Meeting Minutes Templates: Decisions and Actions

IN SHORTMinutes record five things: who was there, what was decided, who will do what, by when, and when the group meets next. Write decisions as complete sentences, give every action one named owner and a date, and send the minutes within 24 hours.

Three types of minutes

How much you write depends on who will read the minutes and whether they may be needed as evidence later.

Type	What it records	Use it for	Length
Action minutes	Decisions and actions only	Team meetings, stand-ups, project check-ins	Half a page
Discussion minutes	Decisions, actions and a short summary of each discussion	Planning meetings, client meetings	1 to 2 pages
Verbatim minutes	Close to word-for-word	Board meetings, disciplinary hearings, legal proceedings	As long as the meeting

Most workplace meetings need action minutes. Board minutes are usually a legal record; see the minutes template and format guide for the formal layout.

A complete set of minutes

Minutes of a monthly operations meeting. Each agenda item ends in one of three outcomes: decided, noted or carried forward to the next meeting.

Operations meeting: minutes Tuesday 4 June 2026, 10:00 to 11:00 · Room 3B and video call

Chair: Maria Lopez
Present: Sam Ortiz, Priya Shah, Tom Fielding, Lena Novak
Apologies: Daniel Osei (absent with notice)
Previous: Minutes of 7 May approved without changes

1. Q3 budget Decided Spending is 4% under budget. The meeting agreed to spend £12,000 of the remainder on warehouse shelving.

2. Hiring Noted Sam reported two open roles in the warehouse team. Adverts will go live this week.

3. Office move Carried forward The landlord has not yet replied about the lease. To be discussed in July.

Action items

Action	Owner	Due
Order warehouse shelving (quote from Steelrack)	Priya Shah	Wed 5 June
Post adverts for two warehouse roles	Sam Ortiz	Fri 7 June
Chase the landlord for a lease answer	Tom Fielding	Mon 10 June

Next meeting: Tuesday 2 July 2026, 10:00. Minutes taken by Lena Novak.

Meeting minutes template and format guide →How to write effective meeting minutes →

Recording who said what

Attribution means stating who made a point or decision. How much you record depends on the meeting; formal and board meetings need the most.

Record	Phrasing	Used in
Decision only	“The meeting agreed to approve £12,000 for shelving.”	Team meetings, stand-ups
Named contribution	“Sam reported that two roles are open.”	Most internal meetings
Differing views	“Tom raised concerns about the lease cost; Priya noted the move would save 20 minutes’ travel a day.”	Project and steering groups
Formal motion	“Proposed by Maria Lopez, seconded by Tom Fielding. Carried: 5 for, 0 against.”	Boards, committees, charities
Declared interest	“Priya declared an interest (a personal connection) in Steelrack and did not vote.”	Boards and any vote on suppliers

Write in the past tense and in neutral, reported language: “Sam reported that…”, not “Sam said, rightly, that…”. Minutes describe; they do not judge.

Writing a decision so it cannot be misread

A decision in the minutes should make sense to someone who was not in the room, six months later. That means a full sentence with the thing decided, the scope and the date it starts.

VagueAgreed to go with option B.

ClearThe team agreed to move all customer support to the Zendesk platform from 1 March. The old shared inbox will close on 31 March.

Record the decision, not the debate. If someone disagreed and wants it noted, one line is enough: “Sam asked for his concern about training time to be recorded.”

Taking notes: the Cornell method

The Cornell method divides a page into three areas, so your notes are already sorted when you turn them into minutes.

Cues (left column)Topic names and outcome tags: DECIDED, ACTION, NEXT MTG.Notes (right column)Facts, figures and who said them, in short phrases.Summary (bottom)Two lines written straight after the meeting. This becomes the opening of your minutes. How to take meeting notes effectively →

Who does what

Minutes are easier when three jobs are split between three people. In small meetings one person can take two roles, but the chair should not also take the minutes.

Chair: Runs the agenda, calls each decision aloud (“So we are agreeing to…”) so the minute-taker can write it down.
Minute-taker: Records attendance, decisions and actions, and checks wording with the chair before sending.
Action owners: Confirm their actions and dates before the meeting ends, and report back at the next meeting.

The chair’s side of this is covered in how to lead a meeting that does not waste time.

The 24 hours after the meeting

0 to 1 h Tidy your notes Fill gaps while you still remember; confirm any figures you missed.
1 to 4 h Draft the minutes Header, item outcomes, action table.
4 to 8 h Check with the chair A quick review catches misheard decisions.
By 24 h Send and store Email to attendees and absentees; save in the shared folder.