When I first joined my condo board, I flat-out refused to be the secretary. I knew taking minutes would be a headache, so I ran for president instead. During my time as president, I worked with recording secretaries whose performance ranged from excellent to barely adequate. One recording secretary took detailed handwritten notes but never typed them up until months later. Another resigned suddenly, leaving us with half-finished minutes. A couple were outstanding, but even they rarely circulated minutes until days before the next meeting—or sometimes at the meeting itself.

The result? Every meeting began with a frustrating review of the previous minutes. Debates broke out over what was said, and memories—already hazy after a month—led to unnecessary arguments. Our property manager often complained that he couldn’t wait for official minutes to know what he was supposed to do. Eventually, he took his own notes, but those didn’t always match the “official” record. The inconsistency created confusion and, at times, outright errors.

Annual General Meeting minutes are an even bigger problem. Even when boards hire professionals to record them, owners usually don’t see them until just before the next AGM—a full year later. Expecting owners to have photographic memories of what was said twelve months earlier is unrealistic. I once witnessed an owner try to alter the official record at an AGM to avoid a penalty. This attempt highlights how unreliable memories can be and how important timely records are.

I always enjoyed condo board meetings—debates, decisions, and the lively energy in the room. But the moment we turned to the minutes, the mood soured. It amazed me that boards often treat minutes as an afterthought, when in reality, they are the most important document a corporation produces.

Why Minutes Matter

Too many boards fail to grasp that their very survival depends on good records. Without accurate, accessible minutes, a condo board simply can’t function. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. Minutes are the legal record of the corporation. Missing, sloppy, or inaccurate minutes can expose a board to serious risk.

One board learned this lesson the hard way. An error slipped into their minutes—even after review by ten directors. When those minutes were later used as evidence in court, the judge upheld them as the “legal voice” of the organization. The mistake cost the corporation hundreds of thousands of dollars. As Dr. Randal Dick of One Accord Non-Profit put it:

“…the Judge enforced the law which says that the Minutes are the legal voice of the organization. It cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars – a very expensive lesson. Looking back, none of us could believe that we had let such a glaring mistake get past us.”

The lesson is clear: minutes matter. They matter a lot. And yet the role of recording secretary—the person tasked with capturing them—is often considered the least desirable position on a board. In truth, it’s the most important. No matter how thoughtful or strategic a board’s decisions may be, they don’t mean much if those decisions aren’t recorded and stored properly.

How BoardSpace Helps Eliminate “Minute Madness”

One of the simplest ways to solve the ongoing struggle with meeting minutes is to use the right tools. BoardSpace board management software was designed specifically for condo and nonprofit boards—and minutes are one of its strongest features.

With BoardSpace, minutes can be drafted directly within the meeting record, linked to agenda items, motions, and action items. This makes it easy to capture decisions in real-time, eliminating the need to scramble afterwards to piece together notes. Draft minutes can be ready almost immediately after the meeting ends, helping recording secretaries meet a quicker turnaround goal.

Another advantage is accessibility. Instead of waiting for someone to email out a PDF, minutes are stored securely in BoardSpace. Directors, property managers, and even owners (if the board chooses to share them) can log in and access approved minutes anytime. This transparency cuts down on confusion, ensures managers know what they need to do, and provides owners with a reliable record of the board’s decisions.

By moving from paper or scattered email attachments to a digital, centralized system, boards not only save time but also strengthen their governance. Good records are the backbone of a condo corporation, and BoardSpace makes it much easier to keep those records accurate, timely, and accessible.

This mindset has to change. The next time I serve on a board, I’ll be firm but gentle in suggesting a new approach:

1. Commit to excellence in record-keeping.
2. Adopt a “minutes-first” mindset—recognizing that minutes are the foundation of good governance.
3. Require draft minutes within 48 hours of each meeting.
4. Ask directors to review and provide feedback within 48 hours of receiving the draft.

With these practices in place, boards can eliminate “minute madness” and, instead, learn to appreciate—and even value—the minutes that sustain their corporation.

Hit play on the video and learn how to transform your board’s workflow today.