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Get a 409A Valuation Through Cake

A 409A valuation establishes the Fair Market Value of your company's common stock and is required before issuing stock options to employees. Cake has partnered with Allanytics to provide fast, IRS-compliant 409A valuations — directly connected to your Cake data.

When do you need a 409A valuation?

You need a 409A valuation:

  • Before issuing your first stock options to employees

  • After raising a round of capital

  • Once every 12 months (or after a material event like a capital raise)

  • When approaching an IPO, merger, or acquisition

Learn more about 409A valuations

For a comprehensive guide to understanding 409A valuations, including when you need them and how they work: Complete 409A Valuation Guide

Add the 409A to your plan

If your current Cake plan doesn't include a 409A valuation, you can add it directly in-app.

  1. Navigate to Audit → 409A.

  2. Click Add to plan.

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  1. Complete the purchase. Once payment is confirmed, you can start the valuation process immediately by clicking Go to Valuator Portal.

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How it works

  1. Navigate to Audit → 409A and click Go to Valuator Portal.

  2. Complete the required information (allow about 20 minutes).

  3. Receive your draft valuation within 3 business days.

  4. A valuation expert will offer a 1-on-1 consultation to walk through any questions before finalising your report.

  5. Your signed valuation report is ready to use for your options plan.

What you'll need to prepare

You can use the Download Data button on the confirmation screen to export your cap table data directly from Cake.

Gather these before or shortly after submitting your request:

  1. Financial statements

  2. Financial projections

  3. Cap table and options register

  4. Articles of Incorporation

  5. Total expected options to be granted using this 409A valuation

  6. Recent term sheet or stock purchase agreement

  7. Previous 409A valuation (if applicable)

  8. Recent pitch deck — If unavailable, a summary of key business developments

  9. Next major milestone

Already have a valuation?

If you've completed a 409A valuation outside of Cake, you can upload it directly. Click Upload 409A Valuation within the Audit → 409A section.

What happens next

Once your 409A is complete, you can use the valuation to set compliant strike prices for new option grants. Head to Plans → Stock options to get started and see Create a New Option Grant

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