Partnership Agreement Forms
Do you need a partnership agreement form for your new business?
In this country, many millions of Americans are struggling to find jobs, pay their mortgages, and put food on the table. On the other end of the spectrum this is also the best time to start a new business, knowing that in a down economy that new jobs are created from small businesses. Also, with so many folks out of work, the idea to start a business sounds like a no-brainer.
If you are in this process of starting a new business yourself, perhaps you have a friend or relative that is also inclined to do the same. If that is the case, why not form a partnership? Having a small business partnership is a great idea for many reasons, splitting the startup costs for one, splitting the risk, and splitting the tasks that need to be done. This works out even better if the two or more people starting a business partnership have varying skill sets, like financing, marketing, people skills, or a skill that is specific to the business itself.
If you do go into a new business with a partner, make sure you get a partnership agreement form and fill it out completely with the information needed to get your business of to a successful start. There are many things the average person may not be familiar with when it comes to a business, and downloading a complete partnership agreement form will give you the insight into what is required. Here are a few of the things to look out for and include in a partnership form:
Name of Business: Make sure you agree on the name of the business first, as this is very important! Get off to a good start, and register your business name with your state or local registry as well. If you are inclined, form an LLC or corporation and make it really official.
Place of Business: You will of course need a business headquarters or address, which should be somewhere that isn’t a home address. If you don’t have a building for your business, then use a PO Box. At least is can give the appearance of having a separate address.
Specific Business Area or Product: Decide what the main service, product, or area of expertise the company will provide to it’s customers. This is important, as it defines the goal of the company in many ways.
Capital Contributions: How much money, assets and other capital are being offered by each partner to get the company off the ground and started. This is very important, as each partner should have some contribution to show they are invested in the company.
Management and Control: It should be in the partnership agreement form who the officers or managers of the company will be. This decides who will make certain decisions, and who is responsible for these decisions on a regular basis. If these decisions are to be made equally then that should also be made official.
Accounting and Taxes: How is the accounting process to be handled, whether by an outside agency or inhouse accountant hired by the company. Taxes must be paid on a regular basis, to stay out of trouble with the IRS.
Dissolution of the Partnership: What happens when the partners agree to dissolve the partnership, to terminate all agreements and sell of assets, pay all the bills of the company, and distribute the accounts according to a fair agreement.
There are other parts of a partnership agreement form that must be thought about, such as how to resolve disputes and disagreements. This can be done by using a third party to help resolve disagreements and ease any problems that arise between partners.
Of course there may be certain laws that your state has that are specific to business partnerships, and you may want to make sure you aren’t breaking any of these rules by consulting a lawyer briefly for advice. Make sure your partnership agreement form will pass muster and be legally binding, and get all parties to sign it for your protection.
Business Partnership Agreement Forms and Templates