Best Board Portal Software

Filter by:
Filter by:
Clear all
Features
More features → Less features →
Use for
Deployment
Clear all
1
iDeals Board
Board from iDeals

iDeals board management software is compatible with different OS although it is primarily tailored for iPad users. A board meeting app allows synchronizing the data as soon as an Internet connection is established. The iDeals software also stands out among the board portal providers crowd because it is available as both a classic on-premise and a cloud-based app on Microsoft Azure.

G2 4.8
Capterra 5.0
GetApp 5.0
Software Advice 5.0
2
Diligent
Diligent Board Portal

Diligent's board software is a powerful combination of board analytics tools for analyzing reports and getting valuable information. The board software gives a perfect insight into when and how users access business materials. The software also has a great search tool to find the necessary document in a few clicks.

G2 4.5
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.74
3
Boardvantage
Nasdaq Boardvantage Board Software

The Boardvantage board meeting software is available as SaaS (cloud application) and is compatible with Windows and Mac, as well as iOS and Android. Offline viewing of board documents is possible with the board meeting app, which makes it convenient to use even if there is no internet connection. Users value Boardvantage’s flexible pricing policy and wide choice of tariffs.

G2 4.6
Capterra 4.6
GetApp 4.6
Software Advice 4.64
4
Boardeffect
Boardeffect board management software

BoardEffect board of directors software is useful not only for directors and managers but also for the entire team. It has the whole gamut of useful instruments, such as board document management and board meeting management; archives for storage of business documents; convenient search tools; voting and messaging capabilities; and notifications buttons. It is also compatible with Mac, Linux, Windows, as well as mobile phones.

G2 4.2
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.66
5
Govenda
govenda board software

BoardBookit virtual boardroom focuses on solving issues directors face and simplifying the workflow for them. Following the goal of fulfilling all the needs of boards around the world, this boardroom created quite an easy-to-use and sustainable board meeting app. This board software receives improvements all the time, so you can expect it to get better as you use it.

G2 4.4
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.71
6
Nasdaq Directors Desk
Nasdaq Directors Desk Board Software

Directors Desk is used by thousands of industry-leading companies thanks to an exceptional level of security (TLS encryption and two-factor authentication). Redundant servers are in Canada, the USA, and the UK, so users don’t experience connection or data loss problems.

G2 4.0
Capterra 4.0
GetApp 4.0
Software Advice -
7
Boardable
Boardable logo

Boardable board management software helps board members communicate, have more efficient board meetings, and improve processes. However, nonprofit boards often can’t find software that will fit their needs. The Boardable virtual boardroom provider was founded by nonprofit enthusiasts for nonprofits like them. This board collaboration software helps nonprofit organizations save time and increase their efficiency. Boardable offers numerous functions that will streamline the processes within the board and the organization in general.

G2 4.8
Capterra 4.8
GetApp 4.8
Software Advice 4.77
8
Boardpaq
BoardPaq Board Portal

BoardPaq leverages voting system, messaging, collaboration, document management, and other board functions. Also noteworthy are this board portal software’s three-level access settings, 256-bit encryption, and personality verification tools – all for the unbeatable protection of business data.

G2 4.5
Capterra 4.5
GetApp 4.8
Software Advice 4.53
9
Azeus-Convene
Azeus Convene Board Management Software

Azeus Convene is a non-expensive and tool-rich board of directors’ software developed by leading IT services provider, Azeus. It features all essential collaboration and board document management tools, as well as push-up notifications and annotations. Voting is also possible with this software.

G2 4.7
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.7
10
Board Intelligence
Board Intelligence logo

Online board meeting software from Board Intelligence goes as a cloud solution only. However, it means that users can access online board meetings from any device (it’s compatible with desktop and mobile devices on iOS and Android). The platform features all essential tools like polls, messages, document handling, collaboration, calendars, and so on.

G2 -
Capterra 4.9
GetApp 4.9
Software Advice 4.91
11
Board Papers
Pervasent logo

BoardPapers is a perfect board collaboration software for a company of any niche. It can be integrated with other platforms like email agents and social media sites, which makes it versatile. Like other board portals, it can be used from different devices and offers a myriad of useful tools for the online board meeting.

