The Top Ten Legal Documents Every Business Should Have

Every business, whether a start-up or established business, should have several key documents in place to ensure and protect its growth and development. These include, among others:

1. The appropriate corporate structure for limited liability protection, such as corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership. Effective and competent advice will help you make an informed choice about what type of entity is (a) best for protecting your personal assets from liability and (b) gives you the optimal tax treatment.
   
   
2. Tax election status documents, filed in a timely manner, with input from a competent tax advisor.
   
   
3. Valid and enforceable operating agreements, partnership agreements or corporate bylaws. These documents establish your set of rules for running, governing and growing your business.
   
   
4. Buy-sell agreements between owners or members. These agreements contemplate the calculation of purchase price for an owner’s share upon death, disability or retirement.
   
   
5. Non-competition and non-solicitation agreements with co-owners and key employees. These are absolutely essential to protect the “know-how” of your business.
   
   
6. Non-disclosure agreements to protect the institutional processes, client lists, pricing matrices and other confidential information of your enterprise.
   
   
7. Clear and enforceable customer agreements, including provisions providing for customer payment of the cost of collection of past-due amounts.
   
   
8. Written purchase orders for vendors with terms protecting your business.
   
   
9. A written employee policy and procedure manual, with regular updates and plans for distribution. This document helps avoid potential liability at a corporate and owner level for many employee claims.
   
   
10. A regularly updated and maintained Corporate Book, complete with minutes of shareholder minutes, board of directors’ or managing members’ meetings and approvals for various corporate acts.

These are just a few of the documents every successful business should have in place. The time and money spent putting these and other necessary legal documents in place is ultimately a savings to you – in terms of peace of mind, ease of governance and avoidance of disputes and litigation costs.