Rules of order
For chairs and administrators — choose a rules-of-order preset (Robert's Rules, Robert's small board, Simplified, or Corporate board), adjust any single rule to match your bylaws, and understand how rules are copied onto each motion.
Settings → Rules of order (/settings/rules-of-order) is where your board
says how it makes and decides motions. You pick a preset once, see in plain
language what it means, and change any single rule if your bylaws differ. From
then on every motion follows those rules without anyone having to remember
them.
Only a chair or administrator can change these rules. Every other member can open the tab and read what your board is set to.
The presets
Choosing a preset fills in every rule at once. Before you save, a What changes list shows each rule the preset would change, from its current value to the new one, so nothing about how your board votes changes without you seeing it. Motions that are already open keep the rules they opened with.
| Rule | Robert's Rules | Robert's (small board) | Simplified | Corporate board |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A motion needs a second | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Who may make a motion | Any voting member | Any voting member | Any voting member | Any voting member |
| When the chair votes | On every motion | On every motion | On every motion | On every motion |
| What a vote is counted against | Votes cast | Votes cast | Votes cast | Members present |
| How votes are usually taken | Voice vote | General consent | General consent | Roll call |
| Motions can be amended | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amendments allowed at once | 2 levels | 2 levels | One level | One level |
| Vote needed to end debate | Two-thirds | Two-thirds | Majority | Majority |
| Vote needed to change the bylaws | Two-thirds | Two-thirds | Two-thirds | Two-thirds |
| Notice before a bylaws vote | 14 days | 14 days | 7 days | 14 days |
| Readings for a bylaws change | One reading | One reading | One reading | One reading |
| How minutes are approved | By general consent | By general consent | By sign-off | By motion and vote |
- Robert's Rules — formal parliamentary procedure. A new board starts here.
- Robert's (small board) — Robert's relaxed rules for boards of about a dozen members or fewer: no second is needed, and routine business passes by general consent.
- Simplified — lightweight rules for informal boards.
- Corporate board — typical company-board practice: every vote is a roll call, and a motion needs a majority of the directors present.
If you change any single rule, the preset shows as Custom. Change it back and the preset name returns.
Each rule, in plain language
- A motion needs a second — a motion needs another director to second it before the chair can put it to the board.
- Who may make a motion — any voting member, or officers only.
- When the chair votes — on every motion, only to break a tie, or never.
- What a vote is counted against — the number a motion's Yes votes are
measured against when deciding whether it passed:
- Votes cast — only Yes and No count. Abstentions and recusals don't affect the result. This is how BoardTools has always counted.
- Members present — measured against everyone at the meeting, except anyone who recused. An abstention (or not voting) works like a No.
- All voting seats — measured against every voting seat on the board, present or not, except anyone who recused.
- How votes are usually taken — roll call, show of hands, voice vote, or general consent (the chair asks "is there any objection?").
- Motions can be amended and Amendments allowed at once — whether directors may propose changes to a motion's wording, and how many amendments may be pending at once (2 allows an amendment to an amendment).
- Vote needed to end debate — a majority or two-thirds to stop discussion and vote straight away.
- Vote needed to change the bylaws, Notice before a bylaws vote, and Readings for a bylaws change — the vote, days of notice (leave it blank for no notice rule), and number of meetings a bylaws amendment needs.
- How minutes are approved — by a motion and vote, by general consent, or by sign-off.
BoardTools applies What a vote is counted against today. The other rules are saved and copied onto every motion now, and BoardTools will apply them as those features arrive — your settings will already be in place.
Rules are copied onto each motion when it opens
When a motion (including a quick motion from the live meeting cockpit, a consent-agenda motion, or a written-consent round) opens, BoardTools copies your board's rules onto it. The motion is always judged by the rules in force at that moment. If someone changes the rules in Settings afterwards, motions that are already open or decided are not affected — only motions opened after the change use the new rules.
Every verdict names the rule that decided it, for example "Carried: 4 of 6 votes cast (majority of votes cast)" or "Not carried: 3 of 7 members present (majority of members present)".
Motions decided before your board had rules of order are counted by votes cast, exactly as they always were.
"Choose a rules preset" — boards set up before rules of order
If your board existed before this tab did, its rules were set to Custom with values that keep motions working exactly as they did before (no second required, votes cast, the chair always votes, roll call, and minutes approved by sign-off). The tab shows a one-time Choose a rules preset prompt: pick the preset closest to your bylaws, or just select Save settings to keep the rules you have. Either way, you won't be asked again.
Who changed what?
Each save is recorded in the tab's History panel. Switching presets records the preset change and every rule it changed, each with its old and new value.
Board settings & branding
For chairs and administrators — your board's governance defaults, meeting templates, quick-motion presets, and branding (name, logo, and color).
Audit log
The board's append-only record of governance events — what it records, who can see it, and the history-starts-later caveat.