A Tale of Two Counties

Today I quoted someone on setting up a New York entity. It’s not the first time I’ve worked in NY, but it is the first time I’ve had to quote on publishing costs within New York County. And all I’ve got to say is “ouch!”

Not all states have publication requirements. It’s old-fashioned, and to be honest, completely unnecessary. Almost all states have publicly-accessible databases where you can look up all companies formed within that state or registered in that state. The information you are required to publish is — you guessed it! — the Articles. So why do states hang onto this extra, onerous requirement?

My guess is money, pure and simple. New York is a prime example. I just quoted on publishing within New York County, for a client who wants to set up in Manhattan. The cost will be roughly $1,000. That’s a thousand bucks, to publish information in a newspaper (okay, 2 newspapers; one a weekly paper, one a daily paper, once per week for 6 consecutive weeks) that is instantly available for free on their own Secretary of State’s website. It only costs $200 to file the Articles to register the company, for heaven’s sake! (Plus an extra $50 to file proof of publication).

But even within states, costs vary wildly. I quoted this morning on NY County. Not too long ago I did a formation in Rensselaer County, not too far outside the city. The cost? About $125, including the $50 proof of publication filing fee.

I have an idea how to cut your costs. If you’re looking at forming a business in New York any time soon, why not drop me a line at info@businessfirstformations.com.