The invitation letter
The invitation letter is the document in which the company offers you units of an incentive plan: it states how many, from which plan, on what conditions and with what schedule. When you accept and sign it, the grant becomes final.
On this page
The key point. Without a signed letter, your grant is pending: the company has offered you the units, but you have not accepted them yet. Read it, check the figures and sign it.
What it is#
When the company includes you in a plan, recording it is not enough: you have to accept it. The invitation letter is that offer in writing. There is one for each grant, so if you are in two plans you will have two letters.
What the letter says#
In Sttok the invitation has two parts, in two tabs:
| Tab | What you will find |
|---|---|
| Plan details | The plan, its type (phantoms or stock options), the units granted to you, the grant date, the exercise price and the waiting and vesting periods. |
| Schedule | Each date on which units will vest for you and how many you will have accumulated on each. |
Above all, read three things: how many units you are given, when they start to be yours and what exercise price they have. If something does not match what you were told, ask before signing.
The statuses of the invitation#
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending acceptance | The company has sent it to you and you have not signed it yet. |
| Accepted | You have signed it. The grant is final. |
| Declined | You have not accepted it. Those units are not yours. |
What happens if you don't sign it#
A grant with an unsigned letter is fragile: the company has offered you some units, but there is no record that you accepted them on those conditions. For you, that can mean problems on the day you want to sell in a liquidity window. What exactly happens to the schedule while you haven't signed is set out in your plan's conditions.
That is why Sttok counts the pending letters and shows them to whoever manages the plan, in the pool summary, as "Invitation letters pending signature".
If you manage the plan#
- Sttok generates each beneficiary's conditions if the plan was created with "Generate Conditions Template": when you create the plan you set up the template, and Sttok fills it in with the details of each grant and manages its acceptance.
- The invitation is prepared when you grant units. Check its two tabs before sending it: it is what the beneficiary will read.
- In each plan's list of beneficiaries, the "Invitation" column tells you which letters are missing.
- If the letter was signed outside Sttok, on paper for example, reflect it with "Edit letter status" in the row menu and upload the signed document to the "Documents" tab of their profile.
If you are a beneficiary#
- When the company invites you, Sttok sends you an email. When you click to sign, DocuSign opens, where you read the letter and sign it.
- Afterwards you will find it in the "Documents" tab of your profile, together with the rest of the documents for each plan.
- If you need to prove your units to a bank or an advisor, ask the company for a participation certificate.
Frequently asked questions#
Does signing the letter commit me to anything?
It commits you to whatever the plan's conditions say, for example to sell your units only when and as the company allows. Read them before signing and ask about anything you don't understand.
Do I have to pay anything when I sign?
Not for signing. The exercise price, if your plan has one, is not paid when you accept the letter: it is deducted when you sell, or paid when you exercise a stock option.
I've lost the letter. Where can I find it?
In the "Documents" tab of your profile, in Sttok. If it isn't there, ask whoever manages the plan.
Related
- What an incentive plan is An incentive plan is how Sociedad Ejemplo, S.A. shares with its team part of the value it creates: it grants you units that become yours over time and that turn into money when the company opens a liquidity window.
- Grant units to a beneficiary Granting means giving a person a number of units of a plan, with "Add Beneficiary" in "Incentive Plans", which opens the "Add Beneficiary to the incentive plan" dialog: the beneficiary, the plan, the grant date, the units and the invitation date. The grant inherits the plan's conditions, unless you change them for that person, and Sttok can send them the invitation letter to sign.
- Create an incentive plan You create a plan from "Incentive Plans" ("Plans list" menu) with "Add Plan": the plan type, the name, the start date, the plan's shares (pool), the price per unit, which is the exercise price, and the vesting schedule (cliff, vesting and speed). You can create it as a draft and ask Sttok to generate the conditions for each beneficiary.
- Sell your units in a liquidity window While a purchase offer is open, you can sell part of your vested units, up to the maximum the offer sets. You go to "Incentive market", open the offer in "Purchase offers" and accept it. During the transaction, the company may ask you for information, documents and your signature before validating it.
- Send a document for signature A document is sent for signature in an envelope. In Signatures, "New signature" asks you for the document, the role and the person who signs, and a message. From a general meeting, the minutes are sent with "Request signature". Each signer receives an email to sign, and in Sttok you see who has signed and who is missing.