Last updated
Feb 2, 2026
What is a vesting schedule?
A vesting schedule is the rulebook that decides when someone actually earns their equity. Instead of giving all of the equity on day one, vesting spreads it out over time so that people earn ownership as they build the company with you.
Why vesting matters
Protects the company if a co‑founder or early employee leaves early; unvested equity usually returns to the pool.
Signals to investors that the team is committed and that there is a fair mechanism if someone departs.
Gives employees a clear story: “If you stay and help grow this, here is how your ownership increases over time.”
Mantle lets you define these schedules once and reuse them consistently across grants so your cap table and legal docs stay aligned.
Common vesting patterns
Most early-stage startups use a small set of default patterns.
Standard employee vesting
4-year vesting, 1-year cliff, then monthly vesting over the remaining 3 years
Founder vesting
Often similar (4 years, 1-year cliff), but may be tailored to reflect time spend building before incorporation, subject to investor expectations.
Advisor/contractor vesting
Shorter periods (1-2 years), sometimes with no cliff, and more milestone-based, depending on the relationship.
How vesting works
Cliff
A minimum period where nothing is vested yet (for example, the first 12 months). If the person leaves before the cliff, they typically walk away with zero equity.
Regular vesting
After the cliff, equity vests in equal increments (monthly, quarterly, or annually) until 100% is vested.
Acceleration (optional)
Some grants include provisions where vesting speeds up if the company is sold or the person is terminated in certain scenarios; these should always be drafted with a lawyer.
How to create a time-based vesting schedule
Use a recurring vesting schedule for standard time-based vesting.
Go to Vesting → Templates
On the lefthand sidebar, click into the Vesting section then Templates.
Create a new schedule
Click Add Schedule Template.
Give it a clear name like "Employee 4y / 1y cliff / monthly."
Set the total duration and cliff
Select if the schedule includes an immediate vest or a cliff.
Decide what portion vests immediately or at the cliff (often 25% of the grant, representing 12 months of vesting).
Choose the total vesting duration (e.g. 48 months).
Configure the recurring cadence
Select the frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually).
Mantle will calculate how much of the remaining equity vests at each interval so that 100% vests by the end of the schedule.
Save and reuse
Save the schedule. It will now appear as an option whenever you create a new option grant.
Encourage your team to always select one of your standard schedules instead of creating ad-hoc vesting each time.
How to record a conditional vesting schedule
Use a custom vesting schedule when the vesting is not a simple "cliff + straight line" pattern. For example, if vesting is dependent on certain milestones reached (milestone-based vesting).
Start a custom schedule
In the Vesting section, select the Conditional tab and click on Add Conditional Template.
Give it a clear name.
Define each vesting event
Add rows or entries for each milestone.
For each entry, specify the percentage that vests on completion.
Mantle will show you the cumulative percentage or quantity vested to help you confirm that it reaches 100% by the end.
Review and save
Double-check all dates and totals against your signed agreements or board approvals.
Save the custom schedule by clicking Confirm.
How to record conditional milestone-based vesting
Open the security
Find the specific option grant or equity award from the stakeholder's profile or the cap table.
Open the detail view for that security.
Update milestones
Scroll down to the Conditional Vesting Milestones section.
Click on Update Milestones.
Under each relevant milestone, update the milestone status (e.g. Pending, Has been met, Not met) and recognition date.
Review and save
Double-check all milestone status fields and dates are accurate.
Save the milestone progress by clicking Update Progress.
How to temporarily pause vesting
Pausing vesting lets you stop future vesting on a specific security without changing the underlying schedule template—for example, if there is a leave of absence and you want vesting to resume later.
Open the security
Find the specific option grant or equity award from the stakeholder's profile or the cap table.
Open the detail view for that security.
Update to a custom schedule
Scroll down to reach the Vesting section.
Click Vesting Schedule and select Custom.
Delete all vesting tranches that occur after the date you wish to pause vesting on.
Create the "pause" tranche
Hover over the last row and click on the + button to add a new row.
Set a date far in the future (e.g. several years from now). This pauses vesting until this future date is reached or the schedule is modified.
Set the vest amount to the unallocated portion of the total vest amount. This represents the amount that would have vested had vesting not been paused.
Resume when ready
When the person returns, you can go back and update the latest row to reflect the re-start date.
Always coordinate pauses with your legal and HR advisors so that vesting treatment matches your agreements and local employment laws.
How vesting interacts with the cap table
When you issue a grant, Mantle links it to a vesting schedule and vesting start date, then automatically calculates vested vs. unvested amounts over time. If someone leaves, you update their termination date; Mantle stops vesting and shows what portion of the grant is vested and potentially exercisable (for options).
Things founders should watch for
Put founders on vesting; investors expect it, and it avoids messy conversations if someone leaves early.
Avoid too many one-off vesting changes; a small, consistent set of schedules is easier to manage and explain to the team.
Make sure the vesting terms in Mantle match your signed agreements and board approvals; the platform is your operational source of truth, not a replacement for legal sign-off.