G2 -
Capterra 5.0
GetApp 5.0
Software Advice -
12
Boardspace
boardspace logo

Boardspace software is available as a cloud-based solution. This board of directors software is a nice tool to organize important documents and protect them from unauthorized access. Board document management is not the only feature, software is also perfect for task management.

G2 -
Capterra 4.5
GetApp -
Software Advice -
13
iBabs
iBabs logo

iBabs board portal is a leading European board software. All the servers of iBabs are located in Europe. There are many banks and other financial institutions among the clients of this provider, so new users can be sure of the highest security standards.

G2 5.0
Capterra 4.5
GetApp 4.5
Software Advice 4.53
14
Boardmanagement
boardmanagement logo

Boardmanagement is a simple and efficient virtual board portal created to make the governance of the board of directors easier. Like in the case with most providers, this software was created by those who have served on boards and are aware of the issues directors, and secretaries face.

G2 -
Capterra 4.0
GetApp -
Software Advice -
15
Aprio
aprio logo

Aprio offers the virtual board portal that can be accessed from any device by all authorized users. This makes reviewals and preparations for meetings much easier for participants. Aprio’s software can add transparency to the workflow of the board by putting all processes on the display.

G2 4.1
Capterra 4.5
GetApp 4.5
Software Advice 4.53
16
Directorpoint
Directorpoint logo

Directorpoint allows directors to have full control over what’s going on in the organizations. Additionally, this software helps boards to hold productive meetings as all participants can get ready for a discussion in advance by studying the materials provided to them by their colleagues.

G2 3.5
Capterra 4.6
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.71
17
OnBoard
OnBoard logo
G2 4.7
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.69
18
BoardDocs
boarddocs logo
G2 4.9
Capterra 4.7
GetApp 4.7
Software Advice 4.71
19
Huddle
Huddle board portal

Huddle is a convenient board portal software for different groups of users: board members would benefit from their work acceleration, constant updates, and tracked activity; IT specialists would appreciate the level of security and auditable activities; board secretaries can adjust directors' schedules to planned meetings and ease the document management

G2 4.2
Capterra 4.4
GetApp -
Software Advice 4.38
20
DocSend
Docsend board portal logo

Docsend combines the capabilities of a virtual data room and an intuitive board portal by creating a secure and functional virtual space for board management. The product offers customizable templates of the most common board documents and solid analytical tools to ease the decision-making process

G2 4.6
Capterra 4.6
GetApp 4.6
Software Advice 4.53
21
BoardPro
Boardpro logo

BoardPro is an easy-to-use board software platform that allows board members quickly automate repetitive manual tasks, increase productivity, optimize board meetings, and store meeting documents — all in one place

G2 4.8
Capterra 4.8
GetApp 4.8
Software Advice 4.53
View more →
Board Portal Selection Guide
We analyze - you use. Launch the Selection Guide and find the most appropriate board software that meets all your requirements.

Indicate the size of your business

1/4
#Selection Guide

How many users will use a board portal?

2/4
#Selection Guide

Preferable deployment option?

3/4
#Selection Guide

Checking your results...

10%
Comparing your requirements with all propositions...

Your best choice is

iDeals board

iDeals Board

#Selection Guide
What is a Board Portal?

Board portal is defined as a digital tool that simplifies board meetings and improves its efficiency. Board portal is also called board management software. Initially, board portal was created so that the board of directors could effectively plan the strategic development of the company or discuss critical issues.

 

Today, board portal software could be used not only by C-level professionals but also by all members of the team to run meetings, share related documents, set goals for a certain period, define tasks and control their execution.

Board Management Software Definition image

Companies That Use Board Software

Top Board Portals Comparison

At Board-room.org, we offer detailed electronic board portal comparisons based on regular market assessments by our internal research and QA teams.

We consider the competitive landscape, technology advancements, customer needs, pricing policies, and regulatory conditions while ranking each board software provider.

Board-room.org creates the top online board portal rankings based on systematic reviews and tests of the following criteria:

  • Business conditions. Market position, operating history, and online reputation
  • Software features. Security features, ease of use, and capabilities for board meetings
  • Customer service. Customer service quality, onboarding help, and technical support
  • User satisfaction. Use cases, tone, quantity, frequency over time, and other parameters of online reviews
  • Pricing data. Quality-price ratios of pricing plans and free trial specifics
You can discover more details about our board software review process and download a comprehensive board portal market guide on the How We Rate Page.

