Knowa Reviews

Pros

From day one, the product has been brilliant... simple to use while still offering plenty of advanced features and extra modules that really help with effective board management. Best of all, the team at Knowa genuinely wants feedback and is clearly committed to developing the product even further. The new advanced search function is a perfect example of that.

Cons

Can't think of anything I dislike about it.

Pros

Working as a scheme secretary, this gives me a really simple way to put together and update Trustee meeting packs. Our Trustees also really value being able to add notes and highlight the sections they want to focus on ahead of the meeting.

Cons

One issue our Trustees have mentioned is that the risk register module can be quite difficult to read. It's not very easy to view all of the columns on a single screen.

Pros

Using it has been a really positive experience. The platform is user friendly and highly functional, both for me as an administrator and for the Trustees when they need to review meeting packs and scheme documents. The follow-up support from their team has also been outstanding,nothing ever feels like too much trouble and responses always come back very quickly. I'd definitely recommend it.

Cons

At this stage, I honestly can't point to anything negative.

Pros

Managing work across multiple clients is simple and it really cuts down on the amount of back-and-forth over email.

Cons

Every now and then, the pages turn blank and it can take a bit of time for everything to load again.

Pros

Having everything stored securely in one centralized place has been really useful and it has also cut down the need to print out large packs of paperwork.

Cons

There is nothing to complain about because it does exactly what it is meant to do.

Pros

The meeting pack feature has been really valuable and being able to quickly rearrange agenda items is a big advantage. We used to prepare agendas in Word and even a small timing adjustment would throw off the whole document. With the meeting pack function, that process is much faster and far more efficient.

Cons

Something I'm not keen on is having to download files just to view them in Knowa especially Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. It would be far more useful if users could open them directly in the platform, as that would make collaboration much better for both admins and other users, including editing in real time. At the moment, it seems the only option is to download a document, make changes and then upload the amended version again.

Pros

It feels like it was built by people who truly understand the challenges management boards face especially when it comes to organizing meetings and keeping accurate records.

Cons

Haven't come across any negatives. The pricing was much lower than competing products, while still offering far better functionality and much more flexibility in the design.

Pros

Using it has been really simple and being able to export information into Excel and similar formats makes day-to-day tasks much more manageable. It genuinely helps with my work on a daily basis.

Cons

Really don't have anything negative to say about Knowa.

Pros

Its so simple and it really saves me a lot of valuable time. The meeting management features are useful as well and have been a real help.

Cons

I don't end up using every feature but the ones I do use have worked very well for me. The only real issue has been how Excel files appear in View mode, along with needing to convert them to PDF which doesn't always work properly.

Pros

Handles the fundamentals really well and feels user friendly to use. Also, it keeps evolving with added functionality that a lot of other providers still don't offer.

Cons

There's very little to complain about. Whenever the team has noticed something they weren't happy with, the developers have picked it up and addressed it in future updates.

Pros

Everything feels user friendly to work with and the flexible storage design options make the system adapt well to different needs. It also lets us add plenty of users within the package which is really useful. Also, there are excellent bolt-on modules available, plus an AI feature and a strong search function that adds even more value.

Cons

Not much to complain about though the left-hand sidebar could probably be a bit clearer when handling multiple clients.

Pros

Having confidential online access to board papers has been really valuable. I can add my own personal annotations and it works well across multiple devices, whether I'm on a desktop or using my phone.

Cons

Got no real complaints once I figured out how to download documents and open them when I'm offline.

Pros

Getting meetings set up and managed is very simple.

Cons

The document repository feature tends to be slow.

Pros

Working as professional pension trustees, we need to both maintain and clearly show a strong governance framework. Partnering closely with Knowa has helped us design and roll out an integrated online governance system that gives us oversight across our full portfolio of trustee appointments in a way that is accessible and cost-effective. Their team is responsive, collaborates well with us and delivers new developments in a timely way.

Cons

There really aren't any concerns worth pointing out.

Pros

Logging in is easy, the documents are neatly organized by meeting and moving between different meeting materials during the meeting is very simple.

Cons

Nothing to complain about,it covers everything I need and I'm very satisfied with it.

Pros

It's been really helpful having a secure, accessible space where trustees and advisors can work together and collaborate confidently.

Cons

One issue we've run into is that some trustees don't get email notifications when they're mentioned in a post which has been frustrating because it adds an extra step. It would also be really useful to have a built-in signing option for minutes and discretions instead of needing to leave the system and use DocuSign.

Pros

Having online access to our trustee meeting packs and minutes has been really useful. I can open them anytime and from anywhere which gives me a lot of flexibility.

Cons

Sometimes, downloading files feels a little outdated.

Pros

Getting around the system feels very user friendly and locating documents is simple. The software itself is simple to use, the training and Q&A section is excellent and whenever something isn't easy to find, the customer support team is incredibly helpful.

Cons

A minor improvement would be during new user setup,it would help to have a clickable tip beside each permission or role explaining what that user can do, just to make sure the right option is selected.

Pros

Putting together meeting packs and uploading documents is really simple.

Cons

For me, at the start, adding users and assigning them to meetings felt a bit outdated but once everything was in place, recurring meetings became simple to manage.

Pros

It is so simple to use. After only using it a couple of times, I already knew how to set up meetings and attach documents to the packs. It feels very user friendly and most new joiners seem to understand how it works almost immediately the first time they use it. I also haven't had any problems reported by Trustees with it and the feedback has been entirely positive.

Cons

Small thing I've noticed is when adding actions, the newest action appears at the top of the list, even though that would usually be the last action discussed in the meeting. It's only a minor issue but it can be a bit confusing when checking it against the minutes. Another annoyance is when adding a new member to the collaboration space, you still have to manually add them to all the groups there and I do sometimes forget to do that.