When you’re a new business there are a lot of pitfalls that you can fall into. Causing slight issues or even long-term problems, which may result in the end of your business before it has even truly started. This is particularly harrowing if it is a legal pitfall that you come across. Breaking the law can be really impactful in a negative way, especially for a brand new business.

So, with that in mind, here are four ways that you can legally protect your business in 2020.

1 – Protect Yourself Online

Every business–or most of them anyway–have a website or some sort of online presence in the modern world. For that reason, it is as important to protect yourself legally online here as it is everywhere else. This can be done in quite simple ways, but you will be very glad that you did them if any issues ever do arise.

For example, you will need to ensure there is a privacy policy on your site, a disclaimer, as well as a full statement as to who you are as a business, what it is you do and the qualifications you have to do so. Terms and conditions for using the website should also be in place.

2 – Employee Contracts

All employees that you bring into your business need to have a full contract with your business. This needs to establish the rights of your employees, remuneration, their responsibilities and the duties in their role. These are the appropriate terms of the contract.

Any work contract should include payment terms, work included, your workplace policies and the full expectations of the work contract. The contract covers the period of employment for the business, up until the terms come to an end or the employment comes to an end.

3 – Work Contracts

If you have clients then it’s important to keep everything in place in a proper client contract. Otherwise, if they drop out without paying a contract or something similar then it can be a real issue. As it can destroy your money flow and potentially cause problems for the business as a whole. This is vital legal protection, whether you are a freelancer, a business just starting out or even a well-established organisation.

4 – Set Up a Partnership Agreement

If you are setting up a business with another person, then it is important to do so with the right legal protection in place. A partnership agreement is a legal document that sets out the legal structure of your business, what the partners are responsible for and how the partnership will be dissolved if necessary further down the line.

The fact of the matter is that anything could happen to change or impact your partnership, so you both need to be legally protected to prevent this from occurring. You will need a corporate solicitor to put this into place, as well as someone who can act as your mediation solicitor later down the line if it becomes necessary.

Final Thoughts

And with that, you have four ways that you can legally protect your business. But, this is not an all-encompassing list by any means. You may find that your business has several different, unique, circumstances that require special consideration. So, make sure that you keep this in mind when starting a business; as it could mean the difference between success and failure in the long run!