After you have completed the business incorporation process, don't expect that your work is done. Actually, the real work is just starting. Being a corporation means that you are not the center of the business anymore. You have your partners, stockholders, and shareholders to think about. In addition, you have to continue providing service to your clients without a dip in quality. But your first order of business after the business incorporation process is producing your corporate kit. Corporate kits are essential for a start-up incorporated business. These kits contain every legal papers documenting the entire business incorporation event. These will keep the necessary records that will facilitate the distribution of stocks. The kit may also be used to keep track of the shareholders and the value of their assets. However, a standard corporate kit only include six items: your corporate seal, certificates of stock, ledger of stock transfer, by-laws and sample minutes, minute binder, and other miscellaneous forms. Business incorporation requires that every transaction of a stockholder or the management must be approved by the entire corporation. The corporate seal affixed on the document guarantees that the deal is legally approved. The seal is in the form of a portable press where documents are affixed or imprinted with the corporation seal. The seal imprint shows the corporation name, the approval date of the incorporation application, and the state where the business is incorporated. Years back, all states required corporate seals. Today, only a few keeps the corporate seal requirements. But even so, corporate seal imprints lend business documents power or authority. Of course, in incorporating your business, you are accepting the multiple system of ownership that comes with it. The business incorporation process requires you to divide the ownership of the business among yourself and your stockholders. Certificates of stocks ownership are issued to every stockholders with information about their part in the corporation. These certificates indicate the value of a stockholder's share in the business. The value of a stockholder's stock determines his power within the corporation. Why? Because corporations can crash if major stockholders pull out their shares or investments. This is why it is important to keep track of the shares of each stockholder. Deals between the stockholders can also affect the corporation and must be closely monitored. These changes and deals are recorded in a ledger of stock transfer. For example, a major stockholder buys the shares of a minor partner to increase his value in the corporation. The details of this deal, like the issuance date, certificate numbers, and the stockholders involved in the trade, are all recorded for reference. These will come in handy if a need for business incorporation renewal should arise. In accordance with business incorporation policies, the by-laws will dictate all the regulations concerning the corporation. It will cover policies from the organizational structure to the most trivial rule. Minutes and results of meetings and conferences are recorded in the minutes binder to establish the validity of each corporation decision. Business incorporation is all about working and managing a business with other people. However, as with all situations that deal with investments and money, lines must be kept straight. |
