Configuring Permissions
Access permissions are configured through a combination of user roles and committee permissions. Organization Admins assign these permissions to each member of the portal. Committee Admins can assign these permission within the committee(s) they administer. This article will clarify the implications of these permissions.
Can view and access Dashboard, Documents, People, every committee, and every meeting.
On the Essentials Plan: there are no Private Committees, no Committee Admins, no Guests, and no custom roles.
Can view and access Dashboard, Documents, People, Public committees, and the Private committees they are members of. They can also cast votes, sign electronic documents, and fill out surveys.
Can view and access Dashboard, People, and only the Committees and Meetings they are participants of. They can also cast votes, sign electronic documents, and fill out surveys.
All Board Members.
All Staff.
All public committees.
Private committees they are a member of.
The Governing Documents.
Meetings and Votes they are participants of.
The People page.
Every private committee they are a part of.
All public committees.
The Governing Documents page.
The People page.
The People page.
Only committees and meetings they are participants of.
Everything in the portal.
Every committee they are the admin for, including that committee's documents, meetings, and members.
Be named to suit organization's specific needs.
Follow the access permissions of either a Board Member, a Committee Member, a Staff member, or a Guest.
Voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled on the organization's Settings page, to suit organization's specific needs.
To add a custom role contact BoardSpot via chat or email*.
By adding the title of "Ex Officio" to a person within a board/committee, an Org-wide admin can remove voting privileges for these members by toggling on the "Ex-Officio members are non-voting members, and do not count towards quorum" setting under Organization Settings (from Settings in the sidebar menu). This is the ONLY privilege that any title in the portal assigns.
Note: Adding the title of Chair, does NOT grant any administrative privileges. In order for a Committee Chair to be able to creating meetings, create agendas, etc they must be made a Committee Admin (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans).
When a user has access to a committee, they have access to ALL resources related to that committee, including meetings, committee documents, agendas, minutes, attendances, and votes.
When a committee is first created, it is considered to be an "Public" committee. All board members and staff have access to Public committees.
If access to a committee needs to be limited, it can be designated as a "Private" committee in the committee's Settings (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans). Private committees are only accessible to administrators and the participants of that committee.
Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
That Committee's Admin(s).
All Board Members and Staff.
Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
That Private Committee's Admin(s).
The participants of that committee (the Members, Staff, and Guests who have been added).
As an Organization Admin, you can identify the private committees by the lock symbol next to the committee's title on the committee list view. For portal participants, any private committee they are not a part of will not be listed on the committee list view for them.
On the Edit Members page within a committee, is a text field where titles can be written for participants.
The only title that confers any permissions is "Ex Officio" (see below). All other titles have no influence on administrative or voting permissions, including the "Chair" title.
Title and Role displays within Committees is set at an org-wide level (see "Displaying Roles & Titles" article for full details).
When committee participants are added they are assigned as "Members", "Staff", or "Guests". Then when a vote is created the Members will always be included/be allowed to vote, and the admin can also decide whether to include Staff and/or Guests. Thus, in each vote Members by default are always included but Staff and Guests can be optionally included.
No matter what role a participant plays on the People page, within a committee they are assigned permissions based upon the category they are added to. The categories are "Member", "Staff", and "Guest".
Members - are always included in votes, do count towards quorum, and their attendance is included in the meeting's Minutes.
Staff - not included in votes by default but can be enabled to cast their vote when a Vote is created, do not count towards quorum, and their absences are not notated in the meeting's Minutes.
Guests - not included in votes by default but can be enabled to cast their vote when a Vote is created, do not count towards quorum, and their absences are not notated in the meeting's Minutes.
Ex-Officio members - for all portal members who are given the TITLE of "Ex Officio" on board/committee member tabs, their ability to cast votes (and count towards quorum) is enabled/disabled at an organization-wide level, by the Organization Admins, via the toggle switch on the organization's Settings page.
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1. Access across the entire portal -
Access across the portal for the Essentials Plan:
All participants in the portal:
Can view and access Dashboard, Documents, People, every committee, and every meeting.
On the Essentials Plan: there are no Private Committees, no Committee Admins, no Guests, and no custom roles.
Access across the portal for the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans:
Board Members & Staff (as assigned on the People page):
Can view and access Dashboard, Documents, People, Public committees, and the Private committees they are members of. They can also cast votes, sign electronic documents, and fill out surveys.
