Getting Started with Eqvista – FAQ
Everything you need to know so you can use Eqvista like a pro.
What is Eqvista? Who is it for?
Eqvista is a cap table management application that helps founders track their company shares. Eqvista helps you issue electronic shares, convertible instruments, track the financial status of the company, get your 409A valuation and stay compliant.
It is an application for the founders of the company and all those who own shares in the company including the employees, investors, officers and others.
Where is Eqvista located?
Eqvista has three offices located in:
- San Jose, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Hong Kong
What services does Eqvista offer?
Eqvista is an advanced platform that helps with your company’s equity. It is a cap table application that helps you track and manage all the shares in your company. Here is what you get from Eqvista:
- Get audit defensible 409A valuation for your company.
- Issue electronic shares & prepare electronic share certificates
- Use cap table application to track and manage all the shares in the company
- Share the cap table with your company’s admin, accountant, lawyer and advisor
- Incorporate and register your company in the USA and Hong Kong
- Allow shareholders to see their grants share access to their holdings
- Obtain secondary transactions reports, cap table reports and basic company reports from the app
- Stay compliant
- Access liquidity and trade digital securities
- Make better financial decisions by using the waterfall and round financing model
How do I sign up for Eqvista?
To sign up for Eqvista, you need to visit the website and then click on “Account login” from the right-side corner of the page. This would take you to the login page where you can click, “Sign up” on the right-top side of the page. You will then reach the page to add your email address and details to create an account on Eqvista. Check out the support article on how to sign up here!
What is a Cap Table?
A cap table, also known as a capitalization table, is a spreadsheet or a table that displays all the equity shares in the company. It is normally used for companies in their early stages and before they go public. It helps in keeping track of all the equity in the company by breaking down who owns what in the company. The cap table includes all the company’s equity ownership including common shares, options, warrants, convertible notes, preferred shares and many others.
Why do I need a cap table?
It is important to have a cap table as it shows the equity ownership in a company. The capitalization table is important for financial decisions involving market value, market capitalization and equity ownership.
In addition to this, tax authorities rely on cap tables for determining the right amount of taxes that investors, employees, and the company have to pay. So, if a company does not have an updated cap table, the company, investor and employees can end up paying more taxes and can even be fined penalties and interest.
What should I look for in a cap table software?
If you are searching for a cap table software, then you need to ensure that it is the best. Here are a few things you need:
- Ease of use – The cap table should be automated and simple to use.
- Cap table management – This is the main thing; a good app would help you track and manage all the shares in your company. It would have features where you can easily exercise options, make cancellations, convert debt into equity, transfer shares, and handle all the stock legal compliances.
- 409A valuations – It should give you the most accurate and audit defensible 409A valuation.
- Compliance – Help you achieve compliance with the relevant taxes and regulations.
- Growth and Exit Scenario Modeling – It should be able to help you plan for your next round or exit event.
How does Eqvista differ from other cap table management software?
Eqvista is a highly sophisticated cap table application that aims at helping founders. This is why it is FREE to use for small companies, especially for the startups who are struggling to get funding for running their company. But as your company grows and the number of shareholders grows in your company, you will need to opt for the premium membership. Other than this, Eqvista also helps you with company formation, it is easy to use and offers many support and knowledge based articles that can help you be the best founder.
How does Eqvista help to maintain your cap table?
With its simple to use process and its advanced programming, you can easily track and manage all the shares of your company right from Eqvista. You just need to create your company profile here and issue shares electronically through the app. It also helps you share the share certificate with your shareholders.
Does Eqvista’s share issuance comply with legal requirements?
Each country has different legal requirements that Eqvista does not have jurisdiction over. Because compliance and business law differ from country to country, Eqvista’s cap table is merely a valuable tool for companies to use together with legal counsel. Therefore, the user is responsible for ensuring their equity issuances are properly structured and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
I have a problem with the Cap Table platform, where can I find help?
If you’re stuck while using Eqvista, you can easily learn about using the app through our extensive support articles and videos. And if you want to get more help with things, feel free to contact our support team at info@eqvista.com or call us. You can also fill out the form available at our contact page and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Does Eqvista offer a Freemium plan?
Yes, Eqvista has a freemium plan for those who have just started their company. If you have less than 20 shareholders in your company, you can easily access all the features of Eqvista with the FREE plan. Once your number of shareholders increases to more than 20, then you will have to upgrade your plan to the premium plan. Learn more here!
How can I upgrade my subscription plan?
When the number of shareholders reaches 20, you will get a notification in the app to upgrade your plan based on the number of extra shareholders you want to add. You can also go to the “Subscription” tab from the left side-menu on the company dashboard and upgrade your plan. You will need to add in your card details and select the plan. There are two plans to choose from:
- Premium plan – Payment according to the number of added shareholders – $2 per shareholder monthly + all the other features of the application
- Enterprise – 20+ Shareholders & Multiple 409a Valuations. This plan includes unlimited 409A valuations(restrictions apply) based on where your company stands.
You can upgrade and downgrade your subscription plan at any time. If you paid for an annual plan, you can upgrade your plan without having to complete the whole year. You just need to pay for the new plan moving forward, and you can choose whether to pay monthly or annually.
What is the Enterprise package and what does it contain?
