3 years ago9/30/2022 [**Introducing revamped Financial Reporting**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/introducing-revamped-financial-reporting-378nV6) **What's new?** We launched our revamped Financial Reporting tool. The tool will now allow Carta users to apply cancellation treatments without having to upload an excel sheet. **What’s important or valuable about this change?** We made significant UI and UX improvements. Users can select, drag, and drop to apply cancellation treatments to multiple awards at once. Additionally,  users can apply cancellation treatments to all canceled awards, regardless of the reporting period run. You will still be able to access the same information, including: - Award ID - Award type - Stakeholder name - Cancellation date - Cancellation treatment - Amendment type - Cancellation behavior - Cancellation treatment (editable directly on Carta) - Amendment type (editable directly on Carta) **What do I need to do?** You can access Financial Reporting directly from your Carta account. Simply go to the Compliance tab and select Financial Reporting. You can apply cancellation treatments after you’ve run a report. **How do I learn more or get help?** You can read more about cancellation treatments [here](https://support.carta.com/s/article/financial-reporting-in-app-cancellations) or contact our [support team](mailto:718@carta.com). Samantha Widman 3 years ago9/29/2022 [**Audit Support Document Dashboard**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/audit-support-document-dashboard-1MfvWg) #### Audit Support Document Dashboard Update _What's new?_ Today we’re launching our internal audit support tracker. The Carta Fund Administration team can track which documents are missing for audit purposes. This helps our team provide a smoother end-of-year experience. _What’s important or valuable about this change?_ This will streamline how you engage with your fund admin team, especially as the end of year approaches. Currently we are able to track documents including: - Formations documents (i.e., Certificate of Entity, EIN Confirmation, LPA) - Subscription agreements - W-8 / W-9 - Commitment change documents, including transfers - Investment documents - New investment events for preferred equity, convertible debt, and SAFEs - Bank statements - Legal invoices Your fund administration team can also track partner documents, alerting you to anything that is missing when appropriate. _What do I need to do?_ Continue to submit documents throughout the year. Our fund administration team will alert you if anything is missing, using this new feature. Patrick Driscoll 3 years ago9/26/2022 [**Total Cash Compensation Benchmarks for Sales**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/total-cash-compensation-benchmarks-for-sales-12Pq4U) # What’s new? Carta will now provide total cash compensation benchmarks for the Sales job area. Total cash compensation is defined as base salary plus target variable compensation. 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile data are accessible on the Bands page. In developing total cash compensation benchmarks we made minor adjustments to base salary benchmarks for the Sales job area. No other benchmarks have changed in this update. ## How do I see total cash compensation benchmarks for the Sales job area? You can view Total Cash Compensation benchmarks for the Sales job area by: 1. Visiting the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and selecting “Sales” under Area. 2. Select “Total Cash” for compensation type. 3. This will allow you to view total cash compensation bands for levels 1 - 11 for the Sales job area. ## How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 1. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. You will have the opportunity to preview the new plan with the updated benchmarks version and assess their impact on your scorecard before accepting the new plan. # What’s next? We will be updating the company and employee scorecards to reflect the addition of total cash compensation benchmarks Jeffrey Glusman 3 years ago9/21/2022 [**Sell Long Shares on Mobile (Public Market)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/sell-long-shares-on-mobile-public-market-4aYuWY) ### What's new? Employees of public companies supported by Carta can now sell their fully vested common shares issued pursuant to their stock equity plans from anywhere via the Carta mobile app. This release is supported for both iOS and Android mobile phones. ### How does this work? Carta now brings the ability to sell public common shares on mobile. Public employees can now easily: - View their holdings and determine which and how many of them can be sold - See the current market price\* per share - Sell eligible shares while setting order and allocation instructions ### Employees can now manage and sell their public company shares from anywhere via the Carta mobile app This mobile release helps employees: - Easily view which of their shares are eligible for sale and how many - Create sell orders and set instructions via an intuitive interface when they believe the timing is right. ### How do I learn more or get help? For detailed instructions on how to place sell orders via the mobile app, please refer to these support articles for [iOS](https://support.carta.com/s/article/sell-long-shares-ios) and [Android](https://support.carta.com/s/article/sell-long-shares-android) devices. Notes: \\* Market data quotes are delayed (not real time) and should be used for indicative purposes and not necessarily for trading. Brokerage services provided by Carta Securities, LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC, and subsidiary of Carta. Eric Morelli 3 years ago9/12/2022 [**Variable Programs in Carta Total Comp is now available**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/variable-programs-in-carta-total-comp-is-now-available-1iHA7m) # What's new? ## Variable Compensation Programs We’re excited to share that Variable Compensation Programs is now available to all users. Bring your bonus programs into your Total Compensation workflow Eliminate your manual bonus processes, create better alignment amongst your sales organization, and ensure compliance by entering your commission and bonus programs into your compensation plan within Carta Total Comp. ### Maintain your bottom line with a well-organized variable comp program Variable Compensation Programs adds to our compensation management capabilities. With VCP you can: - Create variable compensation programs for your organization. - Enter variable compensation programs based on a  flat rate or percentage of base. - Assign the relevant variable program(s) to an employee. - Automatically calculate an employee’s variable compensation based on the parameters of their assigned VCP(s). ### How do I create a Variable Compensation Program? You can get started with VCP in seconds by: 1. Navigate to the Plan page. 2. Variable Compensation Programs can be found on the bottom half of the page. 3. Click Create variable compensation program  to be guided through the process of creating your first variable compensation program. ### How do I learn more or get help? Visit the resource center for more details [Variable Compensation Programs (VCPs)](https://support.carta.com/s/article/variable-compensation-programs) Have additional questions about VCP? Reach out to your Account Manager or contact our [Support Team](https://support.carta.com/s/article/contact-us). Jeffrey Glusman 3 years ago9/6/2022 [**Introducing Luxembourg SPVs**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/introducing-luxembourg-spvs-TIkzC) **What's new?** You can now fund the next global deal from anywhere in the world. We are introducing Luxembourg SPVs by Vauban from Carta—the easiest and most cost-effective way to launch an SPV in Europe. Following the release the [first fully digital Luxembourg venture fund product](https://vauban.io/post/luxembourg-fund), we’ve expanded our offering to service SPVs. Our end-to-end platform handles everything from SPV formation and banking to LP onboarding and administration. **How it works?** Login to the Vauban Platform to your universe to create a new deal. Click on + New Deal in the top right-hand corner. **Step 2:** Choose Luxembourg as your SPV Jurisdiction! **Step 3:** Set up your SPVs by providing the necessary information. We take care of the legal generation, banking, investor onboarding, and closing. **Raise internationally** Luxembourg SPVs are built for international investors. Fund global deals and onboard LPs across 72 countries and 135 currencies. **Reduce costs** Luxembourg is home to venture capital and private equity in Europe, but the costs of setting up an SPV can be as high as $300,000. With Vauban from Carta, you can spin up an SPV for a fraction of the cost. **Save time** Our end-to-end platform allows you to skip the time-consuming regulatory and legal demands of raising in Europe. This will enable you to focus on finding unicorns and building your investor base. **What do I need to do?** To learn more about Luxembourg SPVs, click [here](http://vauban.io/post/luxembourg-spv). If you’re interested in setting up a Luxembourg SPV, please reach out to [hello@vauban.io](mailto:hello@vauban.io). Seif Salama 3 years ago9/6/2022 [**Introducing Session Types for Tax Advisory**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/introducing-session-types-for-tax-advisory-UPCTK) ## What's new Employees who have access to [Carta Tax Advisory](/content/private-companies/tax-advisory/index.html) through their employer may now choose from up to four different tax advisory session types. This aims to provide transparency and flexibility so you can have the conversation that's right for you. ## Who this affects US-based employees subscribed to [Carta Tax Advisory](/content/private-companies/tax-advisory/index.html) through their employer ## How it works ### Scheduling a session Log in to your  Carta employee account, navigate to the Tax advice tab. From there, click on "Book a free session" to browse different session types. Once you're on the session type selection page, you'll see a brief outline on how to schedule and a selection of three to four different session types. Select the session type that's right for you and click "Schedule free session" to book a time with a tax advisor. If you're not quite sure where to start, we recommend starting with the "Understand equity basics" session type to learn about your equity and taxes at a high level. **Note**: The "Discuss tender offer participation" session type only appears if your company is currently undergoing a tender offer. ### Preparing for a session **Session types:** Discuss tender offer participation \| Create tax scenarios Once you've scheduled a time to speak with a tax advisor, you'll be prompted to upload a few documents. Tax advisors will create personalized tax scenarios using this information so you can have the most accurate tax picture. If you don't have these documents on hand now, you can skip this step for later. However, you must upload documents at least **24 hours before your session** so advisors have enough time to prepare. After uploading your documents, you're ready for your session. You'll receive a calendar invite with a zoom link to attend your session at your scheduled time. You can also see this information in your tax advice tab in Carta, with the option to reschedule or cancel using the "View details" button. **Session types:** Ask a quick question \| Understand equity basics Once you've scheduled a time to speak with a tax advisor, there's nothing else you need to prepare ahead of your session. 3 years ago9/6/2022 [**Commitment Increases in Carta Closings**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/commitment-increases-in-carta-closings-ssQ5q) ## What’s new? Fund managers using [Carta Closings](https://releasenotes.carta.com/carta-closings-45diq4) can now easily increase their LP’s commitments directly in the Carta platform. ## We made closings even easier for you and your investors Save time by using our new, standard template that allows you to quickly execute a commitment increase for an LP who has subscribed to your Fund or SPV. Simply enter the details of the commitment change, sign, and share with you LP. How does it work? 1\. On the Partners tab, select the LP whose commitment or contribution you would like to increase. Commitment Increase: Step 1 A Commitment Increase: Step 1 Invalid domain for site key. ERROR for site owner: Invalid domain for site key reCAPTCHA 2\. Enter the information required on our template: - Manager name: The name of the managing entity for the Fund or SPV - LP signatory: The LP, or the contact who will be signing on behalf of the LP - New commitment amount: The additional commitment amount the LP will be agreeing to - Effective date: You have the option of designating an effective date or making the effective date the date the LP signs the document Then, review and sign the document that reflects the adjustment to the commitment amount. Commitment Increase: Step 2 A Commitment Increase: Step 2 Sound ON Invalid domain for site key. ERROR for site owner: Invalid domain for site key reCAPTCHA 3\. Last, your LP will receive an email notification that the document is ready for their review and signature. They can easily e-sign the document using their LP Portal. Commitment Increase: Step 3 A Commitment Increase: Step 3 Invalid domain for site key. ERROR for site owner: Invalid domain for site key reCAPTCHA After the LP signs, the commitment increase is automatically booked in the Carta platform. Plus, Carta will share the countersigned documents with all parties. Carta makes this standard template available to all fund administration and SPV customers. **You must first check with your counsel** to ensure this template is suitable for your needs, and that you understand the legal and regulatory implications of increasing an LPs commitment amount prior to using this feature. ## How do I learn more? To learn more about this feature, please reach out to your account manager. Have additional questions about [Carta Closings](/content/investors/closings/index.html)? Check out our [fund manager resource](https://support.carta.com/s/article/funds-subscription-documents) and [LP support article](https://support.carta.com/s/article/closings-for-lps), or [request a demo](/content/requestdemo/?ir=inv-fundadmin-hero1/index.html). Spencer Holton 3 years ago9/1/2022 [**Redesigned 409A Acceptance Flow**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/redesigned-409a-acceptance-flow-39mqti) **What’s new?