Adding Members to Your Organization

The People section in Boardwise serves as your organization's contact directory. Here you can add board members, staff, and other individuals who need access to your board materials.

Adding a New Person

1. Navigate to People (Directory) in the main navigation
2. Click the Add Person button in the top right corner
3. Fill in the required information:
   • Name - The person's full name (e.g., John Smith)
   • Email - Their email address (required for sending invitations)
   • Phone Number - Optional contact number

Someone already in your directory under another address

Many directors use more than one email address, for example after a company changes its domain. If the address you enter is one the person has confirmed on their Boardwise account, Boardwise recognises them:

• Adding a person: Boardwise will not create a second record for them. The form tells you who the address belongs to and links to their record, where you can give them a board or committee seat or change their access.
• Inviting someone to a meeting, or seating them on a board or committee, by email: Boardwise adds the person already in your directory. Their email address on file does not change, so invitations and notifications keep going to that address.

Boardwise never combines two people into one, and never changes someone's email address for them. Each director chooses which of their confirmed addresses your organization uses (learn more).

Adding Board and Committee Memberships

Start with where the person serves:

1. In the Board & Committee Memberships section, click Add Board/Committee Membership
2. Select the board or committee from the dropdown
3. Choose their role within that group (Chair, Secretary, Member, Observer, Staff, and others; see Assigning Board and Committee Roles)
4. Optionally set start and end dates for the membership

A board or committee membership opens that group's meetings and documents.

Choosing Organization Access

Next, Organization Access answers "What can they open?":

• Admin - Manages the organization and everyone in it. Usually the corporate secretary.
• Member - The organization library, plus the materials of every board and committee they serve on. The usual choice for directors.
• Guest - Only the boards, committees, and meetings they are added to — not the organization library. Suited to an external advisor on a single committee.
• Directory only - Listed in the directory, with no Boardwise login.

When you add someone with a voting seat on the board, Boardwise pre-selects Member for you. You can still choose otherwise. If a director is set to Guest or Directory only, the form points out that they won't be able to open organization documents and offers a one-click Use Member.

Under Effective Access, the form summarizes what this person can do, updating as you make changes and before you save. It shows:

• Whether they administer the organization (Admins manage settings, people, access, and every board and committee)
• Whether they can open the organization library
• Each board and committee seat, and whether that seat can schedule meetings and add documents (Chair, Senior Vice Chair, Vice Chair, Executive Chair, and Secretary) or only read them

A Treasurer can add documents but cannot schedule meetings. An Admin manages every board and committee regardless of the seat they hold there, so a committee Observer who is also an Admin still shows as managing it.

Directors who can't open the organization library

If any directors hold a voting board seat without Member access, the People page shows a notice with a Review link. Open a person from that list and click Give organization member access to fix it in one step.

Sending the Invitation

At the bottom of the form, you will see a checkbox labeled Send invitation email. When checked:

• The person receives an email invitation to create their Boardwise account
• The invitation link is valid for 30 days
• The email explains their role and provides a secure link to set up their account

If you leave this unchecked, the person is added to your directory but does not receive an invitation. You can send the invitation later from their profile page.

What Happens After Sending

Once an invitation is sent:

1. The recipient receives an email with a personalized invitation link
2. When they click the link, they can create their account (or sign in if they already have one)
3. After accepting, they gain access based on their assigned role and memberships
4. You (the inviter) receive a notification when they accept the invitation

Managing Pending Invitations

To see who has not yet accepted their invitation:

1. Go to People (Directory)
2. Use the Invitation Status filter dropdown
3. Select Pending to see people with outstanding invitations
4. Select Expired to see invitations that have passed the 30-day limit
5. Select Never Invited to see people added to the directory but never sent an invitation

Resending Invitations

If someone has not received their invitation or their link has expired:

1. Go to People and find the person
2. Click on their name to view their profile
3. Click the Send Invitation button

A new invitation email is sent with a fresh 30-day link. Previous invitation links become invalid.

When Email Can't Be Delivered

Sometimes a person's email provider refuses mail to their address permanently: the mailbox no longer exists, or it has marked our messages as unwanted. When that happens, Boardwise stops trying, and:

• Your organization's administrators get a notification naming the person
• The person shows an Email Bouncing badge in People and on their profile

Until the address is fixed, that person receives none of your invitations, meeting reminders or signing requests. To fix it, open their profile, click Edit, and enter an address that works. The badge clears as soon as the address changes. If the person has already set up their account, the new address must be one they have verified, so ask them to add it to their account first (see Secondary email addresses). If the address looks right, ask the person to check with their IT department that mail from Boardwise is allowed.

Tips for Corporate Secretaries

• Add people before meetings - Add attendees to your directory before scheduling meetings so they can be easily invited
• Use descriptive role titles - Titles like "Audit Committee Chair" or "Independent Director" help everyone understand each person's function
• Set end dates proactively - For term-limited positions, setting an end date helps you track when roles need to be renewed
• Review pending invitations regularly - Use the invitation status filter to follow up with people who have not yet accepted