By Eva Williams 16 days ago, Apps and Software
In this article, I described the board meeting software I’ve tested for managing board meetings efficiently, safely, and more effectively. In my company such tools simplify decision-making and collaboration with retouchers because almost all of them work remotely.
All the programs offer free demos, as well as provide customized pricing on-demand.
I’m a director of a photography company, so board management software is my handy assistant for enhancing governance processes and encouraging communication among team members and stakeholders.
When looking for the best free board management software, you should check the availability of the following features: agenda management, document sharing, scheduling tools, minute-taking functionalities, task assignments for follow-up actions, safe channels for important discussions, and voting mechanisms for coming to an agreement.
Of course, there are other advantages to look for like simplicity, accessibility, security, compliance, and customizability.
★★★★★ (5/5) – Straightforward and simple to use
Market Segment: Small-business, mid-market
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: OnBoard allows system administrators to organize meetings in 3 clicks, have a dialogue with leadership teams, and concentrate their attention on more important assignments.
This meeting management software integrates with third-party tools like Zoom for worry-free communication and collaboration. There are secure messengers for teams, with which they can interact privately or in groups.
With OnBoard, it is easy to work with multiple documents during or outside the meeting. The tool lets teams collaborate on different tasks like new clients’ onboarding process, and daily day-to-day activities more effectively.
Creating, customizing, and distributing meeting agendas to board members is simple and convenient when using the program. Besides, I had no trouble sharing docs, reports, and presentations anytime I need.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – Builds agenda in no time
Market Segment: Small-business, mid-market
Price: By request, 30-days free trial available
Verdict: iDeals Board turns the process of board meetings organization into an effective and worry-free procedure. If you are a corporate executive, a director, a board member, a legal professional, a financial specialist, or a representative of a non-profit organization, this program is a perfect fit.
You can benefit from its extensive variety of instruments like live messaging, voting Q&A, notes, actionable agendas, notifications, and more.
The functionality of scheduling software and execution of role-based functions let directors navigate every stage of the meeting with ease. Besides, the program provides the options of annotations and interactive meeting pages that board members need to collaborate on in real-time.
Another feature I like is robust agenda management capabilities, which allow creating and scheduling agendas without paying much effort. Besides, only authorized users can access sensitive docs, which contributes to the system’s security.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – Trouble-free data migration
Market Segment: Small and large business
Price: From &12.64/mo, free trial available
Verdict: iBabs is a functional board management software that awards users with overall control over decision-making processes. Besides, it provides the ability to track relevant data workflow more efficiently. Featuring annotations, votes, and meeting reviews, the program is compatible with PCs, and mobile devices based on Android and iOS platforms.
Updates in real-time, offline mode, decisions list export, automated email notifications, digital notes, AES-256 bit encryption, and role-based access are among the most appealing features of iBabs. Moreover, the program is fitted with a PDf converter that can change the format of extremely large PDF files like manuals, training materials, etc.
A comprehensive set of features for managing the agenda was the most impressive aspect for me. There are agenda templates, agenda item tracking, and meeting scheduling tools to make things easier. When I needed to review a document in tandem with other team members, I took advantage of the handy platform’s annotation tools.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – For generating and customizing templates
Market Segment: Small, mid-market
Price: Free or from $12.99/user, 14-day free trial available
Verdict: Boardable is a nonprofit board management software designed to organize board meetings faster and collaborate more effectively. There are live chat, voting tools, and various other case-specific features that help boost board engagement. Those who have a Boardable account can increase their productivity via roll calls, agenda preparation, and document organization.
There are many other appealing features for directors like the ability to vote online, share agendas, co-author docs, search, and open needed files in just several clicks. Functioning like video conferencing and live chat software, this board portal can boost member engagement and induce guests’ activity. Integration with the calendar makes meeting scheduling simpler and more convenient.
Thanks to UI drag-and-drop functionality, I don’t have trouble rearranging agenda items and adding attachments. Moreover, the platform works with many well-known sharing services, which had a positive impact on my workflow efficiency.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – Safe collaboration
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: Diligent Boards is designed to provide companies with a versatile solution for digitization and operational excellence for board, committee, and executive meetings. Real-time communication, governance approval workflows, and smart decision-making are the main advantages of this platform.