** We have redesigned the way you review and accept your 409A valuation on Carta. This new design presents you first with a quick summary of the analysis along with a note from your analyst letting you know the next steps in finalizing your fair market value (FMV). Once you have reviewed the report, if you have any questions you can contact our team of valuation experts through the support module in the valuation review portal. Lastly, receive board approval from within or outside of Carta to finalize the current FMV on your account. **How it Works** Once you receive an email notifying you that your valuation is ready for review, you can follow the link within that email to access the 409A ledger where you are able to review and download your valuation. Alternatively, you can navigate to the page within Carta at Compliance > 409A Valuation. **Review your valuation** From the 409A Ledger, once you select ‘Review 409A report’ you will be directed to the valuation review portal. Here you will find an overview of the analysis performed and the concluded FMV along with a note from your valuation analyst informing you of next steps and noting any details within the report that warrant extra attention. Once you have reviewed the analyst’s note and valuation summary, you can download the full report or access the support module from the valuation review portal to access support articles or get in touch with our team of valuation experts. **Get board approval** Now that you have reviewed the valuation, the next step is to send it to your board for review. You can do so using the board consent feature within your Carta account to easily track acceptance from each board member within the Carta platform. Once all board members have submitted their board approval through the platform, your valuation will automatically be accepted on Carta. If you got approval outside of Carta, that’s great too, simply select ‘My board has approved’ to accept the valuation to finalize the current FMV in your account. Once finalized, the new FMV will be visible to your option holders on Carta. Stephanie Wittrock 3 years ago8/30/2022 [**Offer Letter BETA is now available**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/offer-letter-beta-is-now-available-THvqw) What's new? **Offer Letter is now available in BETA** Carta Offer Letter is a fully interactive offer statement that communicates the full picture of a job offer—from salary to equity, benefits, and work culture. Everything a candidate needs to evaluate their next career move. **Communicate the potential value of your equity to candidates** Carta Offer Letter will showcase your company's brand and culture, accurately reflecting each relevant job detail while concisely educating the full value of your candidate's total compensation package. _With Offer Letter, you can:_ **Make it easy for candidates to picture the future** Allow candidates to explore their potential total compensation over time with powerful, interactive scenario modeling tools. **Fast track your job offer process** Quickly write, extend, approve, and send your offer process with a complete administrative workflow. **Share your company's unique vision** Make winning offers using a customized letter elevating your brand, ensuring compliance, and driving higher acceptance rates. What do I need to do? **Activate Offer Letters with a few clicks** In Carta Total Comp, navigate to the _Offer Letters_ page, then click _Start_ to begin sending offers. How do I learn more or get help? **Visit the below support center articles for more details:** [Setup Offer Letters](https://support.carta.com/s/article/offer-letter-setup) [Create an Offer Letter](https://support.carta.com/s/article/offer-letter-create) [Candidate experience](https://support.carta.com/s/article/offer-letter-candidate-experience) _Have more questions about Offer Letter? Reach out to your Account Manager or contact our_ [_Support Staff_](https://support.carta.com/s/article/contact-us) _for further details._ Quynton Johnson 3 years ago8/25/2022 [**New Hire Onboarding for Tax Advisory**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-hire-onboarding-for-tax-advisory-10vBv2) ## What's new New hire onboarding allows new hires to access their Carta account _before_ they receive and accept their equity grant. By creating a stakeholder record for the employee, employees receive an email to register for a Carta account. This grants them access to Carta Tax Advisory. If you do not add new hires they will need to wait to accept their equity grant in order to access Carta resources, which can take several months to approve and issue. New employees often have questions about their equity as soon as they join a company, Carta Tax Advisory gives them access to dedicated 1:1 support from equity tax experts from day 1 to help them understand their equity packages. ## Who does this affect? Companies subscribed to [Carta Tax Advisory](/content/private-companies/tax-advisory/index.html) US-based employees (new hires) at companies subscribed to [Carta Tax Advisory](/content/private-companies/tax-advisory/index.html) ## How can I give new hires access to their Carta account? **Important notes before starting:** 1. The new hire onboarding process only applies to companies subscribed to [Carta Tax Advisory](/content/private-companies/tax-advisory/index.html). 2. Tax advisory sessions are only available to US citizens or residents 3. Adding an employee into Carta as a stakeholder provides them access to Carta services like Carta Tax Advisory. Ensure you only add employees you intend to issue equity to. The Stakeholder ledger allows users with Company editor or Legal administrator permissions to view and modify information for a person that holds multiple securities across the company Navigate to Stakeholders > All Stakeholders Under the Manage Stakeholders drop-down, admins can add stakeholders individually or in bulk ### Individually add stakeholders Select “Add stakeholder” in the Manage stakeholders dropdown list A modal will appear requesting information about the stakeholder Required fields: - First name - Last name - Relationship (i.e. employee) - Relationship effective date - Add and save an address - Country ( [3 digit)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3) - State ( [2 digit](https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/cnt_html/appendix_a.html)) Tax ID, Employee ID, Payroll ID, and other address fields can be input as available, but are not required before equity grant issuance ### Bulk add stakeholders Select Bulk add stakeholders from the Manage stakeholders dropdown Download the template spreadsheet to import stakeholders’ information, save, and upload the modified file. Carta will run a check on the data entered before saving the changes Note: Admins should not add new columns or move columns in this sheet. They must use the template as is Required columns: - First name - Last name - Relationship (i.e. employee) - Relationship effective date (MM/DD/YYYY) - Country ( [3 digit)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3) - State ( [2 digit](https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/cnt_html/appendix_a.html)) After the updated xslx sheet is uploaded, click “Submit changes” and a confirmation modal will appear Confirm to complete stakeholder creation 3 years ago8/22/2022 [**Revenue Procedure 2002-50 (Company Tax and Compliance)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/revenue-procedure-2002-50-company-tax-and-compliance-bpx2o) ### What's new? Carta has made it easier for private companies running a tender offer to invoke [IRS Revenue Procedure 2002-50](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-02-50.pdf), which is applicable to certain transactions involving the exercise of options and sale of the resulting securities during a transaction on the same day. This procedure allows for the exclusion of those same day option sales from Form 1099-B reporting if certain conditions are met. For example, this may apply to cashless exercised options in connection with a secondary transaction on Carta where there is no capital gain (Sale Price = Fair Market Value). **How does it work?** To make a Revenue Procedure 2002-50 election on an applicable transaction, company administrators may request an Officer Certificate template from Carta to complete and get signed by a Company Officer who has the authority to make decisions on the tax treatment of cashless exercises in a tender offer. _Fig 1: Sample of an Officer Certificate_ __ The completed form can then be returned to Carta, who will then trigger the Revenue Procedure. Any employee whose transactions on Carta were excluded from 1099-B reporting as a result of Revenue Procedure 2002-50 will, if applicable, receive a supplemental Disclosure Statement detailing the fees and gross proceeds on cashless exercises of options so they can complete their Form 8949 reporting. Compensatory income from cashless exercises is reported as ordinary income on the W-2. This statement will be delivered electronically by February 15th of the following year in the same manner as all other tax documents on Carta. No such statement will be generated if the employee was not charged any fees by Carta. _Fig 2: Sample of IRS Revenue Procedure 2002-50 Disclosure Statement_ The company administrator can also generate a new report of all the Disclosure Statements issued after the transaction. The Revenue Procedure Disclosure Statements Report will assist in auditing transactions ahead of the tax season to ensure completeness and accuracy for tax filing purposes. The report can be found under your Reports section in Carta. _Fig 3: Sample of Disclosure Statements Report_ ### Make tax reporting easier for same-day option exercises and sales during a tender offer by invoking Revenue Procedure 2002-50 The Revenue Procedure feature will: - Remove an employee’s burden to reconcile their Form 1099-B and Form W-2 when determining their Taxable Income after a same day option exercise and sale - Reduce the risk of paying capital gains tax on proceeds that were already taxed as ordinary income ### Reach out to Carta to get the process started Is your company running a tender offer? If so, the Revenue Procedure 2002-50 will be enabled on the platform after returning a completed and signed Officer Certificate to Carta. Companies who ran a tender offer previously in 2022 can retroactively upload the appropriate Officer Certificate to benefit from this feature until the end of 2022. Please contact your CSM or Liquidity representative for more information. Vibhu Mahajan 3 years ago8/15/2022 [**IT Job Area & Refreshed Salary Benchmarks**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/it-job-area-refreshed-salary-benchmarks-4wtT6o) # What’s new? ## IT Job Area Carta will now provide salary and equity benchmarks for the IT job area. Target salary and  equity benchmarks for the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles are accessible on the Bands page. Additionally, compa-ratios will be provided to all employees who are assigned to the IT job area. ### How do I see benchmarks for the IT job area? You can view benchmarks for the IT job area by: 1. Visiting the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and selecting “IT” under Area. 2. This will allow you to view salary/equity bands for levels 1 - 8 for the IT job area. ### How do benchmarks for the IT job area affect the Employee Scorecard? The compa-ratio is a quick way to compare an employee's compensation to your plan's target rate for a given job area, level, and location. The compa-ratios for an employee assigned to the IT job area will now be calculated using the target compensation for IT. ## Benchmarks version 2022-08-15 ### What changes can I expect from these benchmarks? Benchmark changes in this release reflect a labor market that continues to see increased salaries, though potentially slowing from what we observed earlier this year across a number of job areas. While most data points moved within +/-3% versus April benchmarks, those that are decreasing by statistically significant amounts are those with either Low or Medium sample sizes. ### What were the largest areas of movement from these benchmarks? With this benchmark update we observed larger than expected movement across a few job areas, driven largely by market dynamics but also changes in our underlying sample. Many of the decreases we observed continue to be in lower valuation ranges, generally concentrated in valuations of less than $25M. We observed significant decreases in the benchmark for Support Level 1 roles across most peer groups, driven in large part by companies re-mapping employees in this role to other job areas/levels. While the underlying sample for this role has changed significantly, the updated benchmark is more recent and fits our model better than the previous version. The increases in benchmarks that we observed are more evenly distributed across peer groups and levels. Looking by job area, we saw the largest average increases (ranging from 4% - 5%) and decreases (1%-2%) in the following job areas: **Increases**: - Research - Project Management - Strategy **Decreases**: - Administrative - Finance ### How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 1. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. # What’s next? Carta Total Compensation is working updates and improvements to our equity benchmarks in order to reflect the current labor market. Jeffrey Glusman 3 years ago8/9/2022 [**Introducing the ability to transfer interests**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/introducing-the-ability-to-transfer-interests-3o55Nm) Admins can now easily transfer interests from one holder to another in the event of a secondary transaction or sale of shares. ### Transfer interests and maintain a record of the transaction When transferring an interest, you’ll need to input the recipient, date of transfer, price, quantity, reason, and add any acceptance documents and additional fields for issuing the new interest. Only outstanding and vested units can be transferred to other interest holders. Once an interest transfer is completed, your cap table is automatically updated and transfer events are appended to the interest history so there is a clear record of the transaction. ### Get started Start an interest transfer by selecting items on the Interests and Interest Types page, then clicking the Actions button. Only full-administrative users can transfer interests. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 3 years ago8/9/2022 [**New 409A dashboard with a valuation ledger**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-409a-dashboard-with-a-valuation-ledger-3mWHh6) The new dashboard provides you visibility into valuations completed by Carta, the board, or investors. ### Streamline valuations and audits The new dashboard streamlines valuations and audits by allowing you to: - Request a 409A valuation from Carta and see the status of the request - Gain visibility into the latest valuation, including the per unit value and expiration date - Record an investor or board determined valuation and upload the valuation document - Gain visibility into all previously completed or recorded valuations in the valuation ledger ### Get started Admins can find the new dashboard under the Valuations tab. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 3 years ago8/9/2022 [**Waterfall modeling enhancements**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/waterfall-modeling-enhancements-3lOiKQ) You can now include any option grants in the waterfall and customize vesting conditions. ### Easily model future scenarios with more options for waterfall modeling When running a waterfall, Rights and Preferences now include option grants so that they can participate in the waterfall and you can determine their payout. Option grants participate in the waterfall based on their strike price or per unit threshold value. Additionally, you can now set the exit date when running a waterfall and choose a vesting treatment to either include all interests fully vested or only vested quantities as of exit date. Setting an exit date in the future and choosing the vesting treatment allows you to more accurately model future scenarios. ### Get Started You can find these enhancements under the Valuations tab > Exit modeling. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 3 years ago8/5/2022 [**Updated Form 3921 Dashboard with Consolidated 3921 Statements (Company Tax & Compliance)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/updated-form-3921-dashboard-with-consolidated-3921-statements-company-tax-compliance-2UyxdC) ### What's new? After reviewing customer feedback, Carta made several user experience enhancements in the Form 3921 dashboard. Carta now aggregates individual Form 3921’s for ISO exercises into consolidated statements for ease of use. Individual Copy B’s are still available to download if required. These statements will be available in participant portfolios when companies generate their 3921’s. The enhanced user experience also allows company stock administrators to download the Manage Stakeholder Details report to review all stakeholder records at once instead of in a paginated view within the Administrator Experience. Companies with 50+ stakeholders now have enhanced filter and sorting capabilities (e.g, select one or multiple years to download the Stakeholder details ledger) to better analyze historical data. There is a new tab for “Exclude Transactions” for further flexibility if company administrators need to suppress reporting on individual option exercises. ### How does it work? The new Form 3921 Dashboard is available now to all companies subscribed to this feature. ### Reach out to Carta to get the process started Reach out to your CSM to enable Form 3921 reporting if you are interested in upgrading your subscription. Public Market companies will have this enabled by default. Vibhu Mahajan 3 years ago8/5/2022 [**Participant Trade Readiness (Public Markets)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/participant-trade-readiness-public-markets-2JcA12) ### What's new? Before Carta cap table customers take their companies public, they can allow their employees (or Participants) to begin preparing themselves to sell their hard-earned company equity using the Participant Trade Readiness (PTR) feature. This feature allows the Participants to ensure they have the proper permissions in place to sell company shares as soon as a company’s lockup period ends. The PTR feature is a 3-step process which allows Participants to upload important personal, contact, and tax information as well as documentation required to verify their identities under current Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. ### How does this work? Companies can request Carta to enable this feature for their Participants. Once enabled, employees will see a banner at the top of their Carta account profiles with clear instructions for required tasks, a checklist, and success messages as they proceed through the process. Participants will be asked to: - Complete their employee profiles by uploading their latest W-8 or W-9 form. This triggers  a KYC/AML check, which typically takes several business days, to verify their identities and avoid potential trading delays; - Read and accept Carta’s end user terms; and - Connect their personal bank accounts. Once all three steps are complete, the Participant will see a success message confirming they have finished all required tasks. Participants are now ready to trade once your company’s lockup period ends, which could be as soon as Day 1 of your IPO if your company elects to have an [early lockup release](https://releasenotes.carta.com/early-lockup-release-feature-public-markets-25pIcw). ### Allow your employees to get trade ready ahead of going public The PTR feature: - Prepares employees in advance to trade their company equity, avoiding delays in trading capabilities; - Improves the employees’ trade readiness experience through a simple 3-step process; and - Streamlines the data collection process Overall, the process of taking your company public is an exciting and busy time for both you and your employees. Previously, employees did not find out they were unable to trade shares due to missing documents and signatures until after the IPO date - resulting in potentially delayed trading ability for several weeks. The PTR feature avoids these issues by streamlining collection of information well before the IPO date - guiding employees on all actions they need to take every step of the way. ### Reach out to Carta to get the process started Are you preparing to go public? Reach out to Carta’s public markets team ( [carta.public@carta.com](mailto:carta.public@carta.com)) to begin planning your IPO journey. The Participant Trade Readiness feature can be enabled by getting in contact with Carta at the email above. Carly Perera 3 years ago8/4/2022 [**Valuation Updates for SAFEs and Convertible Notes In-App**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/valuation-updates-for-safes-and-convertible-notes-in-app-4B0E2k) **What's new?** Valuation Updates: Easily mark up or down SAFEs or convertible notes! **What’s important or valuable about this change?** We've expanded the capabilities of our valuation update flows to enable clients, where appropriate, to mark up or down SAFEs or convertible notes. We created an addition to the flow which highlights audit and other considerations clients should have when marking up or down convertible assets, and given them the ability to complete this when applicable for their use case. **What do I need to do?** Check out a step by step guide on updating your valuations in-app [here](https://app.arcade.software/share/PFaefj1KuqO6CWrQnzSB). Here is a summary of how it works: 1. Login to Carta, navigate to investments, and click “Update Valuation” 2. Add a new share price or holding value (the full value of your investment in the asset) for each investment you want to mark up/down 1. Optional: submit any supporting documents like cap tables/purchase agreements 3. Carta will check your input for accuracy and automatically post successful changes to your SOI, IRR, and financials. Otherwise, we will review the update first and reach out as needed. As a reminder, here is a walkthrough of in-app valuation updates: 1. Log into Carta and navigate to the fund with the investment that you want to update. 2. Go to the Investments tab on the top navigation bar and select the Update Valuation option in the top right side of the page. 3. Select the portfolio company (or companies) for which you want to update the asset values. Note: Convertible assets are not able to be selected for marking up or down. For common questions about types of valuation updates, see this [FAQ](https://support.carta.com/s/article/FAQs-for-updating-SOI-on-Carta) in the Valuations 101 support article, highlighted below, 1. For each investment, specify the new price per share. For assets without shares, specify the new total holding value. You can observe the change in gain or loss based on the new value. 1. _Value per share vs total holdings value:_ Assets that have shares can be marked up or down by share price, or by total value of the asset. These include preferred and common equity. Assets that do not have shares and change in value can be marked up by total holdings value. These include Partnership interest and membership interest. Reach out to your fund administrator if you have a specialty asset type and need assistance. 2. _Document support:_ Supporting documentation is strongly encouraged, but may be added later by emailing your fund administrator. Stock Purchase Agreement is preferred, however any documentation from the company that indicates the new value/value per share and is credible should be included otherwise for your FA to review. For unaudited funds, a screenshot of an email from the founder, for example, can also be provided for review, in absence of other documentation. 2. Next, confirm which funds you want to apply this valuation update to. All funds in your firm that hold the portfolio company will be listed. In most cases, all funds should be selected. 3. You will repeat steps 4 and 5 for each portfolio investment you selected to update. 4. On the final review screen, confirm all the updates you made for each investment. Click Back to revise, or Submit if everything looks correct. 5. After submitting, Carta will automatically check that the update is within reasonable range. If it passes, the changes will show immediately on the investment tab. If further review is required, a task will be generated for your fund administration team. If they need more information, they will reach out directly within 3-4 business days. **Additional Resources:** [FAQs for Updating Valuations](https://support.carta.com/s/article/FAQs-for-updating-SOI-on-Carta) Patrick Driscoll 3 years ago8/4/2022 [**IFRS GA Release - Financial Reporting**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/ifrs-ga-release---financial-reporting-4zSfw4) # What’s new Companies using our newest version of the financial reporting tool can now report stock based compensation expense following International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This release of our IFRS reporting includes: 1\. Tranche based valuations 2\. FIN28 amortization 3\. Correct relationship valuation methodology (differs from US GAAP) 4\. Stakeholder country field added to reports 5\. Disclosures 6\. Stock-based compensation expense journal entry 7\. Report error validations specific to IFRS reporting Later releases will include: 1\. In-app custom assumption overrides 2\. Forfeiture rate by grouping # How it works When going to create a new expense scenario, there is now an additional step where users can select which reporting standard they want that scenario to follow. Users have the ability to create multiple scenarios to support both IFRS and US GAAP. Once the scenario is created users can create both SBC expense reports and disclosure reports that follow the standard and give supporting calculations. # Who this affects Private and public companies using our newest financial reporting tool. Jess Carthey 3 years ago8/2/2022 [**Carta Closings**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/carta-closings-45diq4) ## **What’s New** We revamped the entire limited partner (LP) experience of our closings product. Built with the feedback of the 20,000 LPs who have already closed on Carta, we’re excited to release [Carta Closings](/content/investors/closings/index.html), providing LPs the quickest and easiest way to subscribe to a Fund or SPV. ## **How it Works** Carta Closings guides LPs through the subscription process and ensures that all LPs, from first-time investors to experienced institutions, have a smooth experience. **Improvements include:** **A Shorter & Smarter Questionnaire** A typical investor questionnaire contains dozens of questions, most of which are irrelevant to a majority of LPs. We reduced the time your LPs will spend on subscription documents by building a smarter workflow that adds or subtracts questions based on LPs responses to previous questions. **Guided Support** Investor questionnaires can contain legal and industry terms that are confusing to some LPs. Now, LPs will see a dynamic in-app sidebar that defines these terms and provides answers to frequently asked questions throughout the questionnaire. **Pre-Filled Investor Questionnaire** Once an LP fills out Carta’s Investor Questionnaire, their information is saved and will be auto-populated for all subsequent entities they subscribe to. This allows returning LPs to subscribe to new entities in seconds. **Additional improvements:** - Forwarding subscription agreements: LPs can easily forward the documents to another individual to complete on their behalf, like a wealth manager or assistant. LPs will be notified when the documents are ready for their final review and signature. - Integrated data room: Carta Closings allows you to share fundraising documents with LPs at any time during the subscription process through our secure data room. Plus, LPs will be able to access their data room at any point during the subscription process. - Wiring instructions & capital calls: Display wiring and initial payment instructions to LPs (optional) as soon as they submit their documents, and have your initial capital call automatically shared once the LP has been admitted to the entity. - Instant KYC: Built directly into Carta Closings, receive instant [KYC/AML compliance](/content/blog/aml-kyc/index.html) checks for your LPs (optional). - Pre-filled W-9s: For U.S.