Whenever a business makes a transaction, whether it’s purchasing equipment, taking out a loan, or paying a utility bill, it should be tracked and recorded in a chart of accounts (COA). Doing so helps keep finances organized and supports sharing financial information with worker-owners. To help worker cooperatives track transactions properly Wholehearted Bookkeeping has developed chart of accounts samples for LLCs and corporations.

This pro forma template is intended to aid cooperative entrepreneurs (and the developers who serve them) in making a preliminary financial assessment of their worker cooperative startup.  Many worker cooperative startups are learning business finances for the first time. This tool offers a framework to think about their business and some labor-saving, pre-built Excel formulas.

Before a cooperative transition process can get started, the selling owner needs to make some decisions about how to structure the process, specifically she needs to clearly define who has decision-making power in the process: herself, the transition committee, the likely coop members, and the whole group. This chart outlines who decides what.  

Gant chart outlining the phases a business goes through during transition to a cooperative. 

Tips for effective meetings and consensus decision-making. Thanks to USFWC member, South Mountain Company, for this resource. 

Sample employee handbook for a worker cooperative. Provided in a word document for easy modification for your own cooperative.

Don't start from scratch. Sample worker cooperative bylaws in word doc form for you to edit for your own cooperative. 

A chart to assist with selecting the most appropriate legal entity for your worker cooperative. Compares: Sole Proprietor, C-Corp, S-Corp, Limited Liability Company (LLC), and Cooperative Corporation.