The short version
What changed?
A buyer’s checklist
What to look for in cap table software for a UK company
Most cap table tools were built for US companies and adapted afterwards. A UK company has different records to keep, different forms to file and a different tax scheme to run. Eight things to check, whichever platform you choose.
It starts from Companies House
Your filed history, current shareholders, directors, PSCs and share classes already exist at Companies House. Look for a platform that can pull them in, so you are checking a record rather than typing one, and your registered details never need entering by hand.
It keeps the statutory register
The statutory members register is a legal document. Look for software that updates as events are recorded, rather than one you export and maintain separately.
Files directly with Co's House
Every share allotment needs an SH01 filing. Each company anniversary means a Confirmation Statement filing. Your software should take care of this for you, not make you fill out forms by hand.
EMI is part
of the product
Check whether the scheme documents, the grants, the HMRC notification and the annual return are covered, and on which plan. For a UK startup with employees, this is not an optional extra.
It keeps you “diligence-ready”
Your next fundraise or exit will only happen after investor diligence and your equity records are the most important part of that. Each share allotment, transfer, conversion or option award should carry its date and its document. This is what a buyer’s lawyers ask for.
You can see the price
Look for published prices, a free tier that includes the UK parts, and no minimum term. If the price needs a sales call, the free tier is the only number you can compare.
Your data is yours
A full export whenever you want it, including after you leave.
It speaks UK, & guides you as you go
Look at the forms before you commit. Do they ask for a “par value”? Do they ask about “409A valuations” and other US-specific terms? Is there guidance beside each field, or are you left to work out what each one means?
The forms themselves
Same task, two forms
We created a new company on Carta’s free Launch plan and on Shareflo’s free plan, and made a share allotment on each. Here is what each form asked for.
Carta
Asks about US terms such as: Rule 144 terms (1, 4), Federal & State exemptions (3)
Asks about dividend accrual rights (2), which are not relevant to most startups
shareflo
Requires just the fields necessary for UK companies, such as (S)EIS scheme. Includes contextual help (2) + AI chat guidance (1)
Screens captured 4 October on a new account on each platform’s free plan.
Built for UK companies
What a UK-native record looks like
Shareflo uses the terms your accountant, your solicitor and Companies House use, and builds the record around the forms and schemes a UK company actually has.
It starts from Companies House
Sync pulls in all your historic Companies House filings, your current cap table, your directors and PSCs, and your share classes with their particulars. You check a record rather than type one.
It speaks the Companies Act
Shares have a nominal value, allotments are filed on an SH01, and the register of members is a statutory document. Shareflo uses those terms because they are the ones you will be asked about.
It is built around UK tax schemes
Option administration is in the free plan. Scheme rules, award agreements, s431 elections and exercise notices are available as an optional add-on, and the annual ERS return comes out of the scheme records.
Your register, Companies House and HMRC agree
The SH01 after an exercise, the confirmation statement and the ERS return come out of a record that is already correct. If they stop agreeing, you hear it from us, not from an investor’s solicitor.
WORKED EXAMPLES
What you'd actually pay
Annual plan
Pre-seed
8
stakeholders
Platform
Free
EMI wordings
£1,500
Seed
20
stakeholders
Platform
Free
EMI wordings
£1,500
Series A
35
stakeholders
Platform
£2,100
EMI wordings
£1,500
Series B
75
stakeholders
Platform
£4,500
EMI wordings
£1,500
The monthly plan is £6 per stakeholder per month, against £5 on the annual plan.
getting started
Getting your records in
Companies House sync
Pull in all your historic Companies House filings, your current cap table, your directors and PSCs, and your instruments, meaning your share classes and their particulars. Your registered details never need typing.
Spreadsheet upload
Upload your holders and holdings, with their dates. Documents are not imported from the spreadsheet; attach them to each grant afterwards.
Add them yourself
Create instruments and events one at a time, each with its date and its document.