We regularly update our board software rankings to represent the latest changes in board portal features, market conditions, competitive landscape, and board processes, and other parameters.

Important note: You can use filters on our main page to discover which board agenda software app fits specific needs.

Board portal software vendors in Leaders Matrix

Board-room.org developed a Leaders Matrix, a commonly used tool for visualizing product and service evaluations. Board-room.org’s grid displays board portals on the four quadrants based on corporate governance processes efficiency.

(last updated in January 2024)

Board-room.org regularly updates its board software Leaders Matrix based on our systematic board portal reviews and assessments.

Board portals comparison by ratings

G2 Capterra GetApp Software Advice Board-room.org
Board from iDeals 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Boardpro logo 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.53 4.8
Diligent Board Portal 4.5 4.7 4.7 4.74 4.7
Docsend board portal logo 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.53 4.6
iBabs logo 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.53 4.5
Huddle board portal 4.2 4.4 - 4.38 4.3
govenda board software 4.4 4.7 4.7 4.71 4.2
Nasdaq Boardvantage Board Software 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.64 4.0
Boardable logo 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.77 4.0

Board portal vendors comparison by customer service

iDeals Board
100%
Diligent
94%
Boardvantage
80%
Boardeffect
78%
Govenda
84%
Nasdaq Directors Desk
62%
Boardable
80%
Boardpaq
64%
Azeus-Convene
66%
Board Intelligence
74%

Comparison by board portal features

Board-room.org has created dozens of board software reviews and analyzed over 90% of  existing board portals on the market. Our research findings show that board administrators and regular users find these board packet software features the most valuable for board meeting processes:

  1. Agenda builder (38% average rating)
  2. Voting management (80% average rating)
  3. Board document management (95% average rating)
  4. Access controls/Permissions (100% average rating)
  5. Minutes management (85% average rating)
  6. Calendar management (80% average rating)
  7. Document Library (76% average rating)
  8. Attendee management (61%% average rating)
  9. Collaboration software (95%% average rating)
  10. Electronic signature (90% average rating)

Board-room.org calculates the average rating from 0% to 100% of board software features for each provider.

We also rank better governance board portals by the software features. Since feature quality varies in board portals, board provider rankings for these features also vary

Example:
📎 Diligent Boards comes 2nd for board document management and 6th for minutes management
📎 Azeus Convene comes 4th for agenda builder and 8th for access controls/permissions

You can check our secure board software rankings for the top five board software features below.

Agenda builder Voting management Board document management Access controls/Permissions Minutes management
1 iDeals Board iDeals Board iDeals Board iDeals Board iDeals Board
2 Boardvantage BoardPro Diligent OnBoard OnBoard
3 Diligent OnBoard OnBoard BoardPro Boardable
4 Azeus Convene Diligent Boardable Diligent BoardPro
5 OnBoard Boardbookit BoardPro Boardbookit Boardbookit
6 BoardPro Boardable Boardbookit Boardbookit Diligent
7 Board Intelligence Boardvantage Boardvantage Boardvantage Boardvantage
8 DirectorPoint Azeus Convene BoardDocs Azeus Convene Azeus Convene
9 BoardDocs Docsend BoardDocs BoardDocs
10 Boardeffect Boardeffect Docsend Boardeffect
11 Aprio Huddle Huddle Aprio
12 iBabs Aprio Aprio BoardPaq
13 Boardspace BoardPaq iBabs iBabs
14 DirectorPoint iBabs Board Intelligence DirectorPoint
15 Nasdaq Directors Desk Board Intelligence Boardspace Huddle
16 Board Papers Boardspace DirectorPoint Board Management
17 BoardPaq DirectorPoint Board Management Boardspace
18 Azeus Convene Board Papers Board Papers
19 Nasdaq Directors Desk BoardPaq
20 Board Papers Nasdaq Directors Desk
21 Boardeffect

