What Does It Mean to Conduct Corporate Maintenance?

Keeping a corporation in compliance with its state of incorporation requires careful maintenance throughout the year. Chiefly, there are three aspects necessary to conduct corporate maintenance.

• Holding annual meetings
• Keeping minutes
• Filing annual reports

Let’s find out why each of these items are essential to proper corporate document maintenance.

Holding Annual Meetings

An annual meeting is a key aspect of corporate maintenance in a corporation. Corporations hold an annual meeting each year.

What happens during an annual meeting? Changes in the corporation and organizational issues for the year are discussed during an annual meeting. Additionally, the corporation chooses new directors and new officers. Shareholders also get to hear what’s going on with the corporation and offer feedback as to how the corporation is running and its direction for the next year.

All states require corporations to hold annual meetings. What happens if a corporation does not hold an annual meeting? Failing to do so can cause the corporate veil to be pierced and the shareholders to be held personally liable.

Keeping Minutes

Minutes are taken during every annual meeting. Minutes are notes. They detail what is discussed and what decisions are made. This ensures there is a record of what is going on with the corporation during its meetings. If a corporation holds other meetings throughout the year, they will take minutes.

You do not need to keep minutes for routine decision making. However, corporations should keep minutes as part of corporate document maintenance. Take minutes during meetings where decisions are being made which require the approval of the board of directors or the shareholders.

Filing An Annual Report

One final aspect of corporate maintenance is filing an annual report. Corporations file annual reports each year with the Secretary of State.

An annual report records the changes made in the corporation throughout the year. These may include changes to the following aspects of the corporation:

• Names and addresses of officers, directors, and members of the business
• Current business address
• Name and/or address of the business’ registered agent
• If there have been changes in any business activities

Other items which may need to be included are the purpose of the corporation, number of vacancies on the board (if any), or the date of incorporation. Each state will differ on their exact requirements. If you are uncertain about what your corporation needs to include in its annual report, reach out to your local Secretary of State for additional guidance.

Keep your corporation in compliance by conducting corporate maintenance. Order minutes for annual meetings and file your annual report today. Contact MyCorporation at mycorporation.com or give us a call at 877-692-6772.