Are Template Documents Adequate For My Business?
“With the rise of online business, we have witnessed the rise of template solutions for almost all areas of business, including legal documents.
Having a template can be great to help guide you in understanding what to look for in your business documents and contracts. However, they can also see us thinking we’re covered for everything, when that may not be the case for our unique situation.
As a virtual lawyer, I get asked a lot about whether template legal documents can work for people, and I have no hard and fast answer. That’s because it depends on how much you value your business and what you want your legal documents to do.
We’ve all seen the ads:
· “All the legal templates you’ll ever need for $199!”
· “Why pay a lawyer when I can get law templates from [XX]!”
· “You’re a small business, so these cheap templates can save you money…”
And we’ve all heard these comments:
· “But I can’t afford that, I’m a new business.”
· “Lawyers are just out there to charge high prices.”
And the queries:
· “Can I pick your brains and get some examples. And I’ll then write my own contracts.”
It’s timely to clarify some of these, and other, comments and queries.
It’s OK to be careful when spending money. In fact, I encourage people to know what they are spending money on. But, being careful should not be confused with cutting corners.
When it comes to legal documents, cutting corners or opting for a lesser quality product can have huge financial implications—outweighing any ‘saving’ from template or one-size-fits-all advice.
So, while not all template users will end up with issues, the risk is that if you do get the legal details wrong or if you don’t cover everything you need to, it can end up costing you more in the long run.
By using documents that are not adequately tailored to your business or are created in a rush without really understanding what you need them to achieve, you can be setting yourself up for a very real fall down the track.
Here are 5 things to consider when thinking about your legal documents:
1. It is your business. Your legal documents are designed to protect your business and help avoid disputes arising down the track. Disputes can be time consuming, expensive and incredibly stressful – and they can take you away from the work you need to do in your business. The value of doing all that you can to avoid disputes arising should not be underestimated.
2. How well do you understand what you are agreeing to. If your legal documents are not carefully tailored to your business, you may end up with terms that you don’t understand or that don’t apply to your individual business. Or your documents may omit terms that are important. Either way, you could be left exposed when the documents are ultimately tested.
3. You don’t know what you don’t know. You might think it’s OK to rustle something up from other documents, or to subscribe to a template service. And the truth is, it might be. But, in many situations, you also don’t know, and you won’t know until something goes wrong and you need to rely on your documents to protect you. Your documents need to cover worst case scenarios, and if you don’t know what these might be, or the extent of them, then you can’t be expected to know whether your documents will serve their purpose.
4. There is no one-size-fits-all. No two businesses or people are the same. So legal documents are not a one size fits all, and they shouldn’t be treated that way. Your legal documents need to be treated with the respect that your business deserves, and they should be individually tailored to suit precisely what you need them to do.
5. Peace of Mind. If you invest your time and money into having your legal documents set up properly, you can then rest easy knowing that you have done all that you can to protect your business.
At the end of the day, think about the impact on you and your business and make the best judgement call you can.
If this has stirred uneasiness within you about your documents, feel free to get in touch to discuss your concerns, and to explore the best way forward for you. I have a judgement-free philosophy and am here to help. Be sure that any professionals you engage treat you with the upmost care and respect—you deserve nothing less!“
If you found this article helpful, you might like to read more in our resource Legal Advice for Small Business: The Ultimate Guide.
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