-based LPs subscribing as individuals, Carta can now pre-fill a W-9 for them to review and e-sign. The W-9 is pre-filled based on the information the LP already provided as part of their subscription. **See how it works:** Carta: Closings for LPs Click for sound **Who this affects** Carta Closings is an optional, free product available to all fund administration clients raising new funds or SPVs. **More Resources** [Support Article for LPs](https://support.carta.com/s/article/closings-for-lps) [Support Article for Fund Managers](https://support.carta.com/s/article/funds-subscription-documents) [Request a Demo](/content/requestdemo/?ir=inv-fundadmin-hero1/index.html) Spencer Holton 3 years ago8/2/2022 [**Cash Balances in App**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/cash-balances-in-app-3W88g0) ## Whats new? Plaid, SVB, FRB, & Brex Cash Balances are now available in app! We are now pulling in daily cash balances for Direct Connect (SVB, FRB), Brex, and Plaid users! ## Who this affects All customers that have relationships with Plaid, SVB, FRB, and Brex. ## What's important about this change? Cash balances help our clients answer critical questions like “Do I have enough cash on hand to invest $1M into Solana today?” They will also be used across our application to power health checks and workflows. In the near term, we’re working on automating invoice collection and creating treasury tickets. Using cash balance, we can get ahead of problems where the fund might be unaware they don’t have enough cash on hand to pay the expense. ## What do I need to do? Ready to check your cash balances in app? It is automatically updated in your General Ledger Patrick Driscoll 3 years ago7/25/2022 [**Payment Status Updates**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/payment-status-updates-3lMEsE) ## What’s New The Payment Status Updates on the Exercising workflow provides users a more accurate reflection of the status of their exercise during the money movement step of the exercise. Error messaging will now provide a single failure message clarifying what caused their exercise to become stuck during the money movement step of the exercise including errors around cancelation requests, bank account removal, and insufficient funds in the bank account. ## Who this affects All users exercising for private companies on Carta. ## How it works Today, users can view the status of their exercises in progress on the Holdings page and with the new Payment Status Update feature, these exercises will now display an ‘Error’ bubble beside the active step when the exercise gets stuck. Clicking the ‘View details’ button will navigate the user to the Exercise tab on the Option grant modal with user instructions to help resolve their stuck exercise. On the Exercise tab, error messaging will provide user action to contact their company admin through the Option grant modal’s Report Issue tab, to contact Carta Support through the chat, or update their bank account information on the Payment Information page. 3 years ago7/22/2022 [**Revamped Employee Onboarding Experience on Mobile**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/revamped-employee-onboarding-experience-on-mobile-TDEK4) Employees can now experience the new onboarding process on the Carta mobile app. # Who this affects Employees who have been issued option grants (ISO/NSO) or Restricted Stock Units and are registering with Carta for the first time. # Supported Platforms iOS and Android # What's New? To allow employees to prepare themselves for transaction such as exercising, employees will be able to provide the following information upon onboarding: - Personal details: Name, Date of Birth, and Country of Citizenship - Tax ID - Address # What's Next? We will be capturing phone number upon the next update Namira Wicaksana 4 years ago7/13/2022 [**Introducing the ability to retract interests**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/introducing-the-ability-to-retract-interests-lyXV6) Admins can now retract any interests that were issued incorrectly. ### Ensure accuracy when issuing interests Mistakes can happen when issuing interests, like inputting the incorrect contact information or interest details for the holder. Now, if you have already issued the interest but the holder has not accepted it yet, you can retract the interest. Retracting the interest revokes the holder’s task to accept it and changes the holder sharing status to ‘unshared’ so that you can make any corrections. ### Get started If you need to retract an interest, go to the interests ledger on the Interests & Interest Types page. Then, select the dropdown on the right side of the ledger for a single interest. Once you’ve made any corrections, be sure to re-share the interest with the holder as this does not happen automatically. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 4 years ago7/13/2022 [**New Acceptance Agreements tab**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-acceptance-agreements-tab-kqzoQ) Admins can now easily add acceptance agreements before sharing the interest with the holder. ### Easily manage acceptance agreements It is now easier and more clear to add and gain visibility into acceptance agreements on interests. In the new Acceptance Agreements tab in an interest’s details, you can now select from the documents you’ve uploaded the ones you want the interest holder to sign when accepting the interest. Moving acceptance agreements into their own tab also makes it clear which documents a holder agreed to, or will agree to, during the acceptance of an interest. ### Get started You can continue to upload files to the Documents tab. In the Acceptance Agreements tab, select from the uploaded documents the ones you want to add to the interest so that it is presented to the holder during the acceptance process. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 4 years ago7/13/2022 [**New account dashboard page**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-account-dashboard-page-jiaSA) The new account dashboard page provides an overview of all entities in one place. ### Gain visibility across multiple entities The new dashboard page provides a view into each entity and the recent activities so that you can always keep a pulse on what’s happening with interests across entities. Quickly learn more about recent activities by clicking into them. ### Get started Login to Carta to see the new account dashboard page. Des Duggan 4 years ago7/13/2022 [**Enhanced interest history**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/enhanced-interest-history-h1nQ4) We’re excited to introduce enhancements to interest history which provide admins with a complete record of acceptance text, agreements, and signatures. ### Streamline audits with a complete interest history Admins can now access a detailed snapshot of the moment an Interest Holder accepts an interest , which includes: - The legal terms that the holder agreed to when accepting the interest - The legal documents that were attached to the interest when it was accepted, including the operating agreement or interest agreement - Date and time of when the holder signed and accepted the interest - Recipient signature and unique signature hash code generated at time of signature ### Get started Find these enhancements in the Interest History tab. For audits, export the interest to PDF by clicking “View as single page” from the interest detail. For more information, visit our [support site](https://support.carta.com/s/article/carta-llc-overview). Des Duggan 4 years ago7/12/2022 [**Insights for Carta Total Compensation**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/insights-for-carta-total-compensation-3F4h2M) # What’s new? In order to communicate more information about the benchmark data in Carta Total Compensation, we are now providing several metrics to provide greater clarity around both our peer groups and individual benchmarks. This new information includes aggregate sample size data, benchmark confidence indicators, and more information about each job area/level (including details like complexity, autonomy, and scope). ## Aggregate sample sizes in Total Comp The Bands page now highlights the aggregate sample size to give you insight into the data that contribute to Total Comp’s benchmarks for a particular peer group. ### How do I locate the aggregate sample size for a particular peer group? 1. Navigate to the Bands page. 2. Select your peer group. 3. The aggregate sample size for said peer group will be listed under the selected peer group. 4. This includes both the number of records as well as the number of companies which factored into the benchmarks for the specified peer group. ## Benchmark Confidence Carta provides confidence metrics for sample size, recency, and goodness of fit to understand Carta’s stated confidence in the benchmark for a particular band. Confidence metrics are calculated for the band (job area x level) across all peer groups. - Sample size: The number of datapoints included in this benchmark. - Recency: The relative proportion of newly effective datapoints underlying the benchmark. - Goodness of fit: The accuracy of the model to predict benchmarks based on trends in the underlying data. ### How do I find the benchmark confidence for a particular band? You can find the benchmark confidence for a particular band either by: 1. Navigating to the Bands page and hovering over the band to view the band level confidence tool tip. 2. Navigating to the Bands page and selecting a role within the bands table to launch the Job Breakdown Modal. ## Band Level Details Band level details provide complete benchmark information all in one place. This includes percentile data for salary and equity, benchmark confidence metrics, and additional details about each job area/level. 1. Band overview: High-level details for the selected band (area x level). 2. Compensation breakdown: Visual breakdown of the salary + equity compensation for the selected band across all target percentiles. 3. Benchmark Confidence: Visualization of Carta’s confidence in the underlying sample size, recency, and goodness of fit for a given benchmark. 4. Band level details: Explainers covering the roles and responsibilities for the currently selected band (job area x level). ### How do I enable Insights for Carta Total Compensation? In order to access the new Insights functionality in Carta Total Compensation, you must first ensure your account is updated to the 2022-07-12 benchmarks. You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 1. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. # What's next? Carta Total Compensation will add the ability to define variable compensation programs and assign them to employees Jeffrey Glusman 4 years ago7/6/2022 [**Crypto Custodian Integrations**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/crypto-custodian-integrations-3uQago) ### What's new? We can automatically pull in crypto trades from custodians including Anchorage, Coinbase Prime, and Fireblocks which allows us to ingest all transactions in near real-time. ### How does it work? - For Crypto funds, their tokens must typically be held by a qualified custodian. By integrating directly with these custodians, we can ingest all transactions, similar to a bank feed, saving both our clients and fund admin team the effort of notifying each other about new trades. - We're working towards a future where fund managers and fund admins no longer have to create complicated spreadsheets untangling crypto activity. Instead, we'll automatically import crypto transactions and classify them into accounting entries. Stay tuned as crypto accounting becomes more and more automated! ### What do I need to do? 1\. Let your fund admin know who your custodian is 2\. Provide them a read-only API key from your custodian 3\. Notify your admin of any non-custodial wallets your fund uses 4\. We'll take care of the rest and get transactions flowing! ### How do I learn more or get help? Visit the resource center for more details Alex Legault 4 years ago7/6/2022 [**Schedule of Investments Automation and Updates**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/schedule-of-investments-automation-and-updates-3tHLK8) ### What's new? We are thrilled to announce that we have automated your Schedule of Investments (SOI) review entirely in the Carta platform. This will streamline the process, saving time and ensuring that your financial statements, IRR, and other performance metrics are up-to-date and ready for distribution to LPs and other stakeholders. ### What’s important or valuable about this change? At each period end (quarter or year), Carta will request that you verify your Schedule of investments (SOI) is up to date. This includes ensuring that: - All portfolio investments are recorded - All valuations of portfolio investments have been marked up/down (if needed) - Any notes that converted are reflected correctly - Any assets no longer owned by the firm are realized or written off These updates will feed into your financial statements, IRR, and other performance metrics that your LPs will see. Many firms keep this information up to date as it happens and simply to confirm it at period end. This process has been made fast and simple. With this new update, you can now do all of this in a fraction of the time it took before. **What do I need to do?