Business Documents & Templates For Startups and Private Companies

The right document at the right time can protect your company, clarify ownership, and keep a deal moving.

From incorporation and shareholder records to equity plans, fundraising, and valuations, private companies rely on dozens of important documents as they grow. Knowing what each document does and when you need it can save time and prevent costly gaps.

These resources bring together essential business documents, templates, and guides to help founders, investors, finance teams, and legal professionals find the information they need. Browse the resources below to learn what each document is and when to use it.

Corporate Governance Documents

The foundational records that establish your company and govern how decisions get made.

• Articles of Incorporation -The founding legal document that officially creates your corporation with the state, outlining basic details like company name, share structure, and registered agent.
• Board Resolution – A formal written record of a decision made by the board of directors, used whenever major company actions require documented approval.
• Board Meeting Minutes -The official written summary of what was discussed and decided during a board meeting, an important record for legal and compliance purposes.
• Shareholder Voting Rights – A guide to how voting power is allocated among shareholders and how it affects control over key company decisions.
• Shareholder Voting Agreement – A contract among shareholders that determines how they will vote their shares on specific matters, often used to keep control aligned among founders and early investors.
• Shareholder Register – The official record of who owns shares in a company, how many, and when those shares were issued or transferred.
• Shareholder Recordkeeping – Practical tips for keeping shareholder records organized and accurate as ownership changes, reducing the risk of errors down the line. 

Equity & Share Documents

The paperwork that proves ownership and tracks how shares move between people.

• Share/Stock Certificate – A document that serves as physical or digital proof of ownership in a company, showing the shareholder’s name and number of shares held.
• Stock Certificate Template – A ready-to-use template for creating compliant stock certificates without starting from scratch.
• Issuing Stock Certificates – A guide covering whether and when companies are legally required to issue stock certificates to their shareholders.
• Share Transfer Form – The document used to formally record the transfer of shares from one owner to another.
• Tear Sheet – A concise summary document, often used in valuations or offerings, that presents key company or security information at a glance.

Founder & Partnership Agreements

The agreements that define relationships and responsibilities between the people building the company together.

• Founders Agreement – A contract between co-founders that outlines equity splits, roles, vesting terms, and what happens if a founder leaves.
• Shareholders’ Agreement – An agreement among a company’s shareholders that governs their rights, obligations, and how the business will be managed and financed.
• 50/50 Partnership Agreement – A guide to structuring a partnership where ownership and control are split evenly between two partners, including how to handle deadlock situations.
• Profit-Sharing Agreement – A contract that defines how business profits will be distributed among partners, employees, or investors.
• Right of First Refusal & Co-Sale Agreement – An agreement that gives existing shareholders the option to buy shares before they’re sold to an outside party, protecting ownership control.

Fundraising & Investment Documents

The paperwork that governs how capital comes into the business, from a first term sheet to a formal investment close.

• Term Sheet – A non-binding document that outlines the basic terms and conditions of a proposed investment before formal legal agreements are drafted.
• Startup Term Sheet Template – A ready-made template startups can use to quickly draft a term sheet for early-stage fundraising.
• NVCA Term Sheet & VC Model Documents – An overview of the standardized model documents published by the National Venture Capital Association that many VC financings are based on.
• Subscription Agreement – The contract an investor signs to formally agree to purchase shares in a company, along with the terms of that purchase.
• Investment Agreement – The binding legal document that finalizes the terms under which an investor provides capital to a company in exchange for equity.
• Equity Investment Agreement – A founder-focused guide to the agreement structures used when raising equity investment, including key terms to negotiate.
• Convertible Note Agreement – A guide to drafting the agreement for a convertible note, a form of short-term debt that converts into equity at a future financing round.
• Tender Offer – An explanation of how tender offers work and what they mean for existing investors and shareholders when shares are bought back or sold in bulk.

M&A Documents

The documents that come into play when companies combine, are acquired, or sell assets.

• M&A Deal Structure & Agreement – A comprehensive guide to how mergers and acquisitions are structured, including the key agreements involved at each stage of the deal.
• Form 8594 – The IRS form used to report the allocation of purchase price among assets when a business is bought or sold.

Tax & Compliance Forms

The tax filings and IRS forms founders and shareholders are most likely to encounter.

• 83(b) Election Filing – A step-by-step walkthrough of how to file an 83(b) election, which lets founders and employees pay tax on equity at grant rather than at vesting.
• 83(b) Election Guide – A complete overview of what an 83(b) election is, who should file one, and the deadlines and risks involved.
• Form 3921 & 3922 – An explanation of these IRS forms, which companies use to report the exercise of incentive stock options and purchases under employee stock purchase plans.
• Form 8283 – A guide to filing this IRS form, required when claiming a tax deduction for noncash charitable contributions above a certain value.
• IRC 170 – An explanation of the section of the tax code that governs deductions for charitable contributions, including how it applies to gifts of stock or property.
• Form 1099-B  A breakdown of this IRS form, used to report proceeds from broker and barter exchange transactions such as stock sales.
• Schedule K-1 Tax Form – A guide to this tax form, which reports each partner’s or shareholder’s share of income, deductions, and credits from a pass-through entity.
• Pro-Forma Financial Statements – An explanation of how to build forward-looking financial statements that project a company’s expected performance, often used for fundraising or planning.
• Verifying Financial Data Accuracy – A step-by-step guide to confirming that a company’s financial records and statements are accurate before relying on them for reporting, valuation, or fundraising.
• Goodwill Impairment (IAS 36) – An overview of IAS 36, the accounting standard that governs when and how companies must test for and record impairment of goodwill and other assets.
• General Ledger – An explanation of the general ledger, the core accounting record that tracks every financial transaction and underlies a company’s financial statements. 

Digital Tools for Document Management

• Digital Signatures – An overview of how digital signatures work, their legal validity, and why they’ve become standard for executing business documents.

How Eqvista Can Help

Finding the right document is a part of managing your company’s ownership records. Every document on this page ties back to accurate shareholder information, up-to-date cap tables, properly tracked equity awards, and reliable valuation records. 

Instead of drafting each one from scratch or chasing down the latest version in an email thread, Eqvista lets you generate, store, and manage them directly from your live equity records, so your board resolutions, certificates, and agreements always match reality, and you’re never scrambling to pull together the right paperwork for an investor, auditor, or tax filing.

Need help with your equity records or company documents? Contact us to discuss your cap table, equity management, valuations, or the documents you need to keep everything accurate and up to date.