# Post-fundraising: Mastering your Carta account

## What's next after fundraising?
### Congratulations on your successful fundraising!  We understand the hard work it took to get here. You might be wondering, "What's next?" We've put together some resources below to help.

## First, request your 409a valuation

409a valuations are essential for **setting the strike price** of stock options that you’ll grant to employees, advisors or consultants. This valuation ensures **compliance with IRS** rules to avoid tax penalties.

- **Learn more** about the [different methodologies here](https://support.carta.com/s/article/different-methodologies-409a)
- **A valuation is valid for up to 12 months** or until a material event occurs – see [Carta's guide on 409A valuations](/content/learn/startups/equity-management/409a-valuation/index.html)

**HOW IT’S DONE:** Requesting a valuation from our dedicated 409a valuation team is simple. See [step-by-step instructions here](https://support.carta.com/s/article/data-for-409a) to **complete your request** in-app.

- **Our 409a valuation team** comes included with your Carta subscription.

> **Contact our experts** at [val-operations@carta.com](mailto:val-operations@carta.com) or (650) 457-6657 **before you start, during the request, or after** you’ve received your draft.

**WHAT TO EXPECT:** After our team has reviewed your request, you’ll receive a confirmation email when your draft is ready for review. Once you approve your 409a, you can [**draft a board consent**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/create-board-consent) for 409a approval by selecting _'Get board approval'._

> **If you don’t use Carta for board approval,** simply [approve the 409a](https://support.carta.com/s/article/view-and-accept-409a-report) by selecting _My board has approved._

## Next, your equity incentive plan

Now that you’ve received your updated 409a, it’s important to check that your equity incentive plan (EIP) is **up-to-date** or **created for the first time** in order to issue equity awards.

**IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A PLAN:** Make sure it's [reflected properly](https://support.carta.com/s/article/setup-an-equity-plan#add-plan) in Carta.

**CREATE YOUR PLAN USING CARTA:** We’ve made it easy to [create an equity incentive plan](https://support.carta.com/s/article/setup-an-equity-plan#create-plan), saving you time and money using our Equity Plan generation tool.

- You can **generate your equity incentive plan** and **all associated documents** needed to issue equity awards (EIP, Form of Exercise Agreement, Form of Option Agreement).
- You’ll **need your EIP documents** for the next section— _Understanding securities templates._
- The equity plan generation tool is available for companies that are **US-based and DE-incorporated**, with a single common share class and no existing equity plans.

This is a **self-serve tool**, and we recommend you **consult your legal advisors** during the process.

**WHY IT MATTERS:** An equity incentive plan is **crucial for startups** to attract and retain top talent.

- An EIP allows companies to **offer employees ownership stakes**, aligning their interests with the company's success.
- This **motivates employees** to contribute more effectively, as their financial rewards are tied to the company's performance.

## Digging into securities templates

Carta supports **five distinct template types** that can be seamlessly applied when issuing securities.

**WHY IT MATTERS:**

Securities Templates allow company admins to **effortlessly manage pre-defined sets of information and documents**, streamlining the equity issuance process by eliminating repetitive administrative work.

1. **Document Sets:** Navigate [here](https://support.carta.com/s/article/manage-your-templates#create-docs) for steps to add document sets to your company's Carta account.
   - **Create a document set** tailored to each specific security type (ISO, NSO, RSU).
   - You can **leave blank fields or placeholders** that refer to details listed elsewhere on the document set.
   - Depending on the security type, you’ll need different documents. **For ISOs/NSOs**, you’ll need **at least three**: EIP, form of exercise agreement, form of option agreement.
   > You'll need to request these from your legal team if you didn't use our Equity Plan Generation Tool.

2. **Vesting Schedules**
   - Carta provides **standard vesting schedule templates**, such as:
     - 1/48 monthly
     - 1 year cliff schedule
     - Boxcar vesting, and more
   > If you don't see the **schedule unique to your plan**, you can [create your own template](https://support.carta.com/s/article/manage-your-templates#create-schedule).

## Board consents through Carta

With our board consents tool, we allow **important decisions** to be **made in real-time**—all in one digital place so the necessary parties can access anytime.

Creating board consents

Click for sound

**All equity award issuances** and many other actions require board approval. Use our streamlined process to save you time. With board consents on Carta, you can:
- [**Create your own templates**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/create-board-consent#manage-templates) or **use our pre-populated templates** for easy drafting.
- **Store all board consents** where the rest of your cap table information exists.
- **Receive board approval** on new grants, refreshes, 409a valuations and much more.

**HOW IT'S DONE:** You can **draft a board consent** anytime following [these instructions](https://support.carta.com/s/article/create-board-consent#creat-board-consent). To keep things simple, we've built the board consents feature into the following workflows:
- While [**issuing options or RSUs**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/workflow-securities#board-consent).
- Through our **409a valuation workflow** after you've received your draft 409a.

