Additional business services

Additional Business Services: What Companies Order and What It Costs

Quick Answer

Beyond recurring compliance, companies periodically need one-time work: obtaining an EIN or ITIN, changing agents, amending formation documents, registering in another state, reinstating good standing, or dissolving the company properly. Each service is priced on its own at [Illion price — to be filled in].

What these tasks share is that they arrive by event, not by calendar. You hire your first employee in another state, move offices, add a partner, or decide to pause operations — and each one has a formal step with a deadline attached.

Pricing here almost always has two parts: the work and the state or agency fee. Those fees vary enormously: changing agents is free in some states and costs tens of dollars in others, while foreign registration runs up to $750 in South Dakota.

What the Service Includes

Here are the services companies request most often, with what each one involves.

• Obtaining an EIN from the IRS, including for owners without an SSN via Form SS-4.
• ITIN applications for people who need a tax number but aren’t eligible for an SSN: preparing Form W-7 and supporting documents.
• Selecting and changing your registered agent, including filing the change with the state.
• Amending formation documents: name, address, ownership or authorized shares.
• Foreign qualification — registering to do business in another state once you have an office, employees or inventory there.
• Reinstating good standing: filing missed reports, paying fees and penalties, and returning the company to active status.
• Obtaining a Certificate of Good Standing for a bank, investor, business buyer, landlord or tender.
• Formal dissolution: final returns, tax clearance where required, and filing the termination documents.
• Support with Form 5472 and the other obligations that come with foreign ownership.
• Reconstructing missed filings: state reports, prior-year returns and amended forms.

Pricing

Each item is priced separately, since both the workload and the state fees vary widely.

Item	Price	Frequency
EIN application	[Illion price — to be filled in]	One-time
ITIN application (Form W-7)	[Illion price — to be filled in]	One-time
Changing the registered agent	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	One-time
Amending formation documents	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	One-time
Foreign qualification in another state	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	One-time
Reinstating good standing	[Illion price — to be filled in] + fees and penalties	One-time
Certificate of Good Standing	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	One-time
Company dissolution	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	One-time
State fee (range)	$0–$750 depending on state and action	One-time

What Drives the Final Price

• The state. Fees and timelines differ dramatically: some actions are free, others run into the hundreds.
• Entity type. Corporate changes often touch shares and require shareholder resolutions; for an LLC an amended operating agreement may suffice.
• Depth of the change. An address update is one action; a name change ripples into banking, contracts, licenses and tax accounts.
• How long you’ve been delinquent. The longer reports went unfiled, the more penalties accrue and the harder reinstatement becomes.
• Foreign ownership. Foreign-owned companies add federal forms and documentation requirements.
• Urgency. Many states offer expedited processing for an extra fee; without it, turnaround can run into weeks.

Worked Example

Take a growth scenario: a Florida company hires an employee in Texas and opens an office there. Here’s what’s needed.

Cost item	Calculation	Amount
Foreign qualification in Texas	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	[Illion price — to be filled in]
Registered agent in Texas	$50–$300 per year	$50–$300
Employer registration in Texas	See the Payroll section	[Illion price — to be filled in]
Certificate of Good Standing from Florida	[Illion price — to be filled in] + state fee	[Illion price — to be filled in]
Total one-time actions	—	[Illion price — to be filled in]

This bundle shows up every time a company enters a new state, and it’s nearly always underestimated. The plan accounts for the employee’s salary; the reality adds registration, an agent, filings and recurring state fees.

The reverse case is closing down. Many owners simply stop filing, assuming the company will lapse on its own. In practice the state keeps charging fees and minimum taxes, and a year or two later a bill arrives with penalties. Formal dissolution is almost always cheaper.

There’s also a middle path. If activity pauses for a year, keeping the company active and filing zero reports is sometimes cheaper than dissolving and forming again later. That math depends on the state.

What Happens If You DIY or Skip It

Losing good standing bites at the worst moment: a bank declines an account or credit line, a buyer can’t close a deal, and in several states the company loses the right to bring a lawsuit. And the whole chain often starts with one missed $25 report.

Operating in another state without registering is the second classic. The state can assess fees and penalties for the entire period, and in several states the company can’t file suit until it registers and settles the balance.

Unfiled changes create mismatches between the registry, your bank and tax agencies. The most common version: the company moves and the registered address stays stale. Notices from the state and the IRS go to the old address, and you learn about them at the penalty stage.

Dissolving without final returns leaves the company alive for tax purposes. Filing obligations continue while the charter stands, and penalties accrue yearly — especially visible in minimum-tax states like California and Rhode Island.

For foreign-owned companies, Form 5472 is its own risk zone. It’s filed with Form 1120 even with no activity, and the penalty for not filing is $25,000.

How the Work Is Organized

1. We clarify the task and check the company’s current status in the state registry and with tax agencies.
2. We scope the actions and fees, confirming the timeline and total before any work starts.
3. We prepare the documents: forms, owner resolutions, agent consents and cover letters.
4. We file and track processing, using expedited service where it makes sense.
5. We deliver the confirmations and update your records: registry, tax accounts and compliance calendar.
6. For reinstatements, we also close out the missed reports and returns from prior periods.

Which Option Fits Which Business

Here are the typical triggers for a one-time engagement.

Client situation	What we handle	Price guide
Starting out or hiring your first employee	EIN, employer registration	One-time services
A nonresident needs a tax number	ITIN via Form W-7	One-time service
Expanding into a new state	Foreign qualification, agent, registrations	By number of states
The company stopped filing reports	Reinstating good standing	Work + fees and penalties

Common Client Mistakes

1. Operating in a new state without registering

Consequence: Fees and penalties for the whole period, plus limits on bringing suit.

How to avoid it: File foreign qualification before hiring there or opening an office.

2. Moving without updating the registered address

Consequence: State and IRS notices go to the old address; you find out late.

How to avoid it: Update the address in the registry, with your agent, with the IRS and with the state tax agency at once.

3. Stopping operations without dissolving the company

Consequence: Fees, minimum taxes and penalties keep accruing.

How to avoid it: Dissolve formally: final returns, clearance where required, and termination filings.

4. A foreign-owned company skipping Form 5472

Consequence: A $25,000 penalty even with zero activity.

How to avoid it: Put the form on the annual calendar at formation, not after the first notice.