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Delaware Secretary of State Employee Luncheon – June 7th

On Friday, June 7, 2017 an Employee Recognition Luncheon is planned for all the employees of the Delaware Secretary of State – Division of Corporations.  State services have been altered.

There will be NOSame Day” or “Must Approval” service filings after 11:30 AM (ET) on that day.

All 30 Minute and One-Hour service filings must be received prior to 10:00 AM (ET)Two-Hour service filings will need to be received
prior to 9:00 AM (ET) and 24 Hour service filings must be received prior to 12:00 PM (ET).

We will be able to secure filing dates and times until 10:29 PM (ET).

To meet these deadlines, Incserv must receive all filings AT LEAST 15 MINUTES before the DE SOS corresponding cut-off times.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact our office at 302.531.0855, 800.346.4646 or orders@incserv.com.

Luncheon Incserv blog

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On Pilgrimage To Your Best Registered Agent

As young school children, some folks may remember being taught the famous riddle: “If April showers bring may flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!” As a corporation, finding a registered agent is crucial to your business’ survival. However, deciding where to begin the journey may not always be the easiest choice/decision. Here are a few things to consider when making your pilgrimage to find the best registered agent for your company.

Map Your Route

One major thing to consider when trekking to find the best registered agent is to never take a shortcut on your voyage to finding the perfect fit for your business. Sure it may take a little longer to reach your destination, but ultimately doing your due diligence can save you from a whirlpool of trouble down the road. Incorporating Services (INCSERV) has been in business for over 45 years and has many employees who have more than 10 years’ experience in the industry. To better bring this experience to customers, we offer many forms of communication such as telephone, email, fax, and even live-chat to ensure that customers receive assistance from a real person Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Create a Travel Budget

Another vital step to ensuring your pilgrimage is successful is budgeting your expenses. For companies, this means researching the cost of registered agent services. For some registered agent companies, this number can fluctuate year to year. At Incorporating Services, our annual rate of representation is $120 per entity, per jurisdiction. This rate is locked in and will never increase. INCSERV also offers a number of enhanced services (at an additional yearly fee) to ensure your company receives the best, holistic care.

Look for Electronic Navigational Beacons

Living in a high-tech, fast-paced world can be overwhelming to some, but at INCSERV we are equipped with the necessary navigational tools to keep your company on course with compliance as pain-free as possible. INCSERV has many electronic processes that limit the amount of snail mail sent and delivers all notices and invoices in a timely manner. For example, we use email, in conjunction with mail, to send and receive service of process, invoices, tax notices, annual report notices, and other important documents.

Additionally, INCSERV offers enhanced services such as mail forwarding, our Annual Report Monitoring Service (ARMS), and our Annual Report Filing Service (ARFS), so that you receive mail faster and reminders about your upcoming annual reports are in your hands the day we receive them. Furthermore, we offer an enhanced service called Virtual Office where needing a physical office becomes a thing of the past. Those who would spend little time at a paid-for office space can request a virtual office in which you will be given a commercial business address and unique suite number so you can operate your business from anywhere.

Merge Your Ships

Having to maintain compliance through multiple registered agent companies can be tedious. Strive to find a company that can serve your needs in the most complete way possible. Incorporating Services provides domestic and international registered agent representation so it is easy to have all of your ducks in a row. Should you want to consolidate your entities, Incorporating Services can prepare and file the documents for you so you don’t have to worry about a thing! Email our corporate department at orders@incserv.com to consolidate today!

Amanda Archambault, Registered Agent Associate

 

Registered Agent Incserv blog

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Jurisdictional Closures for June 2019

Please see the list below for Jurisdictional Closures for June.  Dates and information are subject to change.    

Date:                   Holiday:                                      State:

June 3rd            Jefferson Davis’ Birthday          AL

June 11th          King Kamehameha I Day           HI

June 20th          West Virginia Day                       WV

Please check out our blog posts throughout the month for any last minute changes or updates from these or any other state or local office.

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us at 800-346-4646 or via email at info@incserv.com.

closures Incserv blog

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Delaware LLC Franchise Taxes Due by June 1st!

The Delaware 2018 Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership and General Partnership taxes are due on or before June 1, 2019. If taxes are not paid by June 1, a penalty is assessed and interest will begin to accrue. Your company will no longer be in good standing and can even be at risk of going void.

DE 1st quarter taxes for Corporations are also due on or before June 1, 2019.

Taxes can be paid by:

  • Logging into Snapshot™, click here. (LLC, LP and GP taxes can be paid in Snapshot™) (Quarterly taxes cannot be paid through Snapshot™)
  • Calling Incserv to assist at 800.346.4646.
  • Going directly to the state website.

Sign up for ARFS now to allow Incserv to keep you in good standing; let us do the remembering for you!

If you have any questions or need help paying your taxes, give us a call or email us.  We’ll be happy to assist you!

Delaware Incserv blog

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Maryland Boat Registration – Incserv is here to serve your needs!

Did you know that the State of Maryland contains 4,000 miles of shoreline and its area is 21% water?  It’s no wonder when we think of Maryland, we think of a life on the water!  Steps away from the Naval Academy and the Chesapeake Bay, Incserv’s new Annapolis office is on deck to serve your boat registration needs!

Whether you’re sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, pontooning on Deep Creek Lake or fishing on the Choptank River, we can help get the pesky paperwork out of the way of you hitting the water!  We’ll walk your paperwork in for you and walk out with your Registration in hand, keeping you from making the trip and waiting around.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a boat, and your State of principal use will be MD, or if you already have a boat registered in MD with the Department of Natural Resources and need it renewed, give us a call or send us an email.