## Finally, let’s issue securities

You’re now **ready to issue** your securities! You can simply [**draft options** or **certificates**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/workflow-securities#create) by clicking the applicable option under your _Essentials_ or _Securities_ tabs.

**FOR US-BASED COMPANIES:** Carta is an [SEC-registered Transfer Agent](https://support.carta.com/s/article/sec-registered-transfer-status). We **simplify the intricate** process of issuing securities through digital securities that don’t need to be reissued on paper.

**BEFORE YOU SEND A SECURITY:** You’ll need to **ensure you have all information required**. This information varies depending on the security type.
- See a [**complete list of requirements here**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/workflow-securities#required-information).
- Carta's platform is designed to help **ensure accuracy** while drafting. **For help resolving errors** check out [this article](https://support.carta.com/s/article/workflow-securities#troubleshooting).

**NEXT STEPS:** After you’ve completed your draft details, **you will release the securities** to be signed by the designated company signatory(ies). After they have signed, your holders will receive an email inviting them to accept their securities.

> We recommend using our in-app spreadsheet to draft securities, but you can [_Bulk Import_](https://support.carta.com/s/article/workflow-securities#bulk-upload) if you’d prefer to use Excel.

## Adding & managing stakeholders

Review how to add and manage stakeholders. This is important to understand so that you can **avoid simple mistakes.**

> You **do not need to add a stakeholder** to your ledger before issuing them securities for the first time, they are **automatically added** to [the ledger](https://support.carta.com/s/article/stakeholder-ledger) after you issue them securities.

**MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS:** You can take various actions to manage stakeholders [individually](https://support.carta.com/s/article/stakeholder-ledger#individual) or [in bulk](https://support.carta.com/s/article/stakeholder-ledger#bulk-manage). A few reasons you may need to manage your stakeholders include:
- **Name change** or spelling mistake.
- **Update the email** they receive Carta notifications to.
- **Remove duplicates** on the ledger.
- Updating stakeholder details such as **relationship, Cost Centers, employee IDs** and more.

**TERMINATING STAKEHOLDERS:** [Terminating a stakeholder](https://support.carta.com/s/article/terminate-stakeholders-update) from the ledger will ensure that they no longer earn any **unvested shares**, and that those unvested shares are **returned to the equity pool**.

**WHY IT MATTERS:** Your **stakeholder count** is based on the number of unique names on the cap table. A stakeholder or investment fund holding multiple securities will count as a single stakeholder.
- A stakeholder is defined by any person or entity who holds an outstanding security.

> [Integrating your HRIS system](https://support.carta.com/s/article/hris-integrations-overview) streamlines the process for adding and managing stakeholders.

## Reports you may need & how to run them

Now it’s time to **share your cap table data** with your investors. Your report data is constantly regenerated, and reports contain near real-time data from cap table activity.

Exporting company reports

1. The **reporting suite** can be found under your _Essentials_ **or** _Cap Table_ tabs.
   - **Easily** [**search for the reports**](https://support.carta.com/s/article/export-reports#find-report) you need.
   - **After exporting**, find your reports in your _Downloads_ tab.

Here are several reports we recommend familiarizing yourself with:
- [Detailed cap table report:](https://support.carta.com/s/article/export-reports#export-cap-table) We recommend checking the settings _‘Detailed’ and ‘Securities ledger by type and class’_ when exporting. This will give you the most detailed view of your cap table.
- [Open Cap Table Excel Standard (OCX)](https://support.carta.com/s/article/open-cap-table-standard).
- [Certificate Transaction](https://support.carta.com/s/article/export-reports#transactions).
- [Equity Plan](https://support.carta.com/s/article/equity-plan-report).
- [ISO/NSO Vesting](https://support.carta.com/s/article/export-reports#vesting).
- [Documents](https://support.carta.com/s/article/export-reports#compliance).

> If you set up [_Full details_ as a _Cap Table Access_](https://support.carta.com/s/article/shareholder-experience-access-levels-guide) level for your investors, they can pull reports through their personal portfolio.

## Communicating with investors

Use the communications center to **deliver company updates, pitch decks, legal disclosures,** and other messages.

**WHY USE CARTA:** Keeping communication **all in one place** makes it easier for your team and your investors to stay organized.
- Add recipients **individually or by cap table relationship** (as well as recipients who are not on the cap table).
- **Track** which recipients have opened a message.
- **Allow recipients to leave private comments** for the sender via a secure conversation on Carta.

Under the _Documents_ tab, you can [draft a message](https://support.carta.com/s/article/communication-center#how) **from scratch** or **use one of our templates**.
- Recipients receive an **email notification** directing them to their Carta inbox to view your message.

> Access your Carta inbox under your name in the top right corner.