Official-looking documents are no reason to pay more

This isn't really a scam, but to us, it seems a bit cheeky. This is a mailer lots of our clients get from Workplace Compliance Services. This outfit offers to help small businesses file their periodic reports with the Secretary of State. That is a real thing that businesses have to do, and we do it for clients almost daily. So it is a legit business, but we take issue with how they do that business.

First, their mailer looks a whole lot like a tax document, and that's likely not an accident. It not only has words like 'form' and 'instruction', it includes information about Colorado laws and statutes. It's also been filled out with your business information. It looks official until you read the fine print.

Now, to be fair, they do come out and say they're not affiliated with the government, not even as a contractor. However, they never say how much the State charges for filing this form. For the record, it's $10. They're charging you $85 to file a form you can file yourself at no additional cost.

We know, because we do it for MANY of our small business clients, that sometimes the easy button is paying someone else to remember to do this pesky task for you... but the cost is directly in line with the amount of time we spend on it, about 15 minutes. This blog post is not about us, though. It really is about helping overworked business owners hang onto their money.

Remember, if you ever receive a notice, a letter, an email... anything that just doesn't seem quite right, contact us! We're happy to offer a second opinion.