** 1. Expect to receive this email within a week after the close of the reporting period. Click Review the Schedule of Investments within the email. 1. Gather any investment documents, portfolio tracking, or valuation information you might need. 2. Review the list of investments and either approve or update via the options provided. 3. After reviewing and making a selection, click Submit to complete the reviewing process. NOTE: No emails or waiting needed. Any valuations will be immediately reflected and your Fund Administrator notified. For more sensitive cases like conversions, a task will be automatically created for your Fund Administrator to complete. ### How do I learn more or get help? Have additional questions about the SOI update? Read the full documentation in our resource center here: [How to Review the Schedule of Investments](https://support.carta.com/s/article/review-soi). [SOI Review Play-by-Play](https://app.arcade.software/share/FSVlFaAwgs6MRT8tfgGc) Whitney Knowlton 4 years ago7/6/2022 [**SAFE Financings - Add Issued SAFE**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/safe-financings---add-issued-safe-3szndS) ### What's new? We’re excited to share that you can now add pre-existing SAFEs to your Carta account. Build an accurate cap table with your complete fundraising history In addition to being able to issue SAFEs, you can now add pre-existing SAFEs in a few clicks directly from your account. Enter a few pieces of information, sign your SAFE, and your cap table is automatically updated. ### What do I need to do? Leverage this feature Now when you navigate to Fundraise > SAFE Financing and click on Add Existing SAFE, instead of being redirected to the Convertibles ledger, you will be able to enter the information right away and issue the SAFE from there. The SAFE will be immediately added to your cap table and will be available both on the Convertibles Ledger and the SAFE Financings page. ### How do I learn more or get help? See it in action View an interactive demo of how to do this [here](https://app.arcade.software/share/27t1yORbfW3HCjyVkEcI). David Zhang 4 years ago7/5/2022 [**Mass Issuance Report**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/mass-issuance-report-26y6IM) ### What's new? Upon going public, issuers must communicate the share positions held on their former cap table to their new public Transfer Agent. Carta’s Mass Issuance report captures key information that Transfer Agents in order to validate and reflect public share ownership following an IPO. The Mass Issuance report aggregates pertinent cap table and tax-related (e.g, cost basis) information, typically found in multiple reports, into one export file containing information required by the Transfer Agent. Now issuers can easily export ownership information for communication to their Transfer Agent in one step. The Mass Issuance report includes additional information on the Issuer's stock program shares to make it easier for the Issuer to move the eligible portion of its stock ledger back to an equity management provider - such as Carta - from the Transfer Agent. This helps preserve critical tax information while facilitating the delivery of public shares to the stakeholder's Carta portfolio for trading. ### How does it work? Experience a secure and smooth data transition as you move your private equity records to a public Transfer Agent. The Mass Issuance report: - allows for the easy communication of ownership data to a public Transfer Agent in one file ahead of an IPO, SPAC or direct listing; and - includes additional fields needed for when you permission your Transfer Agent to send your public stock ledger to a public equity management provider of choice - such as Carta. ### Reach out to Carta to get the process started The Mass Issuance report can be found under your Reports section in Carta. Bryan Wells 4 years ago7/5/2022 [**Early Lockup Release Feature (Public Markets)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/early-lockup-release-feature-public-markets-25pIcw) ### What's new? Customers wishing to allow their shareholders to sell a portion of their holdings prior to a traditional 180-day lockup expiration can now control early lockup release programs through Carta. With Carta’s early lockup release functionality, your company can specify the quantity of shares each shareholder can sell during a specified period. Carta’s Public Market Equity Management Services team will work with companies to determine: 1. shareholder eligibility for the early lock-up release period 2. the start and end date of the liquidity period 3. how many shares each individual may sell during the period After gathering this information, Carta will then work with the customer to complete an import template, which will be uploaded to Carta's public platform. Eligible shareholders will now be able to see the quantity of shares they can trade, what they’ve already traded, and what portion of shares is still remaining. ### Allow your employees to begin trading company shares Day 1 post-IPO The early lockup release feature: - allows your employees to sell prior to the standard 180-day lockup period while enforcing the terms of your company’s early lockup release program; and - makes it easy to instruct participation eligibility and quantity limits for all shareholders. _Figure 1: Shareholders can monitor the number of shares they can sell during the early lockup release._ _Figure 2: Shareholders are limited to the quantity of shares that they are allowed to sell per the rules of the early lockup release. Quantities can be set specific to an individual._ Trade limits apply across asset types. The sale of long stock, in addition to cashless option transactions, will count against the shareholder’s total allowed quantity to trade, ensuring that the stakeholder won’t oversell per the terms of the early lockup release. ### Reach out to Carta to get the process started Reach out to Carta’s Public Markets team ( [carta.public@carta.com](mailto:carta.public@carta.com)) to begin customizing an early lockup release benefit for your employees ahead of an exit. Bryan Wells 4 years ago7/5/2022 [**83(b) Automated Submission**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/83b-automated-submission-1PwaUU) ## **What’s New** Users that choose to early-exercise will now be able to submit an 83(b) form automatically to the IRS while exercising. Furthermore, users can now update their SSN, digitally sign the 83(b) form, and review personal information during the exercise request. In addition, users now have an improved UI to access the PDF and tracking number of their 83(b) form on the 83(b) Elections tab  on the Option Grant modal. ## Who this affects Any US-based users with early exercisable option grants, and ACH eligible who choose to early-exercise through Carta. ## How it works ### 83(b) Automated Submission Option During Exercise Request The 83(b) Automated Submission option will be available during an exercise submission. Users will be able to choose between performing an Automated 83(b) Submission or a Manual 83(b) submission (if the user selects to submit their 83(b) form manually, they still have the option to utilize the automated submission feature through the Option grant modal as long as the current date has not exceeded 25 days from the exercise date). | | | | --- | --- | | | _Figure 1: On the Review Tax page, users now are given the option to automatically submit an 83(b) form or manually submit the form; If the user chooses to submit the automated 83(b) form, they can add/update their SSN directly_ | | | _Figure 2: Updated Sign and Submit modal which includes an Automated 83(b) Submission Agreement section signed via digital signature._ | | ### | _Figure 3: Updated Congratulations page stating that the 83(b) form is being sent to the IRS._ | | | _Figure 4: 83(b) elections tab on the Option Grant modal to view the USPS tracking number and the submitted 83(b) form._ | ### Included Personal Information To submit an automated 83(b) submission, a Social Security Number (SSN) is required by the IRS to properly verify the identity of the user. If the user’s SSN isn’t filled in the Account settings, users have the ability to add and confirm their SSN when selecting their submission method. Otherwise, when users navigate to the Review Exercise page, the automated submission will pull the user’s Name, SSN, and Address directly from the Account settings. ### Digital Signature On the Sign and Submit modal (Figure 2), users agree to automatically submit the 83(b) form by signing the agreement via digital signature. The digital signature is added directly into the PDF of the 83(b) form. ### Status of submission The 83(b) form PDF and Tracking number will be provided and displayed in the Option grant modal on the 83(b) Elections tab. The user will be able to track and check the status of their 83(b) Automated Submission. ### 83(b) Manual Submissions Manual 83(b) Submissions UI has been improved on the 83(b) Elections tab providing users with an 83(b) form to print and sign which is to be mailed manually by the user. To complete their manual submission, users will be required to upload their signed copy of the form in addition to the date that the 83(b) form was sent to the IRS on Carta. Further, users may choose to submit an automated submission on the 83(b) Elections tab. | | | | --- | --- | | | | # **FAQ** **1\. Can I still use the previous workflow for 83(b) Submission?** Yes! If you would prefer to file your 83(b) form manually, you still have the ability to do so! During the exercise workflow, you may select “Submit an 83(b) form later” as your submission method, and you’ll have the option to download and print an 83(b) form from the 83(b) Elections tab on the Option grant modal. **2\. What happens if my exercise gets stuck or canceled?** If you select automated submission of your 83(b) election, it will be initiated immediately after you finish submitting your exercise.  If your exercise gets canceled, you should consult with your legal and tax advisors on what to do with your filed 83(b) election form. **3\. How will I know that the IRS has received my automated submission? Will I be able to closely follow the progress of the 83(b) submission?** You can navigate to the 83(b) elections tab on the Option grant modal to verify the status of the 83(b) form using the tracking number provided by USPS to follow the progression of your 83(b) submission. Status updates are available as soon as the package is delivered to the USPS. **We highly recommend printing and storing the online USPS confirmation as this information is only available for a limited amount of time.** ## Additional Resources - Support Article: [83(b) Form for Early Exercised Option Grants](https://support.carta.com/s/article/form-83b-option-exercises) - Blog: [What is Early Exercising?](/content/blog/exercising-stock-options/#what-is-early-exercising/index.html) - Arcade: [83(b) Automated Submission Walkthrough](https://app.arcade.software/share/6ahUMSjsY8xmQVD1BVHf) 4 years ago7/5/2022 [**409A Ledger Redesign**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/409a-ledger-redesign-UJQNW) **What’s new?** We have redesigned the 409A Ledger Page where you come to request and review the 409A Valuations of your company and enter the Fair Market Value (FMV) of your company’s options. The goal of this refresh is to help you navigate the valuation process with ease and access resources quickly whenever you need assistance. With this updated design you will quickly and easily identify where you are in the valuation process and what to expect next. Carta is here to help you along the way with curated support articles and a variety of options to get in touch with us if you have questions not covered within the articles. **How it Works** Under Compliance > 409A you will find a number of new features designed to help you navigate the Carta Valuation process with confidence. **Valuation Status Tracker** The Valuation Status Tracker at the top of the page clearly indicates where your company is in the valuation request process. Whether you are in the middle of completing your request, if your draft is ready for review or if you are anywhere in between, the tracker will let you know what your next step is as soon as you land on the 409A Ledger page. Also included are tools and support articles to help answer common questions that you may have based on where you are in the valuation process. **Review and accept your valuation** Once you have received your valuation, you can download it for review directly from the Valuation Tracker on the 409A Ledger page. After you have had a chance to review the report and are ready to accept, you will be directed to the final step in The Valuation Tracker, the acceptance workflow. **Get in touch with our team** Have a question? Navigate to our Support Module on the page and select the contact method that works best for you, our team of experts will follow up with a response typically within 1 business day. **Viewing your 409A Valuations** Now that you have completed the valuation process, your most recent valuation will be displayed at the top of the table at the bottom of the page along with any previous valuations saved to your Carta account. If you have any questions for our Valuation team in between valuations, simply