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Getting Started

Everything you need to know to get up and running in BoardTable.

What is BoardTable?

BoardTable is a board management platform built specifically for Australian not-for-profits, charities, and community organisations. It brings together everything your board needs — meeting papers, minutes, actions, registers, and governance documents — into a single, secure, beautifully organised place. No more scattered PDFs in email, no more shared drives, no more 11pm reformatting sessions.

Every board member gets their own secure seat with role-appropriate access. The Company Secretary or Board Administrator manages the portal and prepares meeting packs. Directors read papers, RSVP, ask questions, and stay across actions — all without leaving BoardTable.

Logging In

BoardTable uses your email address to find your organisation's board portal automatically — you don't need to remember a portal URL.

  1. Go to boardtable.com.au and click Log In.
  2. Enter your email address. BoardTable will find and redirect you to your organisation's portal.
  3. Authenticate using Google, Microsoft, or your preferred sign-in method.
  4. If you have access to multiple organisations, you'll be prompted to choose which portal to enter.
💡 Tip: If you see "I can't find my organisation", make sure you're entering the same email address your administrator used when they invited you.

Your Profile

Your profile is how other board members see you. Keeping it current helps the whole board know who they're working with.

  1. Click your avatar in the top-right corner.
  2. Select My Profile from the drop-down.
  3. Update your name, bio, contact details, LinkedIn URL, photo, and term dates.
  4. Click Save — changes are visible to other board members immediately.
💡 Tip: Adding a photo and a brief bio makes a real difference — especially for newer boards where not everyone knows each other yet.

Mobile Access (PWA)

BoardTable is a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means you can install it on your phone like a native app — no App Store needed.

iOS (Safari)

  1. Open your BoardTable portal URL in Safari.
  2. Tap the Share button (box with arrow pointing up) at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  4. Tap Add — BoardTable now appears on your home screen like any app.

Android (Chrome)

  1. Open your BoardTable portal URL in Chrome.
  2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
  3. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  4. Follow the prompts — BoardTable will appear on your home screen.
💡 Tip: The installed app loads faster and works even with poor mobile connectivity — great for reading board papers on the road.

Meetings

Meetings is the heart of BoardTable — where you prepare, attend, and follow up from board meetings.

Viewing Upcoming Meetings

When you log in, the Meetings page shows all upcoming board meetings in chronological order. Each meeting card shows the date, time, location (or video link), the agenda, and your RSVP status.

Click any meeting card to open the full meeting detail — including the complete agenda, uploaded board papers, attached documents, and any pre-meeting questions from other directors.

RSVP

Let the board know whether you'll be attending — it only takes a click.

  1. Open the meeting from the Meetings page.
  2. Find the RSVP section near the top of the meeting detail.
  3. Click Attending, Apologies, or Maybe.

Your RSVP is visible to administrators and other board members. The administrator can see a summary of all RSVPs before the meeting brief is sent.

💡 Tip: You'll receive a meeting brief email ahead of each meeting. Replying to it won't update your RSVP — always use the portal to respond.

Meeting Documents

Board papers and supporting documents are organised under each agenda item. To access them:

  1. Open the meeting.
  2. Browse the agenda — each item lists its attached paper(s).
  3. Click any document name to open it in the built-in PDF viewer.
  4. Use the Download button to save a copy to your device.
💡 Tip: Documents marked with 🔒 or 🔐 have restricted access. See Document Confidentiality for details.

Smart Paper Summaries

BoardTable includes a smart analysis tool that can read a board paper and give you a quick overview — ideal when you're pressed for time before a meeting.

  1. Open the meeting and find the document you want to summarise.
  2. Click the ✨ Summary button next to the document name.
  3. Smart analysis reads the document and generates a structured summary: key points, recommendations, and any decisions required.
💡 Tip: Smart summaries are a starting point — always read the full paper for important decisions. Summaries are generated fresh each time and are not stored.

