DocFilaSmall Business Paperwork Checklist (Year One)
Every contract, agreement, and template a new small business needs in its first 12 months.
Day one — formation and structure
Articles of incorporation / certificate of formation, EIN application (US), founders' agreement (if multiple founders), operating agreement (LLC) or bylaws (corp), 83(b) election (if you're issuing founder stock subject to vesting).
First customer
Master Services Agreement, Statement of Work template, mutual NDA, privacy policy, terms of service, refund policy, payment terms.
First hire / contractor
Offer letter, employment contract or 1099 contractor agreement, IP assignment agreement, employee handbook, non-solicit and non-compete (where enforceable).
Vendors and partners
Vendor MSA, data processing addendum (if you handle EU data), reseller / partner agreement, equipment lease.
First office / studio
Commercial lease, sublease, certificate of insurance, equipment lease.
Use the templates
DocFila's contract builders and template library cover some of these (see /templates). For the rest, open your own PDF in DocFila and sign it there.
Related DocFila tools
Keep going with the document workflow that matches this page. Open the tool you need, then finish the file in DocFila.
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