Cap Table & Equity arenaBuyer checklist
Every requirement we judge cap table & equity products against, as a ready-to-send RFP checklist — with each item's priority, why it matters, and how the top-ranked products score on it today.
56 requirements · 14 themes · verdicts for 6 products · updated 2026-09-16 · priorities mirror the story weights our scoring uses (methodology)
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# Cap Table & Equity — buyer checklist (RFP) Derived from ProductArena's evidence-graded user-story taxonomy for Cap Table & Equity: 56 judged requirements. Priorities mirror story weights (3 = must-have, 2 = should-have, 1 = nice-to-have). ## Agenticness - [ ] **[must-have]** Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools - [ ] **[must-have]** Connect an agent via an official MCP server - [ ] **[must-have]** Drive the product through a documented public API - [ ] **[must-have]** Delegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product - [ ] **[should-have]** Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs - [ ] **[should-have]** Run the product headlessly / in CI for automation - [ ] **[should-have]** Use an official CLI - [ ] **[should-have]** Issue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agent - [ ] **[should-have]** Build against official SDKs - [ ] **[should-have]** Subscribe to events via webhooks - [ ] **[should-have]** Get AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product - [ ] **[should-have]** Set up automations that run autonomously in the background - [ ] **[should-have]** Operate the product with natural-language commands - [ ] **[should-have]** Explore an interactive API reference with runnable examples - [ ] **[should-have]** Download a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent) - [ ] **[should-have]** Rely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data ## Automation depth - [ ] **[must-have]** Define rules that trigger actions automatically on events - [ ] **[should-have]** Perform bulk operations across many items at once - [ ] **[should-have]** Schedule recurring jobs or workflows - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** Version, review, and roll back my automations ## Cap table core - [ ] **[must-have]** Maintain my full cap table — share classes, certificates, SAFEs, and option grants — as a live single source of truth that investors and auditors rely on - [ ] **[should-have]** Issue electronic share certificates that are legally signed in-platform and permanently linked to the cap table entry they represent - [ ] **[should-have]** Migrate an existing cap table — from a spreadsheet or another platform — with guided import, validation, and reconciliation against source documents ## Compliance filings - [ ] **[should-have]** Produce ASC 718 stock-based compensation expense reports my accountants can hand to auditors - [ ] **[should-have]** US equity compliance — Rule 701 disclosure thresholds, Form 3921 filings, 83(b) elections — is tracked and generated from the cap table automatically ## Equity data access - [ ] **[must-have]** Have an agent pull my current cap table programmatically and reconcile it against my data room before a financing - [ ] **[must-have]** Pull the full capitalization table — stakeholders, share classes, securities, and vesting states — through a documented programmatic API - [ ] **[should-have]** An agent can draft securities (e.g. option grants) via the platform's programmatic surface and leave them queued for human board approval - [ ] **[should-have]** Third parties my company authorizes — law firms, HRIS vendors, wealth managers — can access scoped slices of equity data on our behalf without full admin credentials ## Equity issuance - [ ] **[must-have]** Issue options to a new hire with a board approval flow and a 409A-compliant strike price in one end-to-end workflow - [ ] **[should-have]** Upload or issue securities in bulk — a batch of grants or historical transactions — instead of entering them one at a time - [ ] **[should-have]** Define custom vesting schedules — cliffs, milestones, acceleration on exit — and the platform tracks vested vs unvested automatically ## Fundraising modeling - [ ] **[must-have]** Create, send, and e-sign SAFEs or convertible notes in-platform, and they land on the cap table with their conversion terms modeled - [ ] **[must-have]** Model a priced round — dilution, option pool top-up, SAFE conversion, pro-forma ownership — and share the scenario with counsel and investors - [ ] **[should-have]** Run exit waterfall analyses showing proceeds per share class and stakeholder under different exit values, honoring preferences and participation - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** My investors get their own portal view of their holdings and can receive structured updates without emailing me for the cap table ## Governance boardroom - [ ] **[should-have]** Board consents and stockholder approvals are drafted, routed for e-signature, and archived against the transactions they authorize - [ ] **[should-have]** My outside counsel can work directly in the platform with law-firm roles — preparing documents and updating records without emailing spreadsheets - [ ] **[should-have]** Share a permissioned, diligence-ready data room — cap table views plus underlying documents — with counsel and investors ## Integrations hris - [ ] **[should-have]** Stakeholders sync from my HRIS/payroll system (e.g. Gusto, Rippling) so new hires and terminations flow into equity records automatically ## Openness - [ ] **[must-have]** Export all of my data in open formats and leave - [ ] **[must-have]** Self-host the core product - [ ] **[should-have]** Do everything through the API that I can do in the UI - [ ] **[should-have]** Read the product's source under an open license ## Privacy posture - [ ] **[must-have]** Prevent my data from being used to train AI models - [ ] **[should-have]** Choose where my data is stored (region/residency) - [ ] **[should-have]** Control data retention and deletion - [ ] **[should-have]** Opt out of telemetry and usage