Board Book

Need a printable version of the full meeting pack? The Board Book function compiles all agenda items and attached papers into a single, print-ready PDF.

  1. Open the meeting.
  2. Click 📄 Board Book near the top of the page.
  3. BoardTable generates the PDF pack — this may take a moment for large packs.
  4. The PDF downloads to your device, ready to print or read offline.
💡 Tip: Board Books respect document confidentiality — you'll only see papers you have permission to access.

Submitting Questions Before a Meeting

Directors can submit questions on agenda items ahead of the meeting, giving the administrator and management time to prepare answers.

  1. Open the meeting and navigate to the relevant agenda item.
  2. Click Ask a question under that item.
  3. Type your question and submit — it's visible to administrators and can be addressed in the meeting or in writing beforehand.

Board

The Board menu covers the ongoing governance work that happens between meetings.

Calendar

The Board Calendar shows all scheduled events relevant to your board — meetings, AGMs, reporting deadlines, committee sessions, and key governance dates.

Navigate to Board → Calendar to see a monthly view. Events are colour-coded by type. Click any event to see its full details. The calendar is shared across all board members — there's no need to separately sync it to your personal calendar, though you can export events as ICS files if you'd like to.

The calendar feeds itself automatically. As well as any events you add by hand, it pulls in every board meeting, every sub-committee meeting, and every compliance obligation that has a due date — so you don't have to re-enter them. Each source has its own colour (board meetings, each committee, and compliance all appear distinctly), and clicking one of these items jumps straight to the meeting or compliance record it came from.

Use the event-type filter at the top to focus the view — show only board meetings, a single sub-committee, compliance due-dates, or your own added events — and the search box to find an event by name. Only events you added manually can be edited or deleted; the auto-fed items are managed from their own area (the meeting, committee, or Compliance Calendar).

Actions

Actions are tasks arising from board meetings — captured during minutes and assigned to specific people with a due date.

Navigate to Board → Actions to see:

  • Actions assigned to you (shown prominently at the top)
  • All board actions, organised by status: Open, In Progress, and Complete
  • The meeting the action arose from, the due date, and who it's assigned to

To mark an action complete, click the checkbox next to it. The board administrator will be notified. You can also add a progress note before marking it done.

💡 Tip: Outstanding actions appear in your meeting brief email — a gentle nudge before each meeting to check in on your commitments.

Circulars

Circulars are formal decisions made by the board outside of a scheduled meeting — for example, approving an urgent contract or a minor policy amendment. In most jurisdictions and constitutions, circular resolutions are a valid way for boards to pass decisions between meetings.

Navigate to Board → Circulars to see all open and past circulars.

  1. Open a circular to read the proposed resolution and any supporting documents.
  2. Vote In Favour or Against, or abstain if appropriate.
  3. Optionally add a comment with your vote.

Once all required votes are received (or the deadline passes), the circular is finalised and added to the Resolutions Register automatically.

💡 Tip: You'll receive an email notification when a new circular is published that requires your vote.

Committees

If your board operates committees (Audit, Finance, Risk, etc.), BoardTable has a dedicated Committees section. Navigate to Board → Committees to see:

  • All committees your organisation has configured
  • Committee membership — who's on each committee and in what role
  • Committee documents and workspaces (if your administrator has set them up)

Resources & Strategy

A permanent, organised home for governance documents and your organisation's strategic direction.

Resource Library

The Resource Library is where your organisation stores governance documents that board members need ongoing access to — constitutions, policies, financial statements, templates, board charters, and more.

Navigate to Resources → Resource Library to browse by category, or use the search bar to find a specific document. Click any document to open it in the PDF viewer, or use the download icon to save it locally.

💡 Tip: The Resource Library is maintained by administrators. If you can't find a document, ask your board administrator to upload it.

