/ Business Contracts

Four documents. Most of your legal exposure covered.

NDA, service agreement, vendor contract, operating agreement — these four templates handle the situations where things actually go sideways. Here is what to check in each one before you sign.

Extreme close-up of a printed NDA document on a raw oak desk, a hand with a pen resting on the 'confidential information' definition clause, soft north-facing window light casting true shadows across the page, one phrase circled in pencil

Flat-lay overhead of a service agreement document on a white marble surface, a fine-tip pen resting diagonally across the deliverables section, a small sticky note with handwritten scope notes nearby, soft diffused daylight from the left

Close-up of a vendor contract laid flat on a light wood desk, two hands — one annotating with a highlighter, one holding a pen — meeting near the payment terms clause, north-facing daylight, shallow depth of field on the highlighted line

A single LLC operating agreement document open on a small-business wooden desk, pen placed on the member withdrawal section, coffee mug partially visible at the top edge, soft north-facing window light, true shadows across the page

— Clause by clause

What each template actually protects

01 — NDA

The clause most free NDAs get wrong

If your NDA defines 'confidential information' as 'anything shared verbally or in writing,' it covers almost nothing a court will enforce. The definition needs an explicit scope: what categories, what time window, what form of disclosure.

LawDepot's NDA template lets you specify disclosure type and duration in the same clause. That specificity is the difference between an agreement and a suggestion.

02 — Service Agreement

Scope creep starts where the agreement ends

A service agreement without a defined deliverables list is an open invitation. Clients remember conversations; the contract should remember them instead. List outputs, revision rounds, and what triggers final payment.

The LawDepot service agreement includes a scope-of-work field that is editable per engagement — not a one-size description that buries the specifics.

03 — Vendor Contract

Payment terms that hold when a vendor delays

Vendor contracts without penalty clauses for late delivery are essentially a polite request. The payment schedule and the delivery schedule should be linked explicitly — late goods, adjusted invoice.

The LawDepot vendor template lets you set milestone-linked payments and a late-delivery remedy in the same document, without needing two separate agreements.

04 — Operating Agreement

Partnership exits nobody plans for — until they happen

An LLC operating agreement without an exit clause is a partnership agreement waiting to become a legal dispute. Define buyout valuation method, notice period, and what happens to IP when a member leaves.

LawDepot's operating agreement template includes member withdrawal provisions that most founders skip — and almost always wish they hadn't.

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LawDepot's templates are jurisdiction-specific, attorney-reviewed, and built to be edited — not just signed. Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission at no cost to you.