Revenue Share Deals for Online Business – the Legal Side

by Jeanette Jifkins | Jan 31, 2023 | Business Structures, Contracts, Law for Online Business, Legal

Revenue Share Deals for Online Business – the Legal Side

Revenue Share Deals for Online Business

What is a Revenue Share Deal?

Revenue share deals are a type of business agreement in which two parties agree to share the revenue generated by a specific product or service. The revenue is typically generated by sales, but it can also come from other sources such as advertising or subscriptions.

Revenue share agreements work well in the online business environment and are subtly different from a joint venture, although share many of the same features.

Whilst a joint venture might be intended for a specific project, and may also be time or project limited, revenue share deals can be perpetual and unending, provided the parties maintain their good working relationship.

Generally speaking, in a revenue share deal one partner has unique skills which can enhance the performance of a business beyond its current state (eg. strategy), and the other party has a business they want to improve, without the knowledge or experience to do so (eg. operations). As the operations person, the strategic partner often becomes your objective, trusted advisor and promoter, without having any control, ownership or decision making in the business.

This makes revenue share deals attractive to business owners who do not want to give up control or equity in what they have created, don’t have the immediate capital or cashflow to pay a high level advisor, but still want to leverage the knowledge and skills of an advisor.

It’s important to note that in a revenue share deal, both parties are sharing the risk as well as the rewards. If the product or service doesn’t sell well, both parties will earn less revenue.

Revenue Sharing Business Model Examples

1. Revenue sharing companies

Employee share schemes or other incentive programs, bonus payments to high performing distributors and distributions to shareholders are all forms of revenue sharing in companies. Whilst having an underlying performance base, typically the company retains control over the decision making around whether or not a distribution is made.

2. Sports and entertainment industries commonly use revenue sharing arrangements

Coaches and managers might take a share of the revenue a player or an entertainer receives from participating in an event. By way of example, for the popular sport of Australian Rules Football, the AFL Players’ Association requires agents to be accredited with them and publishes as a guide

“Typically agents won’t charge a fee during a player’s first season or if they are on a rookie contract. From their second year on a list, it’s usually in the 2% to five per cent range on any football payments a player earns. In relation to any commercial or promotional activities, the typical rate is 20 per cent.”

The league generates its revenue from the promotion of the game. Player salaries typically come from the revenue distribution to their club received from the governing league. This was highlighted in early 2023 when the association for rugby players rejected the salary cap issued by the NRL.

3. Commission and affiliate based arrangements

Straight commission or affiliate agreements without underlying retainers are really a revenue share model. Payment is calculated on each sale over a threshold, even if that threshold is only one sale. Sales are dependent on the efforts of the salesperson and the work of the salesperson only costs the business a percentage of the sale made. Provided that costs of the product or service are not excessive, both parties benefit.

4. Revenue Share in Ecommerce

Cost per click advertising is a form of revenue sharing, provided the click converts to a sale!

Advantages and Disadvantages of Revenue Sharing

Some Pros:

equal risk to the parties, which can mitigate potential financial losses for either party
revenue sharing is performance based – if either party stops performing, revenue decreases
both parties can benefit from increased sales and revenue
generally speaking, the contributions of the revenue share party extend the business beyond what the business owner could achieve on their own
the revenue share party doesn’t have to acquire ownership or liability for businesses it partners with, but can generate a steady stream of revenue from the relationship
easier calculation than profit share, as cost of sales is not taken into consideration

Some Challenges:

revenue sharing arrangement require a high level of trust
if a revenue party is brought in to improve strategy, the operations partner needs to be willing to change existing business practices
it can have a slow start – strategic changes may take time to produce tangible increases in revenue
an operations partner may not still see the value in the arrangement after the strategic implementations are completed and there is less input from the strategic party

Cons:

revenue share works best where the product or service being sold has an identified market and demand
revenue share works best with standard products and services, rather than bespoke offerings
both parties are likely to be dependent on each other for revenue and success, which can create tension in the relationship
the terms of the agreement may be difficult to renegotiate if one party is not satisfied with the arrangement
revenue sharing arrangements are generally not attractive to strategic partners when the business is not ready for sales, or is ready, but hasn’t made any sales
regulatory, environmental or social changes that significantly impact a business (think COVID impact on hospitality) can ruin a revenue share opportunity

Someone looking to rapidly scale may be seeking a significant involvement of the revenue share partner from the beginning, with feedback potentially reducing over time. It is important to understand that this is different from a standard coaching relationship and that the time contribution of the strategic partner may vary significantly over the life of the relationship, without changing their impact on the business, and therefore entitlement to revenue share.

Example Revenue Share Formula

Before establishing a revenue share model, it will be useful for you to consider what it is you want to achieve.

Consider an education and coaching business offering online programs with some live video coaching sessions.

The creator of the business has the knowledge and experience in the subject matter, but would like to increase sales, their current sales are $500,000 per year, which returns a profit. The creator enters into a revenue sharing agreement with a specialist online marketer for the purpose of increasing earnings from their existing products and services.

The revenue share formula might look like this:
– 12% of all sales revenue over $500,000 per annum
– sales are calculated 30 days after purchase and exclude any refunds or cancellations
– distribution of revenue share is made once per quarter for sales occurring in the 90 days ending 30 days before the end of the quarter

In this model, any additional costs incurred by the business do not need to be taken into consideration. The cost of changes in marketing recommended by the specialist online marketer will be covered in the balance (88%) of increase in revenue.

