The Admin section is used by Administrators to manage, add, disable Users. Create and manage committees and officer groups, reset passwords, access user reports and is only accessible by Administrators.
The Admin landing page has 4 tabs, Users, Officer Groups, and Committees and Settings.
In addition, from the Admin landing page, an administrator can add users and generate reports about user statuses on the system and user roles and committees.
Please note: BoardWorks supports multiple board membership, which is for users who are on multiple boards and are already using BoardWorks. Instead of giving them 2 different BoardWorks accounts, we simply link one account to both boards, so the users can access the materials for all their boards without having to manage separate accounts.
Please note: It is recommended to log in with a director account as needed to view the user experience.
The role of each tab:
Users
The User tab manages a user’s permissions, devices, and membership within a committee. An administrator may change a user’s personal information, email, committee memberships, roles, etc.… For more details see Finding a User.
Officer Groups
The Officer Groups tab is used for creating Senior Officer groups and assigning users in bulk to the groups.
Committees
The Committee tab is used for managing and editing the committees. New committees may be created from here and users can be added to them in bulk.
Settings
The Settings tab is used to configure BoardWorks to work with Docusign.
Add User
The Add User button is used by Administrators to add and configure new users to their board.
Reports
The report button opens a User Report Screen that will generate either Active User and User Roles and Committees reports which can be viewed in BoardWorks or exported to Excel as a CSV file or as a PDF.
Please Note: Multiboarding - BoardWorks supports users who are on multiple boards already using BoardWorks. Instead of giving them 2 different BoardWorks accounts, we simply link one account to both boards so the users can access the materials for all their boards without having to use separate accounts.
Please note: Below are the instructions for using different tabs. The directions for using the Officer Groups and Committee are the same. The examples below will use the committee tab.
Adding a new User
To add a new user to your BoardWorks portal, simply click on the ADD User button on the top-right of the screen in the Admin section.
You will then be presented with the Add User screen starting with User Settings.
Fill out the mandatory fields and any optional fields.
Note: We recommend using a consistent naming convention in the Username field, i.e. First initial, Last name. (ASmith, JRodriguez etc…).
If you try to create a new user whose username already exists, you will be notified. In such case, it is possible that the user already has an account in BoardWorks and will have to be multiboarded. Please reach out to support and we can add the user on your behalf.
Now let’s review the optional fields.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - Optional
If required, you can enable MFA on this screen by clicking the MFA checkbox and entering the mobile phone number for the user (if not present).
Account Expiry Date (Optional)
This is a new feature for new and existing users.
If you would like to set a term/expiry date for any account, simply set a date in this field by clicking on the calendar icon or manually entering a date in the field. If no date is entered into this field, the account will be a permanent account and will not have an expiry.
Note: You may convert any permanent account to a temporary account by adding an Account Expiry Date at any time or convert a temporary account to a permanent account by simply clearing out the Account Expiry Date field. You can also modify or extend an existing Account Expiry date by modifying the field accordingly at any time.
What happens when an account expires?
When an account expires, the account will be removed from the committees’ listings and into the Disabled Users section. The user will no longer be visible anywhere on your board memberships, committees or meetings and the user will no longer have access to BoardWorks.
What happens if a user tries to login after their account has expired?
If a user attempts to login to BoardWorks with an expired account, they will not be able to login, instead they will receive a warning letting them know that the account has expired and to contact their Administrator.
Set User Role
In the next step, expand the User Role section and select the required user role for the new user.
For more information about the permissions associated with each user role, please see BoardWorks User Roles & Permissions
Select Committee Membership(s)
Expand the Committee Membership section select committee membership(s) required for the new user.
Click Save.
You have now added a new user to your board.
Once this is done, the new account will be active and ready to use.
Note: BoardWorks will generate and send a ‘Welcome to BoardWorks’ email to the new user that will include their username and temporary password to use on first login.
Disabling or Deleting a User
To disable or delete an active user:
Navigate to Admin > User Administration
Open the account of the user you wish to disable or delete
Click Disable Account
Once selected, a Disable User Confirmation is displayed
Here you will have the choice of either temporarily disabling the user or permanently deleting them.
Temporary Disable: This is the standard method for disabling users as board members transition away from their duties. Temporarily disabling a user restricts their access to BoardWorks across all devices and removes them from committees and content within the platform. The user will be moved to the Disabled Users section in the Admin area and can be reenabled at any time by clicking the REENABLE button.
Permanent Deletion: Permanently deleting a user removes their account from your portal and restricts access across all devices. The user is fully removed from the system and cannot be restored. However, historical data related to their activity such as voting results and evaluation responses will be retained for reporting and compliance purposes. In these records, the user's display name will appear with "(deleted)" appended to help administrators identify and audit their data.
Select either Temporary Disable or Permanent Deletion
Select Save
What happens if a user tries to login after their account has been disabled?
If a user attempts to login to BoardWorks with a disabled account, they will not be able to login, instead they will receive a warning letting them know that the account has been disabled and to contact their Administrator.
Re-enabling a disabled user
To re-enable a disabled user, simply navigate to Disabled Users in the Admin Section.
Select the user you would like to re-enable.
Select the Re-Enable button
You receive a confirmation that the account has been re-enabled.
The user will then regain access to BoardWorks with their usual credentials.
Note: The newly re-enabled user may be required to change their password on next login if it has expired.
The account is now re-enabled, and the user will once again be able to login to BoardWorks retaining the existing credentials (if not expired) and committee/group memberships.
Deleting a disabled user
Navigate to Admin Menu > User Administration
Expand the Disabled Users section
Locate the user you want to delete
Select Delete Account
When prompted, a Delete Confirmation message will be displayed.
Select Yes to confirm the deletion
The user will be permanently removed from BoardWorks.
