Why investors care about your HR files
When a startup raises a significant round or is acquired, the investor's lawyers check that the company owns its product and that employment is on a clean footing. They typically ask for appointment letters, IP assignment clauses or agreements for everyone who built the product, ESOP grant letters that match the cap table, and PF, ESI and professional tax records once those apply. A missing IP clause for an early engineer can hold up a closing while it is fixed. Complete files turn the request into an export instead of a scramble.
The minimum file for every employee
Configure the list below as the required-document checklist. Each employee then sees in My Self-Service what they still owe, and HR gets one company-wide view of what is missing instead of opening folders one by one. Verify or reject each upload as it arrives, and ask again for anything unclear. Start with current employees before new joiners, since the earliest hires are usually the ones with gaps.
- Signed offer letter and appointment letter
- NDA and intellectual property assignment
- ESOP grant letter, where equity was offered
- PAN, Aadhaar and address proof
- Bank account proof for salary
- Education and previous employment documents
- Confirmation letter after probation
Access for founders, HR and the CA
Not everyone who helps with HR needs to see salaries. Use Access Control to let the office manager handle documents with salary and bank fields masked, give your CA the Finance or Auditor role with the data they need, and keep full access with the founders and HR. Files are stored securely and shared through time-limited download links, so a document sent to a lawyer during due diligence does not stay open forever.
Letters people ask for
Employees ask for letters more often than founders expect: an address proof letter for a rental agreement, a salary certificate for a home loan, an experience letter after leaving. Keep a template for each in the HR letter library by category, so whoever handles HR that week sends a consistent letter on letterhead instead of improvising one. File a copy in the employee's documents each time, so there is a record of exactly what the company confirmed.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Set the required-document checklist for all employees, including NDA, IP assignment and ESOP grant letters where relevant.
- Upload documents for early employees first and verify or reject each one.
- Add expiry dates to anything that lapses, such as passports or work permits for foreign staff.
- Use Access Control to mask salary and bank fields for roles that only need documents.
- Store offer, appointment, confirmation, experience and salary certificate formats in the HR letter library by category.
Read more about employee documents in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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What HR documents do investors ask for in due diligence?
Typically appointment letters, IP assignment clauses or agreements, ESOP grant letters and the ESOP plan, an employee list with pay, and PF, ESI and professional tax records where they apply. Some also ask about the POSH Internal Committee and any pending disputes. Keeping each employee's documents complete and verified in one system makes the request a matter of exporting files.
Does every startup employee need an IP assignment?
It is strongly advisable for anyone who writes code, designs the product or creates content, because investors want proof that the company owns what it sells. Put an intellectual property clause in the appointment letter or a separate agreement, and have early employees and founders sign too. Have a lawyer draft the wording once and reuse it.
How should a startup store employee documents securely?
In one system with role-based access, not in personal email or chat. In ZeniaHR, documents sit in each employee's file with a verified or rejected status and expiry dates, salary and bank fields can be masked by role, and files are shared through time-limited download links. Remove access for anyone who leaves on their last day.