List of Important Documents Needed Before Starting Your Own Startup

Taking a startup from ideation to MNC is a long, daunting journey. At each stage, there are obstacles that have to be tackled and dealt with in different ways. Each stage has its own legal red tape that has to be fought through. Some of the documents that are needed for a start-up are as follows:

1. Trademark

This is a piece of document that helps an entrepreneur strengthen a brand. The entire purpose of this is to register your trademark brand name and alert anyone with similar names. Dealing with this stage can be quite cumbersome as some might have a problem with the overlap.

2. Articles of Association/Incorporation

This is to ensure the employees of a company are fully aware of their role in a company. For example, if there is sole proprietorship for a company to one person then there are hude income tax bills and legal liabilities. If split between a few people then these tax obligations reduce. These are things cleared out by articles of association/incorporation. 

3. A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

An NDA is a document that ensures that there is utmost confidentiality between a client and a company. This is so that data is kept private. Some things an NDA should specify are, 

• Employee Contracts
• Offer letters
• Owner of Information
• The information to be kept confidential

4. Employee Contracts and Offer Letters

A company is a group of like minded individuals who are working towards one vision. If not specified in the right way, this vision can be blurry. Some things the employee contracts and offer letters should specify are,

• Terms and condition of employment
• Reporting structure
• Compensation
• Leave policy

5. Shareholder’s Agreement

Shareholders agreement is very important to maintain hierarchy. Shareholders can be companies and individuals. If not done in the right way, there can be a lot of dispute to be dealt with.

6. Bylaws

Bylaws, or commonly referred to as rules. These are statements that govern the workspace and ensure smooth functioning. Depending on the designation, there is a difference in bylaws.

7. Intellectual Property assignment agreements

There are two types of intellectual property agreements; Technological assignment and intellectual property agreements. These are used to secure intellectual property and its owner. 

8. Founders agreement

In case of startups, there can be multiple founders involved. With a founder’s agreement, it is clear who is the founder and their responsibilities. 

9. Website terms of use agreement

A site is something that is open to everyone and has a lot of collaborators. For this reason, there has to be a document that helps the parties involved what are the terms of use agreement/ 

10. Business plan

This is a piece of document that is used to pitch your startup to investors. A business plan gives everyone a clear idea of what is the goal of your startup.

Feeling nervous about all this? It is human to find all this daunting. This is why Doqfy is here to help you. With its helpful services like e-stamping, franking, and online archiving, you can rest assured knowing there is no legal red tape to go through. Doqfy’s legal team makes everything a perfect smooth sail. Leave Doqfy to get the documents while you work on growing the business.