With the festive period upon us and the end of 2020 firmly in sight, you might be thinking about how you can best get your business prepared to hit the ground running in the New Year. To give you some inspiration, we’ve pulled together our wish list of 12 documents that will help businesses get shipshape for 2021.
Sparqa Legal’s 12 Days of Christmas
1. A free COVID-19 policyKeep your staff and customers safe by using our free COVID-19 policy. You can make sure your business is opening in a COVID-secure way, and help your staff understand how you are protecting them. As well as including general health and safety policies, you can add or remove policies depending on what industry you work in. Don’t delay, create your policy today! |
 |
2. A legal health check (also free!)Looking for a quick summary of how well your business is doing with legal compliance? This legal health check asks you to answer some simple questions and then generates a bespoke report to let you know where you’re scoring gold stars and where your business might be at risk. |
 |
3. Our starting a company toolkitThis toolkit bundles together all the documentation and guidance you need to start a new company from scratch. We don’t just provide guidance on how to complete the necessary application at Companies House – this toolkit also gets you up to speed with how operating a business through a company is different, summarising the key rules and procedures you will need to familiarise yourself with when running your new company. |
 |
4. A staff handbookIt’s a good idea to have a staff handbook if you’re an employer as it allows you to keep all your HR policies in one easily accessible place. If you don’t have one yet, perhaps now’s the time to streamline your HR with our customisable template. You can choose which policies you want to include, or if you’ve already got a handbook but want to add additional policies, you can simply create them as standalone documents. |
 |
5. A business plan checklistThis business plan checklist will help you to create a robust business plan that you can show to potential investors to help raise funds for your business. It can help you draft a new business plan from scratch, or can equally be used to test your existing business plan for gaps. Make sure your business plan has all the bases covered, to give you the best chance of impressing investors and securing funding. |
 |
6. T&Cs for the sale of goods and servicesHave you reviewed your terms and conditions lately? To make sure you follow the law, try using our customisable templates, which contain all the legal terms and conditions you need to protect your business. By having clear and accessible T&Cs, you reduce the risk of disputes, protect your assets, and run your business more efficiently. You can use these T&Cs whether you sell face to face or through a website! |
 |
7. A step-by-step guide to applying for a UK trademark onlineMake sure your business branding is protected! You can protect your business name or logo from being copied in the UK by applying for a UK trade mark registration. Applying online is cheaper and quicker, and this step-by-step guide can help you get it right first time. If you don’t follow the right process, you may face delays or problems with your registration. |
 |
8. Our data protection policy toolkitNow might be a good time to do a GDPR compliance audit; has your business put in place all the data protection policies it needs? Not only do you need external policies to tell people what you’re doing with their personal data, but you also need internal policies to make sure your staff know what data protection responsibilities they have. This toolkit has 8 customisable policies you’re likely to need. |
 |
9. A guide to consumer rights in online salesWhether you’re an established online business, or you want to start selling products or services online, use this guide to keep your customers loyal and happy. You can check what rights customers have (eg cancellations, returns, refunds and complaints) and make sure your customer service policies follow the law. |
 |
10. A flexible working policyWhen your staff return to the workplace next year, you might see an increase in requests for flexible working. Get ahead of the game by putting in place a bespoke flexible working policy now to make sure you’re ready to handle requests consistently and transparently. It’s important to get on top of this as some of your employees may have a legal right to request flexible working, and you need to make sure you follow the law when dealing with their requests. |
 |
11. A shareholders agreementOur template shareholders’ agreement is designed to help promote the smooth running of your company, and to minimise the risk of disputes between shareholders. The agreement contains a range of customisable terms to regulate the relationship between your shareholders and govern how your company is managed, and provides a roadmap to help your company’s shareholders navigate any unforeseen circumstances that might arise in future. |
 |
12. Our share transfer toolkitThis toolkit bundles together copies of all the documents your company will need to properly approve a transfer of shares, along with guidance on the process to follow in order to transfer shares. Failing to follow the correct process can lead to a share transfer being invalid, legal disputes between shareholders and your company, and a potentially expensive exercise to remedy the position. This toolkit gives you everything your company will need in order to get things right first time around. |
 |
BONUS 13. A Brexit preparedness checklistUnlucky for some, but our bonus number 13 means a free checklist to help your business get ready for Brexit. Keep the Grinch away by making sure you’re prepared ahead of time… |
 |
The content in this article is up to date at the date of publishing. The information provided is intended only for information purposes, and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Sparqa Legal’s Terms of Use apply.