Advisor agreement template for UK startups.
Most advisory relationships start as a handshake and a promised sliver of equity, and most of them quietly die: the advisor drifts away, the equity conversation was never precise, and eighteen months later a cap table cleanup has to reopen it.
The advisor agreement makes the deal exact while everyone is still enthusiastic: what the advisor actually does, what equity they earn, how it vests, and what happens when the relationship winds down.
The moments this document comes up.
- Someone senior has agreed to advise you and equity has been mentioned.
- An existing informal advisor is asking what exactly they are getting.
- You are cleaning up the cap table before a round and advisory promises are undocumented.
- An advisor also works with other companies in your space and conflicts need naming.
What the template covers.
The sections below mirror the document the generator drafts. Every template is a starting point, not legal advice, and says so on its face.
01
Services
02
Compensation and vesting
03
Expenses
04
Independence
05
Confidentiality and IP
06
Conflicts
Drafted from choices you make.
A downloaded template hands you someone else's prose with holes in it. Here the document is generated from a settings sheet, so the wording follows your answers, and changing an answer later regenerates the parts it touches.
ADVISOR AGREEMENT
SETTINGS- JurisdictionEngland & Wales
- CompensationEquity
- VestingMonthly over 2 years
- Time commitment2 hours a month
After generating, the document opens in the editor like any other: edits arrive as tracked changes you accept or reject, compliance checks run against real rulepacks, and exports come out as print-ready PDF or DOCX your lawyer can redline. What a compliance check actually does →
Fair questions.
How much equity does an advisor get?
There is no fixed number: fractions of a percent are the normal shape, scaled by the advisor's involvement and the company's stage, with earlier-stage grants running larger. What matters more than the number is vesting: a grant that vests monthly over one to two years pays for advice actually delivered, not for a title on a deck.
Why does an advisor agreement need vesting at all?
Because the common failure mode is an advisor who is helpful for one quarter and absent for seven, holding equity the whole time. Monthly vesting with a clean termination clause means a fading relationship simply stops accruing, with no awkward clawback conversation.
Can an advisor advise my competitor too?
Experienced advisors often work across a sector, which is part of their value and a real conflict risk. The agreement handles it with an ongoing disclosure duty and confidentiality that survives the relationship, so you decide with the facts on the table rather than discovering the overlap later.
Related templates.
Founders' agreement
Equity, vesting, roles, and what happens if a founder leaves, agreed while everyone still agrees.
Mutual non-disclosure agreement
A mutual NDA both sides can sign without a fight: obligations, carve-outs, and term.
Contractor agreement
Engage freelancers with the IP, independence, and payment terms in writing.
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