Documenting organizational decisions
Organizations make decisions constantly; far fewer write them down in a way that’s findable a year later. A clear decision record answers three plain questions: what was decided, who decided it, and when.
This is an educational overview, not legal, tax, or compliance advice. How a given decision should be made or recorded for your organization is a question for your attorney, CPA, or entity advisor.
Three common forms
- Resolution — a formal decision of the body, often made and recorded in a meeting.
- Written consent — a decision made without a meeting, recorded and approved in writing.
- Authorized decision — an operational action the organization authorizes (a vendor approved, a signer added), documented with who authorized it.
What a good decision record contains
- A short, specific title of what was decided.
- An effective date and the person who approved it.
- Enough summary that a reader later understands the context.
- A stable place it lives, alongside the org’s other records.
How MinuteSmith helps
MinuteSmith lets you record resolutions, written consents, and authorized decisions with provenance (who/when), keep them on a governance timeline, and include them in a continuity packet you can hand to an advisor. It organizes the record — it doesn’t advise you on the decision.