Rating of board meeting software with free trial

Boardroom software Free trial Demo
iDeals Board Available +
Diligent Available +
Boardvantage Available +
Boardeffect Available +
Boardable Available +
OnBoard Available +
Govenda BoardBookit Available +
Boardpaq Available +
Azeus Convene Available +
Board Intelligence Available +
Aprio Not available +
iBabs Not available +
Board Papers Available +
Nasdaq Directors Desk Not available +
BoardPro 30 days +
Docsend 14 days +
Boardspace 60-day money-back guarantee. (100% of your subscription price back) +
BoardDocs Not available +
DirectorPoint Available +
Board Management Available +
Ideagen Huddle 30 days +

Other Board Portal Choice Criteria

Board portal is a universal collaboration tool that can offer enhanced convenience to both the board of directors and employees – if you manage to choose it properly. Below are the three criteria that should be taken into account when making your choice of a board portal solution:

1. Deployment options of board portal software

Cloud/SaaS/Web-BasedSelf-hosted/On-Premise
It allows you to access the board meeting software on-demand via the Internet. The user pays only for the number of seats that are actually used with no need to install special board software or purchase individual licenses. An alternative for SaaS is a hosted board portal software. When favoring this approach, a business fully owns the board of directors software: each user of the system will need a separate board of directors portal that will interact with a common database, which, in turn, is also stored on the company’s servers.
MobileDesktop
It allows you to install a board software application on an Android or iOS device. The board software vendor doesn’t charge you for the application.Each user logs in to the board portal inside the mobile application to view board materials. An Internet browser is not required. No individual licenses are required either.It facilitates secure digital communication on your personal computer, laptop, or tablet with the Windows and Mac operating systems. It comes as an installable application at no extra cost.Each user manages board materials inside the desktop application. No individual licenses are required.

2. ROI to board software features correlation

Board portal pricing often serves as an obstacle to a board digitization decision. That’s why the directors must understand how board management software can optimize the overall organization and operation and reduce costs.

A set of board collaboration tools helps board members and administrators use their valuable time more effectively. At the same time, the physical board materials get replaced with their digital counterparts, eliminating an entire section of traditional meeting-related spendings.

Another key factor to consider is how board portal vendors form the final cost based on the particular features and services. Every board requires a distinct set of board portal instruments, and it makes sense to only pay for the necessary ones.

Board portal feature comparisons can help your executive leadership team outline which tools are worth the investment depending on how much value they introduce to the particular board of directors.

Board portals pricing comparison

Board management software provider Main features Pricing model Starting price
1. iDeals Board
Board from iDeals
  • Workflow optimization Meeting
  • Agenda Boardbook Docs & communication
  • Secure Client Portals Dashboard
  • Calendar Management
Not indicated Not provided by a vendor Request Pricing
2. Ideagen
Huddle board portal
  • Controlled external collaboration
  • Automatic activity tracking
  • Custom branded client portals
Per user $7 View Profile
3. DocSend
Docsend board portal logo
  • Video Analytics
  • Dynamic Watermarking
  • Secure Client Portals
Per user Personal – $10 per user/per month
Standart – $45 per user/per month
Advanced – $150 per month
Enterprise View Profile
4. iBabs
iBabs logo
  • Digital Signature
  • Video Conferencing
  • Microsoft 365 intergation
Per user £12
One time training fee of £995
View Profile
5. Boardable
Boardable logo
  • Meeting preparation
  • Meeting center
  • Document templates
Per user
Subscription
Per feature
Essential – $17.99
Professional – $26.99
Enterprise – custom View Profile
6. Directorpoint
Directorpoint logo
  • Managing RSVPs
  • Private discussions
  • Activity and engagement reports
Flat rate Standart – $30
Public Corporations – $45
Nonprofit Charities – $15 View Profile
7. Board Intelligence
Board Intelligence logo
  • Document templates
  • Customizable branding
  • Encryption of sensitive data
Subscription $30/ per month View Profile
8. BoardPaq
BoardPaq Board Portal
  • Agenda builder
  • Reporting tools
  • Document management
Per board
Subscription
$39 View Profile
9. Boardmanagement
boardmanagement logo
  • Calendar management
  • Scheduling
  • Document Management
Flat rate Advisory – $49
Small – $99
Medium – $199 View Profile
10. Boardspace
boardspace logo
  • Agenda editor
  • Dynamic minutes builder
  • E-sign minutes
Flat rate For nonprofits & charities – $89/month with no committees
For condos & HOAs – $69/month with less than 75 units View Profile
11. Azeus Convene
Azeus Convene Board Management Software
  • Video integrations
  • Multi-platform access
  • Collaboration
Per user
Subscription
$400 /per year View Profile
12. OnBoard
OnBoard logo
  • Agenda builder
  • D&O Questionnaires
  • Board Assessment
Per user $240/per year View Profile
13. BoardPro
Boardpro logo
  • Meeting Schedule
  • Governance Repository
  • Board Pack Annotations
Per board Commercial – $1500/month
Nonprofit – $1200/month
School – $1200/month
Getting Started – $1600/month
*there are discounts on annual payments View Profile
14. Govenda
govenda board software
  • Activity dashboard
  • Document templates
  • Permissions control
Flat Rate
Subscription
$15000/ per year View Profile
15. Board Papers
Pervasent logo
  • Access controls/Permissions
  • Approval process management
  • Calendar Management
Flat Rate
Subscription
$3000/ per year View Profile
16. BoardDocs
boarddocs logo
  • Attendee management
  • Boardbook builder
  • Document management
Subscription
Per user
$0.01 View Profile

