We are starting a business and would like to set it up as a corporation. Any thoughts on the number of shares? Any good websites out there that talk about issuing shares and ways to establish ownership percentages?

There are four basic partners. Two are going to pay upfront, and the other 2 would be able to pay as the business takes off (or be paid with shares).

person - amount of initial contribution
person 1 - contributes $1,000
person 2 - contributes $1,000
person 3 - contributes $500
person 4 - contributes $0

Would it be reasonable to:

authorize 4,000 shares. at the start of the company, person 1 and 2 each buy 1,000 shares at $1 par for $1000 each. that leaves 2,000 shares outstanding that can be purchased by the other 2 partners in the future.

I haven't found any advice on the "issuance" of stock amount. Any input, or links, would be greatly appreciated.

I would suggest starting out with more shares than the 4,000 unless you never plan on having more people buy into the company. Although, you could always issue more - but doing so will dilute the current share value.

It doesn't really matter - it is arbitrary.

Here is an article that may help:
http://thestartuplawyer.com/incorporation/how-many-shares-should-a-startup-company-authorize-at-incorporation

Good luck!

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thanks for the info and the link. it was helpful.