
Business Structure Advice
We give business structuring advice to Sydney-based SME’s in all industry sectors. We can help you choose the best business structure for your needs based on tax and legal considerations.
We can set up a company, trust structure, or partnership agreement aligned with your accountant’s advice on tax-effective business structures. And negotiate and finalise your deal with business partners or shareholders. We can refer you to someone from our network if you need an accountant – for tax advice factored into the business structuring.
Over the years, we have helped new and existing businesses, owner-operators, individuals going into partnership, buying into companies, and companies going into joint ventures.
We can prepare or update your joint venture agreement, partnership agreement, trust deed, company constitution, shareholders’ agreement, or share sale agreement.
For help with your business structuring and practical advice, contact Stevensen Business Lawyers today.
HELP FOR YOUR NEW BUSINESS
If another party has given you a Partnership Agreement or a Shareholders’ Agreement, or a Share Sale Agreement to sign and you want to know what it means and how best to protect your position, you should contact us without delay.
We aim to work with you to align your business structuring documents with your personal goals and strategic business plans, including financing, profit distribution, decision-making by business partners, meetings, dispute resolution, exit plans, and succession plans.
Our business support services include preparing or updating loan agreements, finance securities documents, business terms and conditions, employment contracts, employee share schemes, confidentiality agreements, IP agreements, supply agreements, and services agreements.
Contact us today for help with the documents needed to set up your new business investment, including business structure advice tailored to your situation.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A COMPANY STRUCTURE, PARTICULARLY IF YOU GOT IT ‘OFF THE SHELF,’ IT NEEDS REGULAR CHECKING AND UPDATING
Things change, and your contracts may need updating to reflect this. Your business may have grown, or maybe you are thinking of restructuring it to accommodate a new investor. In this case, you should seriously consider getting updated business structuring advice relevant to your changed circumstances.
We have years of experience as both contract lawyers and dispute resolution lawyers. So, we know it costs less to check these documents regularly and customise them to your current needs than the legal fees involved in resolving a misunderstanding or dispute between business partners or shareholders of a company.
If you need any help updating your business arrangements, contact Stevensen Business Lawyers today.
ONBOARDING INVESTORS INTO YOUR COMPANY
Whether you are a start-up business seeking funding from investors or a current business thinking of ways to facilitate capital injection into your growing business, you need to get expert advice. We can help you get your business legal structure ready and able to attract potential buyers of shares in your company or help get a loan from a start-up investor.
We can prepare or review the documents needed to get private funding for your start-up by investors. We can negotiate on your behalf throughout the transaction. We can review contract documents proposed by seed or early-stage investors or other participants and give you practical legal advice and recommendations to protect your legal position.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
A shareholders agreement is a contract negotiated between the owners of a company setting out their mutual rights and obligations as shareholders and directors, capital contributions, business plans, and mechanisms for decision-making, meetings, dispute resolution, profit distribution, exit provisions, and liabilities. Together with a company constitution, they replace the basic set of rules for internal management of a company that comes with the Replaceable Rules under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
There are several ways to register a company with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). You can buy a company “off-the-shelf” via an online incorporation service or ask your accountant to arrange it for you. Or you can use our services for a package, including applying for an ABN, registering for GST and PAYG withholding, applying for business name registration, and applying for trademark registration.
You should not sign a share sale agreement before receiving legal advice on the suitability of that document for you as a purchaser and on the workings of any shareholders’ agreement proposed by the existing owners of the company to regulate your investment in the company.
At some point, you may decide to have contracts that are written to reflect better your business arrangements than the “one size fits all” documents do. When you appoint us as your business lawyers, we will review documents and discuss them with you, including how they can be updated to protect your position in the business better.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “you don’t need a contract – until you NEED a contract.”
The absence or deficiency of contracts is the single biggest legal problem faced by small businesses today. We regularly see the fall-out from having business arrangements that are undocumented or poorly documented.
Not documenting your partnership arrangement, for example, is particularly risky. Everyone has a different recollection later of what was meant at the time. This can increase the cost of resolving a business dispute as you try and piece together the collage of conversations and emails that you say maps your arrangement rather than a formal document.
Having your contract drafted by an experienced business lawyer can limit the risk of future costly litigation arising because you have no written contract or the contract in place was not adequately tailored to your needs. If you do have a business dispute, it is best to get our advice early on to set your agenda, rather than having another set your agenda for you and risking acceleration to costly litigation if things don’t go exactly according to plan. In the end it can generally keep down your overall operational costs.