Real pages from the kit files. Example details are illustrative.
Small Business HR Policy Starter Pack
Put a real employee handbook in place for a small team, with the foundation policies, the at-will language that protects you, and the few rules that carry real legal weight, without paying for a custom build or copying a stranger’s PDF. A guided starter: read the field guide, adapt the handbook template, check which laws reach your headcount, adopt each policy, and collect a signed acknowledgment from every employee.
One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.
Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders
- A Small Business HR Policy Field Guide: what a handbook needs and what it does not, the policies a small team needs, the at-will language that protects you, equal opportunity and pay and leave, the conduct rules that touch labor law, and how to roll it out and keep it current
- A ready-to-adapt Employee Handbook Template: an editable Word handbook with the foundation policies written out, the at-will and not-a-contract protections built in, and shaded fields to fill in, customize, or remove so it fits your business
- A Coverage Check for your headcount: enter your employee count and see which of the federal employment laws reach a business your size, so you know which policies are required now and which arrive as you grow past fifteen, twenty, fifty, and a hundred
- A Policy Adoption Tracker for all thirty-one policies: every policy in the pack listed for you, with a keep, customize, or remove decision, a filled-in check, and the dates, so the rollout is a checklist rather than a guess
- An Acknowledgment Log and a definitions reference: record who received the handbook and who signed for it so you can show it later, plus a plain-language glossary, all in a workbook you keep and reuse
The kit gives you the handbook and the process to adopt it. It does not make the policy calls that depend on your state, and it routes the legal-weight ones to qualified counsel before you rely on them.
A ready-to-adapt handbook, a workbook, and general business information for planning, not legal or tax advice. A handbook carries real legal weight, and the rules vary by state and change, so confirm what applies where you operate, fill in and customize the template, and have an employment attorney in your state review the finished handbook before you adopt it, especially across more than one state or a unionized workforce.
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Last reviewed June 2026
Buying for clients or multiple entities? The White-Label tier is in the license.
Four files that take you from no handbook to one your team has signed
A guided starter, not a stack of forms. Read the Field Guide first, adapt the Handbook Template to your business, run the Coverage Check and the Policy Adoption Tracker as you go, and record every signature on the Acknowledgment Log. Built to be used together.
Start Here
A one-page map: read the Field Guide first, then adapt the Handbook Template, track your work in the Workbook, distribute the handbook and collect acknowledgment, and keep it current. It sets out the one habit to follow before you rely on any of it: make it yours, then have an attorney in your state review it.
The Field Guide (14 pages)
How to build and adopt a handbook in twelve short sections: what a handbook is and is not, why a small team needs one, the policies most handbooks need, at-will and the language that protects it, equal opportunity, pay and hours and classification, time off and leave, conduct and technology and the line, making the pack your own, rolling it out and getting acknowledgment, keeping it current, and the high-risk situations to pause on.
The Employee Handbook Template
A ready-to-adapt employee handbook with the foundation policies written out, from the welcome and the at-will statement through equal opportunity, pay and hours, leave, conduct, and the acknowledgment. Shaded fields mark what to fill in, and every policy is yours to keep, customize, or remove before you rebrand the footer and hand it out.
The Workbook
A Coverage Check that shows which federal laws reach a business at your headcount, a Policy Adoption Tracker listing all thirty-one policies with a keep, customize, or remove decision and the dates, an Acknowledgment Log to record who signed, and a plain-language Definitions tab. It works in Excel or Google Sheets, with a worked example to follow.
The method in the order a handbook comes together
Read first, adapt the template, check what applies, adopt each policy, then distribute it and collect acknowledgment. The kit structures each step; you make the calls, and counsel reviews the finished handbook.
Read the Field Guide and see what a handbook needs
Start with the Field Guide. It covers what a handbook is and is not, the policies a small team needs, and the few that carry real legal weight, so you understand the document before you edit it rather than pasting policies you cannot explain. Run the Coverage Check for your headcount to see which federal laws reach a business your size today.
Adapt the Handbook Template to your business
Open the template and make it yours. Fill in the shaded fields, keep, customize, or remove each policy, match the leave and pay rules to your state, and rebrand the footer. Keep the at-will statement and the not-a-contract line intact, and describe discipline as something you may use at your discretion rather than a fixed sequence, so the handbook stays a set of guidelines.
