Every set of meeting minutes in BoardPro moves through three stages: Draft Minutes, Minutes in Review, and Confirmed Minutes. This article explains what happens at each stage, who needs to act, and what triggers the transition to the next stage.
Only users with the Admin, Board Secretary, Senior Executive or Chair role can move minutes between stages.
The minutes lifecycle at a glance
Stage | Who acts | What you can do | How to move to the next stage |
Draft Minutes | Admin, Board Secretary, Senior Executive or Chair | Write, edit, and review all agenda items, decisions, and action items | Click Finish Draft Minutes when the draft is ready for board review |
Minutes in Review | Admin, Board Secretary, Senior Executive or Chair and Board members | Distribute the minutes to attendees; still edit if feedback is received. Board Members can read the minutes. | Minutes are confirmed at the next meeting — a board member moves to confirm them |
Confirmed Minutes | Board (signs off); Minute taker confirms in BoardPro | Minutes are locked and become the official record Add amendments Request a signature | No further stage — this is the final state |
Stage 1: Draft Minutes
This is the starting point for all minutes. Minutes are entered during or after the meeting.
During this stage you can:
Edit all agenda items
Record who was present and any apologies
Add notes, Decisions and Actions
Confirm past Minutes
Hold a Vote
Use AI Minutes to generate a draft from a transcript (if enabled)
When ready: Click Finish Draft Minutes at the top of the minutes page. This moves the meeting to the Minutes in Review stage and opens the Post Meeting Tasks window.
Clicking Finish Draft Minutes does not confirm the minutes. It simply moves them to the Minutes in review stage.
Stage 2: Minutes in Review
Once draft minutes are finished, they move into review. At this stage the minutes are ready to be shared with board members and attendees for feedback before formal confirmation.
During this stage you can complete the Post meeting tasks:
Email a link to the minutes to the meeting attendees
Email a link to Actions to action owners
Schedule the minutes into the next meeting's agenda as a standing item for confirmation
You can continue to edit the minutes if feedback is received — no need to roll back
You can still make edits during the Minutes in Review stage without rolling back. Rolling back is only needed if you want to change the underlying agenda, not the minutes content.
Stage 3: Confirmed Minutes
Confirmed minutes are the official, locked record of the meeting. Confirmation happens at the following board meeting.
During this stage:
The past minutes have been confirmed and can no longer be edited
The confirmed minutes become the permanent record and are visible to all relevant board members
Need to go back a stage?
If you need to roll back the meeting to a previous stage (for example, to republish the agenda while minutes are in Draft), you can do so from the three-dot menu on the meeting page. Rolling back will not delete your minutes content — it will remain saved.
Note: You can only roll back one stage at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start drafting minutes before the meeting begins?
Can I start drafting minutes before the meeting begins?
Yes. You can begin drafting minutes as soon as the meeting is in Published Agenda stage. This is useful for pre-populating standard items before the meeting takes place.
What happens if I need to change the agenda after clicking Finish Draft Minutes?
What happens if I need to change the agenda after clicking Finish Draft Minutes?
You will need to roll back the meeting to Published Agenda stage using the three-dot menu before republishing the agenda. Your existing minutes content will be saved.
Who can see the minutes at each stage?
Who can see the minutes at each stage?
During Draft Minutes, only users with Admin, Board Secretary, Senior Exec or Chair access can view and edit the minutes. Once moved to Minutes in Review, the minutes can be viewed by board members. Confirmed minutes are visible to all users with access to that meeting.
Can I include the previous meeting's minutes in the current agenda?
Can I include the previous meeting's minutes in the current agenda?
Yes. Adding confirmation of the previous meeting's minutes is standard practice. When building the agenda, add a Confirmation of Previous Minutes smart agenda item.