What to Think About Before Entering a Revenue Share Deal

Some things you might like to consider are:

your role and expectations in the revenue share
are you starting from a zero base, or is there existing revenue?
what skills or attributes you are looking for in a revenue share partner
the other party’s role and expectations
structuring the deal
the amount of revenue share
what happens when the revenue share is not paid?
what is the business is sold?
what happens if one party wants out?
meeting and reporting obligations

Ending a Revenue Share Agreement

It is important that you are clear on expectations and what will happen if the agreement ends. You will find the proposed revenue share agreement more useful if you can clearly identify any areas where there is potential for dispute and address those things in the agreement, up front.

Open and frank negotiation should always be the first resort (having some tough conversations) but that can stop being feasible if the relationship between the parties has broken down. It is important to have a quick and effective dispute resolution process to avoid damaging the business – the revenue source for each party. With international transactions, international commercial arbitration is often the most accessible and sensible course, but if the parties are in the same country, other options may be preferred.

It is common for there to be a form of earn out included when a revenue share agreement comes to an end by the operations partner. This is in recognition of the contribution of the strategic party’s efforts at the start of the relationship when the changes suggested took time before showing results. If the strategic partner wants out, depending on the reasons, the earn out might or might not come into effect.

It is also not unusual for a strategic partner to request an entitlement to a share of the revenue on a sale of the business, in place of that earn out arrangement. This is because revenue share agreements are so dependent on the relationship between the parties and are unlikely to be transferred to a new owner of the business.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

Make an appointment with one of our team to discuss how to implement a revenue share model for your business.
If you are considering a revenue share deal, download our Revenue Share Questionnaire here to help you get started.

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What Are Shareholder Agreements and Why Are They Important?

by Alva Li | Dec 7, 2022 | Business Structures, Buying or Selling a Business, Contracts, Dispute Resolution, Law for Online Business, Legal

What Are Shareholder Agreements and Why Are They Important?

As with all business relationships, it is important for all parties to understand their rights and responsibilities, contributions, and entitlements.

This is the same for the shareholders of a company.

If you have the chance to think through how you want to structure the company, what you want for the business, and the future in case unexpected events (like a death or disability) occur, and document those expectations, you create a situation where dispute is unlikely.

Documenting these expectations in some form (usually a shareholder agreement) is important because even if there is a dispute, you will still be able to use the terms of the shareholder agreement to resolve it with the least amount of time, effort and fuss.

Why Do You Need Shareholders Agreement?

Clients spend considerable time and money with us to resolve disputes about what they are each entitled and not entitled to, how to exit or remove someone from the company, and what will happen to those shares, IF no shareholder agreement was ever entered into.

When people stop agreeing and there is no effective mechanism to rely on to resolve the disagreement, they can be stuck in a deadlock that can only be resolved by a court.

A shareholder agreement can include a mechanism for dispute resolution that is quicker, easier and cheaper than court. Not to mention private.

Think about it.

If there are two shareholders who are also both directors (which is not an uncommon situation), then every decision about the company will have to be unanimous. It is rare for business partners to be on the same page 100% of the time, so situations will arise where the parties are deadlocked on a decision and there is no clear way forward.

A shareholder agreement can provide the way forward.

Without a shareholder agreement, court may be the only option.

Does it make sense to ‘save’ $5,000 now to lose $100,000, or your house, later?

What Is The Difference Between a Shareholder Agreement, Partnership Agreement, and Joint Venture Agreement?

There are many different types of business structures –

1. Partnership

If you are a sole trader and have decided to collaborate with another individual without setting up a company or trust, that formation is a partnership. Different sorts of entities can set up in partnership, but it tends to be most common between individuals, or their family trusts.

A partnership is not a separate legal entity, which means each partner is exposed to liabilities the partnership incurs. For example, if one partner commits fraud by stealing money from clients, whether the other partners know about it or not, the innocent partners may be required to repay the stolen money. The people who have suffered the loss don’t even have to pursue the defrauding partner first!

You would need a Partnership Agreement to clearly set out the rights and obligations of each partner, and how to exit or dissolve the partnership.

2. Joint Venture

If you wish to pool resources and share expertise with another person or entity, that formation is a joint venture. A joint venture is very similar to a partnership. It may also not be a separate legal entity by itself, but it does not have the disadvantage of liability for the actions of the other parties.

You would need a Joint Venture Agreement to define each joint venture partner’s roles and responsibilities, and entitlements.

Sometimes, a successful joint venture can lead to incorporation, or be established as a company from the start.

3. Company

A company is an incorporated entity which is separate to the people behind it (shareholders and directors). The most common structure for a company is a proprietary limited company, which means each shareholder is only liable up to the amount unpaid on their shares.

Here is the typical structure of a company:

Company
Title	Role
Shareholder	Owner
Director	Legal liability + strategy
Worker	Daily operations

In a company, the director is legally responsible for the company and its strategic direction, the people who work in the business are responsible for daily operations, and the shareholders own the company.

Even with legal responsibility, there are some decisions a director or board of directors cannot make without approval of the shareholders. Some powers are reserved to the shareholders (eg. the power to replace directors) even though they rarely have any involvement in the day-to-day business activities.

It is important to understand what ‘hat’ you are wearing in a small business and try and focus on the responsibilities of that role only, rather than trying to be everything all of the time.

As an owner of the business, you should be interested in the finances and the risks the business is taking and feel confident the board has it managed.

As a director, you should feel confident you understand your legal liability, and that the company is operating within the kind of risk tolerance appropriate to your industry, and you have a plan for where the business is headed.

Workers need to get the jobs done.

