Limited Liability Companies (LLC) have several advantages over their corporate counterparts. However, one of the things that remains the same is the need to take minutes for meetings. The best way to do this is with this meeting minutes template, making the process easy and fast.
While LLCs aren’t required to hold annual meetings for events in their business, they still can prove helpful whenever a resolution needs to be voted on. Minutes for those meetings can help keep everyone on track about the decisions made and provide a record for the company.
There’s a lot of confusion over the difference between minutes and reports with an LLC, so that should be cleared up first. Minutes are notes taken by a designated notetaker that record the events of a meeting. They talk about votes that occurred, who was in attendance, discussions that were had, and anything that board members committed to. These minutes are taken during every single meeting and are often used to kickstart new meetings and provide a helpful recap.
LLCs also need to provide reports for their state annually, which updates the state with basic ownership information and how the LLC can be contacted. While every report needs to be sent to the state, minutes are treated a bit differently.
No, an LLC can go its entire life without ever having any minutes recorded. However, just because you don’t have to keep minutes doesn’t mean that LLCs shouldn’t record the minutes of their meetings, even if the meetings themselves are infrequent. The minutes serve several purposes that every LLC might need.
First, you can see what was discussed in every single meeting. This can help if disputes or lapses in memory arise because you can pull out the minutes for a meeting and set everything straight. They can keep the company running smoothly and provide some form of structure to the sometimes sporadic LLC meetings.
Additionally, because LLCs work differently than traditional corporate businesses, the board’s minutes can prove that the LLC is separate from its owners and that the owners retain protection from liability. They can also be used during court cases or other legal events where proof is required because they are an accurate representation of what occurred during a meeting.
If you are a single-member LLC, then that means that the meeting starts and ends with you. You really don’t need any minutes recorded in those cases, and you already know everything about the LLC and how you will move forward with it. If you are meeting with an attorney or CPA for your LLC, then you might want to document their purpose for being there.
Otherwise, no, a single-member LLC does not need to record the minutes of their meeting.
If your LLC has decided to start keeping minutes, then you should have a standard form for what they look like for your company. Even though the minutes are not required, you can have a template that can make taking minutes easier and can customize it to work for your company. Having a template and a designated secretary to help you keep your minutes is often a must, as it allows you to focus on the meeting without worrying about who is keeping the minutes.
The best LLC meeting minutes template contains the following items. First, you should have the date, time, and location of your meeting, as well as the name of the person who wrote down the minutes. They should also contain who was present and absent at the meeting, a summary of the topics, and any significant discussions.
Finally, since most LLC meetings are brought together to vote on something, the minutes should also have a voting record. Write down the issue at hand, the number of voters, and how they voted for which side during the voting session.
After you have written the minutes and have finished the meeting, you can bring the previous minutes up at the next meeting.
All of the rules above were for LLC annual minutes, but there’s one other type of meeting that will need to have its minutes recorded. The LLC Special Meeting. LLC special meetings are just that, special meetings called for emergencies, special occasions, or to handle serious disputes among board members.
Special meetings are typically very serious ones, and you want to make sure that these are well documented to prevent the need for special meetings in the future. These are matters of urgency, so get started with recording them straight away.
Most of the information will be the same, including the date, time, and location of the meeting. You will also need to write down the purpose of the special meeting and the names of all of the participants. You should review the previous minutes and then open the floor to discuss the special meeting topic.
Write down a summary of whatever the special meeting is about, including any votes being cast, arguments or disputes, and what each member has committed to do to resolve the crisis. Even though special LLC meeting minutes can sometimes be a time of high stress and even higher emotions, you should still appoint a secretary to take notes and remain diligent in that.
Much like regular LLC notes, these do not have to be turned in anywhere, but it’s still a good idea to make sure that you have these special meetings marked with notes. This can prevent these crises from happening in the future, and if things are still a bit sore between members, you can pull out the meetings and show everyone the facts.