*prices taken from official websites and public data of Capterra

Well-selected board portal software allows board directors and other executives to enhance their board meetings organization process and improve governance. Take a close look at the board management software pricing mechanics to easily navigate the market and find the right technology for your company.

3. Reasonable security level of the board management software

Security is essential to board portal selection. But the required security level of any board meeting management software directly corresponds with the type of organization’s activity. For many boards, basic data safety features are highly sufficient. These include:

  • Multi-factor authentication
  • In-transfer and in-storage data encryption
  • Manageable user access levels
  • Document watermarking, and others

Other boards require more advanced solutions for handling highly sensitive documents such as medical patient information or employee data, for example. In such cases, board of directors portal software has to offer certified physical storage facilities, sophisticated disaster recovery, and customer-managed encryption.

To correctly evaluate the technical security requirements for the board of directors management software, it is vital to account for two factors:

  • The overall level of document confidentiality across the portal
  • The expected amount of user control

Board management software use cases

Many manufacturers make the global market for board portal software highly fragmented. There are big and small providers that work with large enterprises (LEs) or small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). That’s why today there are board portal use cases for any industry and company of any size.

Board-room.org research findings show that the majority (64.9%) of board meeting software apps fit various industries, including commercial, financial, healthcare, and others. The rest offer industry-specific services.

Board-room.org’s latest analysis of the 22 best board management software providers of 2024 comprised over 760 reviews from different organizations, including the following:

  1. Commercial 
  2. Financial
  3. Healthcare
  4. Nonprofit
  5. Government

Board meeting software for commercial organizations

Public and private companies use board portals to have these obvious benefits: the ability to run online board meetings seamlessly regardless of where team members are located. For the past decade, board meeting management tools have been, for the most part, utilized by global brands, but today a wider range of SMEs choose employees by their skill set rather than their geographical location.

68% of the top board portal solutions have clients among commercial businesses, such as consumer goods, retail, utilities, and others. 

  • iDeals Board portal provider received the highest rating (5 stars and 9.9 likelihood to recommend).
  • Huddle received the lowest rating (4.4 stars and 8.2 likelihood to recommend).

The top 5 providers for commercial organizations are the following.

Read more about our TOP-3 board of directors meeting software:

G2
4.8
Capterra
5.0
GetApp
5.0
Software Advice
5.0
G2
4.7
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.69
G2
4.8
Capterra
4.8
GetApp
4.8
Software Advice
4.53

Board management software for financial institutions

Financial organizations use paperless meeting software because of its security and convenient sharing of documents. Financial leadership teams use board meeting agenda software to automate meeting scheduling, facilitate remote and hybrid meetings, and ensure secure access to documents.

According to Board-room.org’s findings, 56% of the top board portals have clients among financial organizations.