As an aside –

What is the difference between a ‘board’ and a ‘director’ or ‘the directors’?

Nothing.

The ‘board’ is just the collective name for the directors working together. In a shareholder agreement, even if there is only one director at the time it is initially signed, the document will usually refer to the board, rather than a director alone to avoid having to make changes once another director is appointed.

Whether your company has a sole director or a board, they each are responsible for making the same decisions and all members are legally responsible for the company.

What Is In a Shareholder Agreement?

As with all business relationships, it is important for all parties to understand the proposed arrangement, their contributions, entitlements, and rights and responsibilities.

Essentially, a shareholder agreement is more specific than a constitution and can cover a broader range of topics such as:

the business activity to be carried out
what each shareholder owns
whether, and if so, how new shareholders can become involved
what rights shareholders have in appointing directors
whether directors can act in the interests of their appointing shareholder
dealing with shareholder loans
outlining specific requirements for business operations, eg. business plans and budgets
when distributions can be made
how shares can be transferred
valuing the company
what happens if a director or shareholder exits
what happens if a director or shareholder does something wrong
rights if a buyer comes along
what happens to assets and intellectual property if the company is wound up
dispute resolution

How Do You Write a Shareholders Agreement?

A shareholder agreement needs to set out important matters relating to the shareholders including how they make decisions, their entitlement to dividends, and how they can exit the company or vary their interest in the company.

Other important factors include bad leaver provisions, restraint provisions and funding provisions.

Consider a scenario where you no longer wish to collaborate with the other shareholder (say, if they have acted recklessly or even fraudulently) and you want to either exit the company or remove the other person from the company, how do you do that? We have seen many situations where the lack of a Shareholders Agreement (or an effective mechanism within the Shareholders Agreement) caused stress and detriment to the shareholders as well as the company which may have to cease operations

Who writes a shareholder agreement?

We strongly recommend you go to a lawyer to help you draft your shareholders agreement.

This is a document that needs to be tailored to your situation and is not a standard form document like the company constitution which can usually be prepared by accountants when setting up the company.

Is a Shareholders Agreement a Contract?

Yes. It is a contract between the company and the shareholders, as well as between each shareholder.

It is possible, and common, to set different rights and obligations for each shareholder. For example, for a shareholder who has the knowledge and expertise to run the business or steer it in the right direction, it may be good for them to have the power to vote and make decisions for the company. On the other hand, if you have a shareholder who is an investor shareholder and purely contributes funds to the company, you may want to restrict their control over the company by giving them no voting power and only entitlement to dividends.

Does a Shareholder Agreement Need to be Signed?

Signatures are often the easiest way to prove that someone has had the opportunity to read and agree to the terms of a document.

Shareholder agreements can be signed, or a resolution (also in writing) passed unanimously by all shareholders at the time, can be passed to prove agreement and approval of the terms of the shareholder agreement. This requires a poll of shareholders.

Every shareholder, and the company, sign the shareholder agreement. If it is a resolution, then it is not passed without the unanimous approval of every shareholder.

Is a Shareholder Agreement Legally Binding?

Yes, provided that it is either signed by the company and each shareholder, or adopted by unanimous agreement of the shareholders by passing a resolution.

What Happens If You Don’t Have a Shareholder Agreement?

Your business could still operate smoothly in the absence of a shareholder agreement.

Case STUDY

Two builders set up business together on a handshake. They establish a company where they and their respective life partners are directors (4 people all together) and their respective family trusts are the shareholders. Each family trust holds 50% of the shares. The shareholders must vote on the appointment or removal of directors and a decision must be a majority decision. Because each family trust holds 50% of the shares, that means every decision has to be unanimous.

They each contribute equipment to the company.

They buy computers and motor vehicles through the company. The vehicles are expensive, under finance and registered in the name of the company, even though each builder takes one for their exclusive use and one builder puts personalised number plates on the vehicle they use.

A meeting with the company’s accountant highlights that there are unexplained transactions by one of the builders. The parties get into a dispute. As a result of the dispute, each of the life partners resign.

It takes 12 months for the builders to come to an agreement about the vehicles, equipment and jobs in the business. They cannot reach an agreement about the $300,000 + sitting in the business bank account, which was frozen by the bank pending their agreement.

To resolve the dispute, it is likely the parties will have to go to court, with the likely result that the company is wound up and the money in the bank is used to pay legal fees in getting to that decision.

If the parties had a written shareholder agreement, that dispute could have been resolved in a few short months, at a significantly lower cost.

However, not having a shareholder agreement would be problematic IF the shareholders cannot agree on a particular matter. It would be more difficult to resolve the dispute without a binding contract to rely on.

We strongly encourage you to put a Shareholders’ Agreement in place if you have not already done so, and have it regularly reviewed by a legal professional to ensure it remains up to date and compliant with regulatory requirements.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

If you have been in business with someone for a little while and everyone is still friends, or you are contemplating setting up a new company to run a business with someone new and would like to understand your legal risks, make an appointment with a member of our team.

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Save Money with Business Name Registration, Australia

by Jeanette Jifkins | Oct 18, 2022 | Business Structures, Law for Online Business, Legal

Save Money with Business Name Registration, Australia

Save Money with Business Name Registration

You may be using a third party provider to keep your business name registrations up to date, but registering your business name directly through ASIC yourself may be the cheapest option and provide you with more certainty and control.

You can register for an ASIC Connect account, or you can use the ASIC business registration system.

If the website you are using to register a business name doesn’t include .gov.au in the domain name, then you will be paying extra to use the service. In 2022, you can register a business name directly with ASIC for just $39 per year, or $92 for 3 years.

