Business Documentation

In over forty years working with Irish businesses, I have seen what happens when documentation isn't taken seriously. It doesn't usually result in disaster on day one. It results in a slow accumulation of risk that crystallises at the worst possible moment — a disgruntled employee, a data breach, a Revenue audit, a site accident, or a client dispute that turns legal. At that point, you reach for your documentation and find either nothing, or something you downloaded from a UK website years ago that bears no relationship to how Irish law actually works.

This is not an abstract problem. Ireland has its own legal framework. Our employment legislation, our data protection obligations, our company law, our health and safety requirements — they're not the same as the UK's, they're not the same as a generic European template, and they are absolutely not covered by a Word document someone shared on a Facebook group for tradesmen.

The GDPR requirements under the Data Protection Commission are clear and carry real penalties. If you collect personal data — and every business that holds customer details, employee records, or supplier contacts does — you need a compliant privacy policy and, in many cases, a data processing agreement. The DPC has been active in enforcement. "I didn't know" is not a defence.

For businesses with employees, an employee handbook is not optional luxury. It sets out expectations, policies, grievance procedures, disciplinary processes, and your obligations and theirs. The Workplace Relations Commission deals with thousands of disputes every year, and in almost every case where an employer loses, the absence of clear, written policy is a contributing factor. A proper handbook, tailored to your business and aligned with current Irish employment law, costs a fraction of a single WRC case.

CRO compliance — annual returns, changes to directors, updates to company constitution — is something many small limited companies treat as an afterthought until their company is struck off the register. That's a serious problem if you're mid-tender or have active contracts. We produce the documentation you need, correctly formatted for CRO submission.

On health and safety: if you operate in construction, you have obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act and the Construction Regulations. Safety statements, risk assessments, method statements, and PPSN/site-specific documentation are not optional when you're working on a principal contractor's site. We produce compliant, practical H&S documentation — not 40-page documents nobody reads, but usable, auditable records that reflect what actually happens on your site.

Our pricing starts at €79 per document. That is not a retainer, not a consultancy engagement, and not a subscription. You tell us what you need, we produce it, tailored to your business and compliant with current Irish legislation. If your situation requires multiple documents, we package them accordingly.

Standard operating procedures are another area that's consistently neglected. Most small businesses operate entirely on tribal knowledge — processes that live in the owner's head, or in the heads of a few long-serving staff. When someone leaves, that knowledge walks out the door. When you want to scale, you have nothing to hand to a new hire. SOPs don't need to be complex. They need to exist, be written clearly, and reflect how work actually gets done. We produce practical, readable SOPs that can be used on day one by a new employee without a week of hand-holding.

The question I ask every business owner who's been putting this off: what is one data protection complaint, one WRC case, or one Revenue penalty going to cost you compared to having the right documents in place now?

What's Included

• GDPR-compliant privacy policy, tailored to your business and Data Protection Commission requirements
• Employee handbook — employment law aligned, covering contracts, policies, grievance and disciplinary procedures
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key business processes
• Contract templates — subcontractor agreements, client service contracts, supplier terms
• CRO annual return documentation and supporting records
• Health and safety statements, risk assessments, and method statements (construction-specific)
• Site-specific safety plans aligned with Construction Regulations
• Data processing agreements (DPA) for businesses handling third-party personal data
• RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax) registration and compliance documentation guidance
• Document review service — audit of existing documentation and gap identification

Who It's For

• Sole traders and limited companies without proper legal documentation in place
• Construction firms needing compliant H&S documentation for principal contractor sites
• Employers adding their first member of staff who need contracts and a handbook
• Businesses holding customer or employee data without a GDPR-compliant privacy policy
• Companies approaching their CRO annual return deadline without the right paperwork