Administration and Legal

As a small business owner you don't want to spend your hard earned cash on professional and legal fees to write the needed business agreements.
However, not documenting business relationships because it is too expensive, is a bad idea. Especially because it does not have to cost a lot of money.

Everything we do in business depends on written agreements that should meet certain standard formats, terms and definitions. Whether it is arangements with suppliers, customers, landlords, partners or employees, the terms and conditions need to be defined and put on paper so that the parties know what is expected of them.

The nice thing is that you do not need a professional to draft every document. There is software available with templates of pretty well any document a small business needs. With a little bit of common sense those templates can be adapted easily to your specific needs and that will save you a lot of money.

Here are some software programs and publications that are ideally suited for the small business owner:

Business-In-A-Box
by Envision SBS

With over 1,400 templates this program has an extensive collection of documents for the small business owner. The program efficiently allows you to complete a wide range of time-consuming tasks and covers pretty well every area of business. It includes documents for areas such as:

Business Planning & Management
Legal
Credit & Collection
Employment & Human Relations
Finance & Accounting
Internet & Technology
Protect your Intellectual Properties and Copyrights
Operations & Logistics
Sales, Marketing, Press Releases
Distribution and Partnership Agreements

At a price of list price of $249.95 this is excellent value. It is the most complete package on the market. Business-In-A-Box has everything a small or medium sized business would ever need and is used by many small law firms as well. To check it out in more detail or to order click the button in the right sidebar. There is a 30 day money back guarentee and you can downlaod a free Demo to test drive the software before you purcjhase it.

If the pricetag for Business-In-A-Box is a stretch for you, than you might want to look at the products referenced below.

Quicken Legal Pro 2010
by NOLO/Quicken

Start or run your business easily and efficiently with this Software package. "Quicken Legal Business Pro 2010" is updated to reflect the latest laws and regulations of your state. It includes:

over 140 contracts, forms and worksheets
five completely searchable NOLO business best sellers
comprehensive "How To" checklists that help you through complex tasks
free downloadable legal updates through 2010
upon registration, a free downloadable edition of NOLOs' eBook Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business

Quicken Legal Pro combined with one or more of the following books will also give you a lot of the information you need as a small business owner. We recommend the following Books from NOLO that are a good fit with Quicken Legal Pro, if Business-In-A-Box exceeds your budget.

Legal Forms for Starting and Running a Small Business
Book w. CD ROM or Download as an eBook.

This book includes 70 sample Forms and Agreements that are usefull when setting up and running your business. It gives you the essentials for a very reasonable price.

Consulting & Independent Contractor Agreements
Book w. CD ROM or Download as an eBook

If you do a lot of consulting or contract type work, or you hire independent contractors for your business, this book provides templates for agreements that you need to have. The book includes 27 Independent Contractor sample agreements that you can modify to suit your specific needs. A usefull book to have if you do not want to spend the money on a more complete legal software program like Business-In-A-Box.

Corporate Records Handbook
Book w. CD ROM or Download as an eBook

This books includes samples of all the forms you need to keep your coporation in good standing with the IRS and the Courts. Because meeting minutes are the primary trail of a corporations legal life, it is important to know when and how to prepare these minutes. The book includes 112 sample forms that cover all aspects of corporate record keeping.

Docstoc.com

If you are on a real tight budget, we refer you to www.docstoc.com where you will find many examples of business and personal documents that you can download for a small per document fee.