Once registered, provided you keep your contact details up to date, you will receive notice of renewal from ASIC before your registration expires. If you discover that your registration has expired, then you will still have 30 days after the registration date to apply to re-register that name before it becomes available to the public.

If you receive letters from third party registration providers, they will usually be looking for annual fees that are more than what you would pay ASIC. Their additional fees cover the cost of their operations and their profits. ASIC publishes a list of what third party providers can and cannot do and you can complain to the provider if you have any concerns.

You should definitely NOT be paying more than one third party provider for registration services of the same name, and NOT for registration of your own name.

Do I Need An ABN To Register A Business Name?

Yes, you need an ABN to register a business name.

An ABN is an Australian Business Number, and it is attached to whatever entity you use to conduct your business, whether that is as a sole trader, through a trust, or as a company or incorporated association.

For people setting up private foundations who think they don’t need an ABN – check here.

Do I Need To Register My Company Name As A Business Name?

No.

If your company name is the same as the name of your business, then you don’t need to register them separately.

If you register a business name, no one will be able to register a company with the exact same name, and when you register your company name, no one will be able to register exactly the same name as a business name.

On the other hand, if you want to have separate business divisions with different names under the same company, then you can register multiple business names and, through your company ABN, they will be linked to your company, even though the company and the businesses have different names.

Sole traders can register multiple business names consistent with the different areas of business they are involved in. Those business names will be linked to their sole trader ABN.

Be aware that some third party providers will write to you encouraging you to register your business name without checking to see if you have changed your business structure and set up a company with the same name. Their interest is in receiving your payment for registration, whether or not it is required.

Do All Business Names Need To Be Registered?

Yes, and No.

Under the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Federal), it is an offence to carry on a business under a name that is not registered. The penalty is 30 penalty units, which in 2022 equates to about $6,660. Doesn’t seem worth risking when its only $39 per year to register, does it?

Did you know you can be fined $6,660 for carrying on business without registering your business name?

If you use your personal name as a business name with a description of what you do – eg. “Emma Lee Accounting”, or “Sanjay Singh Consultants”, then you don’t need to register it, as using your own personal name for your business is not an offence. The same goes for a company that uses the company name to operate a business.

How Do You Check If A Name Is Taken For A Business?

Business name availability is easy to check, and a quick check can save you lots of money in the future.

The first thing you should do is complete a quick Google or other browser search on your chosen name. If you find a competitor in the same country with the same or a very similar name – go back to the drawing board. It’s not worth the hassle and you create the risk of having someone send you nasty legal letters telling you to stop using that name.

Secondly, complete a trade mark search. In Australia, you complete a trade mark search through IP Australia. If someone has a registered trade mark in broadly the same area of business as you, you risk getting a nasty legal letter telling you to stop using that name. The Onyx Legal team can help you assess whether or not you have any concerns about a registered trade mark, or would like to register your business name as a trade mark. Simply send us an email to advice@onyx.legal with “Trade Mark Registration enquiry” in the subject line and we will respond to your promptly.

Thirdly, and now that you are reasonably certain no one else has a name the same or very similar to what you want to use, then do a name availability check on ASIC. Select “Organisation and Business Names” then complete some or all of the words you want to use in the “Name or Number” field and select “Go”.

A list of Organisation and Business Names should appear. If there are more than 10 names, there will be multiple pages. You can change the settings to display up to 50 names at a time. When looking at names, anything that says “Registered” next to it in the “Status” column is not available to you.

For example, we searched “forthright”, which produced 20 results. 10 of those results are registered. In the “type” column, you can identify whether they are business names or company names.

You won’t be able to register a business name if it is already being used by a company, and vice versa. Names that are identical or nearly identical to an existing registered business name are not allowed.

You can, however, add an additional word to the name – in this example some additions are “consulting”, “international” or “enterprises”, to register the same name.

Do I Have To Register My Business Name With ASIC?

Yes.

Until 2012 business name registration was state based, but it has now moved to one national register managed through ASIC.

Because your business name is linked to an ABN, your business name contact details will also be searchable through the ABN register.

What Is The Difference Between A Trading Name And A Business Name?

A trading name refers to a name a business might use that is not currently registered. If you are using a trading name, or have used a trading name in the past and you want to continue using that name, then you should now register than name as your business name.

ABN Lookup will continue to display trading names until 31 October 2023. From 1 November 2023, ABN Lookup will not display trading names and will only display registered business names. What this means for your business is that anyone who checks ABN Lookup to ensure your business is legitimate is unlikely to find you unless you have a registered business name.

Business Name Registration Renewal

You don’t have to renew your business name registration every year. If you register through ASIC, you can register the business name for three years.

Provided you keep your contact details up to date, you will receive notice of renewal from ASIC before your registration expires. If you discover that your registration has expired, then you will still have 30 days after the registration date to apply to re-register that name before it becomes available to the public.

Business Name Registration Qld, NSW, Vic etc

Business name registration moved from a state based system to a national system back in 2012. If you had previously registered under the state system, your registration should have been migrated to the national ASIC register. Some registrations were lost in that process because people did not keep their details up to date.

If you lost your registration and someone else is now using that name, you may need to adjust your business name in order to get it registered again.

You don’t have any ownership rights in a business name. The purpose of registration is to identify who is behind a business and demonstrate the credibility of a business.

What Happens If My Business Name Is Not Registered?

