Even in today’s digital age, business documents are very important to a company’s operations.
Operating agreements and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are legal documents that provide a company with status and legal standing to defend its ability to function as a business.
While it may be simple to just upload these papers to a server and forget about them later, the documents that are most important to your everyday operations may require additional safeguards.
Here are four business documents that should be safeguarded by your firm.
1. Contracts
Contracts are important business documents that come in many different forms depending on the needs of the company.
Standard commercial contracts may include (but are certainly not limited to) the following clauses:
- Employment contracts
- Purchase orders
- Articles of partnership
- Operating contracts
- Contracts for services
These documents provide a company with all it needs to run efficiently and legally.
2. Tax filings and other financial records
One of the most important parts of any recordkeeping program is assuring compliance with government bodies in charge of taxes.
While the standards can change based on the size and industry of the firm, some lawyers suggest keeping small business tax documents on hand for at least three years.
However, you may need to keep the documentation for six years or even longer.
These laws vary for larger organisations, but all types require maintaining financial papers such as income statements and financial reports on file for an extended period of time – just in case.
Most of these documents can be uploaded to a server or archived, but it’s useful to have a backup in case of server failure or backup loss.
3. Terms and conditions
A terms and conditions section forms a legally binding contract between you and your customers. It is important that your terms and conditions are tailored specifically to your company.
No two businesses are alike, and another business may not have the same requirements as yours.
Commercial terms such as price, shipping, and payment terms will be covered in your terms and conditions.
You may consult a lawyer to help you draft your terms and conditions. As part of the expert stage, we will also advise on how the site should be created and what coding technique should be used to create your site. For example, if you need to refresh the site yourself, this would imply that server-side content, such as PHP, should be created with a CMS (content organization structure). Also, read about Local Digital Business.
4. Proprietary operating information
Proprietary operating information, like competition intelligence, can provide significant insights into how a corporation operates.
Proprietary documentation, such as computer code or strategic operations, is important for a business to succeed.
If the material was ever made public, a company’s competitive advantage can be lost.
The worst part about proprietary information is that if it is lost, the damage it may cause to the firm is immeasurable. A stolen patented design might cost a corporation millions and even billions of dollars.
Nonetheless, many of these procedures and information must be documented.
Lastly…
According to the Internal Revenue Service or IRS, protecting company records is a necessary component of recordkeeping.
Many firms choose to submit files to internet servers, where they can be archived until they are needed. This can be done for some documents, such as simple templates and non-proprietary forms.
However, some choose to keep back up files and even hard copies in an offline environment.
Either way, choose what is best for your company!
