Minutes are notes taken, usually by the secretary, during a meeting. The final minutes are drafted and distributed after the meeting, and record key discussions, decisions made, motions proposed or voted on, and any follow-up actions. They provide an accurate record of what happened and are shared with all participants after the meeting — usually for approval by the board or committee at the next meeting.
Who can access minutes
Secretaries and administrators can open and edit the minutes editor for a meeting.
💡 If you're an admin and don't see the minutes editor, make sure you're on the latest version of Ideals Board — access for admins was a recent fix.
Open the minutes and add notes
Once you've published the agenda for a meeting, you can take notes in the minutes document before, during, and after the meeting.
1. Open the meeting and select Minutes tab along the top.
2. Use the switcher along the top to switch between the agenda, your transcript or AI minutes.
3. Take notes in the editor on the right. Use the toolbar above the editor to format your content. Or once the Transcript is ready, let AI minutes draft your minutes for you – simply Copy and paste them into the editor.
The meeting details, attendees, and agenda items are already populated for you. You can export the minutes to .docx or .pdf format at any time.
Manage the minutes during the meeting
1. Once the meeting starts, a timer is displayed. Keep an eye on the timer to make sure your meeting runs to schedule.
2. Use the toolbar to format any notes that you take.
3. At any point before, during, or after the meeting, you can reset your notes. On the more options menu, select Reset meeting notes.
⚠️ Resetting your meeting notes removes any changes you made to the agenda after you started taking notes, and deletes any notes you've added. This can't be undone.
4. In the viewer on the right, you can see what the minutes will look like before you share them.
Share the meeting minutes
When the meeting minutes are complete, you can share them with meeting participants.
If you prefer to work on the minutes in Microsoft Word or other software, you can upload them to Ideals Board after the meeting. On the more options menu, select Upload and share external file and upload your document.
1. Open the meeting, then select Minutes tab.
2. Select Share at the bottom.
3. Rename the file if needed by typing in the box.
4. Select Share minutes.
A .docx document is generated and shared with all meeting participants. The meeting updates to include a link to the minutes, which participants can view. Documents are converted to PDF automatically for viewing — if a participant downloads the document, it's in the original format.
Once minutes have been shared with all participants, they're automatically linked to the next meeting for the same group for approval. An agenda item is created for you, with the previous meeting's minutes attached.
## Editing minutes after they've been shared
⚠️ Once meeting minutes have been shared, there is no autosave. If you reopen Edit notes to make changes, you'll see a "You are editing a draft" banner. If you exit without selecting Share again, your changes will be lost.
If there are comments you want to include or changes you want to make after sharing:
1. Open Edit notes and make your changes.
2. Select Share again to generate a new version, replacing the original.
Download the minutes
When your meeting is complete and the minutes have been approved, you can download them.
1. Go to Meetings tab within the meeting.
2. In the Minutes section, select the download icon in the top right of the editor.
The minutes document downloads.
Reset meeting minutes
You can reset the minutes for a meeting once they've been approved.
We recommend downloading the minutes first so you have a copy before deleting — you can upload them to Ideals Board again later if needed.
1. Go to Meetings and select the meeting.
2. In the Minutes tab, select the Reset button
The minutes document is reset.
Mark Meeting minutes as approved
Once you've published your meeting minutes, you can then set them as approved on behalf of a user, should you need to.
1. Go to the meeting.
2. Select the Minutes tab.
3. Click the Mark as approved button.
Upon pressing this button, you will be met with the Mark minuets as approved modal. Select the approver and press Mark as approved.
Signing minutes
Once minutes have been shared, users can sign them using the editor within the portal. Simply go to the Minutes tab.
Select the Signature icon in the top right hand corner.
A modal will pop up where you can draw your signature and then place this where it is required. Or click Add signature to create a new signature and drag and drop where required.
Users cannot upload signature files or images and must use the in portal signature drawing feature