Product

The Slice Global Employee App: Empowering Employees to Grasp Their Equity Making Equity Understandable

Equity is confusing. See how the Slice Global Employee App creates a "Single Source of Truth," reducing repetitive questions for Finance teams and building trust for employees.

Daniel Penso

Product Manager

10
 min read
December 9, 2025
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Equity is one of the most meaningful parts of compensation, but for most companies, it’s also the most confusing. CFOs carry the operational and compliance weight of it, HR teams field endless questions, and employees often feel unsure about what they actually own. The information is there - somewhere - but not in a form that’s easy to understand or act on.

We built the Slice Global Employee App to fix that gap completely. Not by adding another portal or dashboard, but by giving employees the exact same clarity, structure, and confidence their leadership team already has inside Slice Global.

Equity management is a two-way street, and it’s time both sides share the same truth.

The Problem: Two Different Realities

If you’ve spent time in finance or HR, you know the pattern well. Employees want to understand their grants, how vesting works, when they can exercise, what it costs, and what taxes apply. These are fair questions but the explanations take time, the back-and-forth is constant, and every employee’s situation is slightly different.

Meanwhile, CFOs and admins see a fully detailed equity system with valuations, tax rules, grant lifecycles, and compliance requirements attached to every action. The gap between what leadership sees and what employees see is huge, and that gap creates operational drag and unnecessary frustration on both sides.

Employees don’t understand equity because they’ve never been given a tool that was built for them. CFOs waste time explaining things the system should already make clear.

The Slice Global Employee App closes that gap.

Why CFOs Care About This

CFOs aren’t just managing numbers. They’re managing risk, governance, and the employee experience. Equity is a financial instrument, but it’s also a promise, and when employees don’t understand that promise, the company feels the impact.

The Slice Global employee app gives CFOs a system where:

  • Employees see exactly what they own.
  • Workflows are structured and predictable.
  • Every step is logged and tracked.
  • Documents are always accessible.
  • Tax concepts are explained clearly.
  • Simulations are accurate and based on verified tax logic.

When both sides see the same information generated from the same engine, explanations disappear, errors drop, and processes get faster across the board.

Why It Matters Even More to Employees

Employees aren’t trying to make things complicated. For most of them, equity is unfamiliar territory. They don’t know where documents are stored, what vesting percentages mean, or how exercise costs are calculated. They’re afraid to make the wrong decision, and they’re often embarrassed to ask basic questions.

The employee app reverses that dynamic by giving people a clear, human view of their equity. The view was built to make sense to all employees even if they’ve never dealt with stock options before.

Grant details, vesting, exercise eligibility, documents, tax information, simulator outputs, and next steps all sit in one place. Employees don’t need to message HR to ask where their grant letter is or how many options they have left. It’s all immediately visible, always accurate, and designed to feel intuitive.

When employees understand their equity, they feel confident. And when they feel confident, the company benefits.

The Slice Global Employee App: One Place for Everything

Grants Explained Clearly

Employees can open Slice and immediately see their grants, vested and unvested units, and their full vesting progress. It’s simple, visual, and real-time. There’s no interpretation required as it’s all laid out cleanly, using the same underlying data your admin sees in their portal.

This transparency removes confusion and aligns everyone around a single version of the truth.

Simple Integrated Exercise Workflows

Exercising options is one of the most complicated parts of equity. It usually requires a messy back-and-forth between employees, finance teams, and admins. Common questions about how many units to exercise, what the cost is, what taxes apply, what documents are needed, and how the approvals work arise hundreds (or thousands) of times.

Slice Global eliminates all of that chaos.

Employees can select the grants they want to exercise, enter the number of units, see the total cost and estimated taxes, and submit the request directly from the app. Every step is clear: company review, pre-tax review, post-tax review, signing the exercise notice, uploading payment confirmation, and seeing when the company confirms payment.

For employees, it’s a structured path. For CFOs, it’s a controlled, compliant workflow. For admins, it’s a synchronized process where nothing falls through the cracks.

