Create a New Restricted Stock Award (RSA)
A Restricted Stock Award (RSA) grants actual shares to a recipient upfront, subject to a vesting schedule. Unvested shares are returned to the company if the recipient leaves before completing vesting.
Before you start
Your RSA plan must be set up first. If you haven't set up the RSA plan, click New RSA plan within Add an equity plan.
Create an RSA grant
Go to Plans → RSAs and click View plan.
Click + Add new or existing grant.
Complete the grant details:
Add shareholder: select an existing contact, or add a new recipient by entering their name and email (plus optional team and level)
Equity for each shareholder: enter the number of shares or a percentage to allocate
Investment amount per share: the price the recipient pays per share. Set to $0 for fully gifted RSAs.
Vest start date: when vesting begins
Vesting schedule: choose Industry Standard (4-year vest, 1-year cliff) or click Custom to build your own. See Create Custom Vesting Schedules
Configure additional settings (all visible by default):
Loan funded share plan: toggle on if the company is financing the share purchase for the recipient
Require witness signature: require a witness alongside the recipient's signature
Grant date: optionally override the default grant date
Click Save draft to save for review, or Send grant to issue immediately.
What happens next
The recipient receives a grant agreement to review and sign electronically through Cake. Once signed, shares are issued subject to the vesting schedule. Unvested shares return to the company if the recipient leaves before full vesting.
Cake does not have standard built-in offer templates for RSAs. Consult legal counsel to draft documents, which can then be integrated into Cake to allow for digital signing through the platform on all future grants.
Local variations
Australia / New Zealand
This plan type is called ESS (Employee Share Scheme) in Australia, not RSA. The nav shows Plans → ESS.
The grant is called an offer, and the button is Send offer, not Send grant.
The additional settings in step 4 are hidden by default, click Advanced mode at the bottom of the setup screen to expand them. Fields in Advanced mode include:
Trust nomination (AU/NZ only), allows the recipient to hold their shares through a family trust. See Allow Employees to Nominate a Trust for Their Options
Loan-funded ESS plans are common in Australia: the company lends the employee money to purchase shares at market value, repayable from future dividends or sale proceeds. This structure can carry tax advantages under Australian ESS rules.