  • iDeals received the highest rating (5 stars and 9.9 likelihood to recommend).
  • BoardPaq received the lowest rating (4 stars and 4.72 likelihood to recommend).

The top 5 board software providers for financial organizations are the following.

Read more about TOP-3 providers for financial organizations:

G2
4.8
Capterra
5.0
GetApp
5.0
Software Advice
5.0
G2
4.8
Capterra
4.8
GetApp
4.8
Software Advice
4.53
G2
4.5
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.74

Board software for healthcare organizations

Healthcare organizations use board portals to collect, organize, and prioritize data. Today’s healthcare organizations need to leverage data governance so that it gives them the information they need to provide quality healthcare in ways that are efficient, safe, and cost-effective.

Board-room.org found that 43% of the top board portals serve healthcare organizations. 

  • iDeals received the highest rating (4.9 stars and 9.4 likelihood to recommend).
  • Boardable received the lowest rating (4.2 stars and 8.2 likelihood to recommend).

The top 5 board portals for healthcare organizations are the following.

Learn more about our TOP-3 board management tools for healthcare:

G2
4.8
Capterra
5.0
GetApp
5.0
Software Advice
5.0
G2
4.8
Capterra
4.8
GetApp
4.8
Software Advice
4.53
G2
4.7
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.69

Board portals for nonprofits

Nonprofits mostly employ tools to manage meetings to improve the distribution of meeting papers, saving staff time and cutting expenses for printing meeting materials. Here are some of the nonprofit organizations that use board portals daily:

  • The Wolfson Foundation
  • World Habitat
  • Commonweal Housing

Board-room.org found that 81% of the top board portals serve non-profit organizations.

  • iDeals received the highest rating (5 stars and 9.5 likelihood to recommend).
  • Boardvantage received the lowest rating (4.4 stars and 7.8 likelihood to recommend).

The top 5 providers for nonprofit organizations are the following.

View profile of TOP-3 providers for nonprofits:

G2
4.8
Capterra
5.0
GetApp
5.0
Software Advice
5.0
G2
4.5
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.74
G2
4.7
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.69

Board portals for government

Government entities use board portals to exchange board books faster, increase accountability of governors, plan committee meetings, and enable secure digital communication. These solutions help manage the full board meeting life cycle for governing bodies.

Governments lag behind digitalization as they are the rarest clients among board portals. Only 37% of the top board management solutions have clients among government entities.

  • iDeals received the highest rating (4.9 stars and 9.8 likelihood to recommend).
  • Govenda received the lowest rating (4.5 stars and 8.5 likelihood to recommend.)

The 5 best board portal software providers for government organizations are the following.

Our TOP-3 software for the board of directors for government:

G2
4.8
Capterra
5.0
GetApp
5.0
Software Advice
5.0
G2
4.7
Capterra
4.7
GetApp
4.7
Software Advice
4.69
G2
4.8
Capterra
4.8
GetApp
4.8
Software Advice
4.53

Who uses board portals the most?

Board portals are the most popular among nonprofit organizations (81% of board portals) and commercial (68% of board portals). Government agencies are the rarest board software users (37% of board portals).

So, How to Select Board Management Software?

When selecting a board management software vendor, you should pay attention to whether the offered features comply with your company’s requirements. This is important for businesses of any size, from any country or industry. There are six steps to follow when you select a board management software:

  1. Define your business needs. Who will be using the board portal? How often will the company be using the board portal? Which processes will the software cover?
  2. Identify must-have features for the board meeting management software your business will use often: live voting, document sharing, meeting minutes, etc. 
  3. Set a budget range your company is ready to invest in a board portal.
  4. Define a list of the best board portals that meet points 1-3 above.
  5. Shorten the list to the top 10 providers and collect additional data on them such as board portal reviews on forums, social media, and other platforms. Make a board of directors software comparison by customer feedback.
  6. Select the top three board portals, talk to their reps, and sign-up for a free trial to find out which one suits your needs better than others.

Therefore, take your time, make lists, look for the first-hand experience and measure the efficiency of the chosen solution every step of the way. It is essential for large businesses as they need to train many employees, which means dozens of wasted working hours in case of a failure. 

How to use board governance software for online board meetings?

