Stock plan administration software facilitates the day-to-day operation of equity awards and employee share plans. Whether in a private or public company, offering employees equity compensation and managing a stock plan can be time consuming and demanding process. This type of software can help to ease the admin burden for all stakeholders.
What does stock plan administration software do?
Stock plan administration software, also known as equity management software, simplifies the complexities of stock-based incentive administration. It automates the creation, tracking, and management of equity awards and plans while helping companies to remain compliant with any regional regulations regarding their stock plan(s). It also helps provide real-time reporting and analytics on equity ownership, which can be used to enable informed decision-making, something that is often not possible or difficult to do accurately using more manual solutions, like spreadsheets.
Manual solutions also suffer with scalability problems and come with a higher risk of human error, whereas equity software relies on automation, so can save time while boosting efficiency. By bringing in a professional equity management software provider like J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions, you can focus on your core business while leveraging specialized expertise and support to ensure best-in-class equity programs.
Who uses stock plan software?
All kinds of global businesses—public and private companies, from startups to multi-national enterprises—utilize it to manage their plans, whether these are all-employee plans, reserved for a handful of executives or any variation in between.
Equity compensation management software may also be used by the various departments and stakeholders within a company, including Finance, Legal, HR, Rewards and Compensation & Benefits.
The primary responsibility for administering stock plans is usually housed within HR or compensation and benefits department according to the NASPP and Deloitte 2020 domestic stock plan administration survey.
When do you need a software solution?
The timing is different for every company. Some ditch their spreadsheet and migrate their stock plans into a dedicated stock plan management tool in the very early stages when still hiring their first set of employees. However, some only come around to the software solution after enduring many headaches – the manual input-related errors and the massive time commitment needed to try to keep the plan up to date.
While it’s not essential to use stock plan administration software from the outset, early adoption enables you to enjoy the benefits of automating these complex processes sooner.
Benefits of using stock plan administration software
Equity compensation management is complex and highly specialized, with rigorous reporting and compliance demands. Opting for an in-house manual input solution almost amounts to tying one hand behind your own back.
Advanced stock plan management software, on the other hand, can optimize your entire stock plan management process. Here are some of the benefits:
- Have a one-stop solution, managed through an online and automated process
- Rely on a single source of up-to-date data to avoid confusion
- Reduce the risk of multiple versions of a stock plan and the associated manual errors
- Fulfil regulatory requirements that apply to your company, your investors, and your employees
- Synchronize with HR and payroll, tax, accounting, and reporting systems
- Access real-time and interactive insights to make informed decisions
- Generate financial reports to meet different accounting standards
- Improve participant engagement to make them more likely to sign up
- Globalize your stock plan with ease when your business grows
- Enhance data security
To learn more about stock plan optimization, download our free ebook to discover how to truly maximize your employee stock plans.
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Find your stock plan service provider
Our solution is an automated equity platform with a team of experienced professionals. It caters to every stock plan’s need and award type imaginable. It streamlines the day-to-day execution of transactions, with full automation of tracking, administering and reporting of all your equity award activities for you.
In addition, our online employee portal, available via both desktop and mobile app, encourages participants to engage with and manage their own allocations with ease. This is may not be possible with a manual equity plan solution.
Our Features & Benefits at a Glance
| Features & Benefits | Description |
| Proprietary software allowing full control | Modern, agile technology with a team of 900 experienced professionals ready to set up and configure your plan effectively |
| Ease of administration | All types of grants and plans are managed online, 24/7 using setting-based configuration without a steep learning curve. |
| Automation of key tasks | E.g. notifications, vesting, grant status updates and more. |
| Audit-ready financial reporting | Generate audit-ready reports configured for ASC 718 (US GAAP), IFRS 2, ASPE and JGAAP. |
| Interactive, real-time BI (business intelligence) reporting | Analyze and visualize data and gain valuable insights into employee ownership. No more guesswork. |
| Streamlined API integration with third-party systems | Enable seamless integration between your everyday third-party applications and our equity platform without manual data entry. |
| Legal & compliance solution | Provide legal, regulatory and tax support for each jurisdiction you operate in. |
| 24/7 engaging employee portal | Empower participants to monitor, trade and manage their equity, download statements, project estimations, etc with multilingual help desk support. |
| Scalability and expansion | Support your growth from local to global, private to public whenever you need it. |
| Improved functions & features | Rolled out regularly at no extra cost and without any need for input from you. |
To sum up, we will provide you with all the tools you need to help manage your employee equity plans and engage your employees. Here’s how we work:
- All your equity management questions, requirements, and concerns are discussed, documented and covered in an initial ‘Discovery’ meeting, to identify what your needs are and how we can best meet them.
- Your complete equity management solution is set up and configured for you in, normally, 8 to 12 weeks, designed specifically to meet your needs and those of your employees.
- You are assigned a personal relationship manager who will know you, your requirements and your plan, and who will be available to assist you at all stages.
- Each of your participant employees receives a login link to access the participant portal. Using this portal, they can manage their equity, track its performance and access the extensive learning hub 24/7, which significantly reduces your workload and costs as it can cut down on the stock plan-related queries sent to your HR team.
What next?
To learn more about the equity management solutions offered by J.P. Morgan Workplace and how they could benefit you, contact us today.
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This publication contains general information only and J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions is not, through this article, issuing any advice, be it legal, financial, tax-related, business-related, professional or other. J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions’ Insights is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be used as such. J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions does not assume any liability for reliance on the information provided herein.
