My company, TownConnect, is incorporated in Delaware and I recently had some interaction with their Division of Corporations. My experiences with state and local governments has been limited to dealing with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and paying lots of parking tickets. It used to be these agencies were designed to suck the life out of you as a deterrent: waiting in line, filling out forms, having to come back, and other inane policies. Most of these agencies have come a long way incorporating modern service processes and online tools. The State of Delaware Division of Corporations really has their act together and I was extremely impressed at how helpful they were.

Things I liked:

  1. Website: Liveperson chat feature to get questions answered immediately without waiting on the phone. Full transcript emailed to me so I could forward to accountants and lawyers and have a record of what we needed to do.
  2. They emailed the forms I needed to fill out while we were in the chat session. The forms were already pre-filled with my corporate information.
  3. Personal service: After we filed a request, a customer service agent followed up with a phone call as we had omitted a few pieces of information. Rather than forcing us to start the process over she helped us complete the form over the phone.

Background –

When we incorporated TownConnect we chose a corporation vs. an LLC so that our staff could participate in a stock option plan. Based on the numbers of shares you authorize, the state bills you franchise taxes accordingly. Thinking big — we authorized a lot of shares which resulted in a franchise tax bill over $30,000. Now, TownConnect didn’t really owe $30,000 because there is alternative method of filing (par value) which put our tax bill under $150 for our first year of operations.

I wonder if there are many startups who authorize a smaller amount of shares and who just pay the bill not knowing they are overpaying?

The alternative method requires a few forms to be filled out and sent in. Unfortunately, we hadn’t hired a bookkeeper yet and filling out forms ranks really low on my priority list so didn’t get around to it. When the Division of Corporations sent a letter regarding the tax filing and our status, it was time to take action.

After a false start delegating this to my bookkeeper, I investigated.  Rather than wait on hold and navigate options, I was able to get my questions answered in a live chat session (7 minutes) and one phone call (they called me).

Special thanks to our customer service rep, Dot Savage, who was very helpful.

2 Comments to "Delaware Division of Corporations: Very Good"

  • Tom Stanley said: On 08/25/2008 at 7:28 am

    I was on Yahoo and found your blog. Read a few of your other posts. Good work. I am looking forward to reading more from you in the future.

    Tom Stanley

  • Eileen Simpson said: On 08/26/2008 at 11:51 am

    As the Franchise Tax Administrator in the Delaware Division of Corporations, I was very pleased to read your feedback on the service you received from our live chat and the follow up phone call you received from Dot Savage. Our commitment of service to our customers is reinforced by experiences such as yours and we are fotunate to have dedicated staff such as Ms. Savage who exemplify our core values of Integrity, Service and Excellence. On behalf of the Division of Corporations, thank you for choosing Delaware as your corporate domicile and for sharing the good experience you had with our staff.

Please share your thoughts