End of Financial Year Legal Checklist

Along with all your financial responsibilities, don’t forget that there’s a few legal responsibilities too!  With all the turmoil recently, things are likely to be extra-complex this year, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Before you start to dread the weeks ahead – I’ve created an End of Financial Year Legal Checklist to keep you focussed on the job at hand.

Do a quick review of your contracts and policies

Your website

• Update the copyright year on your website
• Update your Terms of Use on your website if required – click here if you need a template.
• If your Privacy Policy is non-compliant, replace it with a compliant Privacy Policy as required by the Privacy Act (Cth) and the GDPR – template is available here.

 Your Service Agreement/ business T&C’s

• Check your Service Agreements/Client Contracts are reflecting your current service offerings and business processes.
• Ensure your Service Agreement and contracts are updated to manage client expectations regarding service interruption, refund requests or rescheduling due to lockdown or government-imposed restrictions.

 Getting paid on time every time

• Do you regularly have clients defaulting on payment? Are you losing more time and money chasing them or don’t feel comfortable chasing them?  This is also an opportunity to assess your invoicing and payment processes and whether your client agreement clearly states your costs, fee structure, and details of how/ when you are paid to ensure you are paid on time every time.
• If your business name has changed, ensure your contracts are updated to the correct business name.
• Ensure your business name is registered.

Contractor Agreements

Check if your independent contractor agreement (VA’s, social media managers, website developers, marketing managers, etc.) is due for review or negotiation of services or pricing.

Remember that you are allowed to advocate for your business, and negotiate a better deal if you’re not happy with your current arrangements.

• Is it time to trademark your business name? Do you have any IP materials due for Copyright or Trademark renewals?
• Are you considering Licensing your products or your services anytime soon? Get some advice if you are – it’s a clever way of leveraging your Intellectual property.
• Employees – if your business employs staff, you will already know about your superannuation obligations, payment summaries, PAYG statements, taxes, payroll…  But it’s also a great time to review staff employment contracts and assess if they’re still relevant and appropriate to your team member and to your business.
• Reporting obligations – Do you have End of Financial Year Board meeting, Committee Reporting, Shareholder meeting or reporting requirements?  Time to think about what obligations apply to your business model and what needs to happen for you to meet them.

If any of these items have raised red flags for you, book a quick chat with me, and we can tie up a few loose ends to take you into the new financial year with confidence.