Tired of relaying on paper board packets or scattered email threads to manage your board? You’re not alone. More boards are using digital board meeting portals to simplify every aspect of board meetings – and to save time and money.
In this article, we’ll walk you through meeting management software and highlight standout features and practical insights to enhance board collaboration, security, and overall governance.
Or skip ahead to specific sections:
- What is meeting management software?
- 7 benefits of meeting management software
- Popular features of board meeting software
- How to choose the right software
- The crucial role of security and compliance
- How Aprio’s board software compares
- Want help evaluating the best tools for you?
What is meeting management software?
Meeting management software is specialized technology designed to streamline, enhance, and optimize the entire process of organizing, conducting, and managing meetings. Board meeting software goes beyond scheduling meetings, document sharing and collaboration features to cater specifically to board governance processes.
The result? Good meetings that keep team members informed, updated, and productive – and keep company information secure.
7 benefits of meeting management software
Meeting management software gives all team members a way to collaborate in one secure online portal. The benefits go beyond just convenience: you’ll also improve board governance, oversight, and compliance when all your documents and notes are stored in one central, secure location.
Here are the top key advantages of board management software:
1. More effective meetings
Often, board meetings get bogged down by inefficient processes. Organizing board packs, syncing schedules, and a lack of follow-up on strategic tasks can cut into the time team members need for strategic action.
A secure board portal provides a convenient, one-stop location online to access board materials, annotate documents, and pose questions for the board chair or other directors. Board members can participate in meetings and access materials remotely, accommodating busy schedules and geographic constraints.
2. Safeguards security and compliance
Using emails and standard document-sharing software can create risk when they’re not secure. The more tools you use to manage documents, the more you’ll risk unauthorized access and data breaches. Physical documents can also be lost or damaged easily, which is another risk factor for breaches of sensitive information.
Board software with security features helps protect sensitive meeting materials and discussions from unauthorized access. This includes multi-factor authentication, granular user access and remote data wiping. And when all your documents are in one place, they’re all covered by one set of access controls – so you can manage access for all team members more efficiently.
If a board member’s device gets lost or stolen, you’ll be able to update access in one click and reduce the risk of sensitive documents left in email threads.
3. Saves time and effort
Manual agendas, printed documents, and emails take time – and trying to find the right file version is often a hassle. Tracking revisions, comments, and decisions can be challenging when you’re relying on email and manual records.
Meeting software drastically reduces the time and administrative effort it takes for board administrators and governance specialists to prepare for board meetings, such as creating collaborative agendas. Distributing board documents and taking meeting minutes takes less effort with the help of board software.
“Aprio is a much more efficient method of distributing board agendas and other documents important to the business of the board. It is also appreciated that the Aprio Library allows directors to find the documents they need quickly, on their own schedule, without the necessity of staff assistance. This saves time for everyone.” – Williams Lake & District Credit Union
4. Reduces costs and environmental impact
Over time, boards that replace their paper-based processes with specialized software save thousands each year on reduced printing, delivery and administrative costs. This reduces their environmental impact and helps the organization align with ESG goals – which are becoming more relevant than ever as boards take a more active role in sustainability.
5. Improves communication and decision-making
One study found that 53% of board members struggle to align strategic initiatives with C-suite priorities – and a significant part of that struggle is communication. Traditional meeting prep can hinder collaboration when participants can’t easily share feedback or track comments on documents easily.
Improving communication starts with collaborative tools that lead to more informed and effective decision-making. When everyone has equal same-time access to information, they can engage in real-time discussions about strategic plans and meeting documents, fostering better communication before and between board meetings.
“Aprio was quick to set up and easy to use for both our administrators and directors. Our directors particularly like the ability to view and access documents immediately, no matter where they are.” – Vancity
6. Increases accountability and transparency
Tracking action items, decisions, and responsibilities within board meeting management software promotes accountability. You can assign action items with priority levels and automated reminders to ensure members follow up on important tasks, and see which team members have viewed important documents.
Reporting features also provide transparency into meeting attendance, and board decisions over time. This helps organizations stay compliant with governance regulations and requirements that mandate proper documentation and tracking. When you use board software, you have an automated digital audit trail of all activities for both compliance and internal reviews – and more comprehensive analytics and reports for data-driven decision making.
7. Real-time updates from anywhere
When you rely on email threads, changes to meeting details or documents might not reach all team members in a timely manner.
Participants always have access to the latest agenda, documents, and updates, minimizing confusion caused by outdated information. Version control also ensures that everyone is working with the most up-to-date documents, reducing the risk of errors.
Popular features of Aprio’s meeting management software
Aprio is a secure board portal with user-friendly features that boost collaboration and decision-making. Organizations of all kinds use Aprio to help them streamline board meetings – but what features do board members and admins use the most?
Here are some of Aprio’s most-used and valued features:
Agenda Builder
A good agenda can make or break a board meeting. With Aprio’s Agenda Builder, you can create the meeting agenda you need in minutes and then share it in one click with all board members.
You can start from scratch, or automate a collaborative agenda based on past meeting materials or an existing template. From there, you can add new topics and sub-topics in just a few clicks. Need to keep your meeting on track? Assign a time limit and presenter to agenda items.
Minutes Builder
While recording and distributing meeting minutes may not be your favorite task, our Meeting Minutes Builder helps you get this job done faster than ever.
As soon as you’ve built your agenda, you’re halfway to creating the meeting minutes! Use your agenda to get started on recording your minutes and add new sections as needed. Track motions and action items and assign an approver or a coauthor – all in Aprio. Plus, export your minutes as a PDF for easy distribution and add them as a quick link for the next meeting agenda.
