<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI doubt there are many others out there who have done as much research on Pennsylvania registered agents as I have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first began by looking into registered agents for my other businesses (which I have now sold) and was surprised by how vast the disparity was between good registered agents and bad ones. This disparity makes your choice of registered agent a very important one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, there\u2019s a lot at stake. After putting in countless hours starting my new venture, filing my Certificate of Organization, and trying to do everything right in accordance with the Secretary of State, I wasn\u2019t going to risk my business by entrusting it to the wrong registered agent. So I did exactly what I had done to make my previous businesses into successes — I did exhaustive research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My first step was to identify the major players and go through their marketing materials. Comparing various offerings made it much easier to determine which registered agent services offered concrete value and which were just trying to lure you in with dubious promotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From there I waded through countless online reviews, trying to determine which were genuine and offered the best perspectives. Finally, I actually got the phone and called the registered agents themselves. I heard more sales pitches and talked to more customer reps than I can count, but I ended up with a real sense of the individuals behind each company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking with others who were starting a business in Pennsylvania, I realized that they were just as overwhelmed by the number of registered agent services as I had been, so I began to share my research. All my work was greatly appreciated by my peers which led me to believe that a website sharing my findings could be a great asset to others in the Pennsylvania business community and across the country as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far the site has been quite successful as I\u2019ve already helped thousands of business owners in Pennsylvania make the best choice for their registered agent. I hope my insights and recommendations will help you too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>How I Selected The Best Registered Agent<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Stage 1: Reviews<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOnline reviews are an obvious starting point when selecting your registered agent in Pennsylvania. I went to Facebook, TrustPilot, Google Business and the Better Business Bureau, amongst others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it can be difficult to determine which reviews can be trusted, once you\u2019ve gone through as many as I did, you start to notice some patterns. A lot of complaints emerged about a deceptive pricing structure that is surprisingly common amongst registered agents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many agents show one price, often in the $39-$59 range, but charge you substantially more per year when all is said and done. I eliminated any registered agents that used this dishonest pricing scheme to lure business owners to their service and was left with just the 12 companies that I reviewed above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Stage 2: Website Analysis<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAfter I was confident that I\u2019d removed the worst of the lot, I reviewed the websites of the remaining companies offering Pennsylvania registered agent service to determine what services they offered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found 24 distinct services that registered agents offered with their yearly subscriptions. To keep track of them all, I made a simple spreadsheet with the names of the 12 registered agents in the columns and the 24 services listed in the rows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I then went back to the companies\u2019 sites and talked with their sales reps if I needed clarification, and found out exactly what services each Pennsylvania registered agent service offered. When I was done, I had a great visual showing me exactly which companies offered which services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Stage 3: Speaking With Real Customers<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\nIt was also important to me to determine not just what services each registered agent offered, but how well they executed their offerings. For this, I wanted to go beyond the online reviews because they are often skewed to extremes by customers with very strong opinions or manipulated by the companies themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking to actual Pennsylvania customers also helped me ask in-depth questions such as whether a national registered agent service was familiar with state regulations. To do this, I initially just followed up with my fellow Pennsylvania business owners with whom I\u2019d already shared some of my research. They were able to divulge very specific details of their own experiences and whether or not they aligned with mine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that this website is live, I\u2019m also able to converse with you all about your Pennsylvania registered agent choices and I\u2019m constantly updating these rankings with your input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Stage 4: Speak With Their Sales Team<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAfter I had assembled all my research, I went back to the registered agent\u2019s sales reps as the last step. With the amount of information I already had, I was able to ask very pointed questions and address specific concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anytime you talk to someone in sales, you\u2019re going to get a pretty glossed-over version of the truth, of course, but I learned which companies take complaints seriously, which ones are most responsive to customer feedback and which are dedicated to continuously improving their product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through these calls, I was also able to put together a pretty good sense of each company\u2019s corporate culture and how they interacted with their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n