rsus

TFP #057: Navigating Your E-Trade Account: A Guide For Procore Employees

I get a lot of questions about trying to understand your equity at E-Trade, which is fair. It’s very confusing. Words like potential value, current value, total value - it’s not super clear. And some views are helpful, and some aren’t.

So candidly, I don’t use the website until it’s time to sell or exercise. When I work with clients, I have them send me this CSV (you can get it by logging in to E-Trade, then select your Stock plan, go to "holdings", then "view by status", "download", "download expanded".)

Today I want to walk you through what I look for and the flow I go through. At a high level, this report tells me 3 really important things about your equity.

  1. What you have already

  2. What you are able to exercise

  3. What is unvested

TFP #053: Don't Tip The IRS

Read Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to the 53rd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you have company stock, please, please, pretty please, make sure you report the correct cost basis.

It can be the difference between owing $7,000 and owing $10 (aka tipping the IRS).

I was chatting with someone earlier this week on LinkedIn and they were doing their taxes in TurboTax and they were surprised with how much taxes they still owed.

TFP #051: Should You Participate In Your Company’s Tender Offer?

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 51st edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

When you work at a private company, the big dream for most is that your company goes IPO one day.

And while IPOs often grab headlines, it’s not the only way that you can turn your private company stock into cash.

The past few months we’ve helped several clients at two different private companies evaluate tender offers.

Tender offers are “a structured liquidity event that typically allows multiple sellers (including employees and early investors) to sell their shares either to another investor, a group of investors, or back to the company at a predetermined price. 

In other words, it’s a potential way for employees to sell their shares for cash while the company is still private”

TFP #039: 5 Money Myths

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 39th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

Over the past few years of working with tech professionals, I’ve discovered a number of myths and half-truths that people believe.

And more importantly, they are driving people’s behavior around money.

In this newsletter, we’ll break down 5 common myths I have heard and why they aren’t true.

TFP #031: A Framework For Your Equity Comp

Welcome to the 31st edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you Google “what to do with my equity compensation” you get 823 million results!

How the heck are you supposed to make a good, wise, financial decision?

Particularly if you are new to equity comp or have more complex situations? 

In this newsletter we’ll break down a framework for making decisions for your equity comp and review 3 specific scenarios with some real life examples.

TFP #029: 6 Financial Planning Mistakes Tech Professionals Make

Read Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to the 29th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

Over the past 3 years I’ve met with hundreds of tech professionals, and I’ve seen 6 common financial planning mistakes.

These can cost thousands or even millions of dollars.

In this newsletter, we will explore 6 common financial planning mistakes tech professionals make and some possible ways to avoid them.

TFP #022: Avoiding The "Double Tax" On Your Equity Comp

Read time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 22nd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

As we enter tax season, there’s an easy mistake that can cost tech professionals big time.

The dreaded double tax on their stock compensation.

In this newsletter we’ll break down what the double tax is, how it happens, and how to avoid it.

TFP #010: 3 Steps To Fixing A New Client's Plan

Welcome to the 10th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

Back in August, I had a 1:1 call with a new client who reached out because she just got a new job with a big increase in total compensation.

Emily (not her real name), is a product marketer at a large tech company and is set to earn just over $400,000 this year.

In this newsletter we will break down the 3 challenges Emily was facing and how we solved them together.

TFP #006: Planning For Double-Trigger RSUs

Welcome to the 6th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

I was talking with someone on Linkedin and they were asking about getting RSUs at a private company.

How the heck does that work exactly?

Hello double-trigger RSUs

In this newsletter we will go over what double-trigger RSUs are, how they differ from “traditional” RSUs, and some important considerations.

TFP #002: 7 Equity Comp Lessons

I had the chance to interview a friend who’s been in the tech industry for almost 10 years. He started with a couple smaller companies and then got hired by Uber, where he was with them through their IPO. From there, he joined a startup which ultimately didn’t work out, and now is at Netflix.

We chatted through his experience navigating the equity compensation world, particularly RSUs, and the learning lessons he gained along the way. As you will see, it can build great wealth, but it doesn't come with instructions.

Here are 7 of his top lessons from his time in tech so far.

Procore Benefits Guide

My Experience Working With Procore Employees

Before I became a financial advisor and helped start Coastal Capital Advisors, I actually worked at Procore for 4 years (employee #450!). I saw the company go from a single product, primarily Carp-only company to the juggernaut it is today.

Through my own experience and working with many current and former Procorians, we have a wealth of experience in working with clients at Procore. We’ve helped Procore employees make decisions around their Procore equity, maximize their 401k, and optimize their cash flow. And we've designed financial plans that are tailor made for Procore employees to achieve their dreams.

Our Role In Your Financial Life

Think of us as a guide. Or sherpa. That’s more fun.

A big part of our job is helping you understand the wide-ranging benefits Procore offers. More importantly, how each benefit connects to the rest of your financial life.

We recognize each of our clients (an you) has their own priorities and agenda. For some, that may be owning real estate. For others, that may be retiring in Costa Rica in 10 years.

Based on your dreams, we want to make sure you make the most of your benefits so you can get there.

A Quick Note

This isn’t going to cover every in and out of your Procore equity, every strategy, etc. That would be a full length novel, and it still wouldn’t cover everything.

This is intended to be an overview. A starting point if you will. A guide to many of the different benefits Procore offers.

But also to illustrate how we’ve helped clients navigate through the many benefits Procore offers.

My goal is that this helps you avoid some common pitfalls, sparks a few questions, and gives you more insight and clarity.

If you are the DIY type, I hope this inspires you to do some more research and guides more productive planning.

If this all seems overwhelming and you feel like you need some help, I’d love to chat!

An overview of the Procore Benefits, and how can we help Procore employees?

We will break this out into 3 sections

  1. Making sense of your Procore Equity

  2. Understanding your 401(k) plan at Procore

  3. Maximizing other benefits

Let’s get started!

TFP #001: What Happens When Your RSUs Vest?

Welcome to the 1st edition of the Tech Financial Planning Newsletter.

In this newsletter, we will talk about what happens when they vest, the taxes associated, and what decisions you need to make.

TL;DR

  • In general, when RSUs vest, you gain full rights and ownership

  • When RSUs vest, you will owe taxes

  • Your company will withhold taxes, but depending on your situation, you might still owe taxes at the end of the year

  • To cover the tax withholding, you may consider a net, cash, or cashless exercise

  • After they vest, you need to decide whether to hold on or sell them

Intro

Restricted Stock Units (RSU) are a form of compensation granted by a company to its employees. In general, when your RSUs vest, you acquire full rights and ownership to the value of the units. Typically, this is transferred to you in the form of your company’s stock.

RSUs can be a great part of your compensation, but it’s important to understand their impacts on your financial plan.