How to Write Business Minutes
Business minutes are a vital part of the record keeping performed by companies, particularly corporations. Proper governance requires regular meetings of the board of directors with minutes, prepared to record what was reported, discussed and approved or disapproved during the meetings. Minutes memorialize all the company's important decisions regarding management, changes to the business model, expansion plans, major funding events, mergers and acquisitions.
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Instructions
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Elements of Business Minutes
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Fill in the heading and agenda. The top of the page should carry the document title: Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors. Under the title you should indicate the date, time and location of the meeting. This information should be easy to read because you may find yourself hunting through your meeting minutes looking for a specific date or location. The agenda is another useful bit of information that should be easily seen. It will give you a quick idea of what went on in the meeting without having to read the entire document.
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2
Record the attendees. For a regular meeting where there is a list of members who are expected to attend, indicate who is and who is not at the meeting. Some boards require indications of why members are absent, as membership can be revoked if the member misses a certain number of meetings without a good excuse. Also, record any additional attendees and the reason they are in attendance.
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When the reports are given, record them under the "Reports of Corporate Officers and Department Heads" category. There may be votes taken on suggestions from the floor or approval votes on questions raised in the reports, so make sure to indicate who raised each major question or comment, who moved to accept or reject any suggestions, who seconded the motion and the vote both for and against. Also record whether the motion carried. Officers' reports will include presentation of the minutes, a vote to accept the minutes of the previous meeting, the treasurer's report and any reports of any of the other officers.
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Record discussions of any ongoing projects or questions under the "Old Business" category. This is for progress reports on projects, resolution of problems and other follow up on questions raised and votes taken in previous meetings. Again, you will need to carefully record any motions from the floor and the details of discussions and votes.
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Record new proposals and announcements under the "New Business" category. This is how new projects, plans, suggestions and questions are entered into the board governing process and new business must be recorded carefully along with the details of motions, questions, discussions and votes.
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As the meeting closes you will record the date of the next meeting and the move to adjourn, making note of the votes for and against.
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Tips & Warnings
The easiest way to prepare minutes is to create a template for your laptop, which you will be taking into the meeting with you. As the meeting proceeds, take your notes on the laptop and clean them up later for distribution to the board and other people on your distribution list. You will also want to print out a copy for the corporate records book.
It is vital to maintain your minutes in a safe place and backed up on your computer because they are needed for audits, reports to the SEC and legal proceedings, and are often required for due diligence by potential investors. They are the record of all the important governance decisions undertaken by your company.
