Very expensive, error-prone, poor customer service and working in silos
Premium pricing, but a fragmented and error-prone service that created a lot of extra work for us.
We used Filepino for company formation, bank account opening, payroll, accounting, tax compliance and corporate administration in the Philippines. We chose them because they presented themselves as an end-to-end provider and gave us clear timelines. We were willing to pay a substantial premium for a provider that would take ownership and reduce our workload.
Unfortunately, the experience was largely the opposite. The company setup took far longer than expected, and the local bank account took more than a year to open despite us repeatedly providing everything requested. We had to chase and escalate constantly because the delays were affecting normal operations. Other simple matters were also unnecessarily slow, including employment documents and a basic compliance letter that took almost three months.
There was never a clear account owner who understood our case and saw matters through. Their teams worked in silos, so we often had to tell one department what another had already done, point staff to information already held within Filepino and coordinate their internal communication ourselves.
The routine work required far too much checking. We repeatedly found errors, omissions, outdated information and missing documents, then had to explain the problem and chase corrections. Whenever something went beyond a standard recurring process, staff often did not seem to know the answer or what to do. Many questions went unanswered, and on several occasions we had to research the issue ourselves and explain the solution to them.
Billing was another major concern. Their fees were extremely high for the Philippine market and higher than what we pay for comparable services in the UK and US, yet their statements repeatedly included vague outside-scope hours, unexplained expenses, incorrect carry-forwards and amounts that had already been paid.
We were even charged hourly for their payroll team replying to a serious complaint and explaining its own work. That charge was removed only after we challenged it. Another statement included an alleged underpayment even though they had received the exact amount requested and issued a receipt. Many invoices had to be revised, so we eventually had to audit every statement line by line.
Some individual staff were polite and some routine filings were eventually completed correctly. However, the overall service was fragmented, reactive and nowhere near the standard suggested by the pricing. We also escalated recurring concerns to senior management and the CEO, but received no response.
Based on the alternatives we have since reviewed, other local providers appear able to offer a better service at a small fraction of Filepino's prices. I would not recommend Filepino to foreign founders or investors looking for dependable end-to-end support in the Philippines.