Failing to register your business name, or to keep your registration up to date, can mean that someone else can register that business name and use it instead of you. If you allow your registration to lapse and someone else registers the same name, you have lost it and don’t have any automatic legal right to demand it back from the new business.

There may be a legal argument as to why they should hand it over, but to prove that right and get the order for them to handover the name, you would have to go through a court process. Court is costly, time consuming, stressful and provides no guarantee of success.

Can Someone Else Use My Business Name?

There are various legal arguments why someone else cannot use your business name without your permission. Whether you have an argument depends on all the circumstances, and we would need to have a discussion with you about your situation before advising.

Do I Own My Business Name?

Business name registration does not give you ownership rights. If you want the right to stop other people from using your business name, or something similar to your business name, then you may be better to register that name as a trade mark. Be aware that not all names are capable of achieving trade mark registration.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

Need help understanding your business name situation, or want to register your business name as a trade mark? Make an appointment with one of our team.

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What Happens When Business Founders Want to Split Up?

by Jeanette Jifkins | Aug 31, 2022 | Business Structures, Dispute Resolution, Law for Online Business, Legal

What Happens When Business Founders Want to Split Up?

Business Break-ups Can Be Messy!

Unless the founders had something clear in writing beforehand, there is no end to the variety of things that can happen when founders want to go separate ways.

If there is nothing in writing and the split is not amicable, all sorts of time consuming, distracting and stressful things can happen.

Here are some of the worst-case scenarios we have seen in practice, all where there was nothing in writing to start:

1. A Founder Dies Unexpectedly

Whilst tragic at a personal level, it can also be very difficult for a business where one of the founders passes unexpectedly. Sometimes the family is aware of their business involvement, and sometimes they are not. In this case the family wanted the company to buy out the deceased founder’s interest in the business immediately and had some unrealistic expectations of what that interest was worth.

Animosity was growing between the parties due poor communications. We were able to present a strategy which allowed for the progressive buy out of the deceased founder over a two year period, without interference by the family in the business, and at an amount set by a ‘desk top’ valuation completed by the company’s accountant. The family of the deceased founder were offered the opportunity to get an independent valuation, but at their cost, and the $11,000 price tag put them off.

2. One Founder Is Stealing Money From The Business, And Another Finds Out

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon scenario.

We’ve seen this occur in a variety of businesses from software to building and construction, and it is rarely pretty, and usually a long and slow process of separation if nothing was agreed in writing when the business was founded.

Too many people think “we don’t need a shareholder agreement, we will be fine” when they are all excited about getting started, and then when things go wrong, they have no protection.

In one example with a tech company, there were four sets of lawyers involved and the end result was a comprehensive deed of release covering the transfer of shares, forgiveness of debts, payment of money, and indemnities from the exiting partner. There were no admissions of liability in the deed. The deed took more than 15 months to negotiate and some shareholders meetings to approve decisions.

As long as the negotiations remain between the parties and their lawyers, law enforcement need not be involved. There is nothing that legally requires you to incriminate yourself or anyone else in the business. When fraud or theft is discovered and reported, it is usually through a third party.

3. A Founder Walks Away Without Notice, Making Demands

Things happen in people’s lives (like death, illness, an amazing job offer etc), and they can suddenly want out. This can be very hard on the people who want to continue with the business and a shock if not contemplated before one partner leaves. Business break ups are often referred to as like going through a divorce by the people affected.

Sometimes people want out, and they want their money, whether or not there is any owed to them at the time. Many people exiting a business think in terms of the future value of the business, rather than where it is as they exit, and vastly overestimate both what it is worth and the capacity of the other parties, or the business to pay for the exit.

If shares are to be transferred to existing business partners, then those individuals need to have the money to purchase the shares at the agreed value. In a start up phase, this is likely to be $1 a share and not onerous, but if the business has been running for a while and has some value, the remaining shareholders might not have thousands of dollars required to purchase those shares.

If the shareholder is exiting and the company is making a distribution or buying back the shares (not a simple process) then there needs to be sufficient funds in the company to pay out the exiting party.

As long as you have clarity around ownership of assets, intellectual property and a realistic value of the business, then its just a process to be undertaken when someone leaves suddenly. If there is nothing in place, then it is a process of negotiation and often heartache before a resolution can be agreed.

4. A Shareholder Stops Contributing

In situations where you have people with different skills coming together to build a business, not everyone necessarily has the same energy to keep the business on track. We’ve come across several businesses where a lot of effort was required of one party in the initial set up (for example someone building an App or a Website) and then their contribution become maintenance only. Another person in the business might be responsible for promotion, and there work is constant, requires review and reinvention, and never lets up.

An example we have is a digital business where the person responsible for service delivery got fed up with the lack of interest of the developer who originally built the website for the business. Their ongoing contribution was minimal and yet their deductions from the business stayed the same and the service deliver person felt like they were working to support two families, without any recognition.

Differing levels of effort over time could have been written into a shareholder agreement and appropriately dealt with, with the service delivery person gaining a greater interest in the distributions over time. Unfortunately, they had nothing documented. Fortunately, the exiting party, being the person who initially built the site, was prepared to accept an independent valuation of the business and to be paid out over six months rather than an immediate exit.

In another tech company, the exiting person was someone who thought that they were indispensable to the business, but kept upsetting customers to the extent they left. Again, and independent valuation was agreed and they accepted payment over time, but the process of getting to that point took 4 months and was disruptive to the business.

5. A Founding Partner No Longer Gets On with Anyone Else In The Business

This was a strange scenario and there was no shareholder agreement. One of the founders had moved into the position of CEO of the business but was no longer on speaking terms with anyone in the business, whether other founders or staff. There were six founders, four of whom no longer had any involvement in the day-to-day operations of the business, but all were looking for a financial exit.

