Stock Option Offer Statuses and What They Mean

When managing employee stock option offers in Cake, your offers will progress through several distinct stages. Understanding these stages helps you track progress and take the right actions at each step.

Initial offer stages

Waiting on you to complete - Your offer is saved as a draft and needs admin action. You'll see two options:

• Click Issue Grant if the employee has already accepted the offer outside Cake. You'll enter the grant date and upload the signed agreement.

• Click Send Grant to send the offer digitally through Cake for employee review and signature.

Your employee/investor needs to sign - The offer is with your employee to confirm details and sign. Send reminders anytime through the To do tab by clicking Send reminder.

Vesting stages

Vesting - Options are granted and automated vesting has begun. The grant date shows when options were officially granted to the employee.

Partially vested - Some options have vested while others have been cancelled (lapsed). This typically occurs when an employee leaves before their full vesting schedule completes.

Paused - Vesting has been temporarily stopped, typically due to leave or other circumstances affecting the employee's status.

Final stages

Lapsed - Options have been cancelled and returned to the unallocated pool, usually when an employee leaves before full vesting or if options expire.

Exercised - The employee has converted their vested options into shares.

You can track all offer stages by navigating to Incentive plans → Options → View pool to see your complete option pool status.

Still Need Help? Contact our support team through the in-app chat or submit a support request via the help centre for assistance with interpreting statuses.