tracking ## Reporting exports - [ ] **[should-have]** Export my complete cap table and full transaction history to open formats (Excel/CSV) at any time — my ownership data is never held hostage - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** Every change to the cap table is captured in an audit log — who changed what, when, and under what authorization ## Stakeholder experience - [ ] **[must-have]** I get my own portal showing my grants, vesting progress, strike price, and what my equity could be worth under different outcomes - [ ] **[should-have]** Exercise my vested options online — including payment and the resulting share issuance — without paper forms - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** The platform explains my equity in plain language — tax treatment, exercise windows, dilution — not just numbers ## Valuations 409a - [ ] **[must-have]** Order an audit-ready 409A valuation in-platform, generated from my live cap table data, and get refreshed valuations on schedule - [ ] **[nice-to-have]** Non-US valuations and schemes — UK HMRC/EMI valuations, country-specific option plans — are supported for my international entities --- Source: https://ultrametric.ai/productarena/arena/equity-management (evidence-graded verdicts for 6 products) · methodology: https://ultrametric.ai/productarena/methodology
Chips show the top 5 ranked products' current verdict on each requirement — ✓ full · ~ partial · ! disputed · — none · n/a not applicable.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness· 17 items
How well agents can access and operate the product
- must-have
ai-native userPlug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- must-have
ai-native userConnect an agent via an official MCP server
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · 2 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- must-have
ai-native userDrive the product through a documented public API
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- must-have
ai-native userDelegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userPoint an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 2 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ai-native userRun the product headlessly / in CI for automation
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userUse an official CLI
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userIssue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agent
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userBuild against official SDKs
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userSubscribe to events via webhooks
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userGet AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userSet up automations that run autonomously in the background
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userOperate the product with natural-language commands
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userExplore an interactive API reference with runnable examples
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userDownload a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent)
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userRely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
ai-native userTest against a sandbox environment without touching production data
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · 1 of 5 products fully deliver this today
Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth· 4 items
How much of the product can run unattended
- must-have
ai-native userDefine rules that trigger actions automatically on events
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userPerform bulk operations across many items at once
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userSchedule recurring jobs or workflows
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
ai-native userVersion, review, and roll back my automations
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Cap table core — stories about cap table core in this arenaCap table core· 3 items
Stories about cap table core in this arena
- must-have
founderMaintain my full cap table — share classes, certificates, SAFEs, and option grants — as a live single source of truth that investors and auditors rely on
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · all 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
founderIssue electronic share certificates that are legally signed in-platform and permanently linked to the cap table entry they represent
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ops userMigrate an existing cap table — from a spreadsheet or another platform — with guided import, validation, and reconciliation against source documents
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Compliance filings — stories about compliance filings in this arenaCompliance filings· 2 items
Stories about compliance filings in this arena
- should-have
ops userProduce ASC 718 stock-based compensation expense reports my accountants can hand to auditors
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ops userUS equity compliance — Rule 701 disclosure thresholds, Form 3921 filings, 83(b) elections — is tracked and generated from the cap table automatically
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Equity data access — stories about equity data access in this arenaEquity data access· 4 items
Stories about equity data access in this arena
- must-have
ai-native userHave an agent pull my current cap table programmatically and reconcile it against my data room before a financing
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- must-have
developerPull the full capitalization table — stakeholders, share classes, securities, and vesting states — through a documented programmatic API
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ai-native userAn agent can draft securities (e.g. option grants) via the platform's programmatic surface and leave them queued for human board approval
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