Task Manager
The work before and after a board meeting is often as important as the meeting itself. Aprio’s Board Task Manager feature offers tools for assigning, tracking and managing action items, visible to the entire board.
When you assign a board member action items, they’ll be able to access them at any time and mark them as complete as soon as they’re finished. Board admins can set task priorities and trigger reminder notifications to board members to help the board stay focused on high-priority tasks.
eSignature & online board voting
Aprio makes online meetings easier with eSignature and online voting tools. Board members can sign documents and vote on motions remotely just as easily as they can in live meetings, eliminating the need for back-and-forth emails.
Sign off on contracts, non-disclosure agreements and resolutions with Aprio’s eSignatures. Use surveys and voting to get the board of directors’ input without the inconvenience or delay of follow-up emails and phone calls.
Virtual meeting integration
With remote board meetings the new norm, Aprio ensures it’s easy for board directors to join an online meeting without fumbling to find the meeting details or switch to a specific video conferencing solution.
Aprio integrates with Google calendar and popular conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and more for one-click access to remote meetings right from the dashboard – without switching between platforms. Plus, use presenter mode to ensure all attendees are following the same agenda.
Board reports
Aprio’s board reports help organizations get actionable insights into board activity, from meeting attendance to board engagement and voting outcomes. You’ll effortlessly adhere to governance regulations and requirements since documentation and tracking starts as soon as you set up a meeting.
Search and self-serve document access
Aprio offers a centralized library where board members can access all board materials, including agendas, minutes, financial statements, and the next meeting’s board package. Communicating via the board portal prevents team members from constantly having to re-share information and eliminates the risks of using email and paper packets for sensitive information.
How to choose the right meeting management software
Not all board meeting software is equal. They differ on completeness of features, security, and pricing, as well as on support and training. Boards are wise to carefully evaluate board portal software and select the software that’s right for their unique organization’s needs.
Start by understanding your organization’s requirements and pain points, including the needs of board administrators, board members, IT staff and other stakeholders. Once you know the specific challenges you’re looking to address, you can create a list of essential features you need.
For example, if agenda creation and distribution is your biggest challenge, search for and review meeting management solutions that best streamline that process.
While board portal software may offer similar features, make a note of how those features are priced. Some vendors have different product editions, with “lite” features or full features. As your organization grows, you may end up paying more or extra for additional committees and administrators, training, or data storage.
That said, better technology and service can come at a bit higher price point, so be sure to balance budget considerations with software that has all the features you need.
Don’t overlook support
With any new software, there’s always a learning curve – and the amount of support you’ll get will determine how easy the software is for your board to adopt. Aprio’s board portal software stands out with unlimited support from experts in board management, who can help all your team members get up to speed on the features that can help make meetings more effective.
“We implemented the Aprio Board platform for our directors a year ago. The onboarding process is simple and flexible – geared specifically to busy executives, wherever they are located in the world. The Board appreciates the ease with which they can access their meeting material and historical documents from any number of platforms, at any time.” – Rick Hansen Foundation
Need more help comparing board portals? See our guide on the 10 things to consider when evaluating board management software.
The crucial role of security and compliance for meeting management software
Despite the claims, not all meeting management software offers the same level of security and compliance. When comparing board software, it’s worth evaluating security very closely, since this core feature will determine how easily people can gain unauthorized access to sensitive documents.
Aprio offers a range of advanced security features for comprehensive protection for the storage, transit and access of your board materials. Our security certifications include:
- ISO 27001 certification
- AT 101 SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, HIPAA, and SSAE 16/ ISAE 3402
- Certifications under trusted Microsoft Azure cloud services
- Intrusion detection and Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) protection
We also help you control user access, protect against unauthorized use, and monitor director activity to stay on top of all cyber-security threats with advanced features. This includes:
- Role-based and granular access permission capabilities including document-level security
- Ability to immediately erase data from a lost or stolen device
- Ability to lock users out of their account
- Multi-factor authentication, biometric and single sign-on capabilities
- Automatic time-out after periods of inactivity
Evaluating board portal security? See our step-by-step checklist of the key areas to review for board portal security.
How Aprio’s meeting management software compares
Aprio stands out in the industry for providing unmatched expert service and an easy-to-use, secure board portal that works the way a board actually works.
Here’s a summary of some of our most popular features:
- Central library for board materials and documents
- Easy agenda creation and distribution
- Voting and survey tools for faster decision making
- Action item and task tracking with automated reminders
- Meeting minute tool to draft minutes faster
- Collaboration tools including real-time commenting and annotation
- Video conferencing tools to streamline online meetings
- Mobile apps for board meetings on any device
- Comprehensive board reports for full transparency
In addition to a fully guided onboarding experience, Aprio’s board management platform provides unlimited on-demand training and ongoing expert customer support you can rely on at any time. We’re proud to lead the industry in customer loyalty and service satisfaction and ensure your board’s information is protected with top-level industry-standard security.
“New directors who haven’t seen Aprio before are immediately impressed with how quickly they can get up to speed. Aprio keeps them looped in, easily, all year round, and they offer helpful support that’s flexible, no matter how tech-savvy a director is.” – Your Neighbourhood Credit Union
Want help evaluating the best tools for you?
Aprio helps organizations large and small turn unproductive meetings into effective meetings, keep data secure and foster board engagement from anywhere. Customers tell us they choose us for our user-friendly technology, unmatched service, security, and time-saving board management tools.
We’d love to learn more about your organization and how we can help streamline your meeting management. Start a conversation and tell us what you need to master your board meetings.