navigate to the new 409A Ledger Page to access our Support model to get in touch with our team of Valuation Experts. Stephanie Wittrock 4 years ago6/27/2022 [**Global Total Rewards Statements - Share personalized compensation insights international employees**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/global-total-rewards-statements---share-personalized-compensation-insights-international-employees-3uP44g) # Who This Affects Any company who is a Total Compensation customer and has equity-holding international employees. # What’s new? Total Rewards will illustrate foreign currency for international employees, visualizing 120 different currencies. This is done using real exchange rates loaded into Total Comp. The rates entered are stamped with an effective date/time and so are valid until a more recent record is entered for that currency pair and rate type. # How does it work? If an employee has their "local currency" set as anything other than $USD, then they will see the currency switcher in the top right of their Total Rewards Statement. The currency toggle will convert any $USD values (equity and benefits) to local currency along with their salary and any target variable pay. Employees can also convert base salary and target variable in local currency to $USD. 4 years ago6/16/2022 [**Improvements to Engineering Specializations**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/improvements-to-engineering-specializations-3lIwF2) ### Benchmarks 2022-06-16 #### What changes can I expect from these benchmarks? _This version resolves an issue with level progression in the benchmark version released on 2022-06-09. If you did not update to the 2022-06-09 benchmarks you were not impacted by this bug. There are no other changes to benchmarks or specializations in this release._ Carta will now provide salary + equity benchmarks for the following engineering specializations: - AI and Machine Learning - Hardware - Mobile - Web Engineering In addition, benchmarks data has been refreshed for the following existing engineering specializations: - DevOps and Site Reliability - Quality Assurance - UX/Frontend Note that for all of our specializations the sample size is smaller than job area benchmarks which could result in data volatility as we continue to update the data and grow our overall sample size. #### What were the largest areas of movement from these benchmarks? For existing specializations, salaries increased an average of approximately 3% compared to the previous version of the benchmarks. The largest increases are generally concentrated at more senior levels and in higher valuation peer groups. We also observed some decreases in the salary benchmarks, mostly at levels 1 and 2 at valuations below $50 million. While some of these changes are driven by market dynamics, some of the change is driven by the limited sample size for these roles. Equity benchmarks also reflect a mix of increases and decreases compared to the last benchmark version which are also being driven by a combination of market dynamics and sample size. #### How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 2. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. #### How can I assign an employee to a specialization? You can assign an employee to an engineering specialization by: 1. Visiting the Employee Scorecard page for a particular employee and selecting “Edit” next to the employee’s role and then selecting “Job area and level” on the Update details page. | | | | --- | --- | | | | 1. Select the “Specialization” dropdown to assign an employee to one of the listed specializations. Note: specialization benchmarks are currently limited to AI and Machine Learning. DevOps + Site Reliability, Hardware, Mobile, Quality Assurance, UX/Frontend, and Web Engineering for the engineering job area. #### How do I see benchmarks for engineering specializations? You can view benchmarks for engineering specializations by: 1. Visiting the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and selecting “Engineering” under Area. Once the engineering job area is selected, you can change the engineering specializations by selecting the Specialization dropdown. | | | | --- | --- | | | | #### How do engineering specializations affect the Employee Scorecard? The compa-ratio is a quick way to compare an employee's compensation to your plan's target rate for a given job area, level, and location. The compa-ratios for an employee assigned to the AI and Machine Learning, Hardware, Mobile, and Web Engineering specializations will now be calculated using the target compensation for the specializations. ## What’s next? Additional functionality around data transparency that will provide users insight into the underlying data used to generate benchmarks in Carta Total Compensation. Jeffrey Glusman 4 years ago6/9/2022 [**New Employee Scorecard & Engineering Specializations**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-employee-scorecard-engineering-specializations-3eSvfi) # What’s new? ## New Employee Scorecard We’ve restructured the Employee Scorecard to increase legibility and improve comprehension of your employee’s role information and compensation details. The updated Employee Scorecard is broken down into logical groupings of information to help you quickly identify important information. 1. Employee Overview 2. Annual Compensation Breakdown 3. Equity Breakdown ## Engineering Specializations Benchmarks 2022-06-09 ### What changes can I expect from these benchmarks? Carta will now provide salary + equity benchmarks for the following engineering specializations: - AI and Machine Learning - Hardware - Mobile - Web Engineering In addition, benchmarks data has been refreshed for the following existing engineering specializations: - DevOps and Site Reliability - Quality Assurance - UX/Frontend ### What were the largest areas of movement from these benchmarks? ### How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 2. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. ### How can I assign an employee to a specialization? You can assign an employee to an engineering specialization by: | | | | --- | --- | | | | 1. Select the “Specialization” dropdown to assign an employee to one of the listed specializations. ### How do I see benchmarks for engineering specializations? You can view benchmarks for engineering specializations by: | | | | --- | --- | | | | ### How do engineering specializations affect the Employee Scorecard? # What’s next? Jeffrey Glusman 4 years ago5/30/2022 [**Account Recovery Measures**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/account-recovery-measures-1xgTIc) **Who This Affects** Users without a verified secondary email address **What’s New** Additional emails are required to assist users with providing a secondary login credential in case access to their primary email address is lost. As part of our efforts to improve our clients' account security, we are updating the process of adding and verifying your additional email address. As part of this release, we will be notifying all users without a verified additional email address to add or verify the email they have listed. This subset of users will be receiving an email notification, as well as an outstanding task in their Carta account’s task manager. **Timing** - This update is available to 25% of randomly selected Carta users - General availability for all users by the end of Q2 Namira Wicaksana 4 years ago5/26/2022 [**Total Comp Geo Factor Refresh**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/total-comp-geo-factor-refresh-1piKPe) # What's new? ## Benchmarks version 2022-05-26 ### What changes can I expect from these benchmarks? Geographic adjustments have been updated to reflect current cost-of-labor data across the US. There have been no changes to the underlying benchmarks that were released on April 13, 2022, details of which can be found [here](https://releasenotes.carta.com/engineering-specializations-2ek9sk). Given the current sample size of Carta Total Compensation we are now able to rely on data from Total Compensation customers, representing the broad tech industry, to determine cost-of-labor differentials in 33 cities (previously 17 cities). For all other US metropolitan areas we continue to rely on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which is based on a wider set of industries and type of employee. ### What were the largest areas of movement from these benchmarks? For most of the largest markets in Carta Total Compensation we’ve observed an increase in pay relative to the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the changes to key markets include the following (SF Bay Area = 100%): | **Metro Area** | **Previous Adjustment** | **New** **Adjustment** | | --- | --- | --- | | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 89% | 100% | | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 97% | 100% | | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 85% | 94% | | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | 87% | 94% | | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 82% | 91% | | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL\* | 68% | 90% | _\\* Data source for Miami has changed from BLS to Carta Total Compensation due to our increased sample size_. Outside of our largest markets we observe a mix of increases and decreases relative to Bay Area compensation levels, but on average there has been a slight increase. ### How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the Active Plan window. 2. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. ## Improvements to MSA borders Carta Total Compensation currently defaults employees who are not in a supported Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) to a geographic adjustment factor equal to your plan’s threshold value. With this update, Carta Total Compensation will now use the adjustment factor for the nearest supported MSA. # What’s next? Additional functionality that will allow users to apply a level-based approach to geographic adjustments. Jeffrey Glusman 4 years ago5/24/2022 [**Capital Calls on Android**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/capital-calls-on-android-3ifdmM) General partners now have the ability to view and track capital calls from the Carta Android app. Investment firms can now track the progress of on-going and completed calls along with investor details, on the go, straight from the Carta mobile app. # Who this affects - Fund administration clients # Supported platforms - Android (Previously available on iOS) # What's new Fund Administration clients can now access their capital call details and investor information from the Carta Android app. - The home screen now provides a summary of active capital calls with the ability to view individual call details. - Navigating to a capital call allows you to view further call and investor details along with a full investor list which can be filtered by Paid and Unpaid calls. - The Fund Details page now also provides a capital summary and the ability to view a list of Active, Drafted, and Completed calls. Sudeep Kumar 4 years ago5/24/2022 [**Cashless Exercising on Mobile**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/cashless-exercising-on-mobile-3h6OQw) Carta users will now be able to perform a Cashless Hold Exercise and Cashless Sell Exercise on the mobile app. ### Who this affects - Public Markets Users ### Supported Platforms - iOS and Android ### What’s new Users with holdings in public companies on Carta will now be able to exercise and sell their shares via a Cashless Hold or Cashless Sell transaction while on-the-go through the Carta mobile app. These features were previously available to users via desktop, and this launch closes the previously existing gap in functionality between the Carta web experience and the Carta mobile app. Sudeep Kumar 4 years ago5/6/2022 [**Web-Login on Mobile**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/web-login-on-mobile-1w4Vyw) Carta mobile app users will now be able to login using a web-browser on iOS and Android. Web-login gives us the benefits of browser-based authentication, and better security, without disrupting the user experience. # Who this affects Employees and Investors # Supported Platforms iOS & Android # What’s New In an effort to bring login and authentication together across all Carta platforms, we are launching browser-based login on mobile. The web-login experience will use Safari on iOS and a default browser on Android. Sudeep Kumar 4 years ago5/5/2022 [**Valuation Updates from Company Cap Tables**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/valuation-updates-from-company-cap-tables-my0Mg) **What's New?** Carta fund admin users can instantly be notified about share price updates for portfolio companies with their cap tables on Carta. As Carta companies publish new share classes or file updated Articles of Incorporation (AOI), funds with basic or higher cap table access may receive notifications about these updates. In addition, users will have the option to apply these updates to their Schedule of Investments (SOI) immediately. When a Carta company raises a new round and publishes it on their cap table, firms with appropriate access can be notified, and Carta will automatically mark their share value to the latest price on the AOI. **How it Works** When a company has their cap table on Carta and raises funding through an equity round, they update their cap table by sharing the publicly filed Articles of Incorporation and revising their cap table data to reflect the new ownership and share price. The Fund Administration team reviews these updates when a new share class is authorized with a filed state incorporation document amendment. Fund admin users who a Carta company has granted basic, advanced, or detailed access to the cap table will be notified of updates through email. The email will contain a link to information such as share class, share price, and impact on fund metrics. **Who This Affects** Firms who have requested and been granted basic, advanced or full detail level access to the cap tables and financing history for their Carta portfolio companies will be notified of new filings. **Why This is Awesome** Carta serves a powerful network of equity and ownership data, which provides a single source of truth for companies and VC firms. This enables accurate data to be leveraged in multiple places, reducing discrepancies, confusion, and manual updates of investment valuations. Whitney Knowlton 4 years ago4/28/2022 [**Revamped Employee Onboarding Experience**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/revamped-employee-onboarding-experience-TsEIE) Employees registering their account on Carta for the first time can now provide their personal information as part of the onboarding process to complete their user profile. # **Who this affects?