Old business cannot hide
HOA action items die in two places: a paragraph of “we should get quotes” that never becomes a motion, and a minutes file that lists old business forever because nobody wrote an owner or a due date. The register is a working table you bring every month as old business. One row per promise. Close it when it is done. Do not leave closed items on the next agenda. It is not a substitute for the minutes.
Old business in the minutes is not a junk drawer. It is “what changed on the register tonight.” If nothing changed, say so in one line. If it is done, mark it closed and stop putting it on the agenda. That is why leftover work disappears from the minutes: it was finished, not forgotten.
| # | Opened | Action (one line) | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [DATE] | [Get three mailbox quotes] | [NAME] | [DATE] | Open / Done |
| 2 | [DATE] | [Sign vendor agreement] | [NAME] | [DATE] | Open / Done |
| 3 | [DATE] | [Courtesy letter, no fine] | [NAME] | [DATE] | Open / Done |
Filled example from the fake Cedar Grove board (sample only):
| # | 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 |
Secretaries keep pasting “mailbox quotes” onto the agenda because the minutes said “discussed” and nobody owned a date. Walk the register at the meeting. For each open row: done, still open, or new due date. Put that disposition in the minutes under old business — one line per item — then copy new rows from tonight’s motions. Closed rows drop off the next agenda. They remain in the register as history if you want them; they do not clutter old business forever.
A discussion is not an action item. If there was no motion and no owner, it does not get a row. Information only stays information only. See how to write HOA minutes and the minutes template for the motion block that feeds this table.
The kit ships the register as Word and CSV (file 05). This page is the columns and the reason old business disappears. It is not the full spreadsheet. The chair’s timed table is free: how to run a 60-minute board meeting.
One-time zip. Word or Google Docs. Pricing · See the full kit.
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Leftover work needs an owner
The register comes as Word and as CSV, and it matches the agenda and the minutes. The kit is $49 once.
Get The Minute Book — $49Digital download. Delivered immediately after payment. If the zip will not open or the files are not as described, email hello@gettheminutebook.com first and we will help. Payment and refund requests are handled by Paddle, the merchant of record. See the refund policy.
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. Check your CC&Rs, bylaws, articles, and state law. Have your association’s attorney review anything that affects owner rights, fines, elections, or assessments.