Switching board portals: a migration checklist
A checklist for moving a nonprofit board from one portal to another: what to export, what to leave behind, and how to tell the directors.
Moving a board from one portal to another takes six steps: check the contract, export your records, decide what moves, set up the new system, tell the directors, and run one meeting there before you close the old account.
1. Check the contract
- Find the renewal date and the notice period. Some contracts renew automatically unless you give notice well ahead.
- Ask the vendor in writing how long you can get at your data after the contract ends.
- Ask what format the export comes in.
Our post on questions to ask before a portal renewal covers this part in more detail.
2. Export everything first
Before you tell anyone you are leaving, download:
- Approved minutes, for every year you have
- Board packets and agendas
- Records of votes and written consents
- Policies, bylaws and articles
- The roster, with terms and contact details
- Open action items
Check the export. Open a few files from different years and make sure they are complete.
3. Decide what moves
You don't have to bring everything into the new system.
- Move: approved minutes, governing documents, current policies, the roster, open action items, and the last year or two of packets.
- Archive: older packets and working drafts. Keep them in a folder the secretary controls.
- Follow your retention policy. If the policy says to destroy something, a migration is the time to do it properly.
4. Set up the new system
- Load the roster and check every email address.
- Upload the governing documents and the minutes.
- Enter the open action items, with owners and dates.
- Put the next meeting in, with its packet.
5. Tell the directors once
Send one email, a week before the first meeting on the new system. Say what is changing, what they need to do, and who to ask for help. If the answer to "what do I need to do" is "nothing, you'll get a link," say that.
6. Run one meeting, then close the old account
Use the new system for the next meeting from start to finish. After it, confirm in writing with the old vendor that your data has been deleted, if that is what you want, and keep their reply.
How Karma Compass helps
On the Pro plan, our team does the migration from another board portal for you. Compass can also find your directors on your website and draft the roster for you to confirm, and on Pro it drafts action items with owners from your last minutes.
Directors don't set up an account. They get links in their email, so step 5 is a short message.
Questions this post answers
How do you move from one board portal to another?
Check when the contract ends, export your records, decide what to move and what to archive, set up the new system, tell directors once, and run the next meeting there.
What should you export before leaving a board portal?
Approved minutes, packets and agendas, records of votes and written consents, governing documents and policies, the roster with terms, and open action items.
Do you need to move every old board packet?
No. Move approved minutes, governing documents, current policies and the last year or two of packets. Archive the rest according to your retention policy.
Will Karma Compass migrate our board records?
On the Pro plan, migration from another board portal is done for you by our team.
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