ZenBusiness
Organize formation facts and ongoing deadline reminders without submitting filings
A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For ZenBusiness, organize formation facts and ongoing deadline reminders without submitting filings. The hard boundary is formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support, plus expert judgment, compliance, and regulated services.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support
- legal advice
- jurisdictional assurance
- filing and registered-agent network
- continuous regulatory monitoring and liability
Why people still pay
People still pay for ZenBusiness because the durable value is expert accountability and regulated execution; document generation alone cannot supply either. The recurring cost buys law changes, jurisdiction, template provenance, access, signatures, filings, deadlines, evidence, retention, security, and professional liability, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- self-hosted deployment
- PostgreSQL
- jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel
- secure backup
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule, data: Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
Project rule, behavior: Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states.
Project rule, recovery: On invalid input or interrupted processing, keep the original record, show the failed step, and permit a safe retry.
Implementation plan
Phase 1, architecture and data
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine. Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
Phase 2, implement
Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states.
Phase 3, implement
Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template.
Phase 4, review and output
Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals.
Phase 5, recovery and acceptance
On invalid input or interrupted processing, keep the original record, show the failed step, and permit a safe retry. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: An invalid input or interrupted operation must retain the source and show a recoverable state; exported records must reload with the same IDs. State the practical limit: formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support.
Build me a focused legal documents, privacy compliance and business administration workflow for the personal core of ZenBusiness. Requirements: - Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine. Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each. - Paid product context: Organize formation facts and ongoing deadline reminders without submitting filings. Build only this DIY scope: Collect business formation facts, fill clearly labeled templates, track deadlines, versions, and approvals, and state that outputs require qualified review, without submitting filings. - Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. - Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. - Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. - Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: self-hosted deployment; jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel. - Recovery: On invalid input or interrupted processing, keep the original record, show the failed step, and permit a safe retry. - Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: An invalid input or interrupted operation must retain the source and show a recoverable state; exported records must reload with the same IDs. - Out of scope: formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support; legal advice. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow. - Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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ZenBusiness pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| starter | — | — | $0 service fee plus mandatory state filing fees; 7–10 business-day filing; unlimited document storageIncludes first year of Worry-Free Compliance, then $199/year; website/domain/email trial lasts 30 days, then $15/month. |
| pro | — | $16.58 | $199/year plus state fees; 1-business-day filing; EIN, operating agreement, and logo |
| premium | — | $33.25 | $399/year plus state fees; adds business templates, registered agent, Advanced Compliance, and advisor accessMoney Pro is included for 60 days, then $30/month. |
free tier$0 formation service fee, but mandatory state filing fees still apply; bundled trials renew at $199/year for Worry-Free Compliance and $15/month for website/domain/email
billingStarter formation service is one-time at $0 plus state fees; Pro and Premium are annual subscriptions
hidden costsMandatory state filing fees apply to every plan. Starter's bundled Worry-Free Compliance renews at $199/year and website/domain/email at $15/month; rush filing is $79 and EIN service $99. Premium's Money Pro renews at $30/month after 60 days.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-10 · pricing source ↗
Questions about ZenBusiness
Can you build your own ZenBusiness with AI?
A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For ZenBusiness, organize formation facts and ongoing deadline reminders without submitting filings. The hard boundary is formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support, plus expert judgment, compliance, and regulated services.
What does the ZenBusiness build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Collect business formation facts, fill clearly labeled templates, track deadlines, versions, and approvals, and state that outputs require qualified review, without submitting filings. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support; legal advice; jurisdictional assurance. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the ZenBusiness prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this ZenBusiness project take?
The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing ZenBusiness?
formation filing, registered agent, compliance, websites, and support; legal advice; jurisdictional assurance; filing and registered-agent network; continuous regulatory monitoring and liability. People still pay for ZenBusiness because the durable value is expert accountability and regulated execution; document generation alone cannot supply either. The recurring cost buys law changes, jurisdiction, template provenance, access, signatures, filings, deadlines, evidence, retention, security, and professional liability, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Pro plan is $16.58/mo (annual-equivalent), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building ZenBusiness?
The prior-art section lists docassemble as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.