Managing Role End Dates

End dates help you track when someone's role or membership should conclude. Use them for term limits, temporary assignments, or planned transitions. When an end date passes, Boardwise automatically deactivates the role while preserving the historical record.

Why Use End Dates

End dates are valuable for:

• Term limits - Board members with defined terms (e.g., three-year terms ending December 31)
• Temporary assignments - Interim officers filling a vacancy until a permanent replacement is found
• Committee rotations - Members serving fixed terms on audit or compensation committees
• External advisors - Consultants or legal counsel engaged for a specific period
• Planned transitions - Outgoing officers whose successors have already been identified

Setting end dates in advance lets you plan transitions without last-minute scrambling.

Setting End Dates When Assigning Roles

For Organization Roles

When adding or editing a person:

1. Go to People and click Add Person or select an existing person and click Edit
2. In the Organizational Role section, find the Start Date and End Date fields
3. Enter the end date when the role should conclude
4. Click Save

For Board and Committee Memberships

When adding someone to a board or committee:

1. In the Board & Committee Memberships section, add or edit a membership
2. Select the group and role
3. Set the Start Date (when the membership begins) and End Date (when it ends)
4. Click Save

You can set an end date at any time, even for existing memberships. This is useful when you learn of an upcoming departure or when governance policies change.

What Happens When a Role Ends

When the end date passes:

1. Access is automatically removed - The person can no longer access content restricted to that role or group
2. History is preserved - The membership record remains in the system with its dates, visible on the person's profile
3. The person is notified - They receive a notification that their role has ended
4. Other roles continue - If the person has other active roles or memberships, those remain unaffected

For example, if a board member's term ends but they remain on a committee, they lose board access but keep committee access.

Automatic vs. Manual Deactivation

Boardwise checks role end dates daily. When an end date is today or in the past:

• The role becomes inactive
• The person loses associated permissions
• No manual intervention is required

If you need to end a role immediately (before the scheduled end date), you can edit the membership and set the end date to today.

Notifications About Ending Roles

Boardwise sends notifications when roles end:

• For organization roles - The person receives a notification that their role (e.g., "Board Secretary") has ended at the organization
• For group memberships - The person receives a notification that their membership in a specific board or committee has ended

These notifications help people understand why their access may have changed.

Extending or Updating End Dates

To extend a role or change its end date:

1. Go to People and select the person
2. Click Edit
3. Find the role or membership you want to update
4. Change the End Date to the new date, or clear it entirely to make the role indefinite
5. Click Save

If a role has already ended (the end date has passed), you can reactivate it by:

1. Editing the person's record
2. Clearing the end date or setting it to a future date
3. Saving the changes

The role becomes active again immediately, and the person regains access.

Viewing Role History

Boardwise preserves the complete history of someone's roles and memberships. To view this:

1. Go to People and select the person
2. View the Affiliations section on their profile

For each role and membership, you can see:

• The role or position held
• The group (for board/committee memberships)
• The start date (when they began)
• The end date (when they concluded, if applicable)

Past roles with end dates in the past remain visible in the person's history. This creates an audit trail showing who held what positions and when.

Tips for Corporate Secretaries

• Set end dates when onboarding - When adding new board members, set their term end date immediately based on your bylaws
• Review before annual meetings - Check for roles ending in the next quarter so you can plan nominations or renewals
• Use consistent term dates - If all terms end on the same date (e.g., after the AGM), it simplifies tracking
• Document in role titles - Consider including term information in titles (e.g., "Director (Term 2023-2026)")
• Plan succession early - When you see an end date approaching, start the nomination or replacement process with time to spare

Related Topics

• Assigning Board and Committee Roles - Understanding the different roles available
• Understanding Organization Roles - How organization-level access works
• Adding Members to Your Organization - The complete process for adding people