Committee Members & Guests (as assigned on the People page):
Can view and access Dashboard, People, and only the Committees and Meetings they are participants of. They can also cast votes, sign electronic documents, and fill out surveys.
Governing Documents are accessible by the following people:
All Board Members.
All Staff.
2. Looking at permissions from the perspective of an individual's ROLE -
Board of Directors/Trustees (assigned assigned on the People page) can access the following:
All public committees.
Private committees they are a member of.
The Governing Documents.
Meetings and Votes they are participants of.
The People page.
Staff (as assigned on the People page) can access the following:
Every private committee they are a part of.
All public committees.
The Governing Documents page.
The People page.
Guests and Committee Members (as assigned on the People page) can access the following:
The People page.
Only committees and meetings they are participants of.
Organization-wide Administrators (as assigned in their Profile) can access, and make changes to, the following:
Everything in the portal.
Committee Administrators (as assigned in the committee) can access, and make changes to, the following:
Every committee they are the admin for, including that committee's documents, meetings, and members.
Custom Roles (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans) can be configured by Org Admins, to:
Be named to suit organization's specific needs.
Follow the access permissions of either a Board Member, a Committee Member, a Staff member, or a Guest.
Voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled on the organization's Settings page, to suit organization's specific needs.
To add a custom role contact BoardSpot via chat or email*.
Ex Officio member voting (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans):
By adding the title of "Ex Officio" to a person within a board/committee, an Org-wide admin can remove voting privileges for these members by toggling on the "Ex-Officio members are non-voting members, and do not count towards quorum" setting under Organization Settings (from Settings in the sidebar menu). This is the ONLY privilege that any title in the portal assigns.
Committee Chairs:
Note: Adding the title of Chair, does NOT grant any administrative privileges. In order for a Committee Chair to be able to creating meetings, create agendas, etc they must be made a Committee Admin (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans).
3. Looking at permissions from the perspective of COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP -
When a user has access to a committee, they have access to ALL resources related to that committee, including meetings, committee documents, agendas, minutes, attendances, and votes.
When a committee is first created, it is considered to be an "Public" committee. All board members and staff have access to Public committees.
If access to a committee needs to be limited, it can be designated as a "Private" committee in the committee's Settings (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans). Private committees are only accessible to administrators and the participants of that committee.
Public Committees can be accessed by the following people:
Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
That Committee's Admin(s).
All Board Members and Staff.
Private Committees can be accessed by the following people:
Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
That Private Committee's Admin(s).
The participants of that committee (the Members, Staff, and Guests who have been added).
As an Organization Admin, you can identify the private committees by the lock symbol next to the committee's title on the committee list view. For portal participants, any private committee they are not a part of will not be listed on the committee list view for them.
Committee TITLES are assigned on the "Members" tab of each committee's page.
On the Edit Members page within a committee, is a text field where titles can be written for participants.
The only title that confers any permissions is "Ex Officio" (see below). All other titles have no influence on administrative or voting permissions, including the "Chair" title.
Title and Role displays within Committees is set at an org-wide level (see "Displaying Roles & Titles" article for full details).
4. Looking at VOTING permissions and Quorum/Attendance settings (available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans) -
Who can vote?
When committee participants are added they are assigned as "Members", "Staff", or "Guests". Then when a vote is created the Members will always be included/be allowed to vote, and the admin can also decide whether to include Staff and/or Guests. Thus, in each vote Members by default are always included but Staff and Guests can be optionally included.
Committee participation:
No matter what role a participant plays on the People page, within a committee they are assigned permissions based upon the category they are added to. The categories are "Member", "Staff", and "Guest".
Members - are always included in votes, do count towards quorum, and their attendance is included in the meeting's Minutes.
Staff - not included in votes by default but can be enabled to cast their vote when a Vote is created, do not count towards quorum, and their absences are not notated in the meeting's Minutes.
Guests - not included in votes by default but can be enabled to cast their vote when a Vote is created, do not count towards quorum, and their absences are not notated in the meeting's Minutes.
Ex-Officio members - for all portal members who are given the TITLE of "Ex Officio" on board/committee member tabs, their ability to cast votes (and count towards quorum) is enabled/disabled at an organization-wide level, by the Organization Admins, via the toggle switch on the organization's Settings page.
Questions? Chat with us
Updated on: 24/01/2025
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