Most Important Contracts for Small Businesses
So you launched your small business and clients are rolling in. Whoo hoo! Before you do your happy entrepreneur dance, let’s level-set on some key legal protections to avoid unwelcome surprises as your empire grows. We’re talking, my personal favorite, contracts. Cue eye roll. Yes, binding agreements full of fancy legal lingo and enough pages to fill your file cabinet. But having the right contracts in place means you can rock on without confronting stressful situations down the road (and they don’t have to be wordy, confusing and 20 pages long. More on that in another post).
If you sell products, vendor and supplier contracts lock in reliable material sources so you can keep shelves stocked. They detail expectations for quality, delivery timelines, and technical specifications so you don’t end up with faulty products or cost overruns.
For service businesses, client contracts clearly define the scope of work, payment schedules, intellectual property rights, and termination conditions. This way clients know what to expect, and you get paid for every hour of blood, sweat and tears.
Every small biz should also implement contractor agreements, non-disclosure agreements (NDA), and terms & conditions:
Contractor Agreements: Avoid conflicts by outlining project details, payment terms, and expectations for contractors or freelancers.
Non-Disclosure Agreements: Require third parties like contractors or future collaborators to keep company secrets under wraps.
Terms & Conditions: Provide fine print “rules of engagement” for your website, products and services to limit liability risks.
Want clients and suppliers to take you seriously? Show you mean business with solid contracts. Ask attorneys to review agreements and modify boilerplate templates to match your specific needs. Yes, reviewing contracts can feel like watching paint dry when you’d rather work in your business, not on it. But contracts give your small empire legal protection, peace of mind and room for happy days ahead.