Small business owners must familiarize themselves with a wide variety of forms and contracts pertaining to employee management, strategic transactions, and other aspects of running a business. This section provides sample forms and contracts by subject and by industry, including sample business contracts from well-known corporations. Click on one of the links below to get started.
Small Business Forms & Contracts
There are a wide array of forms and contracts that might be useful to your small business. FindLaw has a database of forms and form contracts organized by their use and subject matter. Documents are linked in the associated article below. Our database includes basic business contracts and forms to help keep you organized for key business events. There are documents to help you apply for a startup loan and to help you register your business in your state.
Our archives include forms and contracts to help you establish your team, including contracts for employment and documents to help guide you in properly terminating an employee. Financial documents can help you set up your accounting, apply for credit, or manage credit problems and deal with debt collectors. Forms are available to restructure through bankruptcy or to complete a merger or other strategic transaction. Our library has documents to help protect your intellectual property or help you prepare for litigation.
Selling Your Business: Documents to Show Your Lawyer
Some circumstances, such as the sale of a business, will require that you provide your attorney with specific documents and information in order for them to obtain the best results on your behalf. The following is a non-exhaustive sampling of documents that can help your attorney get started preparing to sell your business. In addition to the documents listed here any other information that seems like it may be helpful should also be provided to your attorney.
Selling a business requires that you assemble the documents that establish the business's value while also properly disclosing the downsides of the business that impact its value. Your company's current financial statements are an obvious starting point. Other documents that demonstrate who owns the business and how it is structured help ensure that a transaction is even possible and organize communications between parties that will require notice of key events.
An overview of the company's employees and their contracts can be considered both an asset and a liability. Copies of pending lawsuits, leases, creditors, mortgages, and other expenses can help establish your business's profitability, which greatly affects its value. Follow the link below to the associated article for a more detailed examination of these and other important documents.
Hiring a Business & Commercial Law Attorney: Forms & Tools
Also linked in the articles below are a number of helpful documents to assist in preparing to consult with an attorney in specific situations such as entering into bankruptcy, closing a business, handling business stocks, business litigation, and more. These documents include intake questionnaires, key documents to bring to your consultation, forms to help you organize and present your personal information and information to start, sell, or purchase a business. Our library includes documents and forms to establish stock options for employees or to organize a franchise.