Track every policy on the Policy Adoption Tracker
Work down the Policy Adoption Tracker, which already lists all thirty-one policies. Mark each one keep, customize, or remove, check that it is filled in, and record the date, so the rollout is a checklist you can show rather than a guess. Marking a policy keep means you read it and it fits, not that you skipped it.
Have it reviewed, then distribute it
Before you adopt the finished handbook, have an employment attorney in your state review it, especially if you employ people in more than one state or have a unionized workforce. Then give the handbook to every employee and give them a real chance to read it, because a handbook protects you only if people received it.
Collect acknowledgment and keep it current
Have each employee sign the acknowledgment and record them on the Acknowledgment Log, then keep the signed copies on file. Review the handbook once a year, and whenever a law, your headcount, or your practice changes, and keep your required workplace postings current alongside it.
A handbook is adopted, not downloaded
Small business handbooks go wrong in predictable ways: a free template copied without understanding it, at-will language quietly undercut by a fixed discipline sequence or a promise of permanent employment, policies that do not match the state or the headcount, or a handbook that was never distributed or signed. The fix is a process. This kit gives you the field guide, the editable handbook, the coverage check, and the adoption and acknowledgment tracking, so the handbook fits your business, protects your footing, and is on the record.
The kit tells you when to call a lawyer
Most of a small business handbook can be put together in-house with a careful, documented process. A handbook still carries real legal weight, and some parts sit near a line the kit marks, so you slow down and get qualified review before you adopt or act. Advice before you adopt is far cheaper than defending a misstep after.
Who does what
Putting a handbook in place splits the work between you, the kit, and your counsel. Here is the split, stated plainly.
- The kit gives you the handbook and the process; you make it yours. The template, the field guide, and the trackers organize the work and keep it consistent. Filling in the fields, choosing which policies fit, and matching them to your business and your state are yours to do.
- The kit shows what the law reaches; you confirm your state. The Coverage Check shows which federal laws apply at your headcount. Because state and local rules vary and change, current requirements for where you operate are confirmed with qualified counsel or your state agency before you rely on them.
- The kit flags the legal-weight parts; counsel rules on them. The at-will language, classification, a complaint, or a multi-state rollout is a signal to pause. The kit tells you when a matter needs a lawyer; counsel tells you what to do about it and reviews the finished handbook before you adopt it.
- The kit keeps the record; the record is the point. A handbook you adapted, a policy list you worked through, and a signed acknowledgment from every employee are the difference between a handbook you can rely on and one you cannot.
Who it is built for
Who this pack fits, and where to go if that is not you.
Built for
- A small business owner or office manager who needs a real employee handbook in place and wants the foundation policies, the at-will protections, and a process to adopt them, without paying for a custom build.
- An HR team of one, or the person who picked up HR alongside another job, who needs the policies a small team requires and a way to see which laws reach the business as it grows.
- A founder or operator who copied a handbook from somewhere and is not sure it is right, and wants a sound starting point, the legal-weight language done correctly, and the calls that need a lawyer flagged.
If you are looking for
- A complete back-office HR system with records, forms, onboarding, and offboarding, rather than the handbook and its policies. The HR Operations Binder covers the wider operations set.
- Handling one specific leave or accommodation request end to end, rather than writing the policy. The Leave and Accommodation Kit is built for that decision.
- A standalone policy and checklist for how your team may use AI tools at work. The AI in HR Policy and Risk Checklist handles that one area.
Before you buy
What format are the files and can I edit them?
Is this legal advice?
How is this different from a free handbook template online?
Does it cover my state’s requirements?
What is the refund policy?
What happens after I buy?
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
Most customers buy TrueStep HR tools for business use, and a tool you use for work often qualifies as a deductible business expense. Whether it does for you depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant or tax professional. Your receipt arrives by email at checkout and works as documentation.
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Put a real handbook in place and get it signed
Read the field guide, adapt the handbook to your business, check which laws reach your headcount, adopt each policy, and collect a signed acknowledgment from every employee, in files you keep, with the kit telling you when to bring in counsel.
A guided process and templates for planning, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed June 2026.