If you’d like more information about our services in MD, please call our main number at 800.346.4646 or email us at info@incserv.com.   Stay tuned to this blog series as we announce new services and information about our new Maryland Office in the historic capital city of Annapolis!

Lucy Rose, Project Manager, Product Research and Development

Maryland Incserv blog

 

 

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Reminder – Delaware Quarterly Tax Payments Are Due June 1st!

If your for-profit company paid more than $5,000 in franchise taxes when filing the annual report for the prior year, you are required to make a quarterly estimated tax payment for the current tax year going forward. The first quarterly installment at 40% of the estimated tax is due by June 1st.  The second and third installment at 20% is due by September 1st and December 1st, and the remaining balance is due, along with your annual report, by March 1st.

Failure to pay your franchise taxes on time will result in accumulating interest fees.   In addition, your company will no longer be in good standing with the State of Delaware until all taxes due are paid in full. This might delay possible investments or financial transactions that may require a Good Standing Certificate.

June 1st is fast approaching – if you have any questions or need assistance paying your quarterly franchise tax, give us a call 800.346.4646 or email us.  We’ll be happy to assist you!

Want more information on how franchise taxes are calculated?  Visit the State of Delaware website at: How to Calculate Franchise Taxes.

Note: Should the total tax payment become less than $5,000, the company will no longer be required to make quarterly tax payments.

Gennine Cooper, Marketing Associate

Quarterly Incserv blog

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Tips and Scenarios to Avoid Rejection and Expedite the Legalization and Authentication Process

Legalization of documents that have originated outside the U.S. can be expensive, time consuming and tricky.  If this is for a frequent repeating process, you’ll want to document your experience with the process for planning purposes and for future reference, as the process can be incredibly idiosyncratic and unpredictable. It also never hurts to cultivate a good relationship with the folks at the embassy and/or consulate.

When it comes to legalization, it’s important to go with the understanding that the embassy has the final say and there is often little that can be done to “push” through the authentication. Be prepared to address substantive reviews, including items that may seem to be beyond their purview.

Content review

While the legalization process is technically only meant to only verify the authenticity of the seal and signature of the government authority, it is not unheard of for an embassy to review the contents of a particular document and refuse to issue their approval based on something within the document with which they do not agree. Submitters may want to be prepared to respond to substantive questions and address an embassy’s concerns.

Some things to consider

Depending on the countries involved, there may be additional quirks and complications.  A few things to consider as you embark on a legalization process:

  • Consulate specific requirements – Consulates each have their own requirements for supporting documentation, such as passports or officer’s certificates. For example in Lebanon, certain documents from individual companies must be accompanies with documents certifying a signatory’s authorization on company letter head, as well a state issued photo identification.
  • On the ground logistics – You may also need to consider how the documents will be delivered and picked up from the foreign embassy. Some embassies may not process mail inquiries as expeditiously as walk-in requests or may refuse to use a courier service to send out international documents because of the extra work involved. . It can be helpful to have a knowledgeable agent to assist you with the process of dealing with embassies in a foreign country. An agent familiar with the quirks and foibles of the various embassies and their own country’s government agencies can save you a great deal of time and frustration.
  • Translation process requirements – Some consulates will not legalize a public document unless that document has been translated. That translation will also have to go through the appropriate chain authentication subject to change. One recent case Incserv associates encountered was for a legalization with the consulate for Angola. In the past the English document was certified followed by the subsequent certification for a Portuguese document in a separate document. The process shifted for a “preference” to the legalization and certification contained in a single document. Incserv was able to rapidly pivot mid process and mitigate any delays this policy shift could have created.
  • Jurisdiction Shifts – Not that a consulate’s requirements in one jurisdiction (such as the U.S.) may vary from the same country’s consulate in another country. Never assume you know the process.
  • Notarization – In many civil law countries, a notary’s signature and seal will need to be court certified. Whereas, in the U.S., a document bearing the seal and signature of a registered notary public can be verified, authenticated and then legalized by the appropriate embassy or consulate.
  • Current Diplomatic Relations. Current diplomatic relationships (or lack thereof) between the two countries can impact the legalization process. Some originating countries may not have an embassy or consulate for the receiving country.

This is a just a short list of things you may need to consider when preparing your document for the Apostille, Authentication and Legalization process.  For more details or questions please contact us at info@incserv.com.

Legalization Incserv blog

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Pt Two – Does Your Company Need a Certificate of Incumbency?

In the first blog, we discussed what an Incumbency Certificate is and the details it will contain.  Feel free to read: Click here.

Is your boat owned by a legal entity?  If so, have you been asked if you are the rightful owner of that boat?  Or, has your bank requested you to confirm you are an officer/director or member/manager of your company?  If so, Incserv has a solution that might work!

Below are two examples of how we have assisted with Incumbency requests:

The owner of a boat contacted Incserv needing quick, fast help.  His boat was stuck in Port with the authorities requesting additional documentation to show he was an officer of the Corporation (that owned the boat).  Incserv prepared a Certificate of Incumbency, including his name as officer of the Corporation.  The Incumbency was prepared with Apostille and shipped off to the client the same day.  The client confirmed 2 days later that he received the documents and was able to move through the Port.

Incserv assisted another client with preparation of an Incumbency Certificate – the client was pleased with the process and how quickly it was turned around.  Feedback from the client: “Very good experience. It was handled very professionally.”

If you have additional questions or need assistance with obtaining a Certificate of Incumbency, give us a call or email us. Please note – Incserv must be the Registered Agent of a company in order to prepare a Certificate of Incumbency. If you require a Certificate of Incumbency and we are not the Registered Agent, ask us about changing your Registered Agent.

Karen Elliott, Assistant Vice President Client Development

Incumbency Incserv blog