What you should know before deleting a user
Deleted users cannot be restored. If access is required again, a new user account must be created.
This action does not affect other users or system data
User removal does not impact historical records retained by the system
Who can delete users?
A: Only users with administrator privileges have access to the delete option.
What is the difference between disabling and deleting a user?
A: Disabling a user prevents them from logging into BoardWorks and moves their account to the Disabled Users section. The account remains intact and can be reenabled later if needed. Deleting a user permanently removes their account and login access but preserves their historical data for reporting.
What happens to a user’s data when they are deleted?
A: Once a user is permanently deleted, their account will no longer appear in the BoardWorks portal or be accessible for login. However, any historical data - such as evaluation responses, voting results, and login history will remain available for reporting.
How can I identify data associated with a user who has been permanently deleted?
A: When a user is permanently deleted, their account name is automatically appended with “(deleted)” in all historical records. This allows administrators to reference, and audit saved data even after the account has been removed.
If I create a user by mistake and delete them, can I reuse the same username?
A: Yes. Once a user is permanently deleted, their username becomes available and can be reused for a new account. However, the deleted account and its credentials cannot be recovered, so be sure the deletion was intentional before proceeding.
Will deleting a user affect our reports or analytics?
A: No. All historical data associated with the deleted user will remain intact and continue to appear in your reports.
Can a deleted user be restored?
A: No. Once a user is deleted, their account cannot be recovered. If you think you may need to reinstate a user later, we recommend disabling the user instead.
Finding a User
Under the Users Tab, users are organized by the committee they belong to by default. This view can be sorted also by Role for flexibility in viewing the information.
Please note: If a user is on more than one committee, that person’s name will be displayed under all the committees.
Click on the down arrow next to a Committee/Role to expand the list to see who is located under that committee or role.
A list of committee members or individuals in that role will be displayed, depending on the view. User information can be amended by clicking on Edit.
This will then display a list of User Settings.
User Settings
Options:
Username – The id that a specific user uses to access BoardWorks
System Display Name – The name that appears under the User Profile.
First Name/Last Name – allows for changing a user’s first or last name in BoardWorks e.g. a user has a legal name change or would like to use a shortened version of their name, Robert to Bob.
Email Address - used to change the email address of a user. This is the email used for all BoardWorks notifications including password resets, e.g., a director or administrator was set up with a company email and they prefer their personal email address.
Default Calendar View – this setting is for the meeting view. If chosen, a user will see their meeting and event information in a calendar view instead of a list.
Require MFA - This will turn on or off the requirement of Multi-Factor Authentication. For more information see Using Multi-Factor Authentication
Phone Number - Enter user's mobile phone number to be used in the MFA login process.
Account Expiry Date - Used to set the expiry date on user's account. User will no longer be able to login to BoardWorks after this date.
Disable account - Select this checkbox to immediately disable this user's account.
Reset Password - will reset the user’s password and sends an email to the user with a temporary password to use the next time they log in to BoardWorks.
Login History - View History - is used to see when that particular person attempted to log into BoardWorks.
Please note: If a user attempts to log in to BoardWorks with erroneous login credentials more than 5 times, the user’s account will be locked out for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the user’s account will unlock automatically by the system at which point the user will be able to attempt to log in again. If the user needs to be unlocked sooner than that, reach out to support and we will unlock the account as soon as possible.
Please note: a user will be prompted to set a new password once the temporary password is used.
Other settings – Force password change on next login – use in conjunction with password reset.
Please note: This is recommended when an administrator needs to reset the password.
Force a Remote Wipe on the user’s BoardWorks App - this will wipe the BoardWorks App of all content if a device is lost or stolen, and the user is concerned that their login credentials are compromised.
Click on Save to save the changes.
Roles
Roles are used to grant permissions to parts of the BoardWorks system typically in line with the user’s function. Each user should be assigned to a role that best fits their needs. For a breakdown, please see the User roles on the Permission Matrix on our Community Site.
Click on Save after changes.
Note: For more information about user roles definitions, please see BoardWorks User Roles & Permissions
Appointment
The Appointment group has been designed to add an additional layer of functionality to the Evaluations section. Appointments can be used to direct evaluation questions or to restrict them from seeing the question. An appointment assignment is also displayed in the profile. To use this feature, please speak with Computershare's client services team.
Please note: They are independent of any other system and can be arbitrarily assigned as needed. The Administrator may change or add roles by, clicking the down arrow next to Select Appointment as demonstrated in the image below. Then click on Save to save the changes.
Committees
All content in BoardWorks is driven by committee membership, therefore all non-administrators must be in at least one committee to access any content. Users can be assigned to more than one committee at the same time. When an administrator adds a user to a committee, they are granted access to that committee’s items. To change committee access, the Administrator selects or deselects the committee/committees by checking the tick box. Then click Save on.
Officer Groups
Senior Officer Groups are typically comprised of existing committees and users and can be created by an Administrator. Senior Officer Groups can then be given manual access to content on the portal. See the figure below.
The Administrator either selects or deselects the Senior Officer Group by checking the tick box . Click on Save.
Committee and Officers Group Tabs Committees and Officers Groups are ways to organize users and disseminate information. As seen throughout this document users can easily be added to meetings, documents, votes, evaluations, surveys, and signature requests by simply choosing the committee they are a member of.
Before creating any new committee, it is suggested that the administrator review their existing committees. This also pertains to Officer Groups.
Please note: Committees and Officer Groups are key to how information is organized in BoardWorks so they cannot be deleted from the portal. However, committee names can be modified by an Administrator. See Changing a Committee Name. If deleting a committee is necessary, please contact BoardWorks Support.
For more information about Officer Groups see the Permission Matrix or reach out to BoardWorks Support.