To get your business up and running as quickly as possible, it is essential to sort between the different registered agent services available.
We’ll investigate two registered agent services: Incfile and our own VirtualPostMail.
Here’s a rundown of what each offers and how they can help your business stay compliant without hassle.
Registered Agent Service Comparison Chart: VirtualPostMail vs. Incfile
What is Incfile?
Incfile is a legal service company that helps people who are about to start a new business. Incfile is specialized in assisting clients forming legal entities, primarily through document filing services. Additionally, they focus on compliance once your business formation is completed.
More importantly, Incfile offers registered agent services. Under state law, you need to have a registered agent to:
- Accept any legal service of process document as well as official letters and correspondence from your Secretary of State, Division of Corporations or other state government agency.
- Get notified upon receipt of service of the process.
- Forward any official, legal, or tax correspondence received.
How VirtualPostMail Differs from Incfile
If you want a professional registered agent service to take care of all your business formation paperwork, Incfile offers convenience and spares you the red tape when incorporating a business.
However, as a registered agent service, Incfile can only receive and manage mail you get from the state. This includes service of process notices, correspondence from the Secretary of State, and other official government notifications (i.e. tax notifications and notice of lawsuits).
If you require Incfile to be your registered agent, the address cannot be used as a general business or mail address. For that reason, you will need a separate mailbox service for your business on top of using their registered agent service.
On the other hand, VirtualPostMail is a single provider that takes care of all the compliance requirements of a registered agent, gives you a virtual business address, plus will handle your personal mail and packages plus more under one platform.
By combining our registered agent services with a virtual mailbox you will be able to easily manage all your personal, business, and legal mail in one place. Not to mention you’ll get more advantages.
1. Mail and Package Forwarding
Besides receiving and managing all your mail, VirtualPostMail enables same-day access to all legal documents so you can address issues faster and with diligence. This means you can rest assured that you will receive any crucial information on time.
Here’s what else VirtualPostMail does for your business:
- We forward mail, important documents, checks and invoices from customers and vendors.
- You will get real-time email notifications when you receive new mail. You can then decide whether to have the mail opened and scanned, forwarded, or destroyed.
- Each package received will have its shipping label scanned for online viewing. You get to manage your packages online just like your mail.
Incfile does offer package and mail forwarding services, but only to your personal contact mailing address.
2. Professional Appearance with a Business Address
With VirtualPostMail, in addition to a registered agent service, you also get a professional and permanent business address where you will be able to receive all postal mail.
A business address is essential for many business-critical processes like opening a bank account, opening accounts with many clients, vendors and suppliers, or even file for a business license.
Another important benefit is that you will have a local presence in the state where you’re operating. This leaves a good impression and shows your clients your venture is present in their market.
Plus, VirtualPostMail’s business address will protect your privacy. Use it on your public website, documents, and our address will show up on state websites.
Registered agent services from Incfile does not allow the registered agent address to be listed as both the registered agent as well as the physical address. As a result you must get a separate business address.
Incfile does offer the use of their network of virtual business addresses at a separate cost of $29/month, however they are not comparable to what you get with VirtualPostMail. You are only paying for the use of an address with Incfile on top of your registered agent service.
With a VirtualPostMail account you receive the benefits of a business address, registered agent service, and our virtual mailbox service all in one. A huge advantage at VirtualPostMail is that every single one of our locations is a mail processing center that we own. This means all mail and packages are directly delivered from the courier straight into the hands of one our experienced and certified staff members. Our highly trained staff knows exactly how to handle your mail with accuracy, the utmost care, and in the most effective way.
Furthermore, the mail never gets touched or goes through another point of contact during the last leg delivery. There is no middleman like a UPS Store, mom & pop mailbox rental store, or a virtual office, all of which increases the risk of mail loss and delayed delivery times. Additionally, we process mail and packages in-house, own our operating locations, provide customer support, and have control of our software and processing times. You get one reliable, secure, and proven service for your mail.
Each mail piece is processed at the location for the fastest turnaround time. On average, your mail is available to you the same day it is received. We don’t forward it to a central processing facility, which can take up to a week to have your new mail show up in your virtual mailbox. Faster availability means more time for you to take action on time-sensitive mail, especially critical legal and government documents.
3. Deposit Checks to Any U.S. Bank from Anywhere
Signing up for VirtualPostMail’s registered agent services also comes with another benefit, you’ll be able to deposit checks to any US bank from anywhere.
This is especially convenient for startup founders who commute or travel extensively to meet with business partners, vendors, and clients.
You’ll be able to deposit any checks received in your VirtualPostMail account remotely without having to spend time going to the bank. It means you can set up your existing bank account to begin receiving money. Once your check deposit is processed, it is mailed out within 1 business day. You will normally receive the money within 1 week.
Check deposits are not handled by Incfile and is not part of their service.
4. Best Customer Support
Starting a business can be a challenge, and most business founders have very little time to allocate researching legal and administrative details. So having someone you can rely on to help you with any questions you might have has real value.
Some registered agent services do not have a dedicated customer support team available. For example, Incfile has outsourced customer support and customers frequently complain of having a hard time reaching them or receiving timely responses for queries and needs.
Customer service is a key priority at VirtualPostMail and we do not outsource our customer service. Our customer support team is in-house and are dedicated to efficiently provide solutions to all current and new customers.
Our team is available during regular working hours. We do everything possible to work directly with you to understand your situation and then find alternatives and solutions. Our response time is quicker, we have a 1-day max response time to our customers.
At VirtualPostMail, we offer:
- The best-in-industry support team with a 98% customer happiness score.
- The best-in-industry average first response time of 1 hour 56 minutes.
- The best-in-industry average first response resolution rate of 75%.
As a result due to the fact that Incfile outsources their customer service team, it is common that they will not go above or beyond for issues, questions, or concerns.
5. Get A Full Business Mail Solution
With our virtual mailbox service on top of our registered agent service, you will get the best of both worlds.
VirtualPostMail scans each mail envelope that comes in and posts it to your virtual mailbox automatically. No matter where you are, you’ll have all your mail at your disposal the same day to act faster for all important and time-sensitive documents.
Streamline workflow and automate administrative tasks related to snail mail and package delivery. While avoiding any penalties and remaining in good standing with legal and tax authorities.
VirtualPostMail’s virtual mailbox brings a comprehensive set of benefits to your startup:
- Have all your business mail and documents digitized.
- Save time not having to scan documents yourself.
- Skip the hassle of opening and sorting mail.
- Quickly and easily search through PDF scans using OCR technology.
- Store digital mail documents for future reference or for tax purposes.
Incfile does not offer searchable PDF scans, only a static image.
Overall, Incfile does offer an extension of a virtual mailbox service, however it is a basic account to view your mail as a convenience. Their virtual mailbox service is not their core or expertise.
Conclusion
Choosing the right registered agent service can help your business be compliant, streamline processes, and increase your productivity. So take your time to compare the options available before you decide.
Ready to Use a Virtual Mailbox With Your Registered Agent Service?
By combining a virtual mailbox with your registered agent service, you will get the benefits of saving money with our free registered agent services, protecting your personal privacy, and have a commercial street address to use for business communication. And you only have to deal with one single service provider to handle your business mail and corporate compliance needs.
