym (DBA) for your business without needing to register another business.
• Trademark filing–to trademark and patent your business name, logo, or design.
• Premium mail service–unlimited flat mail forwarding and a commercial office address for clients and other businesses.
• Virtual office–a monthly subscription service with a virtual office address in one of 18 US states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming) with virtual phone and physical mail forwarding.

Ease of Use

Northwest’s sign-up process for LLC formation is user-friendly, featuring a responsive form that works well on both desktop and mobile devices.

Once you’ve signed up, you can manage business documents and services through the Northwest client portal, which is intuitive and easy to use. A well-designed header on the dashboard directs you to relevant documents, such as Articles of Organization (LLC form) or a tax ID form. You can also purchase additional services through the same portal, making things easier.

The templates for operating agreements are also easy to reuse. You’ll need to answer a few questions, and then you’ll be able to download the template, which will be prefilled with some of the information you entered.

The company also provides detailed guidelines on forming an LLC in each state, along with guides for filing for an EIN or creating an operating agreement.

Overall, the website and client portal are very user-friendly and modern.