This is exactly why the exercise workflow exists, to turn something complicated into a clean, predictable experience.

The Equity Simulator: Real Numbers, Real Scenarios

Equity decisions often revolve around “what if…?

  • What if I exercise today?
  • What if I wait until next year?
  • What if the FMV changes?
  • What does this look like after taxes?

The Slice Global simulator lets employees explore these questions safely and gives them tax insights tailored to their situation. Slice Global handles complex cases like ISO and NSO splits and multi-country rules, so the simulator can model those scenarios accurately. Employees can run scenarios based on valuation, tax residency, and grant type, with the tool translating potential taxes and outcomes into simple, clear terms, helping employees make informed decisions without needing a finance degree.

The Equity Simulator allows employees to create realistic simulations instead of asking what if and playing guessing games.

SliceAI: A Personal Guide to Equity

Inside the app, employees can ask SliceAI anything about their grants, vesting, taxes, exercises, or documents. Whether it’s a basic question like “What is an ISO?” or a more advanced one like “Explain the tax impact if I exercise now and sell later,” SliceAI uses the employee’s data and verified rules to give contextual answers.

This replaces uncertainty with understanding and drastically reduces the number of questions routed to HR or finance.

Documents Without the Chase

Every grant letter, exercise notice and approval document is available directly in the app. Employees no longer need to ask where something is or whether a document exists. Admins no longer need to forward files or re-explain what each one means.

It’s all in one place, neatly organized and always accessible.

The Impact

Companies using the Slice Global Employee App see quieter inboxes, faster exercises, fewer mistakes, and a smoother audit trail. Employees feel confident and informed, and CFOs gain operational clarity across the entire equity lifecycle.

When employees know what they own and leadership knows everything is accurate - equity becomes what it was meant to be: a tool for alignment, motivation, and shared future value.

We built this app because we believe employees deserve real transparency and  CFOs deserve a system that reduces complexity instead of adding to it.

Employee equity management is a two-way street, and when both sides speak the same language, everything becomes easier, faster, and more aligned.

FAQ: Employee Equity Management

Q: Why is employee equity education important?
A: Equity education is critical for retention. When employees understand the value of their stock options and vesting schedules, they are more likely to stay with the company. Lack of clarity leads to "decision paralysis" and undervaluation of their total compensation package.

Q: How does the Slice Global Employee App help Finance teams?
A: It reduces administrative burden by automating communication. Instead of manually answering questions about grant letters, exercise costs, or tax implications, Finance teams provide a self-service portal where employees can find verified answers instantly.

Q: Can employees simulate tax scenarios in the app?
A: Yes. The Equity Simulator allows employees to model "what-if" scenarios based on real-time valuation, grant type (ISO vs. NSO), and tax residency, helping them make informed financial decisions without needing a finance degree.

Q: Is the data in the employee app accurate?
A: Yes. The Slice Global Employee App pulls directly from the company’s live data and information, always synced. This ensures there is no discrepancy between what the Admin sees and what the Employee sees, eliminating version control issues.

In today's competitive tech landscape, attracting and retaining top talent across borders is crucial for startup success. For companies with a growing presence in Sweden, navigating the complexities of equity compensation can be a significant hurdle. This is where Qualified Employee Stock Options (QESOs) become critical. Although implementing QESOs involves navigating numerous requirements, the substantial tax advantages make them a highly rewarding solution for both companies and employees.

What are QESOs?

Qualified Employee Stock Options (QESOs) are a type of stock option specifically designed for companies with a Swedish presence to incentivize employees with equity in the company. The beauty of QESOs lies in their favorable tax treatment for both the company and the employee:

  • Employee Benefits: Employees enjoy tax-free grants and are only taxed on capital gains at upon sale, typically at a rate of 25%.
  • Company Benefits: Companies benefit from reduced social security contributions compared to traditional non-qualified stock options.