The company did have prospects, but a sale was not going to be possible whilst the CEO still had voting power to stop it. There was not enough cash in the business to buy out the CEO without adversely affecting cashflow.

Through a succession of negotiations including an independent business advisor, we were able to get the CEO’s agreement to retire and stop being involved in the day-to-day operations, as well as converting his shares to a preference share which would be paid first in the event of any declaration of dividends or sale. The preference share had no voting rights. Tax consequences for the business and the individual were also examined before the transaction went through.

Business operations were a lot smoother without the former CEO’s involvement and a sale was achieved within 12 months, with all founders getting paid.

It is always easier to think through future scenarios and what is fair when everyone is excited about the business and getting started, and still friends. It is significantly harder, and more costly, to attempt to resolve an acrimonious split a couple of years down the track.

We provide clients with questionnaires to help identify potential needs in the business, and how people might exit to get you thinking about what might become important when you get started, whether setting up a joint venture or a shareholder or unitholder situation. There a lots of options available.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

If you are or plan to go into business with someone else and you’d like to secure the future of your business, make an appointment with us to talk through your options.

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10 Ways to Avoid a Joint Venture Fail

by Jeanette Jifkins | Jun 17, 2020 | Business Structures, Contracts, Dispute Resolution, Law for Online Business, Legal

10 Ways to Avoid a Joint Venture Fail

Joint Ventures are great for collaboration

Working together with another like minded entrepreneur is a clever way to accelerate business growth, which is why joint ventures remain a popular way for individuals or organisations to collaborate. But before you ‘Give it Away’ (as there’s always room for a Red Hot Chilli Peppers reference in a legal consideration blog), it’s critical to shore up your joint venture’s credentials to ensure a smooth, surprise-free partnership from beginning to end. In this Onyx Legal blog , we highlight 10 ways to avoid joint venture fails. [Ok, so we ended up with 11 – Ed.]

Joint Ventures are usually for a specific and limited project, goal or purpose and may also be limited by time.

1. Who is party to the joint venture?

Establishing a joint venture is no time to be carefree with the details.

Before entering into a joint venture, establish the legal identity of all parties. This means performing ABN and other similar regulatory checks. It might also mean checking driver’s licence details of individuals.

A client recently came to us with a proposed joint venture, and we could not establish who would pay him the $400k that he expected to receive as his share of profits. The deal fell over when the other party also failed to establish who would pay that sum.

2. How Should You Structure a Joint Venture?

It is important to understand that joint ventures and partnerships are different structures.

A partnership is a long-term working proposition with full legal liability – a commitment to working together into the future.

A joint venture is project or purpose-focused, and facilitates separate parties to continue working on other businesses simultaneously. Joint ventures can be done by contract with each party paying their own tax, but one of the parties must hold the assets relating to that venture (paperwork, accounts, assets) unless it is established in its own identity.

3. What do you want to achieve with your joint venture?

It’s easy to get caught up in the potential of success and innovation at the beginning of a joint venture, which is why understanding what you want to achieve from the collaboration is so valuable.

We’ve observed web designers, marketers and programmers enter joint ventures expecting to receive a share in profits at the end of the build, only to have ‘goal posts’ moved so regularly they exit the venture – leaving thousands of hours of unpaid labour in their wake.

Failing to understand – or formalise – expectations in a joint venture regularly leads to disappointment.

Put together a clear written agreement covering all the moving parts of your proposed joint venture, and allowing some flexibility for change as your venture grows.

have a written Joint Venture agreement

Failing to understand – or formalise – expectations in a joint venture regularly leads to disappointment

4. How long should your joint venture last?

How long is a piece of string?

There’s no single answer to this question; the duration of your joint venture is based on the purpose of the project.

Will you be building something – a house or a piece of technology?

Are you going to be running a developing a piece of software or an education program together?

If you are building or developing something together the period of the joint venture might be the development period, and once you have a completed MVP (minimum viable product) you might roll it over into a company and start building a team to run it.

Where you’re entering a revenue share deal, it might be a two year focused time frame for growing the base income of the business.

Whilst you do not need to define a hard ‘end date’ to your joint venture in documentation, it’s useful for all parties to understand the purpose of the relationship, and a general timeline to completion of the project, and what completion looks like.

We regularly write in rolling successive terms, such as a one year agreement that rolls over for another year unless someone terminates before the end of the year.

5. How can disagreements be dealt with or avoided?

A joint venture agreement should be robust, providing options should parties fail to perform their role, or decide to walk away from the project.

In collaboration with your lawyer and with your project’s specific risks and opportunities in mind, carefully identify pressure points that require clarification and consider an approach to realistic exit should your working relationship end unexpectedly before the project is completed.

Good joint venture agreements remove the element of surprise from projects, leading to higher rates of completion and reduced conflict.

For a two party joint venture, it is a great idea to have some way of independently breaking deadlocked decisions. You could use a trusted third party as a referee, such as a mentor or board adviser. You could also allocated areas of decision making to each party that give one person a try breaking vote on those issues.

6. What if someone wants out if the joint venture early?

Build the possibility of a party leaving the joint venture into the structure of the joint venture to avoid future problems.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and a party may need to exit the joint venture for any number of reasons. Family life may be under pressure, there could be financial considerations, or health issues to address.

Fairness is key when devising a graceful exit from a joint venture.

