Share Certificate Types: Holdings vs Transactional
Cake supports two certificate types to suit different record-keeping needs: holdings certificates and transactional certificates. Choose the type that fits your requirements before issuing.
Holdings certificates (default)
Holdings certificates combine all of a shareholder's holdings into a single certificate per share class, regardless of when the shares were acquired. This gives a clean consolidated view of total ownership.
Best for: Most companies. Simpler to manage, easier for shareholders to understand.
To issue holdings certificates:
Go to Settings and check that your share certificate type is set to Holdings share certificate by class.
Go to Cap Table and select the Shareholders tab.
Click the issue share certificate icon next to the relevant shareholder.
Transactional certificates
Transactional certificates create a separate document for each individual share issuance. One transaction = one certificate.
Best for: When you need transaction-level documentation or have specific legal requirements.
To issue transactional certificates:
Go to Settings and set your share certificate type to Transactional share certificate.
Go to Cap Table → Transaction logs.
Click the issue share certificate icon next to the specific transaction.
Updating existing certificates
When you issue new shares to an existing holder (holdings mode):
Go to Documents → All documents and locate the existing certificate in the Share Certificates folder.
Delete the old certificate or simply remove the link for that document to the shareholder via the Share option in the dropdown menu. The latter ensures you keep a copy of the old certificate for record-keeping purposes.
Issue a new certificate reflecting the updated total holding.
Notify the shareholder of the new certificate.