Creating Agreements

How to create operating agreements, board authorizations, and governing documents in Equa

Creating Agreements

Agreements in Equa capture point-in-time snapshots of your organization’s equity structure. Operating agreements record who owns what at a specific moment, while authorizations track board-level approvals. Together, they form a legally auditable chain of your company’s equity history.

Prerequisites

• Active Equa account
• Organization admin role or equivalent permissions
• A cap table with at least one shareholding (for meaningful agreements)

Understanding Agreements

There are two types of governing documents in Equa:

• Operating agreements — Immutable snapshots of your equity structure at a specific point in time, including all shareholdings, security types, plans, and transactions. They form a linked chain where each new agreement references the previous one.
• Authorizations — Board-level approvals attached to specific documents, recording when and why the board authorized an action.

Creating an Operating Agreement

Step 1: Navigate to Agreements

From your organization sidebar, click Agreements.

Step 2: Create a New Agreement

Click New Agreement. The system will automatically capture a snapshot of your current:

• Organization details
• All shareholdings
• Security types and their seniority order
• Share counts by security type
• Equity incentive plans
• All transactions

Step 3: Set the Timestamp

Enter the date and time this agreement represents. This must be on or after the previous agreement’s timestamp.

Step 4: Review and Save

Review the captured data and click Create. The agreement is saved as an immutable record. It is automatically linked to the most recent previous agreement, forming a chain.

Common Tasks

Viewing an Agreement

1. Navigate to Agreements
2. Click on any agreement in the chronological list
3. The detail view shows:
   • All shareholdings captured at that point in time
   • Transactions included in the snapshot
   • A link to the previous agreement in the chain

Comparing Two Agreements

1. Navigate to Agreements
2. Select two agreements to compare
3. The diff view highlights what changed between the two snapshots — new shareholdings, modified ownership, and any structural changes

Creating a Board Authorization

1. Navigate to Agreements > Authorizations
2. Click New Authorization
3. Fill in the details:
   • Target — What is being authorized (e.g., a plan, a transaction)
   • Authorization date — When the board approved this action
   • Document (optional) — Upload the authorization document
   • Document type name (optional) — Label for the document type
   • Note (optional) — Any additional context
4. Click Save

Editing an Authorization

1. Open the authorization from the list
2. Click Edit
3. Update the fields as needed
4. Click Save

Removing an Authorization

1. Open the authorization
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm the action

Deleted authorizations are soft-deleted — they are hidden from active views but preserved in the audit trail.

Viewing the Latest Agreement

Click Latest on the agreements page to jump directly to the most recent operating agreement snapshot.

Tips

Operating agreements are append-only and immutable. Once created, a snapshot cannot be modified. If you need to correct an error, create a new agreement that reflects the corrected state.

Each new operating agreement automatically links to the previous one, forming a tamper-evident chain. This means your entire equity history is traceable from the latest agreement back to the first.

Create a new operating agreement after any significant equity event — share issuances, transfers, new funding rounds, or option grants. This maintains a clear audit trail.

Troubleshooting

I cannot create an operating agreement

Cause: You may not have admin-level permissions, or there may be no previous agreement to chain from (first agreement).

Solution: Make sure you have organization admin permissions. For the very first agreement, the system handles the chain automatically with no previous reference needed.

The timestamp is rejected

Cause: The timestamp you entered is before the previous agreement’s timestamp.

Solution: Set the timestamp to a date and time on or after the most recent agreement. Agreements must be chronological.

The agreement snapshot is missing data

Cause: Data was added to the cap table after the agreement was created.

Solution: Operating agreements capture the state at creation time. Any changes made after will appear in the next agreement. Create a new agreement to capture the current state.

Related

• Managing Your Cap Table
• Issuing Equity
• ESOP Administration
• Agreements Specification