Diligence-readiness self-assessment
Investors and acquirers judge you at one moment — due diligence. Run through the checklist they use and see, by section, where you're green and what's still missing.
14 artifacts still outstanding
Corporate & secretarial
- Statutory registers & minute book are up to date
- Annual ROC filings (AOC-4, MGT-7) are current
Cap table & equity
- Cap table is current and reconciled
- SHA & SSA signed and on file
- Founders' agreement with vesting & cliff
- Share certificates issued for every allotment
Intellectual property
- IP assigned by founders, employees & contractors
Tax
- GST returns filed and up to date
- TDS deducted, deposited & returns filed
- Income-tax returns filed
Payroll
- PF & ESI deposited and up to date
FEMA / FDI
- FC-GPR filed within 30 days of any foreign allotment
- FLA annual return filed
Legal
- Key contracts & employment agreements on file
This self-assessment is an indicative readiness check on a starter list, not legal advice or a complete diligence review. The exact artifacts an investor requests vary — confirm scope with your CA, CS or lawyer.
What this checks
Diligence requests follow a predictable shape: corporate & secretarial hygiene, a clean cap table & equityfile (SHA, SSA, founders' vesting, share certificates), IP assignment from everyone who built the product, current tax and payroll, FEMA reporting if you took foreign money, and your key legal contracts. Each gap here is a question an investor will eventually ask.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
- What do investors check during startup due diligence?
- Corporate and secretarial records, the cap table and equity documents (SHA, SSA, founders' agreement with vesting, share certificates), IP assignment from founders/employees/contractors, tax and payroll compliance, FEMA filings where there's foreign investment, and key contracts.
- What's the most common diligence red flag for Indian startups?
- Two recur: IP that isn't assigned to the company, and late or missing FEMA reporting (FC-GPR) on foreign investment. Both are avoidable and both surface immediately in diligence.
- How is the readiness score calculated?
- It's the share of relevant items you've marked done; each section is rated Red/Amber/Green by how many of its items are still outstanding. Items you mark N/A don't count against you.
- Can ComplianceStack produce the actual data room?
- Yes — in the app this same checklist is backed by your evidence vault, and you can export an investor-ready diligence pack or share a time-boxed read-only link.
Turn this into a real data room
In ComplianceStack this checklist is backed by an evidence vault — close each item with proof, then export a diligence pack or share a read-only link investors can verify directly.
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