It’s time for your legal check-up

As we approach the end of the financial year and the beginning of the new one, now is a good time to give your business a “legal check-up” to see if there is anything that you can improve upon in the coming year.

While there is no way to avoid being sued, there are things businesses can do to avoid being sued successfully. Here are some issues to consider in the new financial year:

1. Your business structure
Some business structures provide better tax advantages, others may provide better asset protection if things go wrong. Whether you are just starting up or you are an existing business, it is important to choose the right business structure or consider changing your structure if it provides more benefits for you and your business.

It is also important to understand your business structure. Your accountant may have told you to “operate in a Trust”, but do you know who really “owns” the assets?  Understanding how your structure works could help you avoid issues issues, such as unexpected tax liabilities or even breaches of director’s duties.

2. Employee agreements
It is often tempting, especially for smaller businesses, to want to keep employee relationships very informal, perhaps only recording hours of work and a salary rate. Whilst this can be alright when things are going well, it can lead to serious problems if those relationships break down and there are arguments over who owes what to whom. Clear agreements with employees regarding their rights and obligations, duties and entitlements can be handy to avoid unnecessary disputes.

If your business is growing, it might be time to reassess or renegotiate your employee agreements.

3. Service agreements with Customers
Much like having clear agreements with your employees, agreements with your customers can help avoid disputes or help in getting paid. A written agreement can clearly establish the scope of your services so that there won’t be any arguments over what is included, or it may allow you to sell a customer’s items if they can’t or won’t pay you.

Such agreements can be simple and could protect your interests. It may not seem like a big issue, but failure to have clear customer agreements can result in problems down the track, especially if your business grows.

4. Protect your name and secrets
OK, so you have spent a lot of time, money and energy building your brand, so make sure it’s protected! That may mean getting a trademark or patent or just making sure your website domain name is up to date. Checking these things is not just about protecting your business, it’s also about avoiding problems if you infringe someone else’s name, trademark or patent because you haven’t checked to see if there was anything similar already on the market.

Also think about protecting what’s important to your business, whether it is a “trade secret” or other intellectual property. You don’t have to be a multi-national company to have trade secrets. You might run a bakery and have a super-awesome formula for muffins. It’s important to guard those secrets as it they were the Colonel’s 11 “secret herbs and spices”, so make sure your agreements have appropriate confidentiality clauses.

6. Check your lease agreements
Even if you are not looking for new business premises, it is still good to review your existing commercial lease agreements. Are they in the correct names? Who is the lessee? You may be the sole director of your small company, but the lease probably shouldn’t be in your name! Are you adequately protected under your lease? Is it registered? It may be time to renegotiate some of these things.

Whether your business is new or established, it is important to review these things regularly and change if appropriate. Ujvari Lawyers understands the challenges businesses faces and can help protect your business, avoid disputes and achieve your goals.

Make an appointment for your “legal check-up” now!