Essential board management software buying information
Board management software enables directors to schedule and organize board meetings, track meeting minutes and attendance, and share files and content with other board members. The software offers collaboration and governance tools to help run productive board meetings.
Board management software is used by board members, a group that is demographically diverse. It is mainly composed of company directors, executives, board chairs, nominations committee chairs, and CEOs.
Most board management software solutions on the market are priced on a per-month basis, and a typical entry-level pricing plan is around $44 per month. Premium and advanced system subscriptions typically cost around $334 per month. 1
First-time board management software buyers need to consider their budget, board strategic planning needs, and required integrations with the rest of their tech stack when evaluating their options. We recommend consulting with stakeholders on a list of critical questions to ask potential vendors in order to help evaluate systems, such as:
What features are available for organizing and providing meeting materials?
Is there a feature to document board members’ roles and responsibilities in a central location?
Is there a feature to evaluate or measure key metrics such as culture, performance, and objectives?
Is there a feature for board members to provide feedback on their peers?
What are the highest rated board management systems?
Capterra publishes verified reviews from users of board management software to help you pick the right system for your business. Here are the five solutions with the highest average ratings, normalized for number and recency of reviews. 2
What are the most reviewed board management systems?
Capterra publishes verified reviews from users of board management software to help you pick the right system for your business. Here are the 5 solutions with the greatest number of reviews:
What is board management software?
Board management software is a tool that helps an organization’s board of directors manage their responsibilities of strategic planning and performance reviews. It provides a virtual platform for the board to hold meetings, record minutes, share and review documents, and vote on business affairs.
It also acts as a database for important documents and information the board might need to have handy.
The Capterra board management software category includes 140 software products, and products in this category received 822 user reviews within the past year. 2
Board management software pricing
Most board management software solutions on the market are priced on a per-month basis, and a typical entry-level pricing plan is around $44 per month. Mid-tier plans are available around $80 per month and high-end plans for $334. Some board management software solutions offer users a discount if they are billed on an annual basis rather than a monthly basis. Many of them offer a free trial version.
Entry-level systems generally include basic features such as: meeting management, meeting agenda creation, document management, and presentation preparation.
Premium or advanced plans usually offer all of the basic plan features, plus more advanced features, including: governance frameworks, advanced security, electronic voting, analytics and reporting, and access controls.
Board management software features rated by users
All software for board management includes collaboration tools, meeting management, and minutes management as core features, which will be mentioned in the next list. Also, we will mention a variety of common features, including access controls/permissions, approval process control, and calendar management.
Based on analysis of our proprietary reviews data from board management software users, the most important features for this type of software are:
Core board management software features
Meeting management: Coordinate schedules and organize board meetings. 96% of reviewers rate this feature as critical or highly important.
Minutes management: Record and distribute meeting dates, times, attendees, and agendas. 75% of reviewers rate this feature as critical or highly important.
Collaboration tools: Provide a channel for team members to share media files, communicate and work together.
Common board management software features
Secure data storage: Securely store data to prevent data loss or breaches. 93% of reviewers rate this feature as critical or highly important.
Document management: Collect, upload, store, track and share all electronic documents in a centralized location for quick access. 90% of reviewers rate this feature as critical or highly important.
Access controls/permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems. 87% of reviewers rate this feature as critical or highly important.
Approval process control: Manage the process of evaluating documents or requests submitted for approval.
Calendar management: Create schedules, organize meetings, prioritize tasks, track deadlines and share these details with others.
Meeting notes: Create and share notes/annotations taken during meetings.
Member directory: Access an online or printable directory list of board members.
For nonprofits: Software specialized for nonprofit organizations.
Polls/voting: Enable custom polls/voting to facilitate decision-making or increase engagement.
Top board management software benefits identified by users
Allows board chairs to efficiently manage meetings and agendas: With board management software, board chairs and members can schedule meetings, create agendas, send meeting reminders, upload related meeting documents, and access everything in one place.
”It has simplified our Board Meeting process. It has allowed our team to easily stay on top of meeting dates, agendas, file attachments, meeting minutes and allocated task reminders.”
–Andrew G., managing director, marketing and advertising
Improves the communication and collaboration between board members: With board management software, board chairs and members can streamline the collaboration between them and the rest of the team. Effective communication and responsive teammates are essential for successful project completion.
“It has shown the best collaboration technics bringing control and flexibility in goals accomplishment.”
–Preben M., senior advisor, international trade and development
Allows board members to easily manage staff: With board management software, board chairs and members can navigate through the administrative tasks required to effectively manage staff and ensure the board’s goals are met.
“Great tool for board management, automates lots of processes and empowers each member to manage their own items in an easy to use dashboard.”
–Katy T., executive advisor, civic and social organization
Common challenges of board management software identified by users
Document upload is the most common challenge for board management software, according to reviews. Users commonly complain about problems with uploading different document types, especially PDF files.
Communication management is another of the most common challenges of board management software. Users mention difficulties with sharing information and interacting with other board members.
Many users also encounter difficulties with notifications and reminders. At times, reminders are not properly displayed, irrelevant reminders are received, and they are sent at an inconvenient time.
Who uses board management software?
Analysis of our extensive board management software reviews highlight the most common use cases:
Sharing documents securely: Board management software often offers security measures to protect documents shared through the platform so that sensitive data is kept private.
Providing access to a centralized board portal: Board management software usually includes a dedicated portal for board members to communicate, view schedules, access documents, and more.
Automating board management processes: With board management software, board members can automate various day-to-day manual tasks such as meeting follow-ups, reminders, data analysis, agenda building, meeting transcription, and more.
Board management software is used by organizations that have a governing board, such as:
Nonprofit organizations
Corporations
Healthcare organizations
Educational institutions
Government agencies
The software is used by the board, which can vary depending on the organization’s specific need, but are mainly composed of:
The chair and vice chair often use the software to create and manage meeting agendas and communicate with the board members and staff. The software can also facilitate decision-making processes by providing a platform for discussions and voting.
Corporate secretaries can use the software to record meetings, manage documents, and send out reminders.
Conversations with buyers reveal some of the most common kinds of users are from financial services, nonprofit organizations, and education management as well as companies with between 11 to 50 employees.
Common board management software integrations
Board management software often integrates with tools for communication and collaboration including video conferencing platforms, calendar management tools, document management and storage software, electronic signature tools, survey tools, and email providers.
Although many board management systems offer things like e-signatures and document storage as native features, some offer this functionality via third-party integrations to allow users to easily fit the platform into their existing tech stack. Others only offer certain functions through integrations, so it’s worth checking with potential vendors which integrations they offer and which features are native within the platform.
Learn more about board management software can help your business
To help you with your search, we highlight five key board management software features based on the ratings given by verified software users and present the highest-rated products for each feature.
For board management members, CEOs, and business leaders, the quarterly or annual board meeting requires significant prep work. Learn from industry experts how to optimize your board management meetings and get ready for your next board management meeting.