Main advantages of using the board of directors software

The main advantage of the board of directors software for board meetings is that it structures virtual board meetings.

Here is a shortlist of the benefits that the virtual boardroom provides:

  1. Smooth communication and ease of use. With a board portal, any board of directors can effectively collaborate in strategic management and tactical planning.
  2. Enhanced document storage security. Another advantage of the board of directors portal is data security. All online board meetings are protected by advanced encryption protocols that make it impossible for third parties to access events or documents.
  3. User management and controls. Modern board portals allow directors and committee members to manage various meeting rooms along with document folders and directories; share granular access to them for chosen users or in bulk.
  4. Access to the right tools. The right board portal allows for easy management of agendas, notes, documents, discussions, polls, and board meeting minutes. 
  5. Goal setting and control. The task setting tool can set reminders to better organize the process.

How to simplify board meeting management within a board portal?

A virtual board portal improves your board and team meetings experience at every stage — from preparation to the actual conduct of the meeting, decision-making, implementation of resolutions, and task management. 

So let’s see how board meeting software helps improve your board meetings at every stage:

Board meeting agenda
  • Ready-made templates. Build a strong meeting agenda from scratch or customize one of the ready-to-use templates available in the virtual board portal. Either way, the use of the software becomes a breeze.
  • Smooth team collaboration. Assign your agenda items to individuals. Allot time boxes for individual’s speech and team discussion. Engage your team in creative practices in all-in-one board meeting apps. Upload, organize, and distribute the documents to the selected team members to let them prepare for a meeting in advance.
  • Extensive security. In board software, you can protect the confidential information with restricted folders, so that you always share the information safely.
Meeting minutes
  • Easy recording. With the designated time boxes, recording in-depth minutes becomes simple. Do it accurately with easy-to-use board meeting management tools that are included in most board of directors software.
  • Convenient sharing. Provide the key reference points and make records convenient for your team members and stakeholders in a few clicks.
  • Creating interactive documents. Board software allows you to create interactive documents with meeting agenda and minutes. You can easily email them to the attendees, as well as to those who were absent, in one click.
Voting

Are all the directors available for a board meeting? Poll them to choose the time and date that suit every participant.

  • Preparing polls. Prepare polls in advance and share them with colleagues in a meeting agenda. This way they will be ready for what happens next and have time to think everything over.
  • Enabling anonymous voting. Use anonymous voting to avoid the inconvenience and get honest answers about sensitive issues.
  • Gathering and analyzing feedback. Collect the feedback using virtual polls and voting. To improve the organization, start from the board of directors or from your own team.

Distance is no longer an obstacle with virtual board meeting portals. Keep everybody on track, enable them to participate in making decisions even if they are sick, out of town, or in a traffic jam.

Board resolution
  • Convenient e-signature. Upload or even create the document at the time of the meeting and send it to your colleague for a signature.
  • Built-in task manager. Transform resolutions into tasks and manage them easily using integrated task managers.
  • Auto-notifications. Set up due dates and responsible persons after the resolution is made. Keep track of the completion of the tasks with automated notifications. 

Board meeting software saves time, eliminates the need to integrate many different media tools into your workflow, and allows the team to focus on what really matters.

How to manage documents in the virtual boardroom

Virtual boardroom allows individuals, teams, and enterprises to easily collaborate with one or volumes of documents: 

  • exchange documents in enterprises quickly and securely
  • provide online and offline access to directors and stakeholders from any location
  • distribute materials among meeting attendees and update them when needed
  • facilitate communication between managers and directors
  • correct mistakes: no need to waste another sheet of paper
  • save time and cost on paper
  • let your assistant focus on your needs and the needs of attendees, instead of paperwork
Paperless, convenient, and eco-friendly
Imagine: your table is clean and empty, just your laptop with all the documents there. Sounds great, right?

Sure we can’t completely give up paper documents. However, sharing and reviewing documents online is much more convenient and secure than working with their printed versions. That is why board document management is a highly valued function of board portals. If you want to know more you can read about examples of board documents.

