The "Articles of Partnership" is a document commonly known as partnership agreement or partnership contract. This document is a contract voluntarily formed or agreed upon between two or several partners in a business defining their rights, obligations and / or duties to one another.

This piece of document is necessary in signifying the relationship existing between business partners. It is the written expression of the partners' rights and responsibilities toward their business and to one another.

Agreements in a business partnership that are put in writing are a manifestation that the partners have a legitimate or official document stating their needs in connection with the kind of business and their partnership.

Securing a written partnership contract means that all of the partners involved will have a written account of all the matters agreed upon by every one involved in the partnership. In case there will ever be some questions raised concerning the terms and conditions of agreement, then the partnership contract or agreement, will be the document to serve such purposes as recalling the terms of agreements.

Important issues included in the written partnership contract

• The partnership's nature and rationale – these terms guarantee that the partners involved in the agreement will not turn away from the significant intentions of their business.

• Each partner's capital contributions – this provision ensures that no person or entity could dispute one or more partner's capital contribution to the business being established. The contributions indicated also involve contributions that are not monetary in nature like time, services or goods.

• Allocations with regards to profits and losses – some partnership may have equal allocation in profits and losses but others also have other terms of provision.

• Authority given for each partner – determining the partner/partners who will have the task of regularly running the partnership, how the decisions for the partnership will be completed and how the duties and obligations

• Guidelines in admitting new partners – how the partners would vote in order to allow in new partners in the business

• What to do in case one of the partners dies – coming up with a resolution on what happens to the partnership once one of the partners dies. Some partnerships normally resolve to automatically dissolve and liquidate the partnership. However, it would still depend on every one of the partners' decision.

• Buying one of the partners' share – the contract must outline several circumstances like illegal activity, death or divorce wherein anyone of the partners could buy out another partner's share. They must also include the terms and conditions in executing the shares buyout.

• The signature authority to be used in the partnership's bank accounts – whose signature among the partners would be used or would all the partners signatures be required

• Ways and means of resolving conflicts in the partnership and business – legal solutions and actions in order to resolve disputes in the partnership.