PrintThe purpose of a stock ledger (also called a stock transfer ledger) is to keep accurate records of all stock transactions made by your company. It is an essential part of your corporate records book. The stock ledger should include each shareholder’s name and address along with the number of shares he or she owns plus the certificate number, class of stock, date of purchase or issuance and consideration paid.
Whether the corporation redeems shares or a shareholder sells his or her shares to someone else, all transactions should be recorded to keep the ledger current. If stock options have been granted and are exercisable, they also need to be recorded.
Many start-up companies neglect to maintain their stock ledger. In time, they may be faced with the slow process of trying to research and record such information. Not having such records can impinge upon new offerings of securities, future rounds of funding, new investors, mergers or acquisitions.
Corporate stock ledgers can typically be found in corporate kits at business stationary stores or in software packages. You can also get a Stock Ledger and Capitalization Summary form from AllBusiness.com, which also offers it as part of the AllBusiness.com Stock Certificate Kit of related forms.
