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PlatformA cap table is the official record of who owns what. Get it wrong early and every funding round opens the wound.
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Equity Management
Cap Table · File.Business

Equity tracked right from the start.

Issue founder stock, employee options, SAFEs, and priced rounds. Track ownership, vesting, exercises. Model dilution scenarios for fundraising. Carta-quality at a fraction of the price.

Pay only the state fee 60-day money-back Cancel anytime
220,000+
Businesses served
4.9 / 5
From 8,200 reviews
A+
BBB rated, SOC 2 II
$0
Hidden fees
$0
Free
formation service
51
Jurisdictions
filed in-house
220K+
Businesses
formed since launch
4.9★
Rating
8,200+ verified reviews
SOC 2 Type II · 2025 report 4.9 · 8,200+ reviews E&O Insured · carrier on request 51 Jurisdictions 220,000+ Formed
See disclosures + carrier names →
5 minutes to startSet up before lunch
Transparent pricingNo surprise renewals
60-day money-backCancel anytime
What it is

Cap Table, plainly.

A cap table is the spreadsheet (or, properly, the database) that records every share, option, warrant, and SAFE outstanding in your company. It tracks who owns what percentage on a fully-diluted basis. The cap table is the second most important document at every fundraise (after the pitch deck) and the first thing every acquirer asks for.

Most founders start with a Google Sheet. It works for the first 2 to 3 stakeholders. Then options get issued, vesting starts ticking, SAFEs convert at different valuation caps, and the math gets impossible. Errors compound: stakeholders question their numbers, lawyers spend $20,000 reconciling at the next round.

A proper cap table tool keeps every issuance recorded with the right legal documents, calculates dilution scenarios in seconds, manages vesting schedules per employee, generates 409A valuations (with partner provider), and exports to PDF or Excel for investor diligence. We do all of this at a price that does not require a fundraise to afford.

Who this is for

Common situations.

Bootstrapped foundersEven without outside funding, having a clean cap table from day one matters.
Pre-seed and seedSAFEs from angels, founder equity, the first option pool.
Companies hiringStock option grants to early employees with vesting schedules.
Funded startupsPre-seed through Series A. Active stakeholder management.
Multi-entity holdingsA parent + subsidiaries, each with its own cap table.
International foundersUS C-Corp cap tables managed from anywhere.
See your situation here?The fastest path is to start. Five minutes, pay only state fee.
Set up your cap table →Pay only state fee
What is included

What is included.

  • Founder common stock issuance with restricted stock agreements
  • SAFE issuance (YC standard or custom terms)
  • Option pool creation and ISO/NSO grants
  • Vesting schedules with cliff handling
  • Convertible note tracking
  • Priced round modeling (Series Seed, A, B)
  • Pro forma cap table after each event
  • Dilution scenarios for fundraise planning
  • PDF and Excel exports for investor diligence
  • 409A valuation through partner provider
How it works

Four steps. We handle the rest.

Step 1
FoundersIssue founder common stock with vesting where appropriate.
Step 2
Option poolAuthorize a pool, grant options to first hires.
Step 3
InvestorsIssue SAFEs or priced-round shares as you raise.
Step 4
ModelSee dilution at next round before the term sheet lands.
Side by side

How we compare.

Carta
Enterprise
$2,800+/yr at seed stage, dominant.
Pulley
Mid
$1,200+/yr, modern alternative.
Capbase
Mid
$1,200+/yr, formation-bundled.
File.Business
Honest
All-in pricing, real specialists.
  • Free under 50 stakeholders
  • $300/yr above 50
  • SAFE and priced rounds
  • Dilution modeling included
  • 409A via partner
  • Single bill with formation
CartaPulleyCapbaseFile.Business
Annual cost$2,800+$1,200+$1,200+$300 / free <50
SAFE issuanceyesyesyesyes
Dilution modelingyesyesyesyes
409Aadd-onadd-onadd-onpartner
Single bill with formationnonoformation onlyyes
“Switched off Carta when our cap table got expensive at seed. File.Business handled three SAFE conversions and a priced Series A. Our lawyer said it was the cleanest cap table she had reviewed in months.”
QP
Quentin ParkCEO, Vector Compute
3SAFEs converted
1Series A closed
$2,500saved annually
60day promise

The File.Business Promise

If we miss a deadline on a service you pay us to manage, we cover the penalty. If you change your mind within 60 days, we refund our fee in full. Your data stays yours, always.

60-day money-back Penalty-free filings Cancel anytime No surprise fees
FAQ

Common questions.

Is this only for C-Corps?
Cap tables are most common for C-Corps (the structure for raising venture capital). LLCs use member ledgers, which we also support.
SAFEs supported?
Yes. YC standard, post-money, valuation cap and discount, MFN clauses.
Vesting schedules?
Yes. Standard 4-year cliff-1-year is default; custom schedules supported. Cliff acceleration on termination or change of control supported.
409A?
We handle the cap table; 409A valuations come from a partner provider (Eqvista, Carta Valuations, others). Pricing $1,500 to $3,500.
Pro forma at next round?
Yes. Model the dilution from a term sheet before you sign.
Stakeholder access?
Yes. Each stakeholder can view their own holdings (we do not show them yours).
Exports?
PDF (cap table summary), Excel (full detail), JSON (programmatic).
Investor diligence?
We package the full cap table, all issuance documents, and vesting schedules for due diligence request lists.
Pricing?
Free under 50 stakeholders. $300/year above that.
Does this replace Carta?
For most early-stage startups, yes. For late-stage with 200+ stakeholders, complex preferred stock terms, and ESOP administration, Carta still has the more sophisticated product.

Set up your cap table in about 5 minutes.

Tell us a few details. We do the rest. You get a single dashboard for everything.

Pay only the state fee 60-day money-back Cancel anytime
$129/yr Compliance Annual Filings · penalty-free

On the $129/yr Compliance Annual Filings plan, we cover state late fees.

When you autofile your annual report through the $129/yr plan and we miss the deadline, we pay the state's late fee. The guarantee applies to that specific plan and the filings it includes. Other File.Business services are billed at the prices on this page.

See compliance plans →
Form your business for $0Start →
How it works

Four steps from request to delivery

File.Business runs your filing on a single concierge workflow. You provide what we need; we handle the rest.

1

Tell us what you need

2-minute intake. We confirm the filing type, jurisdiction, and any supporting documents required.

2

We prepare the filing

Our specialists draft the document, validate against state requirements, and queue for your review where required.

3

We submit to the state

Filed through the state portal. We pay the state fee, track the submission, and resolve any state correspondence.

4

Confirmation in your vault

state-required document delivered to your SOC 2 encrypted document vault, with deadline tracking for the next filing.

500K+
Filings completed
51 jurisdictions
All US states + DC tracked
SOC 2 secured
Encrypted document vault
99.6% on-time
Annual reports filed in window
$0 hidden fees
Flat-rate service pricing

Ready to get started?

File.Business handles formation, filings, registered agent service, and ongoing compliance across all 51 US jurisdictions on a single concierge platform.

File.Business is a private business filing and compliance service. We are not a government agency and are not affiliated with any Secretary of State office. You may file directly with the appropriate state agency. SOC 2 Type II audited. 220,000+ businesses formed since 2017.