Govenda Reviews

Pros

Putting together agendas and entering information is really simple and quick.

Cons

Taking minutes directly in the software is still very difficult.

Pros

Our board has had no trouble getting comfortable with it because the platform is very user-friendly. It also works really well as an archive for board meeting materials so everything stays organized and is always accessible when we need it.

Cons

We ran into a bug or two along the way but the tech team got them resolved.

Pros

Everything feels very simple to use and the value has been excellent. It gives us one central place to share information and I also appreciate that documents can either be downloaded as a PDF or viewed right from the agenda.

Cons

A limitation is that you can't upload more than one file to a single agenda item. It also doesn't let you choose a separate group or committee within the same meeting for access to materials. For example, during an executive session in a board meeting, there's no way to prevent staff from viewing those documents remotely so we have to create it as a separate meeting instead.

Pros

For years, keeping board and committee information organized and accessible was a real challenge for us. When I stepped into my new role with the ADC, one of my first priorities was building a stronger sense of governance. I explored and tested several software options before deciding on this one and we went with it because the setup process was simple. Once that part is done, the biggest hurdle is getting the board and committees fully using the system.

Cons

What still seems missing is the ability to track emails sent through the site to members

Pros

Getting around it feels very natural and user friendly. A lot of the features are automated so most of the time I hardly have to think about the process and can just click through.

Cons

Honestly I don't have any complaints. I only wish more of our members were actively using it.

Pros

Using it has been really convenient because it's user-friendly and packed with useful functionality. I can log in from anywhere, even on my phone which makes it very practical. It has also made communication between board committees and members much more efficient.

Cons

I'd like to see a section where minutes can be posted without having to tie them to a specific meeting. That part creates some confusion for my board members.

Pros

The program is very user-friendly and the way it works makes it feel simple to use. That overall ease of use really makes it a must-have.

Cons

Something that bothers me is that when I send an email to my committee, I'm not able to see it later in a sent folder.

Pros

It is a very user friendly way to manage governance documents along with board and committee meetings. Voting and polling are simple to handle, too.

Cons

Hope the reporting gets expanded at some point and that they add a way to document terms and run reports on them.

Pros

Having everything in one central place has been the biggest benefit. There's a lot of potential to expand how we use it and adding more of its features would be ideal for creating a more paperless setup that feels cleaner and more efficient. We've also been very thankful for the support from our rep, she has consistently answered our questions and has taken our feedback seriously while reviewing what would work best for our needs. That has been very much appreciated.

Cons

At this point, we're still waiting for the rollout of the Survey option. We handle a lot of email polls and also need trustees to complete and sign documents so the current Vote feature has been limiting. The 500-character maximum may sound sufficient but it doesn't meet our needs. Some of the questionnaires we send out are over 1,000 characters and include multiple-choice options. We're hopeful the Survey rollout will give us what we need and serve as a better replacement for the current Vote and eSign features.

Pros

To get everything implemented was very simple and the software is simple to use.

Cons

No con, didnt run into any problems with the software.

Pros

Loved how having a web-based system for board communication worked so well for us especially because it keeps conversations private and secure. Once a user is set up, the platform is simple enough that I never have to walk anyone through how to use it. We especially value the confidentiality it gives us for board-related communication. Managing members is also very convenient since I can quickly add or remove people and organize them into separate groups. When a message only needs to go to one specific group, I just choose that group and only those members can see it. Setting up agendas and board meeting books is also simple which makes it easy to share confidential documents before meetings. As the account administrator, I also appreciate being able to view the portal from the user side since that screen differs a bit from the administrator view and helps me better understand their experience.

Cons

Don't have any real complaints at this point. I did bring up two concerns to the it team in the past and they responded right away and resolved both issues so those are no longer cons for me.

Pros

Getting around the software feels very natural. It's user friendly enough that you can figure out most of it just by using common sense.

Cons

Nothing that I dislike about it. It handles exactly what it's supposed to do and it does that really well.

Pros

Since switching to it not long after it launched, the difference has been huge. Before this, we were putting together paper agendas with supporting documents and sending everything to our Board by FedEx. This has saved us an incredible amount of paper and time. The Board enjoys using it and I do too. One of the biggest benefits is having all of our documents automatically archived and simple to locate whenever we need them. We can also keep refining the agenda right up to the last minute because there's no need to mail anything anymore. Another thing I really appreciate is that the company keeps improving both the product and the customer service and even though we rarely need support because the system is so user-friendly, help is always there when needed.

Cons

At the start, there were a few hiccups but things have improved a lot since then.

Pros

Having this available across web browsers, tablets and the mobile app has been a huge plus since Board members can sign in anytime from anywhere. From the admin side, setting up my Board was simple and it included all the features I needed. My Board members were able to find their way around the portal right away and notifications came through without any issues. I started getting responses almost immediately.

Cons

Getting everything up and running took a bit of time because the team's response time was slow. Once the setup was finished though, everything worked very well.

Pros

Everything about it feels well thought out and user-friendly. It puts all the tools you need in one place and the remote voting feature for Board members is especially useful.

Cons

One thing that could be better is the email updates, they only notify you that something new was added to the Board portal instead of including the actual update in the email.

Pros

Having this available made a huge difference for us. As a small non-profit, we had been struggling to keep important documents accessible for board members and key volunteers so this has been something we really appreciated.

Cons

I'd still love to see an organization-wide calendar where events and meetings can all be viewed at a glance.

Pros

It's actually very user friendly from both the admin side and the user side. It has also saved us time when preparing for meetings which has been a big plus. The training and support have been really helpful as well.

Cons

At this point, we really haven't come across anything we dislike about the solution or the app.

Pros

One feature that has been really useful on the admin side is being able to log in as a regular user and view the platform exactly the way members do. It also helps a lot that I can assign different roles to committee members depending on their responsibilities within the committee. Another big plus is the way the system prevents people from setting up multiple accounts with different email addresses. They need to register using the email we already have on file and only after that can they update it. For a large trade association with more than 33,000 members, that makes tracking usage much more manageable.

Cons

There is still some confusion for members when signing in, depending on whether they are using a mobile device or a laptop/desktop computer. The layout and appearance in the app are different from what they see on a computer which can be frustrating. I also wish the initial invitation email were more reliable since it sometimes ends up in a member's junk folder.

Pros

Helped our school keep board meetings much more organized and efficient. We can add agenda items throughout the month and the software keeps all of our attachments in order while generating PDF versions of the agenda that we can post online and on-site. It also pulls together the complete board book which saves a lot of time. Board members are able to log in and annotate the board book ahead of meetings and during the meeting we can project all of the documents for the public to follow along.

Cons

A few additions would make this software nearly perfect. First, presentation mode could use some work since the presenter is supposed to be able to control other board members' screens more effectively. Second, a public-facing portal would really help. At the moment, there's no direct link between our website and it so it would be helpful if agendas could automatically publish to our site. Third, attachments need a true full-screen projection option because the current version doesn't fully fill the screen and detailed financial documents can be difficult to read. Fourth, built-in conferencing and audio recording would be valuable. We record our meetings and often use a dial-in number so being able to store those audio files directly in it would make the process much better.

Pros

We've cut back a lot on printing and mailing materials which has been a big improvement. Putting meeting agendas and board packets together is also very simple for our staff. Another real benefit is being able to carry everything digitally especially since our trustees are located all across the state.

Cons

Reviewing documents has been more challenging than it should be and you can get kicked out a little too easily. When that happens, trying to get back in becomes disruptive during the meeting. I also wish there were a way to poll trustees about meeting dates. It would be even better if notes people make on the materials could be shared with others.