You said yes to secretary. The board meeting is coming.
The Minute Book is a $49 Word kit for volunteer HOA and association boards. It does not make the meeting shorter. It makes what happened findable three years from now, when nobody remembers who voted.
I have a meeting this month — $49 Read the one-pager free
Instant zip. Word or Google Docs. Keep it forever.
They did not hand you a gavel. They handed you the job nobody wanted: write down what the board actually did, without starting a war in the comments.
The trap
Etsy is full of gold-border violation notices. That is not the job. The job is sitting down after adjournment with a page of arrows and nicknames and turning it into something an owner — or a lawyer — can read without calling you.
Most secretaries fall into one of two ditches:
The third way is boring on purpose: one sentence per motion, who moved it, how each director voted, what happens next. That is a minute book.
How it works
You do not invent a new outline after the meeting. The agenda’s numbers are the notes’ numbers are the minutes’ numbers.
Timed for 60–75 minutes. You send it. The board sees the same list you will write against.
Fragments only. Mover. Seconder. The vote. Not a transcript. Not insults. Not legal conclusions.
You promote the notes. One motion, one sentence. Quorum. Each director’s vote. Actions with an owner and a date. PDF it. That is the record.
This is the zip
Same numbers on the agenda, the notes, and the minutes. Includes a full dummy meeting (Cedar Grove) so you see finished minutes before you write yours.
Cedar Grove Homeowners Association
Same numbers. Fragments only.
6. Landscape
GreenLine $1,850 (was $1,400). Maple Ridge $1,620, no overnight trailer. Long argument re quality — not for minutes.
Mover: Jordan · Second: Sam · Vote: all yes
7. Lot 7 hoop
Chris will move it in June. Jordan wanted a letter tonight. Riley: don’t fine on the fly.
Courtesy, 30 days. All yes. No fine.
Motion 6. Landscape contract.
Authorize the president to terminate GreenLine per its notice terms and sign Maple Ridge Lawn at $1,620/month beginning May 1, 2026.
Pat Y · Jordan Y · Sam Y · Riley Y · Carried.
Action: President signs by Mar 17.
Motion 7. Lot 7 hoop.
Courtesy request to relocate within 30 days. April agenda if not moved. No fine tonight.
All yes. Carried.
| # | Opened | Action | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 10 | Get three mailbox quotes | Sam | Apr 14 | Moved |
| 2 | Mar 10 | Sign Maple Ridge Lawn | Pat | Mar 17 | Open |
| 3 | Mar 10 | Courtesy letter, Lot 7 hoop, 30 days, no fine | Riley | Mar 12 | Open |
Every file
Watch it work
Cedar Grove. 24 homes. Landscape contract, a basketball hoop, overnight vendor parking. This pair of pages is in the kit so you can copy the shape, not the facts.
7:02 p.m. · clubhouse · Pat chairs
GreenLine wants $1,850 (was $1,400). Maple Ridge $1,620, no overnight trailer. Long argument about quality.
Jordan moved sign Maple Ridge, kill GreenLine per notice. Sam second. All yes.
Lot 7 hoop. Chris will move it in June. Jordan wanted a violation letter tonight. Riley: that’s a legal call — don’t fine on the fly.
Courtesy only, 30 days, April agenda if it’s still there. Riley abstain wait, all yes. No fine.
Kim’s parking thing — no motion. Info only.
Motion 7a. Landscape contract.
Authorize the president to terminate GreenLine per its notice terms and sign Maple Ridge Lawn at $1,620/month beginning May 1, 2026.
Moved by Jordan Hale. Seconded by Sam Ortiz.
Pat Y · Jordan Y · Sam Y · Riley Y · Carried.
Motion 7b. Lot 7 hoop.
Courtesy request to relocate within 30 days. April agenda if not moved. No fine tonight.
All yes. Carried.
7c. Overnight parking.
Information only. No motion.
The argument died in the notes. The vote lived in the minutes. That is the entire skill, packaged.
Leverage AI
You do not have to already “know AI.” File 09 is a short, plain-language guide: open ChatGPT, Claude, or Grok (a free account is enough), paste the how-to, paste your messy notes under it. The draft comes back in the minutes shape — one sentence per motion, who moved it, how each director voted, what happens next. Neat. Professional. Ready for you to read.
That is the time-saver. The meeting still takes an hour. The blank-page hour after it does not. You are not chatting with a bot. You are using a clerk that already knows the format.
One rule, said plainly: the draft is only as true as your notes. If you did not write down a vote, the how-to tells the AI to leave a hole ([NOT IN NOTES]) instead of guessing. You review every line. You own whatever goes in the book. You can also skip AI and type the minutes yourself. Same files either way.
Without this kit
You’ll invent a format the night before, or reuse last year’s mess. After the meeting you’ll sit with arrows and nicknames and try to remember who moved what. Next year a new secretary inherits whatever you type.
An owner will ask, “Nobody told me we voted on that.” You’ll hunt three pages of notes. The vote is either in the PDF or it isn’t.
Old business — “get three mailbox quotes” — lives in someone’s head until it doesn’t. Forty-nine dollars is less than one extra hour of reconstructing last month.
You already have the job. This makes the record easier to find — and less messy to write.
Why spend $49?
You will write minutes either way. This kit is the format, so the job takes less effort and leaves less of a mess.
| Blank Word | This kit | Minutes software | Management company | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 today | $49 once | About $149 / month | Part of a much bigger bill |
| Format | You invent it every month | Same numbers every month | Login. Often AI while people talk. | They write it |
| After you leave | Next secretary starts over | They inherit the book | The account dies with the subscription | They have the files |
| When someone asks who voted | Memory plus messy notes | Notes → draft → you review → PDF | If the recording was on | You email the manager |
How you use it
Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Reuse it every month. No subscription. No portal to log into the night before.
Before you buy
Yes, if
No, if
Details
Yes. The files are Word. Google Docs opens them. Reuse the same copies every month. No account with us, no portal.
Yes. How to run a 60-minute board meeting is free. The rest of the zip — agenda, notes, minutes, register, worked example, and the prompt — is the $49 kit.
Yes. The kit includes a how-to written for people who have never done this. Copy, paste your notes, get a neat draft in the minutes format. You read every line before anyone else does. If you would rather type the minutes yourself, skip the AI. The other files still work.
No. These are sample forms, not a substitute for an attorney. They are not valid, complete, or sufficient in every state or for every association. Check your CC&Rs, bylaws, and state law. Have counsel review anything that affects owner rights, fines, elections, or assessments.
The next person inherits the same files and the same numbers. That is the point. The book survives the election. You do not start over in a new blank document every January.
Checkout is Paddle. Your statement may say Paddle.
Refunds are handled by Paddle, the merchant of record, under Paddle’s refund policy. Request a refund from the link in your receipt or at paddle.net.
The board meeting is coming either way
Minutes software starts around $149 a month. A management company writes this as part of a much bigger bill. This is the volunteer version, once.
Get The Minute Book — $49Checkout by Paddle. Your statement may say Paddle. Instant download after payment.
Refund policy (Paddle, merchant of record).
These are sample forms and a drafting aid, not a substitute for an attorney. They are not valid, complete, or sufficient in every state or for every association. Any AI output included with or produced from this kit is an unofficial first draft only. You are required to review every document and every draft for accuracy before it is signed, posted, emailed, or published. You and your association take full responsibility for whatever is ultimately produced or published. Check your CC&Rs, bylaws, articles, and state law. Have your association’s attorney review anything that affects owner rights, fines, elections, or assessments.