How to Get a Corporate Kit

What do the most successful corporations, LLCs and nonprofits have in common? They all have a quality corporate kit that they update often. In fact, a corporate kit is the most essential “non-essential” item you can add to your business formation toolkit.

If you choose IncReg for your business formation and management, you will soon have everything in place to make an impressive Corporate Kit.

This page explains how to get your corporate kit and why you need one.

What is a Corporate Kit?

Usually, a corporate kit is a good quality binder that holds all the important information and documents from your business formation, organization and management. The binder puts all your documents in one place so that they are easy to see and go back to.

Sometimes, businesses will hold these files and documents electronically. Sometimes they just keep them in a folder, box or ring binder. As it’s not a state requirement to have one, some businesses don’t have a Corporate Kit at all. But they are missing out.

Why do I need a Corporate Kit?

It’s worth remembering that while you don’t have to have a corporate kit, there are many good reasons why you should.

First, do you want to be the kind of business that doesn’t follow best practice? For example, a Corporate Kit puts all the forms and records your business needs in one place. That means that you’ll never be left searching for your important records if you have your Corporate Kit up to date. For example, if your business ever needs to use the records in court, you’ll have them right there.

Second, if you don’t get your corporate kit, you’ll be missing out on the benefits it can give your business’s reputation.

Benefits of getting a Corporate Kit

If you were thinking about investing in a new business and were down to two options, which of the following businesses would you feel most confident about?

Business A: which has all its notes, Articles of Incorporation, shares and other records to hand in a top-quality Corporate Kit binder.

Business B: which has no Corporate Kit, and no easy way of showing you its records.

Most investors, banks, investors and other financial entities are going to go with Business A, if only because its Corporate Kit shows that its well run and organized.

Corporate Kits for other kinds of businesses

To keep their records in order, most of the corporations that IncReg helps form and manage want their Corporate Kit as soon as possible. However, plenty of LLCs want one too. If you have an LLC, there’s no reason why you can’t have a Corporate Kit for your business. Then you get the same benefits of trust and efficiency as your corporate peers.

Talk to Informa about getting the right Corporate Kit for your business entity.

What is inside a Corporate Kit?

As getting a corporate kit is voluntary, there are no strict rules about what you need to have inside yours. However, these are the things that you’ll find in a well-run business that has its Corporate Kit in pride of place.

• Company minutes: If you run a corporation, you’ll need to keep your minutes on record. What’s more, this is a requirement for your corporate management. Although you’ll likely take these electronically, it’s good practice to print them out and put them in your Corporate Kit.
• Corporate bylaws: When you form your business, you need to agree on the bylaws which explain how it will run. If there are any changes to your bylaws, then you should record these and update the records in your Corporate Kit. LLCs don’t have to have these, but if yours does, it must follow them. In either case, corporate bylaws are an important part of your Corporate Kit.
• The company structure: Usually held with the corporate bylaws in your Corporate Kit. This explains the nuts and bolts of how your company runs and who does what. For example, you should list the officers, location and management structure of your business here. Also, this is a good section to include information about your yearly shareholder meetings and the day-to-day running of your business.
• Corporate resolutions: A record of all the decisions your corporation has made. You must keep these on file as they are an important record that you are running your business properly.
• Stock certificates and LLC membership: Usually, your corporation or LLC can issue electronic stock certificates. However, we also recommend you have a paper copy of these vital legal and financial documents. Your Corporate Kit is a great place for them.
• Your Corporate Seal: This is a round logo that gives important information about the place and date of your business’s incorporation. It’s often embossed on important documents, either digitally or physically. You don’t have to have a corporate seal, but having one reassures your clients and customers that your business is professional.
• Your tax ID assignment: Issued by the IRS, the type of tax your corporation or LLC pays is recorded in this letter. You should keep this in your Corporate Kit along with your Employee Identification Numbers (EIN) and anything else you have that relates to state or federal taxation.
• Sales contracts: Any important contracts, agreements and sales contracts your business makes should go in your corporate kit. You can also include financial records in your corporate kit if you wish, though most businesses keep these separate.

How to get a Corporate Kit

You can put your Corporate Kit together yourself, and you can buy some ready-made kits from stores and online. However, the easiest way to make sure you have a truly professional and impressive Corporate Kit is to let IncReg do the work for you.

IncReg gives you a top-quality Corporate Kit in an attractive, sturdy binder. We present all your documents to the highest professional standards so that you have a Corporate Kit to be proud of.