Business meeting minutes template, simple and professional

What’s in the template

The minutes open with these details:

• Meeting title
• Organisation(s)
• Date
• Time (start and finish)
• Location (or video platform)
• Chair
• Minutes taken by
• Attendees (name, organisation, role)
• Apologies
• Distribution

Then the body follows the meeting in this order:

1. 1. Purpose of the meeting — One or two sentences. What the meeting was called to achieve.
2. 2. Review of previous minutes and actions — Confirm the previous minutes are accepted, and go through the open actions: done, in progress, overdue.
3. 3. Agenda item — Repeat this block for each item. Summarise the discussion in a few lines, then state the decision and the action separately.Discussion: · Decision: · Action (what, who, by when):
4. 4. Agenda itemDiscussion: · Decision: · Action (what, who, by when):
5. 5. Agenda itemDiscussion: · Decision: · Action (what, who, by when):
6. 6. Any other business — Items raised that were not on the agenda. Record them with the same discussion, decision and action lines, or that they were deferred to the next meeting.
7. 7. Summary of decisions — List every decision from the meeting in one place, so nobody has to read the whole document to find them.
8. 8. Next meeting — Date, time, location and any items already agreed for the agenda.
9. CirculationDraft circulated on: · Comments by: · Final version issued on:

At the end: action items and decisions, as tables you can keep across meetings.

The template

Download it as a Word file, or copy the text version into your own document.

Meeting Minutes

Meeting title: 
Organisation(s): 
Date: 
Time (start and finish): 
Location (or video platform): 
Chair: 
Minutes taken by: 
Attendees (name, organisation, role): 
Apologies: 
Distribution: 

1. Purpose of the meeting
   [One or two sentences. What the meeting was called to achieve.]

2. Review of previous minutes and actions
   [Confirm the previous minutes are accepted, and go through the open actions: done, in progress, overdue.]

3. Agenda item
   [Repeat this block for each item. Summarise the discussion in a few lines, then state the decision and the action separately.]
   Discussion:
   Decision:
   Action (what, who, by when):

4. Agenda item
   Discussion:
   Decision:
   Action (what, who, by when):

5. Agenda item
   Discussion:
   Decision:
   Action (what, who, by when):

6. Any other business
   [Items raised that were not on the agenda. Record them with the same discussion, decision and action lines, or that they were deferred to the next meeting.]

7. Summary of decisions
   [List every decision from the meeting in one place, so nobody has to read the whole document to find them.]

8. Next meeting
   [Date, time, location and any items already agreed for the agenda.]

Circulation
   Draft circulated on:
   Comments by:
   Final version issued on:

Action items
No. | Action | Owner | Due | Status

Decisions
No. | Decision | Agenda item

Example: filled-in business meeting minutes

What the template looks like once it’s been used. The organisation and people are made up.

Decisions

Action items

Tips for business meeting minutes

• Write the agenda items into the template before the meeting, so during the meeting you only fill in discussion, decision and action.
• Say the decision back to the room before moving to the next item. If people correct it, you have saved an email thread.
• Record positions by organisation, not person, in meetings between companies, unless someone asks to be minuted by name.
• Number actions across meetings (2026-12, 2026-13) so they can be referred to in the next review without ambiguity.
• Send the draft to all parties within two working days and give a deadline for comments. Then issue the final version and say it is final.
• Keep the summary of decisions even when it repeats the items above. It is the section most people read.

Related templates

• Board meeting minutes template — The formal record of a board of directors meeting: quorum, motions, votes and resolutions.
• Team meeting minutes template — The weekly meeting of one team: last week's numbers, blockers, decisions and this week's priorities.
• Client meeting notes template — For agencies, consultants and advisers: a record of what the client asked for and what each side agreed to, written so it can be sent back to them.
• Meeting summary template — The short recap you send after a meeting: decisions, actions and open questions, written to be read in two minutes.
• All meeting minutes templates

Or let the notes write themselves

A template helps when you’re the one typing. If you’d rather not be, an AI note taker can draft the summary and action items for you. Most send a bot into the call; QuietNote captures from your own computer instead, so nothing joins the meeting and you decide when capture starts. It’s in private beta. Whatever you use, read the draft before you send it, and tell attendees you’re recording where the rules require it.