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Is a Cake 409A automated, or done by a valuation expert?

Updated by Cake

Your 409A at Cake is done with Allanytics, our integrated 409A provider. We work closely together, and Allanytics is built into Cake's systems and tooling. To you it's one process, not a hand-off between two companies.

Allanytics is an independent valuation firm. Its team includes CFAs, and has completed over 10,000 valuations. That independence is what gives your valuation safe harbor.

Cake takes care of the data and the paperwork. Your valuator takes care of the valuation.

Your valuator works the way you prefer

  • Inside Cake. Add your Allanytics valuator to your Cake account. They work from your live Cap Table, options register and share classes.
  • From an export. Click Download Data under Compliance → 409A and send the file. Your valuator works from that.

Add your valuator as a co-pilot. Co-pilots are free.

  1. Click + Invite co-pilots in the top right of your Cake account
  2. Enter your valuator's email address
  3. Choose their permission level: view-only, edit or admin
  4. Click Invite

They sign up with the same email and can start working from your data. More in Give An Advisor Access.

You talk to your valuator, not a ticket queue

  • Your valuator emails you directly once you start, with the list of documents to gather.
  • A one-on-one consultation on the draft, before anything is signed.
  • Support after the report, for questions from your auditor, board or tax adviser.

Three ways to get a 409A

A standalone valuation firm. A specialist does the work. You export your Cap Table, gather documents and send them over. When the report comes back, you key the number into your cap table yourself.

Software that generates the number. Fast and cheap. No qualified appraiser signs it, so it does not get the independent-appraisal safe harbor.

Cake with Allanytics. A specialist does the work, as with a standalone firm. Because Allanytics is integrated with Cake, your valuator works from your Cake data, and the finished value goes onto your option pools in Cake.

Is it accurate?

A 409A usually goes wrong in one of two places: bad inputs, or no independent review. Cake and Allanytics cover both, together.

  • Inputs. Your share classes, options register and Cap Table come from Cake, not a re-typed spreadsheet.
  • Review. Every valuation is done by a valuation specialist, not an automated tool. You walk through the draft with them before it is signed.
  • Report. A detailed report, typically 30-50 pages: methods, assumptions, key inputs and a reconciliation to your Cap Table.
  • Safe harbor. A qualified independent appraisal puts the burden on the IRS to prove the number wrong. See What is 409A safe harbor, and does my valuation qualify?

What the workflow automates

  1. Start. About 20 minutes under Compliance → 409A → Start 409A now. You'll get an email introducing your valuator, with the list of documents to gather
  2. Draft. Back within 3 business days
  3. Consultation. Your Allanytics valuator walks you through the draft
  4. Approve. Once your questions are answered, you approve the draft and your valuator signs the final report. The pace is yours
  5. Apply it. Apply the new fair market value to your option pools. New grants price off it. Grants already issued keep their value

Past valuations from any provider can be uploaded too. They fill in the fair market value for Form 3921 and your Rule 701 position.

What it costs

Two 409A valuations a year come with an annual Team or Pro plan. More than two, or on Build? Add them for $1,500 USD each. Annual plans only. See cakeequity.com/pricing.