You are about to start a small company, and you don’t know how it will perform in the future. Some uncertainties can only be waited for, but that does not mean you can’t prepare in advance.
To prevent the business from affecting your personal life, you can head the LLC way. A limited liability company will have a business structure that clearly defines the roles of every contributor or member.
In structuring and commencing, you will need paperwork that may involve the operating agreement. It may not be a requirement in your state, but it’s much better when you have it.
What is LLC Operating Agreement?
This article shares the importance of having an LLC operating agreement. We must, however, shed some light on what this agreement means and what it may entail. It’s generally a document that has the operational and financial decisions about a business.
That includes the provisions and the rules. The operating agreement will function as the governing document that details how the internal operations are conducted in favor of the business owner(s). If you need to draft one and involve everyone, that can be easily done via CocoDoc.
It needs the signatures of the founding members (who can be one) to become official and bind the members to the stated terms. Now that you have an idea of what it, what are the reasons that propagate the need for such an agreement?
We have five of them here.
5 Reasons Why an LLC Operating Agreement is Necessary
- Securing Your Liability Protection
- Room for Future Growth
- No Default Rules from the State
- Requirement Needed by Investors and Banks
- Managing the Daily Operations
Securing Your Liability Protection
Having an operating agreement for the LLC will help separate your assets from those belonging to the business. That’s the most important reason why you need the operation agreement, whether you are the only member or not.
Your state may not require it since only a few make the agreement mandatory. Some of the regions that need it by law include New York and California. Regardless of whether your state requires it or not, going on with the daily operations without it is hazardous.
You can put it this way. The main reason why you need a limited liability company is that it offers liability protection. It may be hard to understand that, too, but we can still expound on it.
LLCs will protect your assets from people who may want to sue your business. Things go south at times, but you still need your house, bank account, and car, among other personal belongings.
To ensure that your private life is not tampered with, the operating agreement helps keep the business affairs away from the personal life. Since you want to keep it that way, that also implies that you will not be treating your business funds as private.
Business conduct is also respected via the agreement. So, if you don’t keep personal affairs away from the business, the court disputes will have a way to reach for your belongings since there is no document with regulations that protect that.
When you have the operation agreement, from recommendable platforms like CocoDoc, the business is treated as a legit company by those you engage with as your progress. When it’s not there, another individual or company could sue you, and there will be no document to shield your stuff.
If you know how hard it was to set up the LLC, protect your sweat by having the operations agreement.
Room for Future Growth
Right now, the company could be just a tiny seed that is about to grow. Your success will determine growth and development just like any other successful company. As you go up the ladder, there may be space for investors to chip in and allow for exponential expansion.
When you have the operating agreement, it will tell how the investors will join, how their dividends and profits are repaid, and their say in the company. It can also explain what happens when an investor wants to quit.
Having a structure before will approve what you want for your business. It will also state the roles that the investors can play when negotiating or making suggestions. Therefore, the operating agreement gives room for growth and expansion while putting the business in a better position to raise funds.
No Default Rules from the State
When you lack an operating agreement, the state applies the default rules. Such regulations fill in the gaps left out by the absence of the contract and what it should state.
States have rules that apply to LLCs to allow people to conform to what they would prefer. They, however, address the lowest possible scenarios, which may not be what you and the business wants.
For example, the state could specify that your child or partner has the right to take over the LLC when you become incapacitated or deceased. It may, however, not state how the business management will be conducted.
That calls for a specific person with the experience to take over the company if you can no longer contribute. To declare that, you need the operating agreement. If you don’t have this document, your five-year-old son could be the next kin. That’s not good for the LLC.
Requirement Needed by Investors and Banks
If you seek more funding from investors and money lending institutions, they may want to see the operating agreement. That’s how you prove that you run the LLC and it’s legit.
So, walking into the room with the registration details only will not suffice. Always be prepared by having an operating agreement at your disposal.
Managing the Daily Operations
You may want to bring in a CEO or manager to run the business while focusing on the presentation and brainstorming. The operating agreement can define the hired person’s roles and the rules they have to abide by.
It can also state the compensation terms and what will happen when he or she quits. It also serves as the document that ensures the manager is responsible and loyal.
Conclusion
Whether it’s a single or multiple-member LLC, an operating agreement is essential. The five reasons above have made it clear why you need such a document. Since it needs signatures, drafting one and collecting the signs is as easy as visiting the CocoDoc website.
There are templates available to dismiss the thought of structuring one. So, it’s now up to you to secure your LLC by having a formal operating agreement. CocoDoc has already offered the guideline, which means you only need to download the preferred template and proceed to adjust and have it signed electronically.