Archives for January 2014

One of the most common questions small business owners want to know is what kind of legal agreements they need. And while the answer to this question depends a lot on what kind of business you operate, there are four key legal agreements that virtually every business owner needs to protect and operate their business legally:

1. Owner Agreements. If you are in business with another person, it doesn’t matter if your business structure is a partnership, an LLC or a corporation – you will need an owner agreement. These can take the form of a partnership agreement, an operating agreement, a founders’ agreement or a shareholders’ agreement. The agreement, or sometimes multiple agreements, detail how ownership in the company is being distributed, how compensation will be paid to owners and managers, how capital contributions will be handled and other operational issues – including what happens if someone wants out, becomes incapacitated or dies.
2. Employee/Contractor Agreements. These agreements set the rules for how your relationship with employees and contractors will be governed. Business owners that use independent contractors want to be sure that the relationship is documented properly, especially in terms of allocating responsibility for payment of taxes and exclusion of such items as workers’ compensation and unemployment. Having employment and contractor agreements for everyone that works for/with your business ensures that expectations for job performance are spelled out and what the grounds are for termination.
3. Vendor Agreements. Every business needs formal agreements with vendors and suppliers that help ensure the needs of the business are being met as agreed upon. Issues of exclusivity, indemnification and liability all need to be set forth in your vendor agreement to protect your business against claims where a supplier is at fault.
4. Customer Agreements. Whenever you make a sale to a customer or client, you have entered into a contract. Thus you want to be sure that the terms and conditions of your agreement for sale of goods or services is designed to provide both the business and the customer with the proper legal protections. If you are making sales online, you need to be sure you have the proper terms of service and privacy policy agreements on your website that details what customers can expect from the business.

If you are interested in learning more about business protection strategies, call us today at 720-248-7621 to schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you set up your business for success.