A meeting minutes example: this is what good minutes look like.

What minutes are exactly, what the term covers and why a transcript is not yet a set of minutes is a subject in itself. This page shows what a good report looks like, with a fully worked example.

Picture the team meeting in full flow. This time it's Leila's turn to take the minutes. She types as fast as she can, but half listening and half typing don't mix, and by the end she has three quarters of a page of half-sentences and arrows. By tonight that has to become a neat report that Daniël and Sam can understand too.

The gap between what Leila has now and what she needs is shown further down: first her notes, then the same meeting as a neat report.

The header is the factual layer: the name of the meeting, the date and place, and the names of those present and absent. For each agenda item you write a few sentences on what it covered and where it ended up, in short, neutral language. The decisions go in a list of their own, so everyone can see at a glance what was agreed, and each action point gets an owner and a deadline.

• HeaderName of the meeting, date, place, attendees and absentees.
• Per agenda itemThe essence of the discussion and the outcome, in brief.
• Decision listWhat was decided? Separate, and recognisable as a decision.
• Action listWho does what, and by when.

Listed like this it looks simple. It only really becomes clear in an example.

The rough notes

The same meeting as a neat report

Minutes of the Marketing team meeting. Date: 12 June 2026, 14:30 to 15:02. Place: meeting room 2. Present: Leila (minute taker), Daniël and Sam.

1. Opening and approval of the previous minutes. The minutes of 29 May were approved unchanged.

2. Budget for the second half of the year. Most of the marketing budget has been spent and more is needed for the second half of the year. Daniël expressed a reservation about the size of the extra request. It was agreed that a decision will be taken before 1 July.

3. New website. The team deferred detailed discussion of the website refresh. Sam will request the quotes first, after which the topic returns to the agenda.

4. Summer rota. Everyone will pass on their holiday dates so that cover can be arranged.

5. AOB. No items. Next meeting: 26 June 2026.

Decision list

Action list

See the difference? Only Leila can still read the rough notes, and in two weeks not even she will. The neat report is open to anyone: you see straight away what was decided and who has to do something this week, and the form is the same every time.

Exactly this kind of report is what you see at the top of this page as an email: that is how Notuly delivers it, with the summary, the decisions and the action points with a name and a deadline. If you choose, the transcript comes along as a .txt attachment.

Want to write it yourself? Read how to take meeting minutes for the step-by-step plan from agenda to sent report, or leave writing up the minutes to Notuly.

• HeaderMinutes of [meeting name], date, time and place; present (with the minute taker in brackets) and absent.
• Opening and previous minutesThe fixed first agenda item: corrections to the previous minutes, then the approval.
• Agenda itemsThe essence and the outcome of each item, in neutral language.
• AOB and next meetingThe closing items of the minutes, with the date of the next meeting.
• Decision listNumber and decision. Brief, and recognisable as a decision.
• Action listNumber, action point, owner and deadline.

Two things separate a template that works from one that gathers dust. Keep the decisions and the action points genuinely apart, because a decision ("we're doing X") is not the same as an action ("who arranges X, and by when"). And number every action, so the next meeting can refer back to it easily.

A decision list records only the decisions taken, without any explanation. An action and decision list adds who does what, and is the form used most in everyday work. Summary minutes also capture the essence of the discussion, useful when the background to a decision still matters later. And verbatim minutes record everything word for word; you really only need those for legal or political meetings.

That is exactly why an accurate report shared quickly matters so much. At the start of the next meeting the participants can propose corrections, and only then is it settled that this is the correct account. Once approved, minutes can serve as evidence of what was agreed. A report that only goes round weeks later is one nobody can properly check any more.

Not every meeting calls for full minutes. For a short, informal conversation a simple action list of who does what is often enough. For a conversation without an agenda a meeting report is a better fit, for an HR conversation the notes of a performance review, and an AGM has rules of its own: see AGM minutes.

When keeping minutes, bear the GDPR in mind: minutes with names in them are personal data, and you keep those no longer than necessary. What a minute-taking tool itself does with your recording is covered under security.

Sources.

General information on minute-taking based on common practice, not legal advice. Sources consulted June 2026.

• Wikipedia, minutes (in Dutch): the definition and the fixed contents, plus the approval of draft minutes at the next meeting.
• Carrieretijger, minutes (in Dutch): the fixed parts (header, agenda, action list in columns) and the forms of minutes.
• Taalcentrum-VU, how to write effective minutes (in Dutch): marking the actions per agenda item, and a separate action table with action, owner and deadline.
• MKB Servicedesk, how to take the best minutes (in Dutch): keeping decisions and action points separate, and reading an AI summary through properly first.
• Secretaressenet, the minutes (in Dutch): the process afterwards, from sending round to formal approval at the next meeting.
• Zelforganisatiefabriek, the action and decision list (in Dutch): the three core fields of an action list, and keeping actions and decisions apart.
• Verenigingen.nl, taking minutes in meetings (in Dutch): minutes as evidence, and approving the minutes at the start of the meeting.