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The following fields are available when creating a new share class on Carta, but not all of them may be applicable.

Field	Description
Name	🔍 A designation applied to a type of security such as common or preferred stock (e.g. Series B Preferred). Companies that have more than one class of common stock usually identify a given class with alphabetical markers, such as "Class A Common" (CA) shares and "Class B Common" (CB) shares.
Prefix	A share class identifier used as the prefix for associated certificates. e.g., CS for Common, PS for Series Seed Preferred, PA for Series A Preferred, etc.
Authorized shares*	🔍 The total number of shares the company is authorized to issue in the associated class, as per the applicable document. A share class’ authorized shares should be updated after every financing round to follow the updated incorporation document, even if the total authorized amount is unchanged.
Class type	Specify whether the class is Common or Preferred . Carta can accept Common share classes with the word "Preferred" in their name, as long as it also contains "Founder" or "FF".
Votes per share*	Specify the number of voting rights attached to an individual share
Certificated	Indicates whether shares are represented digitally on Carta (Yes) or via a written stock certificate (No). . Select Yes to draft, issue, and manage compliant certificates containing the appropriate share class information on Carta.
Par value*	🔍 Minimum price per share set by the corporate charter, often set at $0.001 or $0.0001.
Seniority*	🔍 Indicates the payout order in the event of any liquidation, with 1 being paid out first. The higher the number, the less seniority that share class has.
Pari-passu*	If checked, this indicates that the share class has equal seniority to an existing share class, resulting in simultaneous payouts.
Preferred share classes only
Original issue price*	🔍 The price per share set for a series of preferred stock upon issuance
Conversion price*	🔍 If the preferred shares convert to common stock, this value would be used to calculate the Conversion ratio. See the field below for an example. . Typically though, Conversion price = Original issue price
Conversion ratio*	A percentage that shows how many shares of common stock each preferred share can be converted into, seen in your cap table in the Fully diluted column. . By default, Conversion ratio = Original issue price ÷ Conversion price
Multiplier*	🔍 A multiplier applied to the Original issue price of a preferred share class, indicating how much will be paid out based on the liquidation preferences
Participating*	🔍 Yes indicates that the holders of the share class are paid out along with common stockholders, in addition to being previously paid out according to their seniority level (pursuant to the liquidation preferences). . For example, if Series A preferred shares are participating, they will initially be paid based on their seniority level. Series A preferred shareholders will then be paid again when common shareholders are paid out.
Participation cap*	Sets a limit on the potential return on investment in the preferred stock. Blank or zero means there is no cap, meaning the preferred classes are fully participating. . For example, if a Participation cap is set at 2x, and an investor initially put in $1 million, their participation in distributions will be limited to $2 million, even if the company's valuation or payouts exceed that amount.
Dividend*	🔍 A fixed distribution of earnings to shareholders as either Cash or Non-cash dividends.
Dividend yield*	🔍 A financial ratio indicating the percentage of a company's share price it pays out in dividends each year
Cumulative*	Select whether non-cash dividends will be Non-cumulative or Cumulative, meaning they accumulate if they're not distributed when due. . This information is not reflected in the cap table.
Dividend accrual*	Specify the frequency of dividend accrual when applicable: Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly (calendar year), or annually
Compounding interest*	Choose between simple or compounding interest; if compounding, select the period from the dropdown menu.

How to create a new share class