Cap table and equity management: buyer guide (October 2026)

The short answer

Pick by the company's next equity event.

If the next event is a seed or Series A round, a startup cap table platform such as Carta or Cake Equity covers issuance, SAFEs, round modeling and 409A valuations.

If the company is scaling across countries and pays people in more than stock options, look at a global employee equity platform such as Ledgy, which also covers deferred compensation and other non-cash pay.

If the next event is an IPO, or the company is already public, move to bank-backed stock plan administration such as Shareworks from Morgan Stanley at Work or J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions, formerly Global Shares. These add brokerage accounts for employees and audit-ready reporting for public company rules.

Pulley, a startup option, is shutting down on December 8, 2026. Ask every vendor how you would leave.

Why cap table and equity management matter

The cap table is the legal record of who owns the company. Every financing, option grant, secondary sale, acquisition and IPO starts from it, and errors in it tend to surface in due diligence, when a buyer's lawyers reconcile it against signed documents.

For corporate development, the target's cap table decides how the purchase price is split, which holders must consent, and what happens to unvested options. For a company planning an IPO, equity records must support public company reporting such as ASC 718 stock compensation accounting and Section 16 filings.

Switching is costly. When Pulley announced its shutdown, it set a December 8, 2026 end date, gave customers limited data access until January 31, 2027, and offered migration to Carta on a new 12-month contract. Choosing a vendor means choosing how you will leave it.

Who buys it

Founders and finance leads at startups; CFOs, controllers and stock plan administrators at growth-stage private companies; equity and total rewards teams at public companies; and the law firms and accountants who advise them.

Typical triggers: incorporation or a first priced round, the first option grants, a 409A valuation requirement, expansion into new countries with local equity rules, a secondary sale or tender offer, IPO preparation, or a vendor shutdown or price increase.

Before you buy: what teams do without one

Very early companies keep the cap table in a spreadsheet and let their law firm hold the signed documents. Some law firms and accountants manage the cap table as a service.

That works until the company has a few dozen holders or issues options. Buying a platform pays when grants are frequent, when employees need to see and exercise their equity, when 409A valuations and tax forms are needed every year, or when investors and acquirers expect a cap table that reconciles to the documents without manual cleanup.

What good looks like

Capability	What good looks like	Why it matters
Cap table and securities records	Every share class, option, warrant, SAFE and note linked to the signed document behind it.	Due diligence reconciles every line of the cap table to a signed document.
Issuance and approvals	Grants, board approvals, electronic signatures and exercises handled in the platform with an audit trail.	Every manual step between a board approval and the record is a chance for the two to disagree.
Round and exit modeling	Pro forma modeling of priced rounds, SAFEs and exit waterfalls under each share class's terms.	Founders and boards need to see dilution and payouts before they sign.
409A valuations and tax compliance	Annual 409A valuations and tax forms such as Form 3921, plus support for local rules in other countries.	Option pricing and employee tax treatment depend on these being right and on time.
Stock compensation accounting	ASC 718 expense reports your auditor has reviewed and accepted.	Equity expense flows into the financial statements, and auditors test it.
Employee experience	A portal where employees see grants, vesting and value, exercise options and get tax education.	Employees need to see what they hold, what it may be worth and what exercising costs.
Integrations and data portability	HRIS and payroll sync, an API, and a contractual right to export all records and documents.	Data that cannot leave the platform makes switching vendors slow and risky.

How cap table and equity management are built, and who sells each kind

Vendors in this category can take a labeled Spotlight slot on this guide. How Spotlight works

Startup cap table platforms

Self-serve or lightly assisted software for cap tables, issuance, round modeling and 409A valuations, priced by number of stakeholders.

Fits: Venture-backed startups from formation through the first several financing rounds.

CartaStartups that want cap table, 409A valuations, round modeling and fund-side connections on one platform.
Cake EquityGrowing startups, including those migrating from Pulley, that want cap table and employee equity tools.
EqvistaStartups whose main need is 409A valuations, with cap table management alongside.

Global employee equity platforms

Software for growth-stage companies with employees in many countries, covering equity plans and, at some vendors, other non-cash compensation.

Fits: Scaling private companies with international teams, secondary sales or complex plans.

LedgyCompanies that want equity, deferred compensation, carried interest and other non-cash pay on one platform.

Bank-backed stock plan administration

Equity administration software and services run by a bank or broker, with brokerage accounts for participants and public company reporting.

Fits: Pre-IPO and public companies that need participant brokerage, executive services and audit-ready reporting.

Shareworks by Morgan Stanley at WorkPrivate and public companies that want equity administration with 409A and Section 16 reporting from Morgan Stanley.
Equity Edge Online by Morgan Stanley at WorkPublic companies that administer their own stock plans and need ASC 718 reporting and HR and payroll APIs.
J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions (formerly Global Shares)Companies that want equity plan administration, cap table management and executive services from J.P. Morgan.

How to choose

Stage fit

Startup platforms are built for financings and option grants. Bank-backed administrators are built for public company reporting and employee brokerage. Moving between them is a migration project.

