The year is quickly coming to an end, which means it's the perfect time to make sure your business is set up for success from day 1 of the new calendar year.
The end of the year serves as a necessary opportunity for you to conduct a few legal check ins in your business to ensure that everything is updated and compliant.
When you’re in the midst of running your business on a day to day basis, it can be difficult to make time for these things – even though they’re incredibly important.
While you’d ideally be keeping a check on this checklist at various points throughout the year, I know what it’s like to be a business owner and having to pick and choose where you spend your time.
So if you’ve yet to pay attention to all of the legalities and maybe not-so-fun parts of your business this year, make sure you take the time to do so before January 1!
The following checklist will help you focus on the most important things so you can confidently run your business knowing that everything is updated and compliant in the eyes of the law.
Year-End Legal Checklist For Creative Business Owners and Service Providers
✔️Update Copyright Notice On Your Website and Digital Products
Every new year calls for an update on your copyright notice on your website AND on your digital products! For your copyright notice to be accurate, simply put the years from when you first published content to when you last updated it, like this: © 2020-2024 [Insert your biz name here]
Having an updated copyright notice on your website and your digital work essentially says, “hey! I’m claiming the rights to this, so if you infringe my stuff, you’re doing it willfully.”
A copyright notice is the legal first step in being able to take action if or when someone unfortunately does steal your work. (If you’re wondering what to do in that scenario, click here!)
And if you’ve yet to implement a copyright notice at all, NOW is the time. Here’s a free copy and paste guide to help you with ease!
✔️Review Your Contracts
As your certified contract lawyer friend, you know I’m not going to let you forget about implementing contracts in your business, but ALSO making sure they stay up to date.
The thing about contracts is that they aren’t something you simply set and forget. They aren’t something that you create at the beginning of your business and never re-visit.
This is a mistake that I see business owners and service providers making ALL the time and failing to update your contracts as your business changes can lead to some major legal headaches down the road.
In order for your contracts to continue to serve and protect you and your business, you want to make sure that you’re doing at LEAST a yearly audit, but ideally this is something you’d do quarterly.
Click here for a full breakdown of what to check for each time!
✔️ Revisit Your Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
In addition to your contracts, a few of your other legal agreements need to be updated each year to ensure that they’re in compliance with any new laws or regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, or other applicable data privacy laws.
Your Privacy Policy should be updated so that your website users know what information of theirs is being collected, how it’s being collected, how it’s being used, and ultimately how it’s being protected.
And if you’ve yet to implement a privacy policy at all? Well, now’s the time… or else you’re putting yourself and your business at BIG risk. Read more about those risks here!
Same goes for your Terms of Use (or Terms of Purchase / Terms and Conditions) – the legal agreement that sets the ground rules and expectations for how your customers can use your products while simultaneously providing a safety net for you as the business owner.
If you’re selling digital products, it’s truly so important to make sure your Terms of Use are updated and accurate so that you always have something to lean on when or if you find yourself in a situation with a customer requesting refunds, cancellations, issuing chargebacks and much more.
✔️ Check Your Tax Obligations
If you’re reading this in December, you might be in falalala mode and I would never want to be the person to ruin your festive fun, BUT the reality is that once Christmas is over and the new year is here… that means tax season is right around the corner. 🫣
Prevent yourself from having to chase down documents or figure out your finances before tax season gets here by carving out some time in December or January to get all of your ducks in a row.
Some tips for this are: ensure your quarterly tax payments are up to date (hopefully you’ve been making those throughout the year), balance your books, request 1099’s from contractors, and issue any W2’s or W9’s that you might owe to contractors or employees.
Before the end of the year, it’s also always wise to consult with a tax professional to start preparing for tax season early and potentially talk about any deductions or write offs that you can use for your business when the time comes!
If you’re in need of bookkeeping or accounting professionals, a few of my faves for creative business owners are Finolve Accountants & Advisors, Pretty Penny Accounting, and Maranucci & Associates.
✔️ Conduct an Employee or Contractor Audit
And lastly, year end is always the perfect time to review any employment agreements and contractor agreements to confirm that classification (employee vs. contractor) is compliant with labor laws.
It’s also smart to re-issue employer or contractor agreements to reflect the upcoming year to ensure that everyone is on the same page and ready to start fresh come January!
And if you don’t have those contracts? You know what I’m going to say by now!
If you have hired (or plan to hire) an independent contractor in your business, use this template to ensure both parties are on the same page about important terms, conditions, and expectations.
Overall, as the year comes to a close, taking time to review and address the legal aspects of your business is a crucial step in setting yourself up for success in the year ahead.
This Year-End Legal Checklist ensures your business remains compliant, protected, and prepared for growth. By being proactive NOW, you can enter the new year with confidence, knowing your business is on solid legal ground.
Here’s to a successful, stress-free start to the new year! 🎉
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