Resource Guide · Business Law
The Georgia Business Owner's Legal Guide
Plain-English answers for Georgia small business and trade owners: setting up the company, hiring and paying people, getting paid, handling disputes, and closing the doors cleanly.
Most legal trouble for Georgia small businesses comes from a handful of gaps: no written operating agreement, a personal guaranty signed without reading it, mixing personal and company money, unclear contracts and invoices, and missed deadlines when a dispute starts. This guide covers each one in order, from setup to exit, with links to the detailed pages.
Stage 1 · Starting Up
Setting up a Georgia business the right way
Entity paperwork, local licenses, and the documents you'll be asked to sign before you open the doors.
Your LLC operating agreement
The default rules Georgia applies when owners never put their deal in writing, and why they surprise people.
Business license & occupation tax
What a Georgia "business license" really is, where you owe it, and what you must show to get one.
Personal guaranties
What you're promising when you guarantee a lease, supplier account, or loan, and how to limit it.
BOI reporting & state filings
Where federal beneficial ownership reporting stands in 2026, and the Georgia filings that still matter.
Also on our site
Stage 2 · Running the Business
Day-to-day legal questions
Employees, contracts, getting paid, and keeping your personal assets separate from the company's.
Protecting your liability shield
When Georgia courts disregard an LLC or corporation, and the everyday habits that keep yours intact.
E-Verify requirements
Who must use E-Verify in Georgia, how employees are counted, and the public-contract rules for subs.
Hiring & paying employees
Minimum wage, overtime, pay frequency, final paychecks, and the registrations that come with your first hire.
Invoices, late fees & interest
What Georgia lets you charge on past-due commercial accounts, and how attorney's fee clauses really work.
E-signatures on business contracts
When an e-signed contract, proposal, or change order holds up in Georgia, and the exceptions.
Collecting in magistrate court
Georgia's small-claims court for unpaid bills up to $15,000 ($25,000 from 2027): how it works and when a business needs a lawyer.
Also on our site
- Contract drafting and review
- Employee handbooks
- Employment law for small businesses
- At-will employment in Georgia
- 1099 vs. W-2 for construction workers
- NDAs and non-competes
- Are non-competes enforceable in Georgia?
- Collecting from a customer who won't pay
- How long you have to sue over a contract
- Construction Payment Guide
Stage 3 · Protecting & Exiting
Disputes, lawsuits, and the exit
What to do when you're sued, how to close a company cleanly, and when a lawyer on retainer makes sense.
Your business was sued: first steps
The 30-day answer deadline, default, preserving records, and calling your insurer.
Closing a Georgia business
Dissolving an LLC or corporation, handling creditors, and why just walking away is the expensive option.
When to hire outside general counsel
Signs you've outgrown emergency-only legal help, and how a monthly counsel arrangement works.
Also on our site
Ongoing counsel
A lawyer on call for your business
Parisi Law Firm's Outside General Counsel Program gives Georgia businesses a set number of attorney hours each month for contracts, employee questions, collections, and disputes, with published monthly plans starting at $1,850.
Georgia business deadlines worth knowing
General rules only. Contracts and specific facts can change the answer, so confirm your own deadline with a lawyer.
| What | General deadline | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Answer a lawsuit served on your business | 30 days after service | O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a) |
| Sue on a written contract | 6 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24 |
| Sue on an oral contract or open account | 4 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25 |
| File a mechanic's lien claim | 90 days after last work or materials | O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1 |
This guide is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Talk to Jerry Parisi
Practical legal help for Georgia business owners and trades, from our office in Jefferson.