A capitalization table is a spreadsheet used by startups or early-stage ventures that details all of the company's securities. For example, common shares, preferred shares, warrants, owners of warrants, and the prices paid by the investors for these securities. It tells us the percentage of ownership in the company for each investor, the value of their securities and dilution over time. A cap table template is first created before other company documents in the early stages of a startup or venture. After a few rounds if financing, the cap tables become more complex, and it details the potential sources of funding, IPOs, M&As, and other transactions.

This Excel template is a simple, easy-to-use capitalization table that can be altered and modified to suit your organization's needs. Apart from recording transactions, a cap table also comprises many legal documents such as stock issuance, transfers, cancellations, conversion of debt to equity and other documents. The executives must manage all these transactions and documents accurately to show the events since the company’s inception. The simplest form of cap tables lists the shareholders at the beginning and their respective share ownership. Cab tables are used by venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investment analysts to analyze important events such as ownership dilution, employee stock options and issue of new securities. Screenshot of the template.

How to Edit the Cap Table Template

After you download the Excel file you can get started editing the template for your own company or client. You'll need to input things such as the pre-money valuation, size of an offering, share price, number of shares, shareholder names, and percentage ownership. The key, when updating or building a cap table template, is to keep organized and have a very clear layout. The math is not complicated, it's staying organized it keeping it easy to follow that's the biggest challenge. If your cap table template gets super complicated, you may wish to consider a software solution such as https://captable.io/.  

This business tool includes 1 Capitalization Table Excel Template