409A Valuation Checklist: Documents You Need

To obtain a 409A valuation, you need to provide your valuation analyst with financial statements, cap table information, funding history, and industry-specific operating metrics. Having this information prepared in advance significantly reduces turnaround time and the likelihood of back-and-forth requests from the analyst.

Published August 13, 2026

Updated August 13, 2026

3 min read

Key Takeaways

The cap table is the most critical document — it must show all share classes, preferences, and fully diluted shares

Financial statements for the last 12–24 months are needed for the income and DCF analysis

Your most recent funding round details anchor the backsolve method

Industry-specific metrics (ARR for SaaS, GMV for marketplaces) are required and not in standard financial statements

Connecting Xero or QuickBooks auto-provides the financial data and eliminates most document requests

Outstanding SAFEs and convertible notes must be fully documented with their conversion terms

Board-approved business plan or financial projections help support the DCF analysis

Complete 409A Document Checklist

Category 1: Cap Table (Required)

Fully diluted capitalization table showing all share classes
Number of common shares outstanding (by founder)
All preferred share classes with: shares outstanding, original issue price, liquidation preference, participation rights, conversion ratio
Outstanding stock options: total pool size, granted, vested, exercised, cancelled
Outstanding warrants: number, exercise price, expiry
Outstanding SAFEs: principal amount, valuation cap, discount rate, MFN status
Outstanding convertible notes: principal, interest rate, maturity, valuation cap, discount

Category 2: Funding History (Required)

Most recent funding round: amount raised, close date, pre-money valuation, post-money valuation, lead investor
All prior funding rounds with the same details
Any acquisition offers received (term sheets, LOIs)
Any secondary share transactions

Category 3: Financial Statements (Required)

P&L / Income Statement: last 12 months, and prior 12 months if available
Balance Sheet: most recent month-end
Cash flow statement (if available)
Current cash and cash equivalents
Monthly burn rate

Connect Xero or QuickBooks to auto-provide all financial data in seconds.

Category 4: Industry Metrics (Required — varies by industry)

Industry	Key Metrics Needed
SaaS	ARR, MRR, NRR, gross churn rate, customer count, ACV
FinTech	TPV, take rate, loan portfolio (if lending)
E-Commerce	GMV, repeat purchase rate, AOV
Marketplace	GMV, take rate, active buyers, active sellers
HealthTech	Covered lives, FDA status, reimbursement model
BioTech	Pipeline stage, therapeutic area, cash runway months

Category 5: Company Information (Helpful)

Year of incorporation
Number of full-time employees
Primary business description (2–3 sentences)
Key risks and competitive factors
Financial projections or board-approved plan (if available)
Any IP, patents, or proprietary technology

What Happens If You Are Missing Something?

Our platform will flag any missing required fields before you submit. For optional items, the analyst will note where assumptions were made due to missing data. Providing more complete information always results in a more defensible valuation.