Contributor, Benzinga
March 20, 2023
doola
Overall Rating:
securely through doola's website

With doola, business owners can streamline the process of starting, licensing, building and running a business. The company understands the headaches and challenges associated with creating a company such as bookkeeping and managing compliance. doola offers a wealth of tools dedicated to improving the process of forming a U.S. company. The customer-focused company provides a strong product offering that includes great customer service features. Individuals from all over the globe have the opportunity to use doola to make their dream of building a company a reality.

Pros
  • Forms a limited liability company (LLC) for U.S. and international founders
  • Possible to begin the process of forming a business in less than 10 minutes
  • Provides pricing for as low as $200 in combination with state fees
  • Starts businesses such as a DAO LLC, LLC or C Corp
Cons
  • New company, so potential for growing pains

doola Ratings at a Glance

Product Offering
Customer Service Rating
Security
Minimum Investment and Pricing
User Experience
Overall Rating

doola Product Offering

doola has a notable product offering designed to empower founders navigating the process of starting, running and growing a business. 

Individuals can speak with doola to see if the company matches their needs. If it’s a good fit, customers have an onboarding call to learn about custom packages. Speak with a professional to know which business structure would work best for you.

In terms of starting a company, doola helps founders form an LLC, C Corp or DOA LLC by implementing company formation API. The company uses GraphQL to adapt provided technology to applicable situations. 

An LLC offers founders a limited or minimal amount of liability that is enjoyed by corporations in combination with pass-through taxation. According to the IRS, corporations can achieve unique tax deductions when using an LLC. Pass-through taxation lets founders avoid taxes on an entity level. doola makes it possible for customers to register an LLC while simultaneously banking and building credit.

A C corporation or C Corp is considered a tax-paying entity. Shareholders of a C Corp are taxed separately. doola gives customers the ability to create a C Corp while offering an employment identification number (EIN), operating agreement, virtual mailbox based and one year of free registered agent service. 

A decentralized autonomous organization LLC (DOA LLC) located in Wyoming does not have a clear top member. doola allows founders to create a DOA LLC.

Once the business is ready to start running and growing, doola assists with banking, compliance, bookkeeping and tax packages. Individuals that currently have a business can migrate to doola. Its total compliance solution includes useful tools and processes such as company formation, federal filing, state filing, bookkeeping essentials and continuous customer support.  

A key benefit of doola’s product offering stems from its ability to build and support a business after formation. 

Customer Service Rating

doola has impressive customer service as shown by its multiple methods of communication and general responsiveness. The company understands that customers have communication preferences. To accommodate these preferences, the company provides a wide selection of communication methods ranging from a phone number, chatbot, several social media platforms and a contact section easily accessible near the bottom of the website’s home page. 

The contact section encourages customers to interact with customer service using live chat, email, phone call, WhatsApp and FB messenger. The chat box includes an intelligently placed help section. The help section assists customers by providing a list of useful articles intended to troubleshoot frequently asked questions. Customers can type at the top of the help section to search for relevant information. 

The FAQ portion of the website and the blog encourage customers to independently search for information. The two independent tools can prove useful for customers who prefer to avoid direct communication. 

In terms of social media, doola uses platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. In an increasingly social digital world, a strong and diversified social media presence is becoming increasingly important.

Customer reviews collected and placed on doola’s wall of love speak highly of the company’s prompt customer service response and smooth formation process. Such positive feedback gives customers added peace of mind.

Consider reading reviews on third-party websites such as Trustpilot to have a less-biased perspective. doola has an excellent score on Trustpilot because about 90% of the reviews are five stars. Customers who positively reviewed the company mentioned knowledgeable customer service personnel and a simplified onboarding process. Individuals that had poorly rated the company experienced what they felt was an extended EIN process. 

doola ranks highly in terms of customer service. The company has a capable customer service team and varied methods of communication intended to meet and accommodate customer needs.

Security

doola takes security concerns seriously by implementing a least-privileged access philosophy. The philosophy encourages safety by allowing individuals to only have the minimum amount of information possible to execute tasks. The company implements background checks on individuals that are chosen for full-time employment. 

The company uses secure authentication such as multiple-factor or SSO to strengthen banking-related security measures. doola completed a risk-assessment check to better understand and improve vulnerabilities. In addition to the risk-assessment check, doola participated in penetration tests. The company implements penetration tests on a minimum of a yearly basis. Trustworthy third parties use network and application scans to collect data.

To prevent data breaches, doola consistently executes vulnerability scans. The scans are designed to find and fix weaknesses. 

doola places its privacy policy, terms of use and data processing addendum near the bottom of the website home page. Customers have the opportunity to review the documents to have a better idea of expectations. For example, the terms of service include relevant information about applications, accounts and payments. The privacy policy emphasizes doola’s commitment to safety by highlighting that employees and contractors are only provided with limited access to customer-related personal information. The policy explains what information will likely be collected from customers such as payment information and contact details. 

Consider using a virtual private network (VPN) in combination with doola’s already strong security features. A VPN provides a secure connection to the internet and can prove useful when using unsecured internet connections such as public Wi-Fi. Implementing a VPN can safeguard sensitive financial information from hackers. 

doola understands the constantly evolving virtual world and strives to not only remain relevant but competitive when it comes to security. The company works to consistently understand and improve vulnerabilities. As more information continues to be disseminated online, the need for competitive cybersecurity tools and customer-friendly measures will likely continue to expand. 

Minimum Investment and Pricing

The minimum investment and pricing provided by doola remain relatively competitive. However, the company has room for improvement in terms of clear and organized pricing. It’s possible to form a company for as little as $200 in addition to state fees. The barrier to entry is relatively low compared to competitor costs. Consider that the process of starting and eventually running a business includes the cost of human capital and time.

Initial investment costs tend to depend on the state that individuals select for formation as well as the specific type of LLC or corporation. The actual costs related to starting a business depend on multiple factors such as the type of business. For example, the costs of opening a dropshipping business will likely be lower than the costs associated with opening a restaurant. 

The cost of starting a business also depends on state and federal fees. doola does not include state fees when providing customers with general pricing details. For example, an individual interested in forming a C Corp will likely face fees from doola that total around $200 in addition to state fees. doola encourages founders to take a survey to obtain information about the best states to select from the list. Price clarity could be improved if doola made state-related information easily accessible on the price-related portions of the website. 

Individuals interested in receiving total compliance assistance will need to pay on average $2,200 a year, which equates to about $300 per month. Compared to similar service providers, doola’s fees for compliance-related services remain highly competitive. doola has bookkeeping services that include categorization tools and monthly financial report features. 

The bookkeeping service has two different packages. The essentials package costs around $600 per year while the premium package costs about $1,800. The premium bookkeeping package allows businesses to categorize a maximum of 1,200 transactions per year. The premium package can handle about five times more transactions than the essentials package. Review all of the available packages before making a purchase. 

In terms of clarity, doola’s pricing has room for subtle improvements. For example, the website does not have all prices on an easily accessible web page. Customers need to navigate from one section to the next to locate fees related to forming an LLC. Implementing a section dedicated to all pricing-related needs can help quickly inform customers about the various opportunities.

User Experience

In terms of user experience, doola offers an intuitive design combined with an easy-to-navigate product. The website offers content intended to inform both current and customers. 

The website design offers clear categories that help to organize content while saving readers time. For example, individuals interested in opening an LLC can click on the LLC tab located underneath the start your business section. The website’s intuitive design helps business owners from different levels of experience receive information while learning about the benefits and drawbacks related to certain business and tax structures. The approachable design allows customers to easily review various services and tax packages. 

However, doola has room for improvement in terms of fee organization. Prices are not placed in one easily accessible location, which could deter more time-sensitive or less tech-savvy individuals. 

doola empowers customers by providing a wide selection of learning tools such as doolaU, a blog and country guides. The company understands that starting and running a business can be complicated, so it provides a wealth of accessible and informative tools. doola has a strong user experience that’s supported by innovative features and an intuitively designed platform. 

doola vs. Competitors

doola has a few similar competitors like Stripe Atlas and LegalZoom. doola, Stripe Atlas and LegalZoom provide entrepreneurs with the tools to start a business. However, doola stands out from the crowd by reaching a more affordable price point than the competition. Compare and contrast the companies to understand which options would be best for you.

Overall Rating

With its vast product offering, prompt customer service, strong security, competitive pricing and intuitive user experience, doula earns a five-star rating. The product offering assists individuals interested in starting, running and growing a company. doola understands that the paperwork and general processes related to starting a company take time. Founders can focus on other tasks while doola handles the details from legally forming a business to addressing banking needs.

doola has customer service that earns high marks due to highly positive customer reviews and a vast selection of communication methods. Strong security and reasonable pricing allow the company to remain competitive when faced with competition. 

Ultimately, doola obtains a notably high score thanks to a combination of effective tools, services and resources that not only meet but anticipate customer needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Is doola a bank?

A

doola is not a bank. The company offers banking services provided by Piermont Bank that are designed to assist a wider range of internationally located founders.

Q

Who should start an LLC?

A

Individuals in charge of a business should consider starting an LLC. An LLC helps limit personal legal liability, which could provide owners of growing businesses with peace of mind.

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