Corporate bylaws are an important part of organizing your business. While your Articles of Incorporation or Organization tell the Secretary of State certain basic information about your company, your corporate bylaws give your company a roadmap for operating the business and conducting day-to-day affairs. While it is not submitted to the Secretary of State or any other government agency, it's a vital document important to have on hand right at the state of your business.
The specific wording of your corporate bylaws is not significantly important, as long as the document contains clauses addressing the following:
Offices
The location of your corporate office or offices should be provided.
Shareholders
You should keep a record of all of your shareholders.
Board of Directors
Keep a record of your Board of Directors, as well as information on the method in which they are appointed, the term of their appointment, and the powers and duties they have.
Officers
Just as with the Board of Directors, specific information about the appointment of the Officers and their duties should be provided.
Shares and Share Transfer
How are shares transferred? How are lost share certificates replaced? Details should be provided.
Corporate Records
Your corporate documents should be in a specified location so that anyone looking at your corporate bylaws knows where to find them.
Financial and Property Management
Where are your financial documents kept? Keep a record of your transaction history.
Amendments
If any of the information about your business has changed since its inception, any supporting documents should be included.
Your corporate bylaws are a crucial part of your day-to-day business. It's important that you pay close attention to creating documents that are detailed and accurate, and to modify them if any of the information in the bylaws changes.