Corporate Minutes

Online Minute Book

A company's minute book is a record of the key decisions of its governing persons, regardless of whether these are managers, directors or shareholders. In most states, keeping this record is required by law, but it is also best practices. Consider the following questions:

• Is your Business Run through your LLC

  ? Your LLC offers great protection of your personal assets--in theory. But you still need to show that your business is actually being run inside your company and not by you directly. Keeping a separate bank account for the LLC will get you a lot of the way there, but keeping minutes to record key actions of your company provides the necessary evidence. For example, in your minutes, you will reflect that ownership of business assets, like trademarks and contracts, are held by your LLC. You can clarify that contracts you have been signing have indeed been on behalf of the LLC. Your minute-book is the opportunity to clarify when and how and why these actions were taken.

• Did you Loan or Contribute Money to your Business

  ? You decided your business needed a little extra investment, so you simply moved some cash from your personal account into your business account. Wait. Did you contribute that money as capital or did you loan it to the business? The difference will really matter on down the road when you want to split a dividend with your partner or when you calculate your tax basis. Writing a simple resolution into your minute book to reflect what you intended at the time will avoid this type of uncertainty after the fact.

• Who are your Company's Directors and Officers

  ? Without minuting votes of shareholders or directors to appoint your management, it will be uncertain who the members of your management actually are, and even if you and your partner know, third parties (banks, for example) have nothing to rely on.

• Is that what we Decided

  ? If you have partners or multiple owners of your business, minutes go from being something that is prudent and smart to something that is essential for the health of your partnership. Writing down key decisions and recording them avoids miscommunications and misunderstandings after-the-fact. It avoids finger-pointing and, ultimately, legal disputes.

A New Kind of Minute Book

After Incorporation's online minute book keeps your records in chronological order and is searchable and printable. It keeps the information you refer to most at your fingertips with a summary of your company's management, shareholder listings and key dates. Its voting feature lets you pass resolutions without pen and paper. It is always accessible to those you have given permissions to. And, like all of AI's tools, you can maintain it yourself or take advantage of our low-cost services to create minutes, organize your records and keep them updated. You only pay for the services you ask us to perform. Your online account is free.

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Services

Most corporate actions can be done without a lawyer. The steps for doing things like recording minutes, issuing shares, transferring interests, declaring dividends or distributions, approving agreements, appointing managers, officers and directors, approving powers of attorney and holding the required annual meeting are outlined in your company documents. To do them correctly only requires attention, diligence and knowledge. We provide these services to you at minimal costs.

First, we help you organize your records. Your account manager treats your records and information confidentially and loads them onto the online minute book where only you and those you authorize have access to them. We organize your information and keep it updated so that you have the key pieces available to you when you need them. We even provide a basic registry for your company's stock or LLC interests. You can depend on us.

Then, when you need to take an action, whether it is right away or in a year, we will be ready to help. Because we manage your files electronically, including the approvals and signatures, our costs are minimal, and you only incur them if and when you ask us to do something. In the meanwhile, your minute book is online, organized and up-to-date.

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The After Incorporation Online Minute Book