Understand User Types, Guests, and Meeting Roles

Before You Begin

Boardable uses multiple layers of permissions to control access and actions.

User types define what someone can do across your entire organization. Meeting roles define what invited participants can do within a specific meeting. Guests are external participants with temporary, meeting-only access.

Understanding how these layers work together helps ensure the right people have the right level of access.

User Types Overview

User types (sometimes called global roles) apply across your entire Boardable organization. Every internal user is assigned one user type during account creation.

Boardable supports three user types:

Admin
Member
Observer

User type permissions can be expanded through group roles or meeting roles, but they cannot be reduced below the limits of the assigned user type.

Admin User Type

Admins have full access across the Boardable platform.

Admins can:

Add, remove, and manage users
Assign user types and group roles
Create, edit, and delete meetings created by any user
Manage agendas, minutes, documents, tasks, polls, and reports
Access organization settings, billing, and subscriptions

Only admins can manage users and organization-level settings.

Member User Type

Members have broad access, with permissions shaped by the groups and meetings to which they belong.

Members can:

Create meetings, polls, and discussions
Upload and view documents in invited folders
Participate fully in groups and meetings
Take minutes and manage assigned tasks
View the meeting calendar and activity

Members may receive additional permissions if assigned as a group owner, group admin, or meeting collaborator.

Observer User Type

Observers have limited, invitation-based access.

Observers can:

View and RSVP to meetings they are invited to
Participate in discussions and polls when invited
View meeting documents and recordings

Observers are view-only unless promoted to a group owner or meeting collaborator role.

Note: To prevent an observer from accessing meeting documents, invite them as a guest instead of assigning an observer user type.

Meeting Guests

Guests are people outside your organization who are invited to a specific meeting.

Guests:

Are not added as users in Boardable
Have temporary, meeting-only access
Do not require a Boardable account

Guests can:

View meeting details and submit RSVPs
Participate in a Boardable Video session
View the agenda but not the attached documents during a Boardable Video session

Guests cannot:

Access other areas of Boardable
Be promoted to meeting owner or collaborator
Be added if they already have a Boardable account

Meeting Roles Overview

Meeting roles apply only within an individual meeting and determine what invited participants can do.

Boardable meetings support three internal meeting roles:

Owner
Admin / collaborator
Attendee

Meeting roles are influenced by user type and group role, but some changes must be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis.

Meeting Owner

The user who creates a meeting is the owner by default. Meetings can have only one owner, but ownership can be transferred.

Meeting owners can:

Edit meeting details and invitees
Send invitations and meeting messages
Build, edit, and publish agendas
Upload documents and take minutes
Create tasks and polls
Promote attendees to collaborators
Start a Boardable Video session
Delete the meeting

The meeting owner’s name appears in invitation emails.

Meeting Admin or Collaborator

Admins are automatically meeting collaborators. Group owners and group admins are also collaborators for meetings created from group pages.

Collaborators can:

Edit meeting details and invitees
Send invitations and meeting messages
Build, edit, and publish agendas
Upload documents and take minutes
Create tasks and polls
Promote attendees to collaborators
Start a Boardable Video session
Delete the meeting

There is no limit to the number of collaborators per meeting.

Meeting Attendee

Attendees are users who are invited to a meeting without owner or collaborator permissions.

Attendees can:

View meeting details and submit RSVPs
View published agendas and documents
Participate in Boardable Video sessions
View published meeting minutes

Attendees can be promoted to collaborator or owner roles on a per-meeting basis.

Troubleshooting

Why can’t I add a Boardable user as a guest?
Guests must be external to your organization. Invite internal users using the Invitees section.

Why didn’t a role change apply to all meetings in a series?
Meeting role changes must be applied one meeting at a time for recurring meetings.

How do I limit document access for someone?
Invite them as a guest instead of assigning an observer user type.

Questions? Contact your CSM or write to the Support team at support@boardable.com