EDGAR filings: 12 Things to look for before you Hire an Agent EDGAR stands for the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, and is a system designed to increase the efficiency and fairness of the securities market for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on behalf of United States investors. Domestic public companies are required to file a number of forms on the EDGAR system, and an agent can help you get the forms together correctly and file them with the system. Before you hire an agent for filing services, there are 12 things that you should look for and pay attention to. 1. Do they have a good record? You should find out from the company who else they service, and get recommendation from the other customers of your agent if at all possible. You do not want to be a new agent's first customer if you can help it - their mistakes could cost you. 2. What do they charge? You need to know what you are going to pay, and check the price against competitors to be sure that you are getting the best deal. 3. Do they file your forms? Make sure you know whether they will file your forms for you, or if they only prepare them for you to file. 4. Can they work with your file types? Do you have hard copies that need to be "EDGARized"? Make sure that the agent can handle it. 5. How long will it take? Check to see how long it will take for your files to be converted to EDGAR format. 6. Can they help you get started? If you need to file for the first time, make sure that your agent knows how to help you get things set up so that you can start off correctly. 7. Can they help you get your filing codes? If you don't have or know your filing codes, can they help you? 8. Can your agent do HTML filings? will your agent help you file if you change accountants or auditors? From the time of the change, you have four business days to file. 9. Do they know what forms you have to file? There are many different forms to consider when you are filing. Your agent should know which ones you need to file, and be experienced in filing them. 10. Are they registered agents? They should be. 11. Are they specialized? If you have a lot of paper documents and their specialization is not conversion from PDF to EDGAR format. Vintage Filings, LLC VINTAGE FILINGS is a full service firm that provides EDGAR filing solutions for public companies, mutual funds, investment management firms, law firms and individuals to meet their SEC filing needs. Vintage Financial printing service provides its clients access to dedicated Edgar and typeset specialists, conference rooms for drafting sessions, and of course the ability to print the full suite of financial documents This Article is Originally Published here: EDGAR Filing Services