Document Confidentiality

Some documents have restricted access, indicated by icons next to their names:

Icon Level Who can access
🔒 Restricted Restricted Board Directors and Admins only. Staff and External users cannot see these documents.
🔐 Confidential Confidential Admins only — or specific individuals granted access by the administrator. The most sensitive classification.
(no icon) Standard All portal users with login access.
💡 Tip: If you believe you should have access to a restricted or confidential document, contact your board administrator — they can grant you access.

Strategic Plan

Navigate to Resources → Strategic Plan to view your organisation's strategic objectives, associated KPIs, and progress updates. This is a live view — administrators can update progress at any time, giving the board a current picture of how the organisation is tracking against its plan.

People

View profiles of all board members and staff, and keep your own profile up to date.

Directors

Navigate to People → Directors to see profile cards for all current board directors. Each card shows the director's photo, name, role on the board, term dates, a short bio, and contact details (where they've provided them). Click any card to see the full profile including committee memberships and LinkedIn.

Staff

Navigate to People → Staff to see profiles of staff members who have been added to the portal. This helps board members know who's who in the organisation — particularly useful for new directors finding their feet.

Updating Your Own Profile

Keep your profile current so other board members always have accurate information about you. Navigate to My Profile via your avatar menu to update your bio, photo, contact details, LinkedIn URL, and term dates. See Your Profile in Getting Started for step-by-step instructions.

Registers

Live governance registers — always up to date, available between meetings, not just in board packs.

Risk Register

Navigate to Registers → Risk Register to see your organisation's current risk landscape. Each risk is rated on two dimensions:

  • Likelihood — how probable is the risk occurring (1–5 scale)
  • Impact — how severe would the consequences be (1–5 scale)

The combined score determines the risk's colour rating: green (low), amber (medium), or red (high/critical). Click any risk to see its full detail, including the mitigation strategy and the person responsible for managing it.

💡 Tip: The Risk Register is updated by administrators and risk owners — you don't need to do anything as a director other than review it. Board administrators can grant specific staff the ability to update their own risk entries.

Conflict of Interest

Navigate to Registers → Conflict Declarations to view and manage conflict of interest declarations.

Declaring a conflict

  1. Click Declare a Conflict.
  2. Describe the nature of the conflict — the relationship, organisation, or interest involved.
  3. Indicate whether it is a direct or indirect conflict.
  4. Submit — your declaration is logged with a timestamp and is immediately visible to administrators.

Annual nil returns

At the start of each year (or as required by your board's policy), you may be asked to confirm a nil return — a statement that you have no new conflicts to declare. BoardTable will prompt you with a notification when this is due.

💡 Tip: When in doubt, declare. It's always better to disclose a potential conflict and let the board decide how to manage it than to leave it undeclared.

Compliance Calendar

Navigate to Registers → Compliance Calendar to see your organisation's regulatory obligations and deadlines — ASIC filings, ACNC annual reports, ATO returns, insurance renewals, and any other compliance milestones your administrator has added.

Each item shows the due date, responsible person, and current status. Overdue items are highlighted in red. Completed items are ticked off with a completion date.

💡 Tip: This is a read-only view for directors. If a compliance item is wrong or missing, ask your administrator to update it.

Resolutions Register

Navigate to Registers → Resolutions to find a complete, searchable record of all board resolutions — both those passed at meetings and circular resolutions passed between meetings.

Each resolution entry shows the resolution text, the date it was passed, how it was passed (meeting or circular), and a link back to the source minutes or circular. This is your permanent record of board decisions.

💡 Tip: Use the search bar on the Resolutions page to quickly find past decisions by keyword, date, or resolution number.

Administration

For administrators managing the BoardTable portal for your organisation.

⚙️ Admin only — visible to users with Admin role

Inviting Users

To add a new board member, staff member, or external stakeholder to your portal:

  1. Click the ⚙️ gear icon in the top navigation.
  2. Select Plan & Users.
  3. Click Invite User.
  4. Enter their name, email address, user type, and role.
  5. Click Send Invitation — they'll receive an email with a link to set up their access.
💡 Tip: Every plan includes unlimited directors and staff — there's no per-seat charge, so invite as many people as your board needs.

