There have been countless instances when someone has gone into business with a relative or close friend and made the mistake of skipping a formal agreement. No matter how good a friend may be, you will always want to get the terms of the partnership in writing. A partnership agreement is a vitally important document that is designed to protect all parties. It will reduce the possibility for disagreements or misunderstandings down the line. When you make sure you have everything documented legally, it will greatly serve you and your partner(s).
Building Your Partnership Agreement
Your partnership agreement should first and foremost address the general rules of the partnership. This means it should cover who owns what, and how you will handle profits and losses. It should cover the basics of issues that may seem obvious, such as what are each partner’s roles and duties. And it should also address the details pertaining to resolving small potential problems that you may never expect to actually arise.
Financial Issues
A good part of your partnership agreement should address issues related to money. As you can imagine, misunderstandings about earnings can quickly become huge disagreements if the details are not plainly stated in writing. On a very practical level, you’ll want your document to cover what percentage of earnings both you and your partner will receive. You will even want to go into detail about how money is distributed. What if money is required to keep the business operational and thriving? You’ll want to cover the details of who will contribute any necessary funds and how this will be handled.
Other Decisions
Another decision you’ll want to make now will cover the nature of decisions themselves. For example, how will you make business decisions? Is it a vote, and if so, how does that vote work? You can also include other situations that could arise, such as what happens in the instance of the unfortunate death of one of the owners? What happens if you decide to bring in an additional partner or partners?
Getting Assistance with Your Legal Documents
While it might seem possible to create your partnership agreement on your own, the best thing you can do is hire a competent professional to help you. That way you’ll know that your partnership agreement is written in the most accurate way possible.
When you have this document established, you can proceed with your partnership with confidence that any potential problems down the line are addressed. It may take some extra time and consideration now, but in the long run, you’ll be able to run your business smoothly and more efficiently. The fact of the matter is that if you address everything now in a partnership agreement, it will benefit your business for years to come.