7. What if you want someone else to join in the venture part way through?

Joint ventures can be created to allow for the possibility of other experts parties joining the project. Sales professionals are typically invited to join in after an MVP is achieved.

It’s important that you’re working with a lawyer to structure your joint venture for all possible contingencies … which could include growing your collaborative group.

8. Who will do what in your joint venture?

Formalising a joint venture is no time for pussyfooting around responsibilities or making assumptions about role workloads.

Success in your project relies on clear delegation of work, as all parties will have other responsibilities that could take their attention, in addition to the joint venture.

It’s important to know exactly who will be paying the bills and who will be responsible for particular milestones.

Having difficult conversations early on about the work or outcomes due for completion by exact parties of the venture will save plenty of strife when life gets busy or timelines become blown-out.

9. What happens if someone fails to live up to their responsibilities in the joint venture?

As with any project, it’s possible that the whole thing could become scrambled eggs.

Of course you don’t anticipate that will be the outcome, but it’s prudent to plan for unlikely circumstances. Think about COVID-19, a virus which has changed the trajectory of the global economy in the space of months. It was nigh on impossible to imagine the world shutting down a year before the corona virus; but there it is.

People can fail to live up to the responsibilities in a joint venture for a variety of reasons, including circumstances beyond their control.

Build into your joint venture contingencies around ‘failure to perform’ and decide what the dissolution of the relationship should look like. Who gets what? What will trigger the dissolution? How will any debts be paid?

These are important matters to discuss with your collaborative partners and your lawyer.

10. Who retains any intellectual property created during the venture, once it ends?

Often a complex matter to consider, the ownership of intellectual property is the cause of many disagreements.

If the joint venture does fail, there is likely to be an argument about intellectual property and who owns what. If you can work out IP ownership at the commencement of your joint venture, you’ll design a logical way of dealing with the matter if you fall out.

Maybe each party only walks away with what they contributed; maybe each party walks away with one complete copy of the created intellectual property.

Certainty around what will happen at the time of the exit gives everyone confidence and reduces the risk of legal action.

11. How will the project be managed?

A joint venture teaches entrepreneurs a whole lot about project management and communication. There are many moving pieces you and your partners will need to consider:

planning
stakeholder relationships
reporting
regular meetings and agendas
cashflow

While it is appropriate for different roles to be attributed, a single party needs to be appointed to ensure accountability across the whole of the joint venture. You will need someone with the energy and drive to ensure that things happen.

Flexibility must be built into this role, and an allowance to break ‘deadlocks’ in decision making.

Many’s the time we have observed joint ventures fall apart when the directors of the governing entity failed to design a mechanism for change, independent of the warring parties.

Joint ventures are a terrific way for business owners to collaborate, to stretch their skills, test ideas, and to innovate. A well-designed joint venture allows for the clear division of work and responsibility, provides safeguards for failure and disappointment, and deals with the sticky stuff of business relationships before they become complex.

At Onyx Legal we support business owners to come together with like-minded partners in joint ventures, creating structures that respond to your unique projects, packed with safeguards to keep you as confident and safe as possible.

Our key takeaway for joint ventures?

Think on it.

Clarity at the beginning of a project leads to better results in a joint venture, and the chance everyone will meet or exceed their expectations.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

Joint ventures have a contractual foundation.

You can form a joint venture with a handshake, or you can put a little thought into your expectations and negotiate an agreement that clearly sets out each party’s rights and obligations, as well as exit opportunities. Download our Joint Venture Questionnaire here. We also highly recommend incorporating sensible dispute resolution mechanisms that will support the joint venture moving forward. If you are already in a joint venture, we can review the contract and clarify any legal rights and obligations you don’t understand.

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The Alarming Rise of the Fake Self-Assessing Tax-Exempt Private Foundation in Australia

by Jeanette Jifkins | Jan 16, 2020 | Business Structures, Law for Online Business, Legal

The Alarming Rise of the Fake Self-Assessing Tax-Exempt Private Foundation in Australia

When things occur in 3s they tend to attract our attention.

In last few months we’ve encountered three people who were stunned to find out the foundations they had formed with all good intents and purposes were in fact, fiction.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to persuade any of these misguided individuals into telling me where they got their information in the first place. In fact, when we told the first prospective client about the nebulous nature of his foundation, he blocked our phone number and emails.

When a long standing business client of ours approached us for legal advice just after Christmas, querying the legality of providing intellectual property as a volunteer for the self-assessing tax-exempt private foundation he had established after significant research, we balked.

How can educated, intelligent individuals be misguided into believing that “personal sustenance” of the founder is a legitimate, tax free distribution? Or that a foundation is legitimate when its founding documents specifically deny the rule of law?

If you are failing to lodge tax returns and claiming your foundation is private, tax exempt and self-assessing, at some stage you are likely to get caught for tax avoidance.

IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE…

We should start by saying that we are not tax lawyers and the statements in this article are for general educational and informational purposes only.

If you are an individual in Australia receiving more than minimum wage, you will be paying some tax. If you operate any type of business in Australia, other than an international business which uses related cross boarder transactions and tax treaties to minimise tax, then your business will be paying tax on any profits.

Even charities and not-for-profits are not exempt from every form of tax, and they still submit annual reports to substantiate income and liabilities.

Although it is not uncommon for people to look for ways to minimise their tax obligations, if someone is suggesting that you can establish a foundation for the purpose of avoiding paying tax, please do not believe them!

No matter how a foundation is established, if your personal expenses such as your rent or mortgage, car payments and food are being covered by the foundation, then those payments are likely to be considered your personal income, and taxable.

