Eligibility
Defines which classes of employees, directors, and consultants may receive grants and any minimum service requirements for eligibility.
Clear, written plan rules reduce ambiguity about eligibility, vesting, taxation, and exercise mechanics, lowering legal and tax risk while ensuring consistent administration across employees and time.
The Employee Share Option Plan Rules are prepared by company leadership and used by HR, finance, legal, and eligible employees during grant and exercise events.
Well-documented rules streamline approvals and audits, and provide employees with predictable terms for their equity compensation.
Typically signs plan adoption minutes or certifies board approvals and has final administrative oversight when delegated authority exists; role varies with charter and committee delegations.
Records board or committee resolutions adopting the rules, retains executed documents, and ensures corporate recordbooks reflect grants and amendments for audit and compliance.
Defines which classes of employees, directors, and consultants may receive grants and any minimum service requirements for eligibility.
Specifies the vesting commencement date, cliff provisions, acceleration triggers, and treatment on termination or change in control.
Describes option types (ISO vs. NSO), exercise price determination, option term, and payment methods for exercises.
Limits transfers, assigns buyback rights, outlines permitted transfers (estate planning) and conditions for repurchase by the company.
Delegates authority to a committee, describes amendment powers, interpretation rules, and recordkeeping responsibilities.
States parties’ responsibilities for withholding, tax reporting, and consequences of failure to provide required documentation.
| Field | Recommended Setting |
|---|---|
| Signature Field | Required for all grantees |
| Date Field | Auto-fill MM/DD/YYYY on signing |
| Authentication | Email + SMS code for identity |
| Retention | Store signed copies for 7 years |
Ensure the platform supports secure signatures, audit trails, and the file formats and integrations your team uses.
Choose a platform that creates tamper-evident signed PDFs and preserves a searchable audit record for compliance and audits.
Record grant date on the date of board approval
Start vesting on the effective date as specified
Commonly up to 10 years from grant
Include required info on W-2s for calendar year
Follow Jan 31 and related tax reporting dates
Board approves the plan document and rules.
Committee or board approves individual grants.
Scheduled vesting milestones for participants.
Deadline for exercising vested options.
| Criteria | Employee Share Option Plan Rules | Individual Option Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | governance for many grants | terms for a single grant |
| Typical Signatories | board/committee | employee and company rep |
| Tax Focus | plan-level tax treatment | grantee tax reporting |
| Execution | adopted once | signed per grant |
The interface is simple and easy-to-use for our team; more importantly, it is just as easy for our customers.
airSlate SignNow provides us with the flexibility needed to get the right signatures on the right documents, in the right formats.
| signNow | DocuSign | Adobe Sign | PandaDoc | HelloSign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $8/user/mo | $15/user/mo | $14/user/mo | $19/user/mo | $15/user/mo |
| Free Trial | 7-day free trial | No | No | Yes, limited | Yes, limited |
| Bulk Send | Yes (premium) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Audit Trail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |