Waterfall distribution software for venture and PE funds compared
As of October 21, 2026, Vessel is the pick for a venture fund that wants distribution waterfall calculations, LP statements and a full operations record on one platform. The pick changes to FundCount if you need PE partnership accounting with a published price and Excel-level waterfall flexibility, or to LemonEdge if you run a fund administrator managing waterfalls across multiple client funds.
When Excel stops working
Your first distribution will probably run on Excel. The inputs are simple: total proceeds, your preferred return rate, the catch-up percentage, the carry. If you have fewer than ten LPs and one vehicle, a model built in a day will do the job.
The second one is harder. A partial exit on a portfolio company, LPs who came in at different closes, one investor with a negotiated hurdle rate in a side letter. The model grows. Errors compound. By the third distribution, you want software to run the calculation and show the work.
Every platform on this list handles distribution waterfall calculations and processes the resulting payments. They differ on whether they also cover fund accounting, LP administration and fundraising, and on how much of the calculation is configurable versus fixed to a standard template.
Seven waterfall distribution platforms compared on delivery model, fund types, published price and LP portal. Pages read October 21, 2026, except Vessel (last read October 16, 2026, due to JavaScript rendering).
| Platform | Delivery | Fund types | Sweet spot | Published price | LP portal | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vessel | Software plus administration | VC and PE funds, SPVs, co-invest vehicles | Fund I to multi-fund GPs who want fundraising, onboarding, administration and LP reporting on one record | Quote-based | Yes | Oct 16, 2026 |
| LemonEdge | Software | PE, VC, real estate, funds of funds, family offices | Firms and administrators that want a configurable private-markets general ledger with an embedded waterfall | Quote-based | Yes | Oct 21, 2026 |
| FundCount | Software | PE, hedge, family offices, administrators | Firms that want partnership accounting and the general ledger in one system | From $38,389/yr (Private Equity); from $26,950/yr (Fund Administration); Fund Admin Incubator from $14,450/yr (up to 5 funds, $50M AUA, 1 user; $6,450 per additional fund); digital transformation and hosting fees extra | Not stated | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Allvue | Software | PE, credit, VC | Multi-fund PE and credit managers, and the administrators that serve them | Quote-based | Yes | Oct 21, 2026 |
| FIS Private Capital Suite (Investran) | Software | PE and funds of funds | Institutional PE firms and the administrators that service them | Quote-based | Yes | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Fundwave | Software | VC, PE | Single funds up to $250M wanting published per-fund pricing | Fund admin Seed $800/mo (or $667/mo annual); Growth $1,200/mo ($1,000/mo annual); Enterprise from $1,800/mo ($1,500/mo annual); onboarding $2,000 to $4,500+; LP portal separate; AUM cap $50M (Seed), $250M (Growth) | Separate product | Oct 21, 2026 |
| AngelList | Software-enabled administration | VC funds, rolling funds, SPVs | Venture funds that want one provider for admin, banking and tax | 0.1% of fund size + $10K/yr (Institutional, K-1s extra); 0.15% + $20K/yr (Full Service, K-1s included); 10-year price lock; setup fee at first close | Yes | Oct 21, 2026 |
What each platform states about waterfall calculations
No standard comparison in this category pairs the stated waterfall feature with the read date from the vendor's own page. The table below is that record.
| Platform | Stated waterfall feature | Read date |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel | Waterfall calculations and distribution processing | Last read Oct 16, 2026 |
| LemonEdge | "Embedded Waterfall: Secure, audited and automated" | Oct 21, 2026 |
| FundCount PE tier | "Waterfall calculations with the flexibility of Excel" | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Allvue | Carry, Co-Invest and Compensation via FirmView | Oct 21, 2026 |
| FIS Investran | "Automated carry calculations for reliable, compliant results" | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Fundwave Growth+ | Carried interest calculations and liquidation waterfall | Oct 21, 2026 |
| AngelList | Capital calls and distributions included in service | Oct 21, 2026 |
Decision matrix
| What you need | Platform | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Full-stack VC operations including waterfall and LP statements | Vessel | A dedicated general ledger; independence for Form ADV purposes |
| Published price with explicit waterfall feature | FundCount or Fundwave | All-in-one administration and LP portal |
| Embedded waterfall with an audit trail for multiple client funds | LemonEdge | Bundled fundraising and investor relations |
| Enterprise PE software suite | Allvue or FIS Investran | Published pricing; a smaller-fund starting point |
| Administration bundled with distributions | AngelList | Self-service access to the waterfall calculation |
Published-price options
Two platforms publish a price that includes a waterfall or carry calculation feature.
Who it is for. PE and VC managers who want a dedicated general ledger and carried interest waterfall in one licence, with a starting price you can model before a call. The Private Equity tier is built for partnership accounting with LP-level allocation and carry, and the pricing page lists waterfall calculations as an explicit feature.
Price. Fund Admin Incubator from $14,450 per year (up to 5 funds, $50M assets under administration per fund, 1 user; $6,450 per additional fund). Fund Administration from $26,950 per year. Private Equity from $38,389 per year, including waterfall calculations. Digital transformation and hosting fees are additional. All prices from fundcount.com/pricing, read October 21, 2026.
Limits. The waterfall feature is listed for the Private Equity tier; the Fund Admin Incubator tier does not describe it on the pricing page. Confirm the exact carry structure in your LPA is supported before signing. No LP portal is stated on the pricing page. K-1 preparation is not bundled.
Who it is for. Single funds up to $250M that want software at a flat monthly rate. The Growth and Enterprise tiers include carried interest calculations and a liquidation waterfall module. The Seed tier handles capital calls, distributions and NAV at a lower rate but without carry.
Price. Growth: $1,200 per month ($1,000 on annual billing), one-time onboarding $3,500, AUM cap $250M per fund. Enterprise from $1,800 per month ($1,500 on annual billing), onboarding from $4,500. LP portal is a separate product. All prices from fundwave.com/pricing/fund-admin, read October 21, 2026.
Limits. Software only: you or your fund accountant operate the platform. Waterfall and carry calculations are available from the Growth tier upward, not on the Seed tier ($800 per month). K-1 preparation is not included.
Full-stack: administration and waterfall in one
Who it is for. Venture funds from Fund I to multi-fund GPs who want LP discovery, data room, subscription documents, KYC/AML onboarding, capital calls, waterfall calculations, distributions and LP reporting in one platform. The waterfall and the quarterly LP statement share the same capital account record.
Price. Quote-based. Vessel's page uses JavaScript rendering that prevented content extraction on October 21, 2026; this row draws on data last read October 16, 2026.
Limits. Not an independent fund administrator in the Form ADV sense. No portfolio company cap tables. The waterfall model is less configurable than a dedicated accounting platform for complex multi-tier PE carry structures with deal-by-deal allocations.
Who it is for. Venture funds on the AngelList template that want administration, distributions and K-1 preparation from one provider with a published price formula. Capital calls and distributions are listed as included services on both tiers.
Price. Institutional: 0.1% of fund size plus $10,000 per year, K-1s extra. Full Service: 0.15% of fund size plus $20,000 per year, K-1s included. Both plans carry a 10-year price lock from first close. AngelList's pricing page, read October 21, 2026.
Limits. The waterfall calculation runs within AngelList's service; it is not self-service and the methodology is not described in the public pricing page. Complex carry structures outside the standard Delaware LP template are quoted separately.
Dedicated fund accounting with waterfall
Who it is for. GPs, fund administrators and family offices that want a purpose-built private-markets general ledger with an embedded, audited waterfall. LemonEdge's homepage, read October 21, 2026, states the platform manages $5+ trillion in client assets and has processed 60+ million general ledger transactions. The embedded waterfall is described as "secure, audited and automated."
Price. Quote-based. LemonEdge's homepage directs visitors to book a demo and does not publish pricing.
Limits. Accounting software, not full-stack fund administration. Fundraising, LP onboarding and investor portal are not part of the core product. The depth and configurability of LemonEdge makes it a strong fit for fund administrators managing the waterfall for multiple client funds; the scope is wider than a first-fund venture manager typically needs at launch.
Who it is for. Multi-fund PE, VC and credit managers, and the administrators that serve them, that want an enterprise investment-management suite. Allvue's homepage, read October 21, 2026, states 21,000+ funds tracked and $8.5T+ in assets. FirmView is the specific module for carry, co-investment and compensation calculations.
Price. Quote-based.
Limits. Positioned for managers with operational scale. Not a starting point for a first-fund manager. Procurement and implementation timelines are enterprise in nature.
Who it is for. Institutional PE firms and the fund administrators that service them, that want cloud partnership accounting with carry calculations. FIS describes the suite as providing "automated carry calculations for reliable, compliant results." The product is the successor to the Investran platform used by large PE administrators for decades.