In 2019 the Supreme Court of Tasmania rejected an argument proposed by members of the Beerepoot family that they were not obliged to pay tax because they didn’t own anything. They argued their possessions belonged to God and to be answerable to an external entity such as the government, would be going against God. Their failure to lodge tax returns did not absolve them of their obligations, and they were each ordered to pay more than $1 million in taxes and penalties.

How to Tell if Your Foundation is a Fake?

If your foundation is not recognised under a law, then it is fake. Start by reading the founding document.

Having three very similar founding documents to reference, there are clearly a couple of pro-forma template “Articles of Association” going around to help people establish fake foundations. “Establish” might be a strong word because the documents we’ve seen don’t create a foundation or other entity at all.

Some of the words that should trigger alarm bells are:

sentient living souls
natural sentient people
divine attributes
tax-exempt
non-government organisation
sovereign rights of humankind
environmentally sustainable self-sufficiency of humankind
imprescriptible and unlegislatable
domicile on the land mass commonly known as Australia
involuntary servitude
unalienable rights for sustenance
bona fide compensation for services rendered, expenses incurred, sustenance or surplus on behalf of the foundation
not to be lodged with any public or government agency
autograph

Each of the documents we have received includes at least one paragraph which claims that being human creates some form of natural right which cannot be removed or controlled by government or law. This is an extension of the “Freeman on the land” philosophy which says essentially that “the law doesn’t apply to me unless I say it does”.

Here is a sample:

‘Natural Innate Status/ Sovereign Rights’ mean the natural rights of private men and women, their divine attributes, to love, to liberty, to independence, to privacy, to remain silent, to give and to receive, to apply their natural energy, to think, to breath, to treat others the same way as they would like to be treated, to apply effort and to work, to take decisions, to increase their capacity, and to reserve all natural divine law rights which are unalienable, imprescriptible and unlegislatable, and to express and include their soul infused nature.

Don’t be fooled.

Unless you have some diplomatic immunity from another country, when you are in Australia, Australian law applies to you, over and above any spiritual or religious belief you may have.

There is no such thing as an “innate status” or “sovereign” right of an individual at law.

Some of the wording of the Articles assumes that “privacy” is some form of enforceable right separate from law, and something that validates keeping foundation records private.

Here is another sample:

The Foundation is a private Foundation and as such operates privately, not revealing any of the private information related to its operation to any public or government agency or any purported legal authority.

One of the side effects of attempting to exclude the law is the creation of something without legal basis or enforceability. The privacy of personal information is protected by law, but there is no inalienable right to privacy of any entity or foundation by virtue of its alleged existence.

If you don’t notify a government agency of the establishment of a legal entity separate from you as an individual, there is no separate legal entity and you as an individual are personally responsible and liable for any action taken or omitted by, for or on behalf of the fake foundation.

a self-assessing tax-exempt private foundation is no more than a house of cards

But it’s a Non-Government Organisation (NGO)!

What is an NGO?

An NGO can refer to different types of organisations depending on where you are in the world.

Generally speaking, they refer to organisations legitimately established somewhere in the world, which may work with government, or with government funding, to provide community support in some form or another. International aid organisations are often NGOs.

In relation to the United Nations, NGOs can be described as “any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group which is organised on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. Some are organised around specific issues, such as human rights, environment or health. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Their relationship with offices and agencies of the United Nations system differs depending on their goals, their venue and the mandate of a particular institution.”

Just because you call something a non-government organisation does not mean that it has no obligations at law. NGOs in Australia are established and recognised legal entities, being either incorporated associations, public companies or registered foreign entities. All are registered and have reporting obligations.

How to establish a Real Foundation

Under Australian law, you have three or four options to set up a real foundation, all of which involve the law and notice to a public or government agency.

You can establish:

an unincorporated association (small local sporting or community clubs)
an incorporated association (state-based sporting or community groups or charitable organisations, also membership associations)
a company limited by guarantee (for national organisations, big or small)
a trust (often used by families or individuals wanting to establish a fund for contributing to charity)

None of those entities will be properly established without reference to the appropriate law. This is typically done within the founding document. Some examples include:

Subject to the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW)…
The company has all the powers of a natural person and a body corporate. That includes powers expressly or impliedly conferred by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or by law.
Subject to the laws governing trustees at the Place of Governing Law [which is then defined in the document]

Tax status is not independently chosen by the foundation.

Not-for-profit organisations must apply to the ATO for tax exemption, and it is generally limited to income tax exemption. So, GST (goods and services tax), PAYG (pay as you go) and FBT (fringe benefits tax) will usually still apply, and the foundation must report and meet its ongoing obligations.

Genuine Belief in Creating a Better World

A strong theme in the foundation documents I have read is the intent to take action to create a better world for all humankind. That is an admirable goal. Unfortunately, the fake foundation is not the way to get there and is likely to create personal difficulties for you down the track.

If you’ve inadvertently been swayed into thinking you are doing something good for the world in establishing or becoming involved in one of these fake foundations, don’t worry. Take a deep breath and acknowledge that no one is perfect and all of us get caught out from time to time. Now you have the opportunity to do something about correcting your situation.

We strongly encourage every person who suspects they may have become involved in a foundation that displays any of the elements highlighted in this article to seek appropriate legal and tax advice. Now.

How can Onyx Legal help you?

Get the Right Business Structure for You

Make a time to speak with someone in our team about what business structure fits for what you aim to achieve (avoiding the fake foundation) and we can help you get the right structure set up properly to avoid nasty surprises in the future.

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