Plan complexity

Check support for your instruments and countries: RSUs, performance shares, phantom equity, ESPPs, local tax-advantaged plans and non-cash compensation.

Valuation and accounting

Ask whether 409A valuations and ASC 718 reports are included, who signs them and whether your auditor has accepted them before.

Liquidity support

Tender offers, secondary sales and exercise financing need workflows and sometimes a broker. Check what the vendor runs itself and what it refers out.

Exit terms

Ask for a full export of records and documents, the notice period and renewal terms, and what happened to customers when the vendor last changed products or owners.

How pricing works

Startup platforms usually price by number of stakeholders, with tiers that add round modeling, 409A valuations, board tools and support. Several publish their entry tiers, and some offer a free tier for very small cap tables. Higher tiers are quoted.

Global employee equity platforms and bank-backed administrators sell by quote. Ask how participants, plans, countries and services change the quote.

Ask what triggers a price change: crossing a stakeholder threshold, adding a 409A, a new country or a tender offer. Ask for the renewal cap in writing.

Model	How it works	Watch for
Tiered by stakeholders	An annual fee that rises as the number of shareholders and option holders crosses set thresholds.	Price jumps after a hiring wave or a round that adds many holders.
Bundled services	Tiers that include 409A valuations, ASC 718 reports, board management or onboarding.	Services you pay for in the bundle but already buy elsewhere.
Quoted administration fee	A quoted fee for equity administration, typical of global platforms and bank-backed administrators.	How the fee changes with participants, plans and countries, and any transaction or brokerage fees charged to employees.
Event fees	Separate charges for tender offers, secondary sales, migrations or IPO readiness work.	Fees that arrive at the moment you cannot switch vendors.

Implementation

Clean the recordsReconcile the existing cap table to signed documents with your law firm before migrating. Errors move with the data.
Migrate and verifyLoad securities, plans and documents, then compare holder by holder with the old system before switching off.
Connect HR and payrollSet up HRIS and payroll integrations so hires, leavers and tax withholding flow without manual entry.
Launch the employee portalInvite employees, explain what they hold and how vesting works, and set up support for questions.
Test the reportsRun 409A, ASC 718 and tax reports for one period and have your auditor and tax advisor review them before the first year-end.

Confirm before you sign

Support for every security type and plan we use, in every country we hire.
Full export of cap table, documents and audit trail on request and at exit.
Stakeholder thresholds and the price at each.
409A valuations included, and who performs them.
ASC 718 reporting accepted by our auditor.
HRIS and payroll integrations we need.
Tender offer and secondary sale support, and the fees.
Employee portal, exercise flow and tax education.
Renewal price cap, notice period and data access after termination.
The vendor's funding, ownership and plan if it exits the market.

Questions to ask in a demo

Show our cap table after migration. How do you reconcile it to our signed documents, and who signs off?
Model our next round and an exit waterfall with our actual share classes and preferences.
Who performs your 409A valuations, and how many have been challenged in an audit?
Run an ASC 718 expense report. Has our audit firm accepted your reports for other clients?
Which countries' equity and tax rules do you support today, not on the roadmap?
How do you run a tender offer, and what does it cost the company and the sellers?
What does a full data export look like, and how long does it take?
If you were acquired or shut down, what would happen to our data and contract?

Frequently asked questions

What is cap table management software?

Software that records who owns a company's shares, options and other securities, and handles issuing them. Most products also model financings and exits, manage option exercises, produce 409A valuations and tax forms, and give employees a portal to see their equity. Products differ by company stage, from startup platforms to stock plan administration for public companies.

What happens to Pulley customers?

Pulley says it will shut down on December 8, 2026, after which the app and support end. Customers keep limited access to their data until January 31, 2027. Pulley has an exclusive partnership with Carta, which offers eligible customers a migration and a new 12-month contract. Customers can also move to other vendors, and some, such as Cake Equity, advertise free migration from Pulley.

How much does cap table software cost?

Startup platforms price by number of stakeholders and several publish some tiers as of October 2026; some offer a free tier for very small cap tables and quote their higher tiers. Global platforms and bank-backed administrators sell by quote after a demo. Ask what triggers a move to the next tier.

When should a company move from a startup platform to a stock plan administrator?

Usually during IPO preparation. A public company needs brokerage accounts for employees to sell shares, Section 16 filings for insiders and audit-ready stock compensation reporting. Bank-backed administrators such as Shareworks from Morgan Stanley at Work and J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions provide these. Plan the migration well before the listing date.

What are the alternatives to Carta?

For startups, Cake Equity and Eqvista sell cap table platforms, and Eqvista focuses on 409A valuations. For international growth-stage companies, Ledgy covers equity and other non-cash compensation. For pre-IPO and public companies, bank-backed administrators such as Shareworks, Equity Edge Online and J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions. Pulley, once an alternative, is shutting down in December 2026.

Sources

Written by Stratrix editors from public sources and checked claim by claim by a second AI model against those sources. Vendors named in the editorial sections did not pay to be included. Spotlight listings are paid and labeled. Methodology and corrections

Cap table and equity management: how platforms differ and who each fits