Can I use my own bespoke option agreements on Vestd?
Template versions of your own bespoke option agreements can be used on the Vestd platform.
If you have your own option agreements and would like them digitised, we can set up a Bespoke Agreement template for you. The points below outline how the process works and what to consider to get the best results.
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How bespoke agreements work on Vestd
Before being sent to recipients, agreements are converted into PDFs. This conversion can be affected by broken or complex formatting, so clean, consistent layouts work best.
The platform can automatically populate key information such as the recipient’s name, number of options granted, and grant date. However, it cannot switch out or conditionally hide text. If certain clauses should only appear in specific scenarios, you will need separate templates for each version.
Option schedules should be summarised rather than listed in full. The platform can insert numbers and words, but it cannot insert new lines, so full schedules should not be embedded in the document.
Digital acceptance (standard method)
Most customers use digital acceptance, which does not require signatures or witnesses. If your agreement will be accepted digitally:
- Signature blocks should be removed
- We will provide the additional passages required to enable digital acceptance
- Certain clauses (e.g., those that make the document a deed) cannot be used
- We will highlight any clauses that need to be added or removed when you share your agreement with us
Digital acceptance remains the simplest and most efficient route.
Support for executing agreements as witnessed deeds
The platform now supports digitising and executing customer option agreements as deeds, which is helpful if your existing agreements must remain deeds or contain forced‑execution clauses.
To process an agreement as a deed, the document must include the correct deed placeholders. These allow the platform to collect all required signatures and witness details.
A deed requires four signatures:
- Company signature
- Company witness signature
- Recipient signature
- Recipient witness signature
The corresponding signature dates must also be captured. Additional mandatory fields (such as witness occupation or address) will be confirmed once the final list is provided.
The deed flow will only work if the correct placeholders are included in the document. Once confirmed, these placeholders can be added to your template so the platform can collect all required information.
Document placeholders
The templates support a wide range of variables, allowing most documents to be converted. We will populate these for you, but the list below shows what is currently available.
| Document Placeholder | |
| ${recipient name} | Recipient name |
| ${recipient address} | Recipient address |
| ${recipient email} | Recipient email |
| ${recipient ni} | Recipient NI (if applicable) |
| ${num shares} | Total number of shares for the option |
| ${exercise price} | The exercise or strike price |
| ${amv} | The valuation AMV (if applicable) |
| ${umv} | The valuation UMV (if applicable) |
| ${share class name} | The name of the class of shares the option is issued over |
| ${nominal value} | The nominal value of the share class |
| ${grant date} | The grant date for the option |
| ${start date} | The date vesting begins |
| ${vesting date} | The date vesting finishes and the option is fully vested |
| ${accepted date} | The date the recipient accepted |
| ${expiry date} | The option expiry date (if applicable) |
| ${cliff date} | The cliff date (if applicable) |
| ${cliff months} | The number of months after the start date the cliff occurs (if applicable) |
| ${cliff percentage} | The percentage of shares that vest on the cliff (if applicable) |
| ${tranche percentage} | The percentage of shares in a single tranche |
| ${tranche shares} | The number of shares in a single tranche |
| ${tranche period} | The time in months between tranches |
| ${final tranche shares} | The number of shares in the final tranche, this may be higher due to rounding |
| ${vesting years} | The number of years over which the option vests |
| ${vesting years word} | The number of years as a word i.e. four |
| ${criteria} | The criteria associated with the option |
Our team, content and app can help you make informed decisions. However, any guidance and support should not be considered as 'legal, tax or financial advice.'