The spring weather was gorgeous over the bank holiday weekend (almost summer like, but we won’t go too far). While the weather might get you thinking about clearing out your cupboards and dusting off the shelves, it’s also the perfect time to give your legal documents and processes a good once-over. Whether you’re a startup looking to grow, a well-established business looking to scale or, somewhere in the middle, having your legals in shape can make all the difference. It means you can avoid risk, stay compliant, keep operations smooth and, for you, keep your stresses at bay!
We’ve asked the lawbox. team for their 5 top tips and are happy to share these with you, below.
First things first, review those contracts
No. We don’t mean read each of them line by line. Firstly, noone has time for that and, secondly, let’s not take away our job (please). But, take a look at your contracts list. If you don’t have one, look at the key contracts, especially those customer agreements, key supplier terms and/or contractor arrangements. Basically, anything that forms the backbone of the business. Ask yourself these questions:
- Are they still fit for purpose?
- Do they reflect how you actually work today (it’s very common that these are signed and stored away, never to be seen again.
- Watch out for auto-renewal clauses and where these kick in.
- Check pricing (does this still work) and KPIs or service terms.
- Get your data team to make sure that the data handling is still relevant.
- Make sure you have a signed or latest copy of all agreements on file.
Top tip No. 1: It’s an easy fix but keep a central contracts register so you always know what’s in play and when it needs reviewing. This can be an excel spreadsheet (yes, we still operate across a few of those), or, fancy new contract management software (we know a few good ones and can make a recommendation if you’d like).
Check your corporate housekeeping
This is called many things –
“company secretarial”
“companies house stuff”
“things for the accountant”
Either way, when was the last time you looked at your company’s statutory books? This one’s a really easy one to forget, but Companies House expects everything to be up to date and has filing deadlines we need to comply with (failure of which can result in a fine).
Log into Companies House (https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company), type your company name into the system and do the following:
- Make sure the shareholder records and director appointments are current;
- Ensure share transfers are properly documented;
- Identify whether board and shareholder meeting minutes are recorded;
- Check to make sure that the PSC (Persons with Significant Control) information is correct.
Top tip No. 2: Digital company secretarial tools are available, which will help to keep this tidy and compliant. If you’d rather pass this to someone else, your accountant will keep this up to date if you ask them to, or, you can use a legal partner.
Refresh Your Policies
Those dusty files at the top of the shelves. Yes… those!
We strongly believe that a business’s staff handbook, privacy policy, terms of business, and other internal documents should evolve as the business grows. In fact, these should be reviewed every 12 months without fail.
The main things to look out for are:
- hybrid working updates and/or changes to the working arrangements;
- Employment law changes;
- Updated data protection requirements;
- Changes to your businesses practices should be reflected in your terms and conditions.
Top tip No. 3: Make sure that these are updated every 12 months and that each new starter receives these documents. It’s also useful to make sure that existing members of the team know where to find these documents and, more importantly, where the latest version lives.
Check that your IP is protected
Your brand is one of your most valuable assets, so let’s treat it like one. It’s always good to make sure that:
- Your company name, logo, and key brand assets are registered as trademarks (where appropriate);
- Any tech or content you’ve developed is properly protected;
- Confidentiality provisions are in place with external collaborators/subcontractors.
Top tip No. 4: It’s simple! Keep an IP inventory. It’s easy to forget but amazing how much value you’ll see when you really think about the things you’ve created.
Use your time to tidy up those things you’ve been putting off!
Housekeeping. We all have some. Those small(ish) tasks on the to-do list that never get signed off. Ordinarily, this relates to founders arrangements, shareholders agreements and share option plans that you never really got around to setting up. Let’s face it, why document anything before you actually have any value in the business and before you have any clients. But, once things get moving (and they do, very quickly), these housekeeping items easily get forgotten. Don’t keep putting them off. Make a list of these, prioritise for Spring, and get them done.
Top tip No. 5: Book a Lawbox on-demand hour to run through the list and get that list ticked. It’s never as bad as it seems.
Now grab a coffee and get cracking. Good luck!