The enterprise package is for those companies that are growing at a fast rate and are having funding rounds often. The plan includes:
- 20+ Shareholders & Multiple 409a Valuations
- All features of Premium & Freemium plan
- CapTable Onboarding
- Multiple 409a Valuations
- Client Support
To know more, contact us and we can create the best plan for you!
How is the Enterprise Package billed?
The Enterprise Package can be billed annually or monthly.
For example, if you have less than 100 shareholders, the annual fee for the Enterprise Package is $3,300. If you prefer to pay on a monthly basis, the fee is $275.
How much is the Enterprise Package?
The fee for the Enterprise Package depends on the number of shareholders your company has. The pricing is as follows:
Number of Shareholders | Monthly Fee | Annual Fee |
---|---|---|
Below 30 | $160 | $1,920 |
Below 60 | $200 | $2,400 |
Below 100 | $275 | $3,300 |
Below 200 | $360 | $4,320 |
More than 200 | By Quotation | By Quotation |
What does ‘FREE Cap Table Setup’ mean in the Enterprise Package? Does the Premium Package have cap table features as well?
In the Enterprise Package, we set up your cap table for you for FREE and you can use our cap table feature at no additional cost. With the Premium Package, there is an additional fee of $350 to set up your cap table. You can still use the cap table feature but at an additional cost.
Does Eqvista offer training or a demo?
Yes, Eqvista offers a demo and training as well. So, if you are a new founder who needs to know about how things work and how to handle your equity responsibilities, we have prepared a knowledge center for you. You can also visit our support articles and blogs. If you need additional help, you can contact us and we will help guide you.
Does Eqvista offer a 409a valuation?
Yes, Eqvista offers 409A valuations for all companies from any industry, of any size and at any stage. Here is the starting price for each stage 409A valuation report:
- Startup – $990
- Funded – $1,290
- Series A – $2,290
- Series B – $3,290
- Custom – By Quotation
To know more on how our 409a valuation service works, please visit here or contact us.
Are you certified to perform 409a Valuation?
Yes, the team of Eqvista has the required certification to perform 409A valuations for your company. We are NACVA certified, and utilize the best practices to offer our clients audit defensible 409A valuations. Our specialized team uses the best methodologies and has a proven approach to get your company’s valuation.
How do I get a 409a valuation from Eqvista?
The simplest way is to contact us by visiting our service page and clicking on “Get 409A valuation”. This would lead you to a form where you need to add in your details including your name, email and the message.
Or you can also email us at info@eqvista.com and share your details here. Once we get your email, our team will get back to you about it.
What information or documents do I need to submit to get my 409a valuation?
We will need the following documents from you for preparing your 409A valuation:
- Cap table – If you are already on Eqvista, you just need to tell us and share the access or share your cap table with us.
- Corporate documents – the company bylaws and articles of incorporation
- Company information – Management Bios
- Any Previous 409A valuation reports
- Past Year Income statement & balance sheet
- Future year Forecasts
- If your company has any subsidiary, share all the their separate financial details
What methodology do you use to determine a company’s valuation?
Our valuation methodology would normally include Income Approach, Market Approach & Asset Based Approach. For funded companies (VC, SAFE, Reg, Crowdfund, etc), we would also conduct a 4th methodology called the Backsolve Approach/Method.
What makes your methodology credible from an investor standpoint ie it won’t be challenged?
In terms of a 409a valuation, which often finds the lowest FMV for ESOP issuance, investors accept our methodology as industry standard for 409A valuations to justify a lower share price.
In terms of Investment Valuations, we use similar metrics to that of VCS (Income Approach through DCF (Perpetuity and Exit Multiple), as well as Market Approach on market multiples, both public and private comps).
Another large section of our business is on buy-side and sell-side valuations to determine transaction amounts, and often we have heard comments that our valuations are very accurate and in-line with offers received.
Can I incorporate my company through Eqvista?
Yes, Eqvista helps you in the process of incorporation through our sister companies – Incparadise, for incorporation in any state in the USA and Startupr for incorporation in Hong Kong. Contact us to know more, or visit us and get the details!
Where can I learn more about Eqvista and its functionalities?
Eqvista has a knowledge center, a support center and also a blog that would help you stay up to date with all that is changing and happening in the app. It also guides you through all the important processes using a stepwise method. Check out our support articles here! If you want to know more and need additional help, you can contact our team.
How do I contact the Eqvista support team?
You can connect with us at Eqvista through our contact us page. It will ask you to share your name, email and message. Other than this, you can also email us at – info@eqvista.com at any time. Our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Can I see the Eqvista cap table product roadmap?
Yes, you can check out the Eqvista cap table product roadmap! Just to let you know, we keep updating our product constantly. The team is specialized to help our clients, and make the right decisions based on their industrial knowledge. Hence, you can regularly see updates on the application. To know what is next, check out the roadmap as shared above.
Will Eqvista keep my data secure and private?
Eqvista was created with the aim to keep all your information secure. We have added 2-factor authentication for logging into the app. We want to ensure that all your information is secure and only you have the access to it. To know more, you can contact our team and talk about your issues!
Interested in issuing & managing shares?
If you want to start issuing and managing shares, Try out our Eqvista App, it is free and all online!