Angel Investment Record Keeping: A Complete Guide

What records investors should keep

For every holding: legal name, website, sector, investment date, amount, currency, instrument, ownership or conversion terms, valuation date and basis, open actions, and a pointer to files. If you cannot produce that pack in ten minutes, the record does not exist — it is scattered.

A short checklist version lives at portfolio checklist. This page is the why and the failure modes.

Documents

Label files by company and type: subscription, SHA, articles, certificate, SEIS3/EIS3, nominee statement, board consent for a secondary. Investech stores documents on the company and flags missing tax certificates in the Action centre so “certs” is not a 400-file Drive dump.

Founder communications

You will not remember the January update in a follow-on in November. File investor updates on the company. You do not need a CRM for that. You need a company file that is not Gmail search.

Notes

Thesis, risks, “what would change my mind,” and cap-table gotchas. If it only exists in your head, it will not exist at follow-on. AI-assisted notes in Investech are optional; the requirement is that notes are attached to the name.

Investment agreements

Keep the executed version, not the last Word draft. Convertible terms (cap, discount, MFN) belong next to the instrument row. When conversion happens, add the equity line and keep the note history — do not delete the convertible as if it never existed.

Tax records

UK angels: scheme, certificate, amounts, dates, claimed vs not. See SEIS and EIS tracking. Non-UK angels still keep cost basis and sale proceeds. Educational only.

Due diligence records

A two-page memo beats a 40-page graveyard you never reopen. Store it with the company. If you used a data room, keep the export or a note of the link and date. Investech is not a live VDR; it is where the conclusion lives.

Exit records

SPA extracts, completion statements, proceeds, residual escrow, and whether shares were cancelled or converted. Archive the company. Realised proceeds on the dashboard should move; open positions should drop. If they do not, your tracker is lying.

Why this is hard in spreadsheets

Cells do not checksum against PDFs. Two people edit two copies. Formulas break when you insert a column. There is no Action centre. Comparison: spreadsheets vs software. The category this supports: angel investor portfolio management software.

FAQ

What is the minimum angel record set?

Identity of the company, cash in and out with dates, instrument terms, legal documents, tax certificates where relevant, latest mark with a basis, and a short thesis memo.

How long should I keep records?

Longer than you think. Private holdings and tax claims can be queried years later. Keep realised names in an archive, not the bin.