The reality about board governance solutions for most smaller organisation boards
If you’re a trustee, director, or administrator supporting a smaller organisation, board governance probably looks something like this: papers shared by email, minutes stored somewhere in a shared drive, actions buried in a WhatsApp thread, and board members searching their inboxes before every meeting trying to find the right version of the right document.
It works, after a fashion. Until it doesn’t.
A board member misses a key paper. An outdated document gets circulated. A conflict of interest declaration goes unrecorded. A new trustee joins and has no idea where to find anything.
These aren’t unusual problems. They’re the everyday reality for thousands of volunteer-led boards across the UK.
And when your year-end arrives, or your auditor requests supporting documents, or a grant funder wants evidence that your governance processes are up to scratch before releasing funds — that’s when the cracks really show.
So what are the options?
A string of emails, spreadsheets, and shared drives
Most smaller boards start here because the tools are familiar and the upfront cost feels low. But they were never built for governance. There’s no audit trail, no structure around declarations or approvals, and no easy way to bring a new board member up to speed. The hidden cost — in time spent searching for documents, recreating lost information, or scrambling to satisfy an auditor — is rarely factored in. As boards grow or scrutiny increases, these informal approaches start to create real risk.
Enterprise board portals
At the other end of the spectrum sit the big board portal platforms — built for FTSE-listed companies and large public sector organisations. They’re powerful, but they come with enterprise price tags (often thousands of pounds per year), complex onboarding, and training requirements that don’t suit a volunteer board meeting a few times a year along with a few sub committees at most. Which is why most smaller organisations only get as far as enquiring about pricing on their websites and then recoil when a sales rep offers them a trial price in the £000’s.
Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Google Workspace
Some organisations try to build a board governance solution from general collaboration tools. It’s possible, but it takes significant time to set up properly, requires ongoing administration, and still doesn’t give you the governance-specific features — like board pack creation, conflict of interest registers, or resolution tracking — that boards actually need.
A simple, purpose-built board portal for smaller organisations
This is where Governance360 sits. Built by company directors and charity trustees who’d experienced the same frustrations, it’s a simple, purpose-built board portal designed specifically for smaller organisations that don’t have a dedicated company secretary or IT team. There’s no training required, no complex implementation, and no lengthy sales process. Trustees can access everything they need — papers, minutes, declarations, actions — in one place, from any device.
The pricing plans are also a fraction of the cost of enterprise alternatives.
The grant funding factor
For charities and not-for-profits, there’s an additional pressure worth mentioning. Grant funders increasingly expect evidence of sound governance before releasing funds. Being able to demonstrate a proper paper trail — decisions recorded, conflicts declared, policies in place — can be the difference between securing funding and missing out. A string of emails and a shared folder rarely tells that story clearly.
What good board governance actually looks like
Good governance doesn’t require expensive software or complicated systems. It requires clear processes, a proper record of decisions, and board members who can access the right information at the right time.
The right board governance solution should make that easier, not harder. For smaller organisations especially, simplicity matters. If trustees won’t use it, it doesn’t matter how many features it has.
Worth exploring?
If your board is still relying on a string of emails and shared folders, it’s worth seeing what a simple, purpose-built board portal for smaller organisations actually looks like. Governance360 offers a free trial — no sales call required, no credit card needed. Just log in and see whether it fits.