** Employees who have been issued ISO/NSO option grants or Restricted Stock Units and are registering with Carta for the first time. # **What’s new?** With an objective to provide insightful experiences, we’ve revamped the employee onboarding process to allow users to complete their user profile. Every employee registering with Carta for the first time to accept their first RSU or ISO/NSO option grant will now have the ability to provide the following information: - Personal details such as name, date of birth and country of citizenship - Tax ID - Address Capturing these details upfront allows employees to be transaction ready for events such as exercising. # After successfully completing their user profile details, users will be directed to the Tasks page where they can accept their security. # **Timing** - Available now to 20% of randomly selected Carta customers - General availability for all Carta customers coming by the end of Q2 Hira Zahid 4 years ago4/19/2022 [**Disqualifying Disposition Report - Private Companies**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/disqualifying-disposition-report---private-companies-tkJBC) # What’s new Private companies can now report the complete list of all ISO dispositions and see exactly which dispositions qualify for tax incentives and which ones do not, along with Ordinary Income value and other information. # How it works Under Capitalization > Reports, find the Disqualifying Disposition Report (ISO): Select the reporting date range, acknowledge the report’s use of in-platform securities and transactions, and then export the report to Excel: When the report finishes generating, it will be available in the Downloads menu: The report shows info on Disposition Type, Ordinary Income, FMV and more. In order to be completely transparent, Excel formulas are used for Disposition Type, Ordinary income, First Qualifying Disposition Date, and Disqualifying Reason fields to show how they are calculated: # Who this affects Private companies with tender offers or secondary ISO transactions captured in Carta. # Timing Available now for all Private market customers (the Public market Disqualifying Disposition Report is [available at request](https://app.getguru.com/card/TkKabgac/Considerations-when-enabling-DQD-Report-Beta-for-client) as part of the Early Access release). # Additional resources For more information around the Disqualifying Disposition Report and underlying data, please refer to [this support article](https://support.carta.com/s/article/disqualifying-disposition-report). Webb Allen 4 years ago4/18/2022 [**Save time on administrative tasks with HRIS integrations**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/save-time-on-administrative-tasks-with-hris-integrations-2TcFeE) ## What’s new? Carta now supports integrations with 150+ HRIS and payroll providers. Customers that integrate their HRIS with Carta will have access to Pending Stakeholder Terminations, Pending Updates to Stakeholders, and Carta Total Compensation (with an active subscription). ## **What are the benefits of integrating my HR system with Carta?** Your organization can unlock a new level of automation that helps you become more efficient and make better-informed decisions about your equity program with Carta’s HRIS integration. More specifically, HR integrations will help your organization in the following three ways: **1\. Quickly update employee records** Reduce double entry, win time back, and gain a single source of truth for critical employee information like terminations and employee addresses. **2\. Keep employee data synced across systems** With HRIS and equity data synced, you can trust that your information is always ready to take action on. If there is ever a discrepancy, Carta will flag it and make it easy for you to reconcile. **3\. Calculate and understand tax impact** Employees’ tax impact has never been easier to understand with salary, location, and equity information complete in one place. Carta can help inform employee tax liability for taxable equity events. ## What are the steps to integrate my HR system with Carta? There are two steps that need to be taken to properly integrate your HR system: **1\. Connect your HRIS** There are a few variations for connecting each HRIS system depending on the system’s API configuration. However, this should take no more than two minutes to complete for any provider. Here are specifics for each provider Carta integrates with: - [Rippling](https://support.carta.com/s/article/integration-rippling) - [Bamboo](https://support.carta.com/s/article/integration-bamboohr) - [Namely](https://support.carta.com/s/article/integration-namely) - [Finch](https://support.carta.com/s/article/integration-finch) \- Carta uses a product called Finch to integrate with 100+ HRIS and payroll providers, including Gusto, Trinet,  and Justworks. Note: Only those with Company Editor, Company Administrator, or Legal Administrator permissions can perform the HRIS integration on Carta. Most HR systems also require the individual authenticating the integration to have the highest permission level too. **2\. Match employee records from your HR/payroll system to stakeholder records on Carta** Carta will match the list of employees in your HRIS to the stakeholder ledger in Carta by looking at First Name, Last Name, and Email, then ask you to review them for accuracy. Please see here for how to perform the [Employee ID matching process](https://support.carta.com/s/article/employee-id-matching-stakeholder-updates). Note: This is a necessary step for you to take to be able to take advantage of integrations. ## How do I take advantage of the integrations once I have completed the initial integration? There are two specific modules that will allow your organization to make use of your HR system integration with Carta: Pending Terminations and Pending Updates to Stakeholders. Please see below for how to use these modules to help you manage data coming from your HR system on Carta: - [Rippling](https://support.carta.com/s/article/how-carta-rippling-integrate) - [Bamboo](https://support.carta.com/s/article/how-carta-bamboohr-integrate) - [Namely](https://support.carta.com/s/article/how-carta-namely-integrate#:~:text=Carta%20has%20a%20built%2Din,risk%20of%20making%20a%20mistake.) - [Finch](https://support.carta.com/s/article/how-carta-finch-integrate) David Lichtenstein 4 years ago4/18/2022 [**Untitled Post**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/untitled-post-2FzUZy) **SPV Formations: Fund of Funds and Audit** **What’s new** Carta has been able to perform fund administration for SPVs that are audited and/or fund of funds but now we can form these SPVs as well. **How it works** In our engagement letter [form](https://app.carta.com/investors/carta-edge/engagement-letter/overview) select the package that works best for you. Note: if you have a more complex SPV use the link at the bottom of the engagement letter form to get in touch with an account manager. After engaging with Carta to form your SPV, we will invite you to complete our setup guide.  Within the setup guide we will generate an Operating Agreement or Limited Partnership Agreement that allows for your SPV to be audited and/or invest in funds.  You and your LPs will be able to sign the document within Carta. **What’s next** We will continue to expand our SPV Formations offering allowing customers to form SPVs with quarterly reporting, multiple capital calls, premium carry and annual management fees. Jake Hadary 4 years ago4/13/2022 [**Engineering specializations**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/engineering-specializations-2ek9sk) # What's new? Carta will now provide salary + equity benchmarks for the following engineering specializations: - DevOps + Site Reliability - Quality Assurance - UX/Frontend ### How can I assign an employee to a specialization? You can assign an employee to an engineering specialization by: | | | | --- | --- | | | | 2. Select the “Specialization” dropdown to assign an employee to one of the listed specializations. Note: specialization benchmarks are currently limited to DevOps + Site Reliability, Quality Assurance, and UX/Frontend for the engineering job area. ### How do I see benchmarks for engineering specializations? You can view benchmarks for engineering specializations by: 1. Visiting the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and selecting “Engineering” under _Area_. Once the engineering job area is selected, you can change the engineering specializations by selecting the _Specialization dropdown_. | | | | --- | --- | | | | ### How do engineering specializations affect the Employee Scorecard? The compa-ratio is a quick way to compare an employee's compensation to your plan's target rate for a given job area, level, and location. The compa-ratios for an employee assigned to the DevOps + Site Reliability, Quality Assurance, or UX/Frontend engineering specializations will now be calculated using the target compensation for the specializations. ## Improvements to the Employee Compensation Timeline We’ve improved the employee compensation timeline to make it easier to discern between the various types of equity awards an employee has been issued. ## Benchmarks version 2022-04-13 ### What changes can I expect from these benchmarks? We’ve added more than 10,000 new salary data points to our database since the last benchmark update in January. This has allowed us to significantly improve the quality of our model as we compare results to the underlying statistics. Given the increase in the sample we are able to be more granular in our modeling as we look at different job areas and types of employees (ICs and Managers vs. Executives). While changes to the benchmarks are largely a reflection of modeling improvements, the changes will also reflect salary movements in the market since January. This benchmark version also includes engineering specializations for DevOps + Site Reliability, Quality Assurance, and UX/Frontend. ### What were the largest areas of movement from these benchmarks? With this benchmark update we observed larger than expected movement across several job areas, driven largely due to increased sample and refinements to our modeling, and less by overall market dynamics. Many of the decreases we observed were in valuation peer groups of $50M and below. The increases we observed were mainly in valuations higher than $50M. In both cases our benchmarks moved closer to the underlying statistics in our database. Looking by job area, we saw the largest average increases (ranging from 6.5% - 10%) and decreases (all less than 1.5%) in the following job areas: Increases: - Project Management - Customer Success - Data - Sales Decreases: - Administrative - Design - Human Resources - Marketing ### How do I update my plan to use the new benchmarks version? You can update your compensation plan to use the latest benchmark versions either by: 1. Visiting the [Plan](https://comp.app.carta.com/plan) page and clicking on the "Update available" link in the _Active Plan_ window. 2. Navigating to the [Bands](https://comp.app.carta.com/bands) page and clicking on the "Update" bubble in the top left. # What’s next? The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released 2021 data for US-based geo adjustments. Carta will release a May benchmark update that will include improvements to the geo adjustments within the Total Compensation product. Jeffrey Glusman 4 years ago4/12/2022 [**Retain talent with Total Rewards**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/retain-talent-with-total-rewards-1JEVji) All Carta Total Comp customers now have access to Total Rewards. ## What’s new? - Customize and share equity, salary, and benefits information with employees directly through their Carta account. - Enable employees to calculate and visualize their equity value based on various exit or liquidity scenarios. - Share your compensation philosophy and design custom benefits packages for each employee segment. ## ## How do I get started? Setting up Total Rewards is simple. Click [here](https://support.carta.com/s/article/total-comp-total-rewards) for step by step instructions, or check our [Total Rewards User Guide](https://s3.amazonaws.com/carta.public/Carta-Total-Rewards-User-Guide.pdf) for more tips for how to ensure an easy roll out to your team. David Lichtenstein 4 years ago3/23/2022 [**Pre-Clearance (Public Markets)**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/pre-clearance-public-markets-28BYsM) # Corporations Equity AdministratorsNew Feature # What’s new Public markets administrators can now  designate employee groups that require company approval before trading through Carta’s pre-clearance tool. Unlike blackout periods, which are in effect for sensitive time periods, pre-clearance applies at all times that the seller is configured to require it. Pre-clearance allows issuers to proactively review and approve or reject seller trade requests when the company is in an open trading window. # Who this affects Public company administrators, and the sellers that public companies configure to require pre-clearance. # How it works Pre-clearance populations