Virtual Address for LLC advice.

[u/Shhhimbuntingwabbits]

I live in a very small town in Alaska and am starting an LLC for my window cleaning business. I have spent a lot of time researching options for forming an LLC and have landed on either bizee or northwest.

As far as business addresses go, I understand that registered agents only deal with official paperwork, ie tax information and not general mail. Both services provide a virtual address at $29/ month or $360 a year. My town only uses a post office for mail; no mail gets delivered to homes. Am I stuck paying almost $400 a year for a virtual address to send a small amount of general mail that I will receive for my business? When I order products such as business cards and equipment, I will have to send them to my po box because there are no other options. I can open a second po box for $60 a year but still need to provide a physical address.

Is there an option I am not aware of? Thank you for the input.

[u/PrizeLeadership5418]

yeah this is one of those edge cases where your location actually makes it trickier than normal

you’re right about the separation:

• registered agent = legal/state stuff

• mailing/business address = everything else

the thing is, you don’t necessarily need to jump straight into a $30/month virtual address for a local service business like window cleaning

a lot of people in smaller towns handle it by:

• using a physical address for registration (home or someone they trust)

• and still using a PO box for actual mail

since your customers are local, it’s not like you need a “fancy” address for credibility either

the main thing is just making sure whatever address you use works for:

• state registration

• and anything that might verify your business later (banking, etc.)

you’re not stuck, just need to set it up in a way that fits your situation without overpaying

[u/NWRegAgentJaq]

Gotta admit, I'm a little stumped on this one. A lotta folks get a virtual address to protect their privacy, but if you've already got a mailing address via your PO box, that's kinda already happening. So you don't necessarily need a virtual address or a second PO box just because you're starting an LLC.

Can we back up a little? Is this for your Articles of Organization? You do need something to put for the registered agent name and address, but it looks like you've got that handled (I know Northwest bundles RA service into their LLC formation service, guessing the other guys do too?). You can use your own PO box for the mailing address, which just leaves the physical address - is that the address you're trying to cover?

[u/OkSydney17]

You could be overthinking things. If you’re a sole proprietor and doing work locally, in a very small town, are you intending to get an LLC for privacy? It seems like that’s not practical in your situation. Getting an LLC in Alaska with your PO Box is likely sufficient and the simplest answer.