developerThird parties my company authorizes — law firms, HRIS vendors, wealth managers — can access scoped slices of equity data on our behalf without full admin credentials
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
Equity issuance — stories about equity issuance in this arenaEquity issuance· 3 items
Stories about equity issuance in this arena
- must-have
founderIssue options to a new hire with a board approval flow and a 409A-compliant strike price in one end-to-end workflow
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ops userUpload or issue securities in bulk — a batch of grants or historical transactions — instead of entering them one at a time
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ops userDefine custom vesting schedules — cliffs, milestones, acceleration on exit — and the platform tracks vested vs unvested automatically
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Fundraising modeling — stories about fundraising modeling in this arenaFundraising modeling· 4 items
Stories about fundraising modeling in this arena
- must-have
founderCreate, send, and e-sign SAFEs or convertible notes in-platform, and they land on the cap table with their conversion terms modeled
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · 2 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- must-have
founderModel a priced round — dilution, option pool top-up, SAFE conversion, pro-forma ownership — and share the scenario with counsel and investors
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ops userRun exit waterfall analyses showing proceeds per share class and stakeholder under different exit values, honoring preferences and participation
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
founderMy investors get their own portal view of their holdings and can receive structured updates without emailing me for the cap table
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Governance boardroom — stories about governance boardroom in this arenaGovernance boardroom· 3 items
Stories about governance boardroom in this arena
- should-have
founderBoard consents and stockholder approvals are drafted, routed for e-signature, and archived against the transactions they authorize
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
- should-have
ops userMy outside counsel can work directly in the platform with law-firm roles — preparing documents and updating records without emailing spreadsheets
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ops userShare a permissioned, diligence-ready data room — cap table views plus underlying documents — with counsel and investors
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · 1 of 6 products fully deliver this today
Integrations hris — stories about integrations hris in this arenaIntegrations hris· 1 item
Stories about integrations hris in this arena
- should-have
ops userStakeholders sync from my HRIS/payroll system (e.g. Gusto, Rippling) so new hires and terminations flow into equity records automatically
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness· 4 items
Open source, data portability, and self-hosting stories
- must-have
ai-native userExport all of my data in open formats and leave
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- must-have
ai-native userSelf-host the core product
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring
- should-have
ai-native userDo everything through the API that I can do in the UI
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userRead the product's source under an open license
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture· 4 items
Data-handling and privacy stories
- must-have
ai-native userPrevent my data from being used to train AI models
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userChoose where my data is stored (region/residency)
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userControl data retention and deletion
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
ai-native userOpt out of telemetry and usage tracking
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Reporting exports — stories about reporting exports in this arenaReporting exports· 2 items
Stories about reporting exports in this arena
- should-have
ops userExport my complete cap table and full transaction history to open formats (Excel/CSV) at any time — my ownership data is never held hostage
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
ops userEvery change to the cap table is captured in an audit log — who changed what, when, and under what authorization
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Stakeholder experience — stories about stakeholder experience in this arenaStakeholder experience· 3 items
Stories about stakeholder experience in this arena
- must-have
employeeI get my own portal showing my grants, vesting progress, strike price, and what my equity could be worth under different outcomes
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- should-have
employeeExercise my vested options online — including payment and the resulting share issuance — without paper forms
Important, not disqualifying — weighs 2× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
employeeThe platform explains my equity in plain language — tax treatment, exercise windows, dilution — not just numbers
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Valuations 409a — stories about valuations 409a in this arenaValuations 409a· 2 items
Stories about valuations 409a in this arena
- must-have
founderOrder an audit-ready 409A valuation in-platform, generated from my live cap table data, and get refreshed valuations on schedule
Core requirement — weighs 3× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
- nice-to-have
ops userNon-US valuations and schemes — UK HMRC/EMI valuations, country-specific option plans — are supported for my international entities
Differentiator, not a dealbreaker — weighs 1× in arena scoring · no product fully delivers this yet
Full evidence behind every verdict lives on the arena page and each product page — chips above deep-link straight to the judged story.