Cap Table Management for Startups & Scaleups
Don’t let a messy cap table hold you back. Whether you need a quick review or full ongoing management, we’re here to help.
Keep your cap table clean and investor-ready.
Your cap table is the foundation of your ownership structure, showing who owns what – founders, investors, employees with options, convertible notes. It’s one of the first things investors and lawyers check when you raise capital, issue options or plan an exit. If it’s wrong, details can stall or collapse deals.
Where is your share/option info? Problems usually happen because ownership data gets spread across multiple places:
- Cap table platforms (e.g. Cake Equity): comms, vesting, and modelling – but only if accurate.
- ASIC/Companies House: shareholdings only (no notes/options), the legal source of truth.
- Spreadsheets: every deal ends up here, so keep your platform current before exporting.
- Accounting system: shows cash received and whether it’s booked as equity or liabilities.
If all four match, you’re in the lucky 10%. If not, we can help (without lawyer’s rates).
We’ve seen it all – and we know 90% of cap tables we review are wrong or inconsistent. That’s why our service is designed to simplify everything, make it consistent across Cake, ASIC, spreadsheets and Xero, and keep you in control.
- Startup specialists
- Your cap table concierge
- Shares, notes, options
- Be investment ready
Our cap table management services for Aussie founders
- ✓ 4-way review: ASIC, Cake, spreadsheets and Xero
- ✓ Shares, notes and options
- ✓ Board approvals and legal documents
- ✓ Report summarising any inconsistencies found
- ✓ Recommendations and upfront fix estimate
- ✓ ASIC share issue corrections
- ✓ Cake Equity - options, notes, vesting, exits and conversions
- ✓ Xero equity and liability corrections
- ✓ Cap table spreadsheet creation or updates
- ✓ Summary report on completion
- ✓ ASIC, Cake and Xero kept in sync
- ✓ Covers exercises, conversions and new issuances
- ✓ Always investor-ready
- ✓ Cap table modelling
- ✓ Advice on cap table structuring
Prices exclude GST.
Note: If you need us to do ASIC updates, we’ll need to be your ASIC agent for $20/month
How our cap table services work
Review: A clear snapshot of your cap table
We start with a one-off review across the four places your ownership data usually lives:
- ASIC/Companies House – the legal source of truth
- Cake Equity (or similar platform) – shares, notes, options, vesting schedules
- Spreadsheets – often the working copy for deals
- Xero – how cash, equity and liabilities are recorded
We’ll also check any board approvals or legal documents, then provide:
- A report summarising inconsistencies across shares, notes and options
- Recommendations for fixing them
- An upfront estimate if you’d like us to complete the corrections
To do this, we’ll need access to ASIC, Cake, Xero, any cap table spreadsheets, and supporting legal documentation.
Pricing: $1,000+GST for up to 20 shareholders, or $2,000 for up to 50. (Unusual or complex cases may be quoted separately.)
Update: Fixing inconsistencies
If your review uncovers issues, we can fix them – whether that’s cleaning up ASIC filings, updating Cake, or correcting Xero entries. Our preference is to keep Cake as the “source of truth”, then export into spreadsheets as needed.
Typical updates include:
- Updating ASIC for new or corrected share issues
- Adding shares, notes or options in Cake (including new option holders, vesting schedules, acting on exercise notices, handling employee exits, adding convertible/SAFE notes, and converting them to equity)
- Recording option exercises, leavers, or conversions
- Correcting Xero entries for equity vs liabilities
- Creating or updating cap table spreadsheets
Pricing guide:
- ASIC changes – $50 per shareholder (Cake updated at the same time)
- Cake changes – $30 per share/note/option update
- Xero adjustments – usually $300-$700
- Spreadsheet creation/updates – usually $300-$700
- ASIC agent service – $20/mth (covers monitoring and unlimited company/director updates, ASIC fees may apply)
If we’ve conducted a review, we’ll estimate the work required. Alternatively, if you or your lawyer provide clear instructions (often in spreadsheets or documents), we’ll follow those directly.
Once updates are complete, we’ll send you a summary. It remains your responsibility to cross-check this and let us know if corrections are needed. Any rework may incur additional fees.
Maintain: Peace of mind, month after month
You can continue on a pay-as-you-go basis for individual updates, or move to a fixed monthly model for predictability. Under either approach, we’ll ensure ASIC, Cake and Xero stay aligned – you just let us know when something changes.
