Mutual NDAs for Small Businesses: Define It, Mark It, and Sign Before You Share
A mutual NDA binds both sides — and the residuals clause, the marking rules, and two separate clocks decide whether yours survives a dispute.
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Legal
Legal considerations for business finance and accounting compliance
A101, A201, A401: A Small Contractor's Guide to the AIA Contract Family
A401's pay-if-paid clause decides whether a slow-paying owner becomes your problem. What A101, A201 and A401 each do, and which blanks to negotiate first.
CBP Started Voiding Importer of Record Numbers Today: Check Your Form 5106 Before Your Next Shipment Stops
CBP voids importer of record numbers immediately when Form 5106 data is inaccurate - no cure period. Verify your physical address, email, and phone now.
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: How Business Owners Shield Personal Assets From Lawsuits Before They Happen
A domestic asset protection trust shields personal assets from future lawsuits, but only if you fund it while solvent, years before any claim arises.
Which Labor Law Posters Do You Actually Have to Hang?
Every required federal labor law poster is free from the DOL, so the $90 compliance mailer is a scam. Which sheets you owe, plus state and remote rules.
California's CAMERA Act: What Talent Agents, Managers, and Coaches Who Work With Minors Must Do Now
California talent agents, managers, and coaches became mandated reporters January 1, 2026; a missed report is a misdemeanor. Here's the compliance checklist.
Your Chatbot Is Now Breaking EU Law Unless It Introduces Itself: A Small Business Guide to the AI Act's Transparency Rules
Since August 2, 2026, EU AI Act Article 50 forces chatbots to disclose they are AI and deepfakes to carry labels — US sellers with EU customers included.
Pumping at Work Is a Federal Right Now: The PUMP Act Checklist Every Small Employer Needs
The federal PUMP Act covers nearly all US employees — reasonable pump breaks for a year plus a private, non-bathroom space, or liquidated damages.
Closing Between Christmas and New Year's? The Payroll Rules That Decide What You Owe
Under federal FLSA rules, exempt employees are owed full salary for any holiday-shutdown week they work at all; require PTO use instead of docking pay.
The DOL Is Auditing Your Payroll: What a Wage and Hour Investigation Actually Looks Like
A US DOL wage-hour investigation has four stages: opening conference, records review, interviews, final conference. Weak payroll records double the cost.
Draw Against Commission Explained: Recoverable vs. Non-Recoverable Draws for Employers
A draw against commission is an advance settled against later commissions. Once paid it is wages under the FLSA, so never claw it back from a final paycheck.
Reading Your First US Term Sheet: Valuation, Liquidation Preference, and the Control Terms Founders Miss
A $10M pre-money valuation with a 15% option pool values the founders' shares closer to $8.5M. A clause-by-clause walk through a priced-round term sheet — the option pool shuffle, 1x non-participating preference, full-ratchet anti-dilution, board seats and veto lists — with the math worked out.