Reservations vs. investments

## Is it a reservation or a real investment? When you're raising on Wefunder, you'll see two different terms floating around: "reservations" and "investments." They sound similar, but they're actually at different stages of the same process. Understanding the difference matters because it tells you how committed an investor is and what happens next. ### **What's a reservation?** A reservation is basically a placeholder commitment an investor creates when you're in the "testing the waters" phase (before you've filed your Form C). An investor has said "I want to invest," filled out their investment info, and committed to an amount on your raise page. But here's the catch: the money hasn't been sent yet, and they haven't officially confirmed their investment - that doesn't come until you file your Form C. So, it's kind of like a handshake before the paperwork. Reservations typically convert to real investments, but not always. An investor might change their mind, or the payment might fail. Until they confirm, it's just a reservation. ### **What's an investment?** An investment is the real deal. Investors who set up reservations before you filed your Form C will need to "confirm" (by clicking a link in an email we send them or going to their Wefunder Portfolio) - this turns their reservation into an investment. At this time they'll also be prompted to send payment. Investors who want to invest after you filed your Form C don't need to set up a reservation. They can go straight into the invest flow from your campaign page. ### **How can you tell the difference?** The easiest way is to look at your **Directory** or **Investments** page. To see more info about your round's reservations, go to: **https://wefunder.com/[your-company]/investments** To see a directory of your investments/investors across different payment stages, go to: **https://wefunder.com/[your-company]/directory** On both the Investments and Directory pages, you'll be able to filter down to a list of "no payment" investors (often made up of folks who need to "confirm" their reservation) and if you scroll to the bottom of the Investments page, you can click to "View Unfunded Reservations". You can click into each investor's reservation or investment on either page to see additional details like: - **Investor name** - **Investor email** - **Reservation or Investment amount** - **Reservation or Investment date** - **Payment stage: No Payment, Pending, or Ready** - **Any messages from us about open action items the investor needs to complete** ### **Why does this matter?** It matters because reservations aren't guaranteed. When you're planning what you can do with the funds, only count the confirmed "Ready" investments. Reservations might become investments, but until then, they're tentative. The good news is that a lot of reservations do convert. But you'll want to keep an eye on them and reach out to investors if needed to make sure their investment completes. A quick "Hey, just checking in on your investment!" can sometimes be the nudge that gets someone to confirm. ### **Timing** Testing the Waters: Investors can only make reservations. We cannot collect payment yet. Form C Filing: During this time and beyond, investors with reservations are asked to confirm them, and new investors can go straight to setting up a real investment without a reservation. Your Directory and Investments pages update in real-time, so you can always check back to see how many confirmed investments you have. ### **Have questions?** If you have questions about a particular investment or reservation, please reach out to support@wefunder.com - We'll be happy to help!