How to Choose the Best Board Portal Software for Your Business.
There are many things to consider before choosing your board management software. Look at some of the key features you should look for in board portal software and the benefits you can enjoy by transitioning to paperless board meetings.
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| Board Portal Software for Your Business |
What Board Portal Software A Company Should Have to Help Grow Business
If your business is making a switch to a paperless working environment, you’ll need an effective board portal. However, every platform will offer something different. And if you’re looking to become more efficient, it is your responsibility to ensure you understand your requirements for the virtual boardroom.
Today, we’ll be looking at some of the key features you should look for in board portal software and the benefits you can enjoy by transitioning to paperless board meetings. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
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What are the benefits of the right board management software?
The best board management software for your company will offer many benefits, streamlining processes and boosting security. These benefits include:
Optimized meeting management processes. Companies can enjoy more efficient meeting management thanks to board portal software. You create meetings, attach documents, initiate virtual meetings, track attendance, and enjoy video conferencing technology on most high-end board management tools.
Comprehensive document management. As well as meeting management, board portals also act as a robust document repository. Organizations can enjoy comprehensive document sharing options, uploading, editing, and viewing information with ease. In addition, board portals can track changes in real-time, so you’ll always be looking at the most recent version of the file.
Enhanced collaboration possibilities. Board portals offer numerous tools to facilitate streamlined collaboration on important board topics, such as annotations, in-portal messaging, notifications, and alerts. Users can add comments on documents and contact each other in one secure place, so no correspondence gets missed or ends up in the wrong hands.
Better security. Speaking of secure messaging, board portals are designed with numerous security layers and protocols to ensure documents within the software remain safe. If you value confidentiality while keeping sensitive information readily available to specific members of the team, board management software is the choice for you.
Improved governance. Board management platforms also support improved workflow for business operations, collaborations, and meeting management, simplifying every stage of the board meeting process — from putting together pre-meeting board packs to sharing minutes once the meeting has concluded.
What board portal features are important to look for?
A board portal optimizes numerous tasks for companies both large and small, from board document management to board pack creation. Keep an eye out for the following features to ensure your platform benefits your organization.
Meeting management
Board portals should let you plan meetings and link to shared calendars. Members should be able to hold online meetings, use video conferencing technology, share board packs and other documents, and track meeting attendance.
Digital agenda creation. Users should be able to create and distribute meeting agendas. The best portals will allow board members to use agenda templates, reuse old agendas, or create new ones.
Minutes features. Board portals should let you create, share, approve, and archive minutes from meetings. In addition, those minutes should be easily accessible whenever required.
Board pack creation. Board portals should let you create board packs with ease and link them to agendas and meeting notifications.
Presenter functions: Users should be able to initiate meetings and manage presentations, as well as hand control to other members.
Task management
Admins should be able to create and track actions, as well as assigning them to specific members, and streamline workflows for individuals and groups.
Reporting features: Members should receive detailed reports on any board-related metrics such as document statistics, user details, and meeting attendance.
Email capabilities: Most board portals will send notifications to stakeholders via their personal emails, so they never miss important meeting information or votes.
Voting and approvals: Users need to be able to vote and approve decisions, as well as sign off on budgets and resolutions.
Survey creation: Look for survey creation and distribution. Board portals should offer questionnaire functionality, allowing members to use templates, pre-fill answers, check progress, and issue reminders.
Annotations: Most board portals should have annotation options so users can collaborate on documents and highlight any important information for others to read.
Notifications and reminders: Board members may need to send and receive notifications when documents need to be edited or if they are completed.
Bank-grade security
Every board portal features a full suite of features that guarantee multi-layered protection of your data.
File repository: Board portals should allow you to store files, customize your folder structure, and configure settings to match your organization’s governance requirements.
Role-based permissions permissions: Admins will want to assign permissions and restrictions for specific documents on folders, keeping control over who gets to see sensitive information.
Remote purging: If a device is stolen or lost, admins should be able to purge documents and notes for another device connected to the board portal.
Digital signatures: Users should also be able to add digital signatures on sensitive documents and other transactions. Admins also need to track the status of any pending signatures.
Complete customization and personalization
Companies can customize some board portals with their own branding, module settings, and permissions, as well as create spaces for different groups or departments within the organization.
Intuitive dashboard. Every user should have access to an intuitive dashboard that shows meetings, calendars, files, links, and documents in a single view format.
In-depth search. Board members should be able to search for documents or account-holders, using keywords, groups, data, and file filters.
SSO: Single sign-on (or SSO for short) is a centralized login across numerous systems, streamlining the sign-in process and simplifying instances where users forget their log-in details.
Final thoughts
There are many things to think about before choosing your board management software, make a checklist containing the features above and think about your company’s requirements. You may find some of those features do not apply to your board. If you know what you require from a board portal, it’ll make finding the right system much easier.
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