legal, accountingWe have an startup, we are just starting and we’d like to know if there is an organization to provide legal and accounting assistance for startups. We have the company in the US (Delaware) and we are operating it remotely. It’s hard and expensive to find those professionals, but may be there are companies that provide that service for startups at competitive prices.
We need help about how to keep the company in good standing and we need help to write our independent contractor agreement, service level agreement, etc.
If things are fairly simple, you might be able to get by with Legal Zoom or similar service. If you sign up for their service, you can get 30 min phone consultations with attorneys, up to 10 page contract reviews as well access to some accounting services from 1-800-ACCOUNTANT.
I have used them and feel like I got some useful guidance. And I can use the guy I've connected with for a reduced rate through his firm.
You put your zip code into the site and give you a list of local attorneys. I doubt the any large firms are in the system.
Unfortunately I haven't found an online service that can provide these services. Legal Zoom and Nolo both provide a set of templated documents that meet the 80% case of standard business needs. I just signed up for a Clerky account and it looks really helpful in the incorporation phase of a new company.
I think your best bet is to find a good startup attorney through your network to help you put together your SLA terms, contractor agreement, etc. You may want to work with multiple attorneys depending on their speciality (ie - a more technical lawyer may be helpful in setting up an SLA, T&Cs, privacy policy, where as an employment lawyer would be helpful with contractor agreements).
If you do find a service that meets your needs, I'll be excited to hear about it!
Update: April 22, 2016
I've recently found UpCounsel to provide a set of helpful with 'getting started' legal templates.
To save money, you can use a template from other sites and then use your own attorney if you need help fine tuning it.
Y Combinator provides some excellent documents including a sales agreement for SaaS companies.
Orrick provides many other documents for various kinds of startups including technology companies.
I have found Nolo to be a great source of legal information but have not had much success using LegalZoom. I feel their lawyers are generic and you may be better off trying to put together basic docs on your own and using an attorney for your specific industry so the time they bill you is time well spent.
You can outsource your accounts just like other companies. There are some companies that specialize in accounting and bookkeeping for startups like http://accountingforstartups.com/ http://outsourceaccounting.net/ http://www.pcg-services.com/services/accounting/start-ups/ etc. You may also be able to find a US accountant on elance, freelancer etc who may be able to do the books and tax preparations for you.
SLAs, and agreements can be checked by a lawyer from upcounsel.com and your incorporator or registered agent may provide service to keep your companies records with the state current.
I use Legal Shield (only $17/mo). They’re very responsive to my inquiries and have reviewed a lot of paperwork for me at no extra cost. Any legal work is referred out at a 25% discount. If you have a question for a tax attorney, just be careful in how you word it (i.e. make the question about the law and not about you).
What about the Delaware Small Business Development Center?
http://delawaresbdc.org/
Right on their website they have links and resources for small businesses in Delaware including legal and financial links.
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