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Introduction
Every time is an excellent time to start your own business, and finding it is the most thrilling part, but setting up a company might mean getting into a minefield of legal documents. In this article, we give a simplified breakdown of the legally required documents to start your business.
When you're starting a business, there are a few key documents you'll need to put in place. These include your Articles of Association, shareholders agreement, directors' service agreement, statement of work, share options agreement and non-disclosure agreements.
Articles of Association
Your Articles of Association set out the rules for how your company is run. This includes things like how decisions are made, who can be a director and what happens if there's a dispute. The standard form of articles of association is suitable for most businesses, but you may want to tailor them to your specific needs.
Shareholders Agreement
Your shareholders' agreement sets out the relationship between the shareholders of the company. This includes things like what happens if someone wants to sell their shares, what happens if there's a disagreement between shareholders and how decisions are made.
Directors Service Agreement
The directors service agreement sets out the terms of the contract between the company and its directors. This includes how much they'll be paid, their duties, and what happens if they leave the company.
Share Options Agreement
You might be having co-founders or employees who are working with you from the initial stage of business. To allot them shares you can make a share option agreement that will allow them to buy shares at a discounted price during the vesting period.
Non-Disclosure Agreement
The non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is used to protect confidential information. This could include business plans, customer lists or proprietary information. If you're sharing this information with someone outside of the company, you'll need to make sure they sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Having these key documents in place will help to ensure that your business is run smoothly and efficiently from the start.
Bonus: Registered Office Address
Upon starting your own business, Companies House will ask for your registered office address, and more often than you think, fresh starts register their home addresses to a publicly accessible domain on the Companies House website. It`s unrealistic to think every business owner should own a private venue to register. Therefore, to protect your data, to help you avoid spam mails and to provide you a prestigious central London office address.
These are just some of the key documents you'll need to put in place when starting a business. Make sure you get advice from a professional to ensure you have all the bases covered.