are designated at the officer code level. Any seller associated with an officer code requiring pre-clearance (with an effective officer code as-of date) will require pre-clearance to trade. Sellers that are associated with an officer code that requires pre-clearance will be presented with trading request instructions upon portfolio login: If sellers are not in a blackout period and are only prevented from trading due to pre-clearance, they will be able to request the ability to trade. After the seller submits a pre-clearance request, the seller will see a Pending status in the portfolio while the issuer reviews the trading request: - The seller will remain in trade request pending status until the issuer grants pre-clearance. - Upon request, the issuer receives an email notification that pre-clearance requests are pending. The issuer navigates to the Pre-Clearance tool to review and either accept or reject the request: - Clicking Respond allows the issuer to accept or reject the request: - If the issuer rejects the pre-clearance request, the seller will again have the ability to request pre-clearance and will not be able to place trades. - If the issuer approves the pre-clearance request, the seller is able to place trades until the pre-clearance window expires. - Pre-clearance approval is shown in the Open tab. Issuers are able to close a pre-clearance request early if needed. Sellers can enter Cashless sale transactions and stock sales until pre-clearance expires. # Timing The pre-clearance feature is now available to all public companies. Bryan Wells 4 years ago3/18/2022 [**Investor Services Security Update: Requiring 2FA in 2022**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/investor-services-security-update-requiring-2fa-in-2022-14KLeM) Starting in May 2022, we will require that all Carta accounts have two-factor authentication (2FA), also known as Multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled. **Investor Services customers should confirm all of their team members have personal accounts properly provisioned and secured with MFA/2FA as soon as possible.** # Why MFA/2FA? MFA is the industry standard for software companies, like Carta, that store sensitive identity and financial information. # **What does this mean for me?** As we make this change, all accounts need to be associated with a single person’s name. If there are multiple people at your organization accessing Carta with the same email and password, you need to take action. If you’re not sure, [click here for instructions on checking or updating the name on your account](https://support.carta.com/s/article/account-profile-and-security#name). # **How can I create accounts for other individuals on my team?** You can add people on the people page of each account by following [these steps](https://support.carta.com/s/article/vc-firm-permissions). If you are unsure about how to set up access for other members of your team, please reach out to our support team at investorservices@carta.com. # **Why can’t we use two-factor authentication with shared login credentials?** We cannot send MFA/2FA codes to multiple people at once. ### **Critically: resetting MFA/2FA can only be done for a person’s individual account. If a team member needs to reset MFA/2FA without a backup code, they will need to get in touch with our team and present a photo ID that matches the name on the account.** # **How do I get this process started?** Our Investor Services support team is happy to help you with this process. Reach out to them directly at: investorservices@carta.com. # **Why is this being required?** A password on its own gives you poor protection from hackers. They can steal them from other insecure websites or via malware, and people often reuse the same password for many accounts or choose passwords that hackers can easily guess. Carta is adding this additional security to protect your account from social engineering, phishing, and other related attacks. Thank you for being a Carta customer, and we look forward to answering any questions you might have about this change. Kathleen Meil 4 years ago3/15/2022 [**New Total Comp roles: Area Lead and Recruiter**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-total-comp-roles-area-lead-and-recruiter-38GL6) We've updated the Total Comp permissions system with two new role types: - **Area lead**: Users with this role can edit employees and view bands for their assigned area(s) and level(s) - **Recruiter**: Users with this role can view bands for their assigned area(s) and level(s) To add a teammate as an area lead or recruiter, go to the [Settings > Permissions and roles page](https://comp.app.carta.com/settings/permissions) click on "Add User" and follow the instructions in the modal. You will be asked to provide the teammate's email address, assign a role, select which areas that you want the teammate to have access to, and then select the highest level within those selected areas that they can view/edit. You can also change the role and permissions for an existing user by clicking on the action button (three dots) in the user table and selecting _Edit user_. David Lichtenstein 4 years ago3/14/2022 [**Improved Capitalization > by Share Class Experience**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/improved-capitalization-by-share-class-experience-1KKQog) Soon, companies will have access to the updated Capitalization > By Share Class view. This page comes with improved performance for large Cap Tables, allowing you to view and interact with your Cap Table up to 5x faster. To access this view, you can navigate to Capitalization > By Share Class. **What’s next?** We will continue to improve the experience, adding a new summary visualization to the top of the page, and improving the navigability between the By Share Class and the By Stakeholder Cap Tables. **Resources** Support Article: [Capitalization Table - By Share Class](https://support.carta.com/s/article/cap-table-by-share-class) Will WD 4 years ago3/2/2022 [**Notifications for Qualified Small Businesses**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/notifications-for-qualified-small-businesses-0SaLC) ## What’s New Users with holdings in companies identified as Qualified Small Businesses (QSB) will now be notified of the potential tax benefit. Carta determines QSB eligibility when performing a 409A valuation and email notifications will be sent to all users associated with the company once the valuation is accepted. In addition, vesting emails will include information about the qualified small business stock (QSBS) tax benefit. Furthermore, users can now find a banner in the company overview page within their portfolio that informs them about QSBS eligibility, linking to a [blog post](/content/blog/qsbs/index.html) to learn more. Finally, users will be notified if their exercise qualifies for QSBS once they submit an exercise request. ## Who this affects US Companies using Carta for 409A valuations that are QSBS eligible and all their stakeholders, prioritizing “Vested” option holders. ## How it works ### Email notifications Emails are sent to all users associated with a company that qualifies as a QSB. If Carta determines the company is a qualified small business, emails are sent once the 409A valuation is accepted. Extra emails are sent to all users each time the company’s valuation includes eligibility. ### Vesting emails Vesting emails will now include information about QSBS eligibility to help make a more informed decision about exercising. ### Company’s overview page A banner informing users of the QSBS Eligibility Tax Benefit can be found next to the company’s name in their portfolio. This banner appears for companies identified as qualified small businesses, including information about the potential tax benefit from exercising and the expected timeframe of the company’s eligibility. ### Exercise submission message Upon submitting an exercise request, the Congratulations page will inform users that the shares are QSBS-eligible. It summarizes the conditions and links to an Equity Education article to learn more ( _highlighted in red_). ## Timing - General availability for all 409A customers by the end of Q1 ## Additional Resources - Support Article: [Defining QSBS](https://support.carta.com/s/article/qualified-small-business-stock) - Blog: [QSBS](/content/blog/qsbs/index.html) & [Carta Support for QSBS](/content/blog/carta-supports-the-qsbs-exclusion/index.html) 4 years ago2/25/2022 [**Redesigned Capital Call Request Tool**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/redesigned-capital-call-request-tool-b5soU) **What’s new?** Previously, our capital call request tool only allowed General Partners (GPs) to request capital from all investors in the fund regardless of their close date. Starting today, GPs can use the redesigned tool to: - Make pro-rata capital calls from their existing investor base - Call capital from subsequent close investors Additionally, GPs will be able to view a list of all their newly closed investors, as well as any investors whose commitments have increased or decreased since the last capital call. The capital call amounts to be called from these investors will be auto-calculated by the tool for the GP to review. **How it works** 1. There are two ways you can request a capital call. You can navigate to the Firm Management Page or through the capital calls tab in the fund page. 2. Select the type of capital call you would like to request: 1. **Pro Rata** capital calls is an improved version of our capital call tool. Input a capital call dollar or percentage amount, followed by call details, and go through the final review step before initiating your capital call. 2. **Subsequent Close** capital calls will list out investors who are new and those with changed commitments since the last capital call. You will have an optional text box for additional notes, capital call details, and a final review before initiating your capital call. **Who this affects** This is available for all fund administration customers who are on the Carta General Ledger. **What’s next?** We’ll be expanding the tool’s functionality to handle more complex scenarios, such as calling additional capital from both new and existing investors in the fund. We also plan to embed the PDF notices at the review step to give GPs the option to start the capital call without further approvals. Erin Kim 4 years ago2/17/2022 [**Set your employees' local currency**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/set-your-employees-local-currency-4hoWKA) You can now set the local currency for cash compensation (salary and variable) for your employees' scorecards. This new feature paves the way for better support for international employees. Target compensation for non-USD currencies will be supported in the future. David Lichtenstein 4 years ago2/16/2022 [**Improvements to job leveling framework**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/improvements-to-job-leveling-framework-2AWySQ) We've enhanced the leveling framework with new and updated job areas and specializations. This improvement is an important step toward expanding the scope of the Bands feature to include benchmarks for these new job areas and specializations. NOTE: These updates do not impact your employee's target salary or equity, as they are simply improvements to the labeling system to more accurately reflect trends in job functions. The following job areas and specializations have been added and updated. Job areas marked with an asterisk (\*) are currently only available for leveling purposes and do not yet support bands. At this time, all specializations still do not differentiate bands/benchmarks from their top-level job area, however, we will soon be launching specialized bands starting with Engineering, IT, Marketing, and HR. You will be notified as soon as bands are available for these new areas and specializations. | | | | --- | --- | | **Job Area** | **Specialization** | | Administration | Administrative Assistant | | Corporate Affairs\* | Government Affairs | | Corporate Affairs\* | Regulatory Affairs | | Customer Success | Training | | Data | Business Intelligence and Analytics | | Design | Industrial Design | | Design | UX Design | | Engineering | Crypto and Web3 | | Engineering | Data Engineering | | Engineering | Web Engineer | | Finance | Financial Planning and Analysis | | Finance | Tax | | HR | Benefits | | HR | Compensation | | HR | Diversity | | HR | HR Generalist | | HR | Learning and Development | | HR | Total Rewards | | IT\* | Information Security | | IT\* | Information Services | | IT\* | Network Ops | | Legal | Corporate Counsel | | Legal | Paralegal | | Manufacturing\* | Assembly | | Manufacturing\* | Manufacturing Engineering | | Manufacturing\* | Production Planning | | Manufacturing\* | Quality Assurance | | Marketing | Communications/Public Relations | | Marketing | Creative Marketing | | Marketing | Digital Marketing | | Marketing | Events | | Marketing | Marketing Operations | | Marketing | Production | | Operations | Facilities | | Product | Technical Writing | | Project Management | Non-Technical Project Management | | Project Management | Technical Project Management | | Research | Clinical Science | | Research | Pre-Clinical Science | | Research | Process Development | | Research | Support | | Sales | Sales/Solutions Engineering | | Strategy | Business Operations | | Strategy | Corporate/Business Development | David Lichtenstein 4 years ago2/15/2022 [**New Updated User Roles**](https://releasenotes.carta.com/new-updated-user-roles-qXTuo) Soon, Carta customers will start seeing an expanded set of Roles to help you reflect the different individuals who are handling different aspects of Cap Table management. For now, users assigned to new roles will serve as point of contact for their areas. Over time, these individuals will see updated experiences and be guided to relevant Carta tools. To see this experience, Navigate to "Company > Permissions and Roles > Roles" Alex Chen