Small business contract guides

What a lease really costs a tenant: CAM/operating-expense pass-throughs, repairs, guaranty, assignment, default remedies, relocation, and use clauses — by industry and by state.

• Guides by industry (restaurant, medical, retail, office, warehouse)
• Lease law by state (50)
• Clause library
• Lease glossary
• NNN calculator

For businesses taking over a commercial lease by assignment, business purchase, or sublease: landlord consent and recapture, inherited liability and novation, the estoppel certificate, CAM true-ups, existing defaults, and surrender obligations.

• Assumed-lease DD guides (12)

For renters signing an apartment or house lease: security deposits, late fees and rent increases, auto-renewal and notice, breaking a lease early, habitability and repairs, landlord entry, roommates and joint liability, fees and pet rent, and eviction rights.

• Renter & lease guides (12)

How far a personal guaranty reaches the signer: enforceability of confession-of-judgment clauses, spousal signatures, homestead, deficiency judgments, and the statute of limitations — state by state.

• Guaranty law by state (50)

Borrower-side guides to SBA 7(a) and 504 financing: the unconditional personal guarantee, collateral and lien rules, Forms 148/148L, default, and liquidation.

• SBA borrower guides (10)

For both customers and vendors signing a master services agreement or SaaS contract: liability caps, indemnification, auto-renewal, price escalation, IP, data, and SLAs.

• MSA review guides (12)

For buyers and sellers of commercial real estate: earnest money and when the deposit goes hard, due diligence, financing, title and survey, AS-IS condition, closing and prorations, default remedies, casualty, and 1031 exchanges.

• Purchase agreement guides (12)

For buyers and sellers of a business: asset vs stock structure, purchase price and working capital, earnouts, representations, indemnification caps and baskets, escrow, non-competes, and tax allocation.

• Business purchase guides (12)

For owners taking a merchant cash advance, business loan, or promissory note: the real APR behind the factor rate, confession of judgment, daily ACH, reconciliation rights, UCC liens, and personal guaranties.

• Business funding guides (12)

For businesses leasing or financing equipment: the hell-or-high-water clause, $1 vs FMV buyouts, evergreen renewal, warranty disclaimers, stipulated loss value, and default remedies.

• Equipment finance guides (12)

For employees and employers signing an offer or agreement: non-compete enforceability by state, non-solicitation, NDAs, IP and invention assignment, equity and vesting, at-will and "cause," severance, and arbitration.

• Employment & non-compete guides (12)

For minority and controlling owners signing LLC operating agreements, partnership agreements, buy-sell agreements, or closely held shareholder agreements: capital calls, distributions, voting, transfers, valuation, fiduciary duties, deadlock, and withdrawal.

• LLC operating agreement guides (12)

For owners, contractors, and subcontractors signing construction contracts and subcontracts: payment and pay-if-paid clauses, retainage, change orders, delay liquidated damages, indemnity, mechanic’s liens and lien waivers, bonds, and termination.

• Construction contract guides (12)

For policyholders reading a commercial insurance policy: per-occurrence vs aggregate limits, sublimits, claims-made vs occurrence, coinsurance, replacement cost vs ACV, exclusions, additional insured, duties after loss, and coverage gaps.

• Insurance policy guides (12)

For prospective franchisees reading a Franchise Disclosure Document: Item 19 financial performance, fees, territory, renewal and transfer, plus franchise registration laws by state.

• FDD guides (12)
• Franchise laws by state (15)