By Fernando Berrocal

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As a new or upcoming professional in the startup founder ecosystem, you must be aware that this type of business now has a sizable amount of paperwork–more than expected by many individuals. That’s why you must give the appropriate number of policies and documentation that you had already planned before the firm began, and most likely even more than that. When you succeed in doing this, you will be able to make sure that everyone involved in the organization is aware of the firm's expectations. 

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Additionally, it is true that the appropriate rules and paperwork will safeguard your fledgling business, and that any form of organization will benefit from that startup business protection. You won’t want to run out of the paperwork and procedures necessary to manage your organization properly. In this blog post, we will go through the most important startup policies and papers your startup requires nowadays. We will also provide you the resources you need to make them as quickly and affordably as possible since that will help your business in its early operations.

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Business Plan: In any business setting, this document will always be the most important one, therefore you need to be sure that you know where you're going with it. The appropriate business plan is one of the papers your startup requires if you want to persuade someone to support your starting firm by investing or being a part of the operation. In addition to that, this document provides you with a clear direction on where to go. Your business plan is always going to be a crucial document for your startup; therefore, you should know what to include in it. If you want to set up a successful and professional face for it, it's also crucial how to create it.

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Business Agreements: A business contract should always be made whenever you agree with another business party, whether that be a client or an employee. A straightforward business email outlining the specific parameters of your agreement may be sufficient for both parties in some specific circumstances. This has been effective for many business owners in the past; however, with the flexibility of today's employment environment, many of them are transitioning to adopting more formal freelancing contracts (depending on the type of work to do). On the other hand, a lot of your potential customers will have their own set of agreements, and you could be willing to sign those after carefully reviewing them. You must keep in mind, though, that coming up with your perspective is always vital for your business.

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A contract is usually a good idea for all parties involved, regardless of whether you want to form a startup business partnership, operate with tenants, offer, or receive consulting or freelancing services, or have any other sort of business relationship. Nowadays, numerous contract templates are available online thanks to the internet and are available for anyone. Many of these online documents can be found on many legal business websites like LegalZoom and RocketLawyer. Finally, on the WikiHow website, there are also instructions for making your freelancing template if you want more flexibility for these kinds of documents.

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Privacy Statement: Do you already have a privacy policy in place? If you intend to gather information from different sources, a privacy policy is vital for your business. The most frequent ones are from website visitors and clients who contact you in different ways. There are various privacy policies on other websites; examine a few of them and attempt to determine the best method for establishing this sort of corporate policy. When creating your privacy policy, it is crucial to comprehend the best practices already in use and how they may be customized for your business. The Better Business Bureau also helps with example privacy policies, some of which are rather common and could fit your organization's needs precisely.

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Refund Procedures: A refund policy should frequently be in place when making a product and/or service available to prospective consumers so that everyone is aware of what to do if the offering falls short of the client's expectations. You might want to believe that your products will always overcome your client’s expectations, but you must know that will not always be true, regardless of your best efforts. Running a successful startup business requires developing a refund policy that is reasonable for both sides and that people can rely on since it will inspire confidence in your business. You can create a professional refund policy that gives your clients peace of mind by using one of the various refund policy generators that are accessible online on business sites like Spaces.

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The Non-Disclosure Agreement:  If your business intends to collaborate with individuals who could have access to your confidential proprietary information and products, you must have a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). You could agree to several NDAs or none at all, depending on the business circumstance. However, if you want to lessen the likelihood that someone else will acquire your "secret recipe" and sell it to the buyer willing to pay the greatest price on the market or share it or use it for its benefit, possessing one is always essential. There are several internet options for this kind of form, and the business legal website NOLO provides a reliable, straightforward NDA template you may use in your organization.

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Different types of Human Resources (HR) Related Policies:  Do you have all the relevant HR-related policies outlining employee expectations? These kinds of rules include anti-discrimination and sexual harassment policies, social media policies, disciplinary policies, compensation, and benefit policies, etc. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides helpful guidance on how to develop these sorts of policies, along with other important policies, as part of an employee handbook. It makes sense to look at what is required in your state and by the federal government as some of these rules are mandated by law and must be completed at some point regardless.

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Document of Non-Compete: A non-compete document is something that you will have only very seldom signed if you are a freelancer. However, this document could be necessary for specific business circumstances. Think carefully about the potential effects that a rival firm or employee theft may have on your organization. A non-compete clause for two, three, five, or even up to seven years can be necessary (or some other term). A helpful non-compete template is available from the Society for Human Resource Management website.

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In conclusion, there are different types of documents and regulations to have in place for any kind of business and startups are no exception. Many individuals might think incorrectly that startups don’t have as many documents and regulations as regular businesses but that’s not the case. In this blog post, we have gone over business plans, and agreements, privacy statements, refund procedures, NDA, and documents of non-compete but there are more documents out there and it depends on the type of business you are running. Stay alert to the documents and regulations that may arise for your business and try to improve upon the necessary ones.

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Ready to bring your startup to the next level? Apply to MassLight’s next batch. MassLight supplies capital and a dedicated tech team. We take equity in return. Have questions? Refer to our FAQ page.