What are the essential contracts every start-up business needs?

When you start your own business, you begin to visualize what the future of your business will prospectively look like. Contracts and legalities are the furthest from what is in your thoughts. However, they are both conceptually important for the functionality of your business. Here are essential contracts you do not want to skip over when starting your business. 

Partnership or shareholder agreement 

These agreements are absolutely essential for a business that has two (or more) partners. When you sign this agreement, especially earlier on in the life of the business, it means that the interests of all partners or shareholders are protected in the event that something happens to the business, or one of the partners unexpectedly. 

The kind of agreement you enter into will largely depend on the type of business you have. If you have general partnership, limited partnership or joint venture then you will need partnership agreement. If you have a limited liability corporation then you will need a shareholder agreement. 

Employment agreement or independent contractor agreement 

Depending on the kind of business you’re starting, or where you are in the process, you may be considering hiring employees or working with independent contractors to help with the workload. These contracts will outline the terms and conditions of your relationship with both employees and contractors, and it can help protect your business in the event that the relationship is terminated. 

We never want to think relationships with our employees will deteriorate, but if anything does happen it’s much easier to handle it if there are terms in writing and you can prove the conditions that each party agreed to. 

If your business is not in its growing stages or you are just not in a place to hire anyone then you might not need these agreements – however you may want to keep them in mind in the event you do need to hire a contractor or employees in the future. 

Service or sales contract 

This is an agreement whereby a person or business is providing a professional service in exchange for payment. This professional service is, basically, whatever your service your business is in business for, and you are providing it to your customers for payment. This contract may include items like type of service being provided, the length of the service (if there is a term involved) and what compensation is expected (IE how much will this cost the customer). Now depending on what kind of service your business provides, you may also want to include a confidentiality piece about the information on this contract and one about conflict of interest with either present or future clients. 

Contact Minhas Lawyers today

Dealing with contracts or the legality of starting a new business is the last thing you want to focus on. That is why we are here to help. While these legalities are conceptually important for the prospect of your business, we instead will ensure you are legally protected. 

Having a lawyer that you trust is essential so that you know everything you’re doing is done properly and you’re following the law as you need to. If you have a new business, give us a call today and let one of our business lawyers ensure you have all the right contracts in place!  

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