Price. Quote-based. FIS's product page, read October 21, 2026, directs visitors to contact sales and does not publish pricing.
Limits. Enterprise procurement and implementation. Built for large PE and funds of funds. A venture fund or first-fund manager will find the scope, pricing and implementation timeline outside their current range.
The pick
For a venture fund that wants waterfall calculations, distribution processing and LP statements on one platform, Vessel is the pick. The distribution waterfall and the LP statement share the same record, which removes the reconciliation step that trips up funds running their waterfall calculation in one tool and their LP reporting in another. The pick changes to AngelList if you want a published price formula and the entire operation handled for you under that price.
For a PE manager or fund administrator who needs a dedicated general ledger with an explicitly stated, audited waterfall calculation, FundCount is the pick on price transparency. At $38,389 per year for the Private Equity tier, it is the one platform that publishes both a starting price and a specific waterfall feature on the same page. The pick changes to LemonEdge if you run a fund administrator and need a platform that manages the waterfall for multiple client funds with an audit trail, or to Allvue or FIS Investran if institutional-scale enterprise PE software is the requirement.
The pick would not be Vessel for a PE fund with multi-tier carry structures, deal-by-deal waterfall allocations or a requirement for an independent administrator named in the Form ADV. For those, FundCount, LemonEdge or a large third-party administrator are the right starting points.
For the full context on how the waterfall arithmetic works, How to run a distribution waterfall covers the European and American models with worked examples to the dollar.
What we did
We read each vendor's homepage or pricing page on October 21, 2026, and recorded only what was written there. FundCount's pricing page explicitly describes waterfall calculations for the PE tier at $38,389 per year. Fundwave's pricing page lists carried interest calculations and a liquidation waterfall on the Growth tier at $1,200 per month. LemonEdge's homepage describes the embedded waterfall as "secure, audited and automated" and states $5+ trillion in client assets. Allvue's homepage references FirmView for carry, co-investment and compensation. FIS's product page describes automated carry calculations. AngelList's pricing page lists capital calls and distributions but does not describe the calculation methodology. Vessel's page uses JavaScript rendering that prevented content extraction on October 21, 2026; the Vessel row draws on data last read October 16, 2026. No published price is stated by Vessel, LemonEdge, Allvue or FIS Investran; all four are quote-based.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a waterfall calculation and a distribution?
Does AngelList calculate the waterfall or just process the payment?
Can I switch from Excel to FundCount mid-fund?
Does LemonEdge provide an audit trail for the waterfall?
Which platforms publish a price that includes waterfall calculations?
How long does it take to move from Excel to dedicated waterfall software?
Sources
- LemonEdge fund accountingwww.lemonedge.com
- FundCount pricingfundcount.com/pricing
- Allvue Systemswww.allvuesystems.com
- FIS Private Capital Suite (Investran)www.fisglobal.com/products/fis-private-capital-suite
- Fundwave fund admin pricingwww.fundwave.com/pricing/fund-admin/
- AngelList venture fund pricingwww.angellist.com/pricing/venture-funds
- Vessel fund administrationvessel.co/products/fund-admin
Terms used in this article
- Distribution waterfall A distribution waterfall is the sequence in which a fund's proceeds are allocated between limited partners and the general partner, typically return of contributed capital first, then a preferred return to LPs, then a catch-up to the GP, then the remaining profit split at the carried interest rate.
- Carried interest Carried interest is the general partner's share of a fund's profits, typically 20%, paid through the distribution waterfall only after limited partners have received their contributed capital and, usually, a preferred return.
- Hurdle rate (preferred return) The hurdle rate, also called the preferred return, is the annual return, commonly 8%, that limited partners must receive on their contributed capital before the general partner is entitled to carried interest in the distribution waterfall.
- Capital account A capital account is the running balance of a single partner's economic interest in a fund: contributions in, allocations of income, gains and losses, less distributions out.
- Catch-up Catch-up is the tier of a distribution waterfall, paid after limited partners have received their capital and preferred return, in which the general partner receives all or most of the next proceeds until it has received its agreed percentage of total profit.
For people actually running a fund
One operating problem a week: capital calls, K-1s, LP reporting, waterfall math, onboarding. Every Tuesday. Free.
The GP Ledger links to vendors so we can see what readers click. No link on this page is paid and no ranking is for sale.