Difference Between QESOs and Non-Qualified Stock Options in Sweden

When considering stock options, it's essential to understand the differences between QESOs and non-qualified stock options in Sweden:

  • Tax Event: For non-qualified stock options, there is a tax event upon exercise. Employees are taxed at progresive tax rate ranging between 30%-55% on the difference between the market price and the exercise price at the time of exercise.
  • Withholding Obligation: Employers have a withholding obligation for non-qualified stock options. Employers must withhold the appropriate tax amount through salary in the month following the exercise.
  • Social Security Contributions: Non-qualified stock options include a social security contribution obligation at a rate of 31.42%.

Key Requirements for QESOs

To benefit from the generous tax rules associated with QESOs, several strict requirements must be met. Here are the ten essential criteria for companies, stock options, and option holders:

Qualifying Conditions for Companies

  1. Fewer than 150 employees.
  2. No more than SEK 280 million in net Sales or balance sheet total.
  3. The company’s operations must not be older than 10 years.
  4. The company must not primarily engage in asset management, banking, financing, insurance, coal or steel production, real estate trading, long-term rental, or services related to legal advice, accounting, or auditing (“excluded activities”) for 3 consecutive years before the grant.
  5. Company must not be traded on a public stock market.
  6. Company cannot be direcly or indirectly controlled by a governmental body.
  7. The company must not be in financial difficulties.
  8. Company cannot be purely a holding company, and must undertake trade operations

Qualifying Conditions for Employees

  1. Be an employee or board member of the granting company or any subsidiary.
  2. Work a minimum of 75% of their working hours for the granting company or any subsidiary.
  3. Must earn a minimum salary of 13 “income base amounts” during the vesting period of 3 years after the grant date. The income base amount in 2024 is SEK 76,200.
  4. Employee, together with closely related affiliates, cannot own more than 5% of the voting rights or share capital of the granting company.

Beyond QESOs: Comparative Analysis

If you're familiar with the UK's Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme, you'll find striking similarities between QESOs and EMIs. Both programs have similar conditions and are designed to optimize tax benefits and encourage employee ownership, making them highly attractive for startups and growing companies looking to incentivize their workforce.

However, there are key distinctions that set QESOs apart, providing unique advantages:

  • No Limit on Exercise Price: One of the most notable advantages of QESOs over EMIs is the absence of a cap on the exercise price. This means that employees can potentially benefit more from their options, as there are no restrictions on the price at which options can be exercised. This flexibility allows for greater potential for value creation, particularly in rapidly growing companies where share prices can increase significantly over time.
  • Enhanced Flexibility and Applicability: The absence of exercise price restrictions allows for more customized compensation packages, appealing to a broader range of businesses and making QESOs a more versatile option across various sectors and stages of development.

Slice's Approach to QESO Management

At Slice, we offer a comprehensive solution for managing QESOs for Swedish employees, ensuring a streamlined and efficient process from creation through sale. Here's how we can assist:

  • Value Alerts: We provide real-time alerts on the value of options upon grant, both for the company and the option holder. This ensures the company does not exceed the option value limitations. 
  • Exercise Period Management: Our platform tracks and manages exercise periods, ensuring timely notifications and helping option holders maximize their benefits within the allowed timeframe.
  • Scope of Work Conditions: We monitor and enforce the scope of work conditions, ensuring compliance with employment and work hour requirements for QESO This helps maintain eligibility for tax benefits and other advantages.
  • Relationship Management: Whether the option holder is an employee, board member, or has another type of relationship with the company, we ensure all relevant criteria and conditions are met and tracked accurately.

With Slice, managing QESOs becomes a seamless experience, allowing both companies and option holders to focus on growth and success.

Conclusion – Investing the Time to Grant QESOs in Sweden is Worth It!

Although granting QESOs in Sweden requires understanding the tax rules, company requirements, and employee conditions, the tax advantages it offers are significant. Investing time in implementing and managing QESOs is a worthwhile endeavor, enhancing employee compensation and driving growth.

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