Setting User Types

Each user has a type that determines what they can see in the portal:

  • Board Director — Full access to board content, meetings, papers, and registers. Can see Restricted documents.
  • Staff — Access to standard documents and content assigned to them. Cannot see Restricted or Confidential documents by default.
  • External — Limited access — typically used for auditors, lawyers, or committee members who aren't directors. Admin configures exactly what they can see.

Managing Roles

Separately from user type, each user has a role that determines what they can do:

  • Admin — Full portal management: create meetings, manage users, update registers, access all settings.
  • Member — Standard access for their user type. Can RSVP, vote on circulars, and update their own profile.
  • Viewer — Read-only. Can view content but cannot vote, RSVP, or make changes.

You can change a user's role at any time from ⚙️ → Manage Users.

Analytics & Reporting

Navigate to ⚙️ → Analytics for an organisation-wide view of how your board is performing. The dashboard has two tabs:

  • Organisation — headline KPIs (meetings held, average attendance, action-completion rate, overdue actions, open risks, compliance on-time rate) followed by charts: meeting cadence over the last 12 months, action status, your open-risk profile by severity and category, and compliance posture.
  • By meeting — drill into a single meeting to see who has opened the board pack and which papers have been viewed.

Director engagement shows each director's board-book read rate, papers viewed, RSVPs, and questions submitted — useful for spotting who may need a nudge before a meeting.

You can export the figures with Export summary (CSV) and Export engagement (CSV), or use Print / Save PDF to produce a board-performance report for your papers.

💡 Tip: Read rates and attendance only become meaningful once a meeting has been published and directors have had a chance to open the pack — expect early figures to be sparse.

Audit Log

Navigate to ⚙️ → Audit Log to see a timestamped record of significant actions taken within the portal. This includes:

  • User logins and logouts
  • Documents uploaded or deleted
  • Conflict declarations submitted
  • Circular votes cast
  • User permissions changed
  • Meeting papers published or unpublished

The audit log is immutable — entries cannot be edited or deleted. It provides a full accountability trail for governance purposes.

Backup & Export

Navigate to ⚙️ → Backup & Export to download a full copy of your portal data. This includes all documents, meeting records, registers, minutes, and user data in standard formats (PDF and JSON).

We recommend running a backup at least quarterly, and always before major changes to your portal configuration. Exports are encrypted and password-protected.

Sending Meeting Brief Emails

The Meeting Brief is an automated email sent to all board members ahead of a meeting. It contains the agenda, RSVP summary, outstanding actions, and a link to the board pack.

  1. Open the meeting from the Meetings page.
  2. Click Send Meeting Brief.
  3. Review the preview — you can customise the message if needed.
  4. Click Send — all invited members receive the email immediately.
💡 Tip: Send the meeting brief at least 5 business days before the meeting to give directors adequate time to read the papers.

ACNC AIS Pre-fill Tool

For ACNC-registered charities, navigate to ⚙️ → ACNC AIS to access the Annual Information Statement pre-fill tool. BoardTable uses data already held in your portal — board membership, governance structure, financial year — to pre-populate as much of the AIS as possible, reducing the time it takes to complete your annual regulatory obligation.

💡 Tip: The ACNC AIS tool is available to organisations on the NFP pricing plan. Contact us if you're on Standard and would like to access it.

Security & Privacy

BoardTable is built on the understanding that board data is sensitive. Here's how we protect yours.