Upload multiple documents at once. Organize files into folders, subfolders, and sub-subfolders. Change folder statuses to give access to different groups of users. And save one tree every year.
Secure, confidential, and hassle-free
Board portals have all these important safety features that e-mail and personal data sharing services lack. Paperless board meetings are easy to access and difficult to hack. Administrators can set up access levels for different users and add other safety factors like encryption. 

Have some documents to e-sign? No need to pay extra costs for third-party software tools. Upload or even create the document at the online board meeting and send it to your colleagues for an e-signature at the same moment. 

Save your time and free your mind for creative solutions, complicated tasks, and decision-making. Use tools for your paperwork.

The board portal market enumerates over 90 software vendors. Therefore, many users may need help choosing a product matching their needs. 

At Board-room.org, you can leverage the combined experience of our team and choose the board portal suitable for your budget and business needs. Compare prices, meeting agenda tools, security features, usability levels, and other aspects of board portals.

Note: You can also visit our blog to learn more about the board portal review process as well as details and nuances of corporate governance.
📎 Check how we rate board management software
📎 Download the market guide for board portals
📎 Learn all about running board meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order
📎 Check the expert advice on creating and implementing a board development plan
and etc.

FAQ

What is a board portal?

A board portal is a virtual platform for meetings of directors and managers. The main difference from other programs is that it offers more options for board meeting management. Here, authorized board meeting software users have easy access to board documents. The storage not only reduces the volume of paperwork but also allows directors to store and exchange highly confidential documents without the risk of being hacked. Board portal features include tools for team collaboration and tracking the activity of each of the members.

What are board meeting software’s deployment options?

Board portals have two deployment options: SaaS and Hosted. A potential user should understand the difference to make the right choice. Software as a service implies a subscription on an ongoing basis. After creating an account, a user can access it from any device with network coverage. It is a budget-friendly and easy-to-use solution. However, SaaS cannot be tailored to specific needs, unlike the Hosted version. In the Hosted case, clients receive the software with a server, which is maintained by IT staff. Suitable for those who need high security. Some virtual boardrooms are available in both versions.

What is a virtual board meeting?

It is a modern board meeting solution for business. The tool offers virtual negotiations,  creating meeting minutes and agendas. Directors and executives can work from home or anywhere else, keeping in touch with each other and having 24/7 secure data access. This feature reduces the number of business trips and financial costs. Having everything they need on the electronic board portal, users save time on team efficiency and task performance.

How to prepare for a board meeting?

Here are a few guidelines for all industries on how to prepare for a board meeting:

  • Choose a high quality and secure board software. This tool should be easy to use and minimize preparation time.
  • Select a date and time of the conference that is suitable for all participants. Using the Scheduling feature on the board portals, users agree on this point.
  • Provide access to an agenda in advance. It promotes greater engagement and knowledge of the matter.
  • Appoint a dedicated person responsible for meeting minutes. Usually, it is a board secretary.
Which are board software pricing options?

The board software pricing options differ depending on several factors. Most vendors rely on the number of users when setting tariffs. That is, each new one costs the client some money. Sometimes a provider offers a discount to their customer. As an example, on the 101st and following online board portals of users.

A free trial is an offer from providers (not all) to potential customers to try the product for 30 or 60 days.

Why use board meeting software?

Using a board meeting software means paperless board meetings, which significantly reduces the number of tasks. Besides, the data is under guaranteed protection. Third parties cannot get access to it.

Board portals are board meeting agenda software too. Using the program, secretaries never miss points that matter. There are tools for controlling users, access, whole projects. Administrators can check activity reports when they want, so they are always up to date and plan further actions.

What is the current state of the board portal market?

The global market of board portal software is growing. The particularly rapid growth of virtual boardroom popularity has become possible thanks to the swift development of cloud-based technologies. 

This development allowed companies to not only use SaaS or self-hosted solutions but also create cloud-based in-house products. The single issue that self-hosted and self-made solutions cannot yet cope with is security: these options are much more affected by MIM (men in the middle) breach than protected SaaS platforms.

This has brought about the emergence of security-focused solutions that make cyberattacks impossible. Such platforms gain considerable traction worldwide. The Global Board Portal Market was valued at $2.48B in 2018 and is expected to hit $10.43B by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 20.15% in 2019-2026, says the Verified Market Research. The growth is likely to accelerate even more due to the pandemic.