The Legal Stuff Start-Up Business Owners Need To Know

Launching a new start-up business is really exciting. However, tackling the legal requirements of a start-up business can be really tricky, and even overwhelming. But not when you speak to the right people. Here at Burgh Thorpe Solicitors, we have a team of corporate lawyers in Peterborough here to help you. They can support you throughout the set up and growth of your start-up business. So, what is the legal stuff that start-up business owners need to know?

First things first, you need to set up your business the right way. This means that it needs to be under the correct entity. The first critical decision you will make for your business is which legal structure to chose for your small business. This will determine how taxes are paid and accounts and managed.

It is a good idea to talk through these options for your business with an accountant and a corporate lawyer to ensure you make the right decision for you and your business.

As a traditional business, you will a standard limited company. However, there are other options that you might want to consider. For example, you could be a sole trader. This means that you and your business are legally the same entity. In turn, this means that you keep all the profits of the business after paying taxes. It also means that you are liable for any losses.

You could also form a business partnership. This means that you are your business partners are equally responsible for the company. Therefore, you will both share profits and liabilities. Each partner will also be responsible for paying taxes on their share of the profits. You could also be a limited liability partnership. This means that partners are only liable for the amount they initially invested in the business. The handling of accounts, roles and responsibilities will then be laid out in the partnership agreement.

Some more legal stuff you need to know about as a start-up business owner is the intellectual property. You may choose to register your intellectual property. This will protect you from competitors. This could be a design or invention for example. The brand may also be something that you want to protect and safeguard, along with taglines or logos, for example. There are different categories of intellectual property and our corporate law specialists can go through these with you.

You will also need to keep on top of the legal stuff on your website as a start-up business owner. There are certain legal requirements that your website must adhere too. For example, your company information must be on the website as well as the users consent for your website to gather their data. There must be a privacy policy that explains what happens with their data and how you conform with the Data Protection Act. The website must also adhere to Policy 1 of the Web Accessibility Guidelines. Again, this is something that our corporate legal specialists can go through with you.

Need help with the legal stuff for setting up your start-up business? Call our corporate lawyers in Peterborough now.