How Your Data is Protected

  • Hosted in Australia — All data is stored on Microsoft Azure's Australia East region (Sydney). Your board data never leaves Australian soil.
  • Encrypted at rest — All data is encrypted using AES-256 at the storage layer. Documents, minutes, and register entries are all encrypted at rest.
  • Encrypted in transit — All connections use TLS 1.2 or higher. There are no unencrypted HTTP connections to the portal.
  • Two-factor authentication — Sign-in via Google or Microsoft requires users to already have 2FA configured with those providers. Additional TOTP options are available.
  • Annual penetration testing — We engage independent security firms to test BoardTable annually.

Confidential Document Access Controls

BoardTable enforces document confidentiality at the server level — not just in the UI. This means that even if someone has the direct URL to a Confidential document, they cannot access it without the appropriate permission. Access controls are checked on every document request, every time.

Administrators can view and manage who has access to Confidential documents from ⚙️ → Manage Users.

Session Security

BoardTable sessions are time-limited and expire after a period of inactivity. If you step away from your computer and your session expires, you'll be asked to re-authenticate before accessing the portal again. This protects your board data if you leave a device unattended.

💡 Tip: Always use Sign Out when you're done — especially on shared or public computers. Find Sign Out in your avatar menu.

Data Export and Portability

Your data is yours. BoardTable does not lock you in. Administrators can export a full copy of all portal data at any time from ⚙️ → Backup & Export. If you ever leave BoardTable, we'll work with you to ensure a complete and clean handover of all your data in standard formats.

We do not sell your data, we do not use it to train AI models, and we do not share it with third parties without your explicit consent. Our full Privacy Policy is available at boardtable.com.au/privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions from BoardTable users.

BoardTable finds your board portal using your email address. Make sure you're entering the exact email address your administrator used when they invited you — even a small difference (like a different domain or alias) will prevent the lookup from working. If you're still stuck, ask your board administrator to double-check the email address on your invitation, or contact us at support@boardtable.com.au.

The document may be marked as Restricted or Confidential, in which case it's only visible to users with the appropriate access level. It's also possible the document hasn't been uploaded yet, or it may have been removed. Contact your board administrator — they can check the document's status and grant you access if appropriate.

BoardTable uses Google or Microsoft for authentication — it doesn't store your password directly. To change your password, go to your Google Account (myaccount.google.com) or Microsoft Account (account.microsoft.com) settings and update it there. The change will automatically apply the next time you sign into BoardTable.

This requires Admin access. Go to ⚙️ → Plan & Users → Invite User, enter the new member's details, set their user type to Board Director and role to Member, and click Send Invitation. They'll receive an email with a link to set up their access. See Administration → Inviting Users for full instructions.

Yes — BoardTable is a Progressive Web App (PWA) that works on both iOS and Android. You can install it on your home screen for an app-like experience. See Mobile Access in Getting Started for installation instructions. BoardTable is also fully responsive in any mobile browser.

ACNC-registered Australian charities and not-for-profit organisations receive 50% off any band — for example, an organisation with annual revenue under $100k pays a flat $600 per year instead of $1,200. To apply, email us at hello@boardtable.com.au with your ACNC registration number. We'll verify and apply the discount to your account. The NFP plan also includes the ACNC AIS pre-fill tool and NFP-specific governance templates.

The Meeting Brief is informational — it's a summary of the upcoming meeting with links to the board pack. The main thing to do is: (1) confirm your RSVP in the portal if you haven't already, (2) read the board papers before the meeting, and (3) submit any questions you have on agenda items. Don't reply to the email — use the portal for all interactions.

Navigate to Registers → Conflict Declarations and click Declare a Conflict. Describe the conflict clearly — the relationship, organisation, or financial interest involved — and submit. Your declaration is timestamped and immediately visible to administrators. If in doubt about whether something is a conflict, err on the side of declaring it. See Registers → Conflict of Interest for full guidance.

For technical issues or questions not covered in this guide, email our support team at support@boardtable.com.au. We're a small Australian team and aim to respond within one business day. For urgent issues affecting your ability to run a meeting, mark your email URGENT in the subject line. To report a security or privacy concern, email hello@boardtable.com.au.