Guide to Finding and Using Essential Small Business Forms

Where to go for the paperwork your business needs to succeed

By Matt Alderton

1. Contracts, with which to protect the integrity of your agreements
2. Templates, from which to build necessary letters and applications
3. Statements, with which to track financials
4. Documents, in which to record policies and procedures

Action Steps to Get Started with Small Business Forms
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start-up small business forms

Before you're even open for business you'll need to fill out forms laying claim to your business name and intellectual property.

I recommend: Start by getting a business license from your state or county. Links to your local offices, where you can obtain the necessary registration forms, are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Tax forms

Small businesses must file a host of forms with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allowing you to do everything from obtaining an employer identification number (EIN), to paying your employees to claiming business deductions on your income taxes.

I recommend: Download all the relevant small business forms directly from the IRS. You also can find a complete suite of federal tax forms, along with hundreds of other business forms from the federal government, at Business.gov.

Accounting forms

Bookkeeping is the backbone of every business; find the right business form for tracking account balances, paying vendors or reporting financials.

I recommend: AllBusiness.com offers a Business Bookkeeping & Accounting Forms Kit that includes everything from sample balance sheets and income statements to blank expense reports and depreciation worksheets.

HR forms

Considering employment applications, employee appraisals and time-tracking sheets, your personnel department requires its own business form library.

I recommend: Download free exit interview forms, performance reviews and time sheets free from HRVillage.com.

Legal forms

A business can never be too careful; protect your company from litigation and investigation with the proper legal documents.

I recommend: Download a variety of free legal documents for your business — ranging from employment contracts to incorporation documents — from FindLaw or Free Legal Forms. If you can't find what you need, download business forms or legal explanations for a fee from U.S. Legal Forms.

Sales forms

Control the chaos that often erupts when you're making sales and moving inventory; the right business form will help you do it.

I recommend: Entrepreneur magazine's FormNET houses a selection of free inventory and sales forms, including layaway records and purchase orders, as well as merchandise returns and vendor checklists, designed especially for small businesses.

Use business forms software

You can have your own handy library with packaged business forms software.

I recommend: Quicken Legal Business Pro includes small business forms plus a wealth of how-to information on starting a running a business. Find more small business forms software at Business.com.

Get small business forms on paper

Your check vendor or office supplies store can also set you up with the full run of any forms you’ll need to fill in with pen or pencil.

I recommend: Deluxe, a major printer of checks, is also a paper business form printer. Also check Office Depot and more business form sources at at Business.com.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Protect business records by keeping hard copies of business forms in a secure off-site location, in case of theft or natural disaster.
• •  Keep electronic copies of all your business forms in case you lose or damage the hard copies.
• •  It's recommended that you retain copies of your business records for a number of years, if not permanently; keep banking records for up to seven years, personnel records for at least five years and taxation or corporate documents indefinitely.
• •  Depending on your industry — food service, for instance, or medicine — you may need specific business form types; check with your state department of labor to find out what records your company is required to keep, and what forms are available for keeping them.