Monthly pricing (per stakeholder):
- 1-9 stakeholders: $5 each
- 10-19 stakeholders: $4 each
- 20-29 stakeholders: $3 each
- 30+ stakeholders: $2 each
New stakeholders can be added for a flat $20 each, with monthly billing adjusted from there. Where changes include exercises or conversions, we’ll simply make the updates. Where new shares, notes or options are issued (i.e. new stakeholders), we’ll add them across ASIC, Cake and Xero, apply the $20 fee, and update your monthly billing.
This way, there’s no messing around with variable pricing – just predictable costs and confidence your cap table is always investor-ready.
Startup founders ♥ Standard Ledger
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what our clients have to say about working with us.
“Closing our £2.5m round with Octopus Ventures was a huge milestone for HealsGood AI. Standard Ledger were instrumental throughout the process – helping us stay investor-ready, manage due diligence and present a clear financial story. They brought real structure and focus, which made a complex raise feel controlled and achievable. Having that level of financial leadership on our side gave us the confidence to move fast and negotiate from a position of strength.”
Jack Henderson
“The grant application for the Australian Government’s Boosting Female Founders Initiative is an absolute beast of a process. I’ve really enjoyed working with John to secure it.”
Jeanette Cheah
“Standard Ledger’s fractional CFO services identified KPIs driving operational improvements, making us an attractive acquisition target. Strategic exit planning structured our finances to maximise returns, and negotiating the complexities of the sale process secured us a deal that recognised our full value.”
Peter Neal
“Standard Ledger saved us from trouble during our UK setup. They turned around crucial work in 48 hours, preventing fines. Having the support you can trust, who knows what they’re doing, means less stress and frees up a lot of mental space.”
Peter Cole
“Standard Ledger was incredibly helpful in reviewing and modelling our finances. Thanks to their support, we reshaped our strategy and identified areas for growth. We are now ready for expansion into new sports and markets.”
Iggy Jovanovic
“John and the team have really understood our R&D story from day one, and have always had a plan for it. We’re in the third year of working together now, and it’s been really great.”
Nadun Hennayaka
Is your cap table ready for investors?
We’ll help you simplify, structure and present it clearly – so you can raise with confidence.
Keeping your cap table on track
The last thing you want is an inconsistent cap table derailing a deal after all the effort you’ve put in. Reviewing your cap table now is a smart move that gives you peace of mind later. Standard Ledger’s cap table management service sits alongside financial and corporate secretarial support, and our fees reflect that. Please note, we are not lawyers.
We take care to extract the necessary information from the legal documents you provide, but you or your lawyer should always review the work for accuracy.
Additional charges may apply if further queries or rework are required.
FAQ
Questions founders ask us.
These are the things founders most often want to know before working with us. If your question isn't here, bring it along when you speak with us.
How much does a cap table review actually cost?
A basic cap table review costs $1,000 for up to 20 shareholders or $2,000 for up to 50 shareholders. This includes checking your cap table across ASIC, Cake Equity, spreadsheets and Xero to spot any inconsistencies, and you’ll get a report with recommendations on what needs fixing.
What's the difference between a cap table review and ongoing maintenance?
A review is a one-off health check that shows you what’s wrong, while maintenance means we keep updating your cap table as things change. Ongoing maintenance starts from $5 per stakeholder per month (with discounts as you scale), and we handle all the updates to ASIC, Cake and Xero whenever you issue shares, convert notes or grant options.
Why does my cap table need to match across ASIC, Cake and Xero?
Investors and lawyers check all three places when you’re raising capital – if the numbers don’t match up, it can stall or kill your deal. ASIC is the legal source of truth, Cake tracks your options and vesting, and Xero shows how cash and equity are recorded, so keeping them aligned means you’re always investor-ready.
Can you fix my cap table?
Absolutely – we see messy cap tables all the time and can sort them out. After a review, we’ll give you an estimate (usually $1,000-$3,000) to update ASIC, Cake and Xero so everything’s consistent, plus we’ll create a spreadsheet “source of truth” so you’re back on track.
Do I need a lawyer or can Standard Ledger handle my cap table completely?
We’re not lawyers, so we can’t give legal advice – but we can do all the practical work of updating ASIC filings, maintaining Cake Equity and keeping your Xero books aligned. You or your lawyer should review the work for accuracy, but we handle everything from share issues to option exercises to convertible note conversions.