A cap table — short for capitalization table — is the master record of who owns your company. It lists every shareholder, how many shares they hold, what type of equity they have, and what percentage of the company each stake represents. For founders, investors and employees, the cap table is the single source of truth for ownership, and keeping it clean is one of the clearest signals that you run a serious, investable company.
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At its core, a cap table lists shareholders and their holdings: founders, employees with options, and investors holding shares or convertible instruments like SAFEs and notes. For each, it records the number of shares, the share class, the ownership percentage (both on a basic and a fully-diluted basis), and often the price paid. As the company grows, it also tracks option pools, vesting status, and every transaction — issuances, transfers, and conversions — that changes ownership over time.
A clean, accurate cap table builds trust. Investors review it during due diligence to understand ownership, control and dilution before they wire money — a messy cap table can slow or even kill a deal. Internally, it keeps founders aligned on who owns what and prevents the disputes that sink so many early teams. It's the document that turns "we'll figure equity out later" into a clear, defensible record.
Due diligence is where a messy cap table costs you
Investors review the cap table to understand ownership, control and dilution before they wire money. A messy one can slow a deal down — or kill it.
Many founders start with a spreadsheet, and for a two-person team with a simple split that can work. But spreadsheets break down fast: they don't track vesting automatically, they don't model SAFE conversions, they're easy to get wrong, and there's no audit trail. Dedicated cap table software like Equafy keeps everything accurate and up to date, handles vesting and convertibles, and produces investor-ready reports — without the manual errors.
| Spreadsheet | Equafy | |
|---|---|---|
| Vesting tracking | Manual, and easy to get wrong | Tracked automatically |
| SAFE conversion modeling | Not supported | Built in |
| Audit trail | None | Every change, recorded |
| Investor-ready reports | Assembled by hand | Produced from live data |
A cap table doesn't have to be static. With Equafy you can run a conventional static cap table with fixed percentages, a hybrid model that mixes fixed allocations with a reserved pool, or a fully dynamic (Slicing Pie-inspired) cap table where ownership tracks real contributions over time. You choose the model that fits your stage — and you can switch as the company matures and you prepare to raise.
A cap table doesn't have to be static
Run a conventional static cap table with fixed percentages, a hybrid that mixes fixed allocations with a reserved pool, or a fully dynamic (Slicing Pie-inspired) one where ownership tracks real contributions — and switch models as the company matures.
Set your cap table up on day one, even before incorporation, and record every equity event as it happens rather than reconstructing it later. Use vesting to protect the team, keep a reserved pool for future hires, and model dilution before signing SAFEs or raising a round. Equafy handles all of this in one place — contributions, vesting, convertibles, round simulation and an audit trail — so your cap table is always accurate and always investor-ready.
A cap table shows every shareholder in your company, how many shares each holds, the share class, and each stakeholder's ownership percentage on both a basic and fully-diluted basis. It also tracks option pools, convertibles like SAFEs, and every transaction that changes ownership.
Yes. Setting up a cap table early — even before incorporation — prevents disputes and surprises. Equafy lets you start tracking ownership and contributions from day one and formalize it when you incorporate.
You can for a very simple team, but spreadsheets don't track vesting, model SAFE conversions, or keep an audit trail, and they're easy to get wrong. Dedicated cap table software is far more reliable as soon as you add options, investors, or more founders.
A basic cap table counts only issued shares. A fully-diluted cap table also includes shares that could be issued — unexercised options, the reserved pool, and converting instruments like SAFEs — giving a truer picture of ownership after everything converts.
Yes. Equafy supports a conventional static cap table, a hybrid model, or a fully dynamic one. You pick the model that fits your team and can switch whenever you want.
Equafy gives founding teams an accurate, auditable cap table — static, hybrid or dynamic — with vesting, SAFEs and round simulation built in.
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