Legal ops · 09 Editorial guide
SME & general business operations
An SME does not need one undifferentiated 'general legal' file. It needs a repeatable control system that names the decision, verifies authority, records approval, protects the execution method, tracks performance and deadlines, and sends specialist issues to the correct owner before risk compounds.
First job Identify the live operating decision rather than treating “general counsel” as one undifferentiated file.
Start here
Key considerations
The first questions are about urgency, governance and preservation — before collection expands or interviews begin.
- What business decision must be made, by which entity and by when?
- Who may approve, sign, chop, pay, file and retain the final record?
- Does the issue trigger a specialist owner in corporate, employment, tax, data, licensing, product, real estate or disputes?
Direct answer
What this page decides
02
This page owns the operating system around recurring SME legal work, not the substantive law of every issue. A useful file begins with the correct China entity and decision owner, then checks authority under the articles and delegations, records any required shareholder or board decision, controls signatures and chops, and preserves the final contract and performance evidence. Recurring obligations should sit in one calendar with a legal basis, entity, authority, owner, reviewer, evidence location and escalation date. For example, enterprise annual reports are generally submitted through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System from 1 January to 30 June for the preceding year, but tax, employment, sector licences, data, foreign exchange and other obligations require their own specialist calendars. The output is a traceable decision and handoff—not generic approval of every legal risk.
At a glance
Which fact changes the next route
Use the fact that changes ownership or urgency to decide the next move.
| Question | Why it matters | Next route |
|---|---|---|
| Is the correct legal entity named? | Brand names, affiliates and individual founders do not have interchangeable licences, bank accounts, employees, chops or contractual rights. | Verify the registered entity, unified social credit code, business licence and role in the transaction. |
| Does the decision require a corporate approval? | The Company Law and the company's articles allocate reserved matters and management authority; informal founder consent may not create the required record. | Map the decision to the articles, shareholder, board, manager and delegation rules before signing or paying. |
| Can the company prove execution and performance? | A template alone does not prove the final text, authority, chop use, delivery, acceptance, invoice, payment, notice or variation history. | Create a single closing pack and obligations tracker for each material contract. |
| Has a specialist trigger appeared? | Hiring, dismissal, personal data, regulated products, licences, tax, foreign exchange, property and disputes have distinct owners and deadlines. | Route the issue with a short chronology and preserved evidence rather than duplicating specialist analysis here. |
Scope
What this page owns — and what it does not
Practical workflow
Action, evidence, legal gate, output
| Action | Documents / evidence | Legal gate | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classify the request | Intake, entity, parties, value, deadline, requested outcome and current documents | Routine legal ops versus specialist or urgent matter | Matter owner and route |
| Verify authority | Business licence, articles, delegations, board/shareholder records, chop and bank mandates | Correct entity and valid approval path | Approval and execution sheet |
| Control the transaction | Approved draft, counterparty check, execution copy, invoices, delivery, acceptance, notices and changes | No commitment before mandatory checks | Complete contract and performance file |
| Calendar and close | Licence, filing, renewal, payment, reporting, retention and termination obligations | Named owner, reviewer, evidence and escalation date | Recurring obligations register |
| Escalate exceptions | Incident chronology, preserved communications, loss estimate, notices and authority contacts | Deadline, enforcement, safety, fraud, data, employment or dispute trigger | Specialist handoff pack |
Documents
What to gather before the next call
These items help clarify the file; they are not a legal requirement list.
| Item | Why needed | Who holds it | Risk if missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entity and authority pack | Links each decision to the correct company and authorized body or person | Company secretarial, management and finance | Wrong entity, missing approval or unauthorized commitment |
| Chop, signature and payment matrix | Separates drafting, approval, execution, custody and release | Legal operations, finance and designated custodians | Uncontrolled execution or payment fraud |
| Contract register and closing packs | Preserves final terms, approvals and performance evidence | Business owner and legal operations | Renewals, notices, receivables or claims cannot be proved |
| Compliance calendar | Assigns each recurring obligation to an entity, owner, reviewer and evidence location | Legal operations with specialist functions | A filing, licence, tax, employment or reporting deadline is treated as nobody's job |
| Incident and escalation log | Captures facts, deadlines, preservation steps and specialist routing | Business owner, management and counsel | Delay turns a manageable exception into enforcement or litigation exposure |
Common failure points
Where files usually break
Using one group company, brand or founder interchangeably with the entity that holds the licence, employs staff, invoices or signs.
Treating a template as approved without checking authority, counterparty, commercial variables and current law.
Allowing the same person to request, approve, chop and pay without an auditable exception process.
Keeping only a signature page while losing the approved final text, annexes, delivery and variation record.
Creating a calendar entry without the legal basis, responsible entity, owner, reviewer, evidence location and escalation date.
Leaving renewals and termination notices inside individual inboxes.
Trying to solve a specialist employment, tax, data, licensing, product or dispute issue inside a generic operations file.
Decision map
Keep the question bounded.
- Open a decision recordName the entity, business owner, counterparty or authority, requested outcome, value, deadline, governing document and known risk in one intake record.
- Apply authority and control gatesCheck the articles, internal delegation, board or shareholder approvals, chop custody, bank authority, budget and required specialist sign-offs before commitment.
- Close and monitor the fileStore the signed and chopped version with approvals, evidence and obligations; assign renewals, filings, payments, acceptance, termination and escalation dates to named owners.
Curated resources
Open the asset that matches this job.
No canonical deep guide is assigned yet. Use this route for orientation and continue to local context or qualified counsel.
Helpful to prepare
Facts that make the next conversation clearer.
These items are orientation aids, not a legal requirement list.
Counsel hand-off
What to bring when you instruct
This topic route organises the national legal question. It does not decide rights, strategy, liability, approval outcome or procedural result on the facts. Use qualified PRC counsel where fact-specific advice or representation is required.
Local context
Add the city when the forum practice changes.
Add city or province context only when the responsible authority, court, registration practice, permit process or local implementation changes after the national route is identified.
Open city and province guidesCounsel hand-off
Need contract counsel?
This hub organises parties, chops, drafting and performance. It does not create a binding contract or decide a breach on your facts.
Find contract counselLegal review
Who reviewed this guide
Subject to editorial/legal review. No reviewer is assigned to this route.
Need qualified counsel?
Move carefully. Move with a record.
Use the portal to identify counsel for this practice and related China-side issues.