How do I create my board?

How do I create a new board?

Once you're signed in, choose Create your board (from the "Your boards" page you land on after sign-in, or Create another board if you already belong to one). You'll fill in three things:

• Board name — the name your board is known by, e.g. "Acme Foundation Board."
• Board address — where your board lives on the web, e.g. acme-foundation.boardtools.io. BoardTools suggests one from your board name as you type; feel free to edit it, and it checks availability live so you'll know right away if it's taken.
• Terms of Service & Privacy Policy — you'll need to read and agree to both before you can continue.

Select Create board, and you're done — BoardTools makes you the board's first administrator on the spot.

What role and position do I start with?

You start with the Admin role, so you can do everything the app offers — set the board up, invite people, run meetings, and take the minutes. You're also seated on a Board Chair position, which is the title the member directory shows next to your name. The two are separate on purpose (see Roles vs. positions): if someone else is really your board's chair, move them onto the Board Chair position and give yourself whichever position you actually hold — your Admin role stays until you or another admin change it.

What time zone does my new board use?

Yours. When you create a board, BoardTools takes the time zone your browser reports (for example, America/Toronto if you're in Toronto) and starts the board in it — so your first meeting, consent-round deadlines, and the times in every email are already in local time, with nothing to find in Settings. If your browser's zone isn't one of the zones BoardTools offers, the board starts on UTC instead. You can change it at any time — during setup's Board basics step, or later under Settings → Board profile.

Good governance tip: pick a board address your members will recognize at a glance (your organization's short name or acronym works well). They'll be typing or bookmarking it regularly.

What happens right after?

You're taken straight into a short, guided setup for your brand-new board — see Set up your board. From there you can bring the rest of your board in as members whenever you're ready.

Do I ever need to re-agree to anything?

If BoardTools' Terms of Service or Privacy Policy materially change, a board administrator is asked to review and accept the update the next time they sign in — you'll see exactly which document changed and a link to read it before accepting. Declining simply signs you out; it doesn't affect anyone else on your board.