It features a user-friendly interface that allows reviewing and collaborating on board meeting docs using different gadgets, no matter whether they are connected to the web or not. Features for annotating docs, and providing permissions for viewing board materials are other highlights of Diligent Boards. It is great that the resource center is centralized and there is an embedded questionnaire for conducting surveys.
With the platform’s straightforward UI, the organization of agenda items and meetings is a no-brainer. I like its enhanced data security, as only authorized users can open sensitive docs.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Role-based access control
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: Intuitive UI and easy navigation are among the main benefits of Nasdaq Boardvantage. It stands out among similar tools with robust security features that ensure no data leakage or unauthorized access. Directors can keep all their board files on the platform and access them virtually from anywhere and anytime.
Like an event planning tool, the program lets users arrange single or multiple board meetings daily and tweak every detail using board books. In addition, the software appeals to users with reliable round-the-clock customer support.
Furthermore, I definitely appreciate the ability to build a task-driven environment with the boardroom and allocate tasks to board members when conducting the meeting.
The agenda creation process is quick and intuitive thanks to dynamic agenda templates and scheduling tools. Besides, Nasdaq Boardvantage ensures excellent security when uploading, storing, and sharing files.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Instruments for live presentations
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: With Convene, you won’t have problems increasing engagement and boosting communication, optimizing board processes, and improving efficiency while conducting or finishing the meetings. This tool can become an indispensable assistant for those who need to organize meetings, build agendas, vote on resolutions, track action items, and sign docs – everything one may need to simplify the board workflow.
The Azeus Convene board management software simplifies the process of preparing for board meetings. The handy integrations with SharePoint, DropBox, and Box make things even easier. It is possible to host Convene on the cloud or on-premise, and the program is fully compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android platforms.
Connecting both in-office and remote teams, the embedded video conferencing tool allows participants to chat, share notes, annotate the discussions, etc. With straightforward agenda management features, I can create and organize meeting agendas without difficulties. Simple and safe document sharing is another benefit, and it is great the platform allows importing, annotating, and sharing files in real-time.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Allows viewing docs in real time
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: Boasting a user-friendly and uncomplicated UI, BoardPAC can smoothly run on different devices like iPads, iPhones, Macs, Windows, and Android devices. The program seamlessly works with Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Lifesize, and a great variety of video conferencing software.
BoardPAC excels in the industry by using such reliable security standards as ISO 27001 certification, 256-bit encryption, safe transmission, etc. Users like its vast range of pre-boarding options including reminders, scheduling, and support for multiple file formats, as well as post-boarding features like ready-made templates, integrated inclusion outcomes, and direct access and tracking of dialogues between divisions and board managers.
With BoardPAC, I can be sure that my meetings will be organized perfectly and run without any interference. Besides, I do not even need a connection to the web to evaluate and review docs.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Multiple annotation tools
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: Board Intelligence is regarded by many users as the best board management software because of its comprehensive report-writing toolkit with multiple templates. The portal feature will come in handy for recording board papers and reviewing these docs using an intuitive smart tool, with which you can easily navigate through the files, annotate them, and jump to any desired report in the storage.
This online collaboration software supports drag-and-drop functionality. So, you can open docs in PDF, Excel, DOCX, and image formats and configure video conferencing hassle-free.
Searching the required data in a file is a no-brainer, as the program is fitted with a highly functional search tool. Board Intelligence seamlessly works with other video conferencing applications and can flawlessly run on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.
Benefit from a fully-featured agenda management toolkit to create, customize, and distribute the meeting agendas. Besides, all files are accessible the whole time and available for collaboration, as board Intelligence integrates with cloud storage services.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Various meeting preparation features
Market Segment: Mid-market, enterprise
Price: By request, free trial available
Verdict: BoardDocs is specifically designed to assist the boards of public schools and community colleges. With the tool, managing board meeting aspects is a worry-free task. You get overall control over the meeting agenda and other materials, have the ability to share docs and collaborate on them, providing all the necessary materials like guidelines, policies, and memos to the teams.
The system provides full control over the hosted and shared data. It allows tracking accesses, views, and downloading to create a comprehensive pic of how board members interact with the shared content. BoardDocs can also record sound and videos of meetings. A great range of robust security features are available to prevent unauthorized access to personal info.
Easy-to-customize agenda templates and automated agenda publishing capabilities add more points to the program. BoardDocs impressed me with seamless document sharing, secure file storage, and flexible sharing options.