Template · Meetings
Free meeting notes template with decisions and action items
Take clear meeting notes every time: when, who and the goal at the top, then the agenda, notes, decisions and action items with an owner for each. The title fills in the date for you.
Meeting notes · Oct 5
When: Monday, October 5, 2026 · 9:00 AM
Who:
Goal:
Agenda
Notes
Decisions
Action items
Owner: task
Owner: task
Next meeting
Free. Barside asks before it adds the template, then makes a new note from it. Needs Barside 1.50 or newer.
Nothing opened? Barside may not be installed yet. Download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
The most useful part of a meeting is what happens after it. This template makes sure every meeting ends with written decisions and action items that have an owner.
Who it is for
It is for anyone who runs or attends meetings and wants notes that lead to action: team leads, project managers, consultants and students in group projects. Pair it with the meeting agenda template for meetings that start well too.
What is in the meeting notes template
- When, who, goal: the date and time fill in automatically when you create the note.
- Agenda: a numbered list of topics.
- Notes: a running list while people talk.
- Decisions: what was agreed, in one line each.
- Action items: a checklist, one line per task, starting with the owner's name.
An example
Before a weekly sync, Ana creates the note; the title and date fill in. During the meeting she lists three agenda topics and writes notes as people talk. The team decides to move the launch to Friday, so she writes that under Decisions. Under Action items she adds "Ben: update the launch email" and "Cy: test the sign-up form", reads them aloud, and shares the note right after.
How to use the meeting notes template
- Choose Open in Barside above. Barside opens and asks before it adds anything.
- Pick the workspace for the note, and leave Keep it in my templates ticked to use the template again.
- Choose Create note. A new note called "Meeting notes · Oct 5" opens, ready to fill in.
- Next time, start one from New note from a template, or let Barside make it on a schedule as a repeating note.
No Barside yet? It is free for Windows, Linux and Mac: download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
How to take meeting notes people use
- Write decisions as complete sentences, so they make sense to someone who was not there.
- Every action item gets an owner and, if possible, a due date.
- Read the action items aloud in the last two minutes.
- Send the notes within an hour, while everyone still remembers.
Make it yours
- Barside can make a meeting note for each calendar event, from your own template: see calendar and notes.
- After a recorded call, meeting follow-up drafts the summary, decisions and tasks from the transcript, with the AI you connect.
- Save your edited version as your own template.
FAQ
Questions and answers
Can Barside fill in the notes for me?
Partly. Barside transcribes calls on your computer, and meeting follow-up turns a transcript into a summary, quoted decisions and proposed tasks for you to check. You need to connect your own AI account for the follow-up.
Is the meeting notes template free?
Yes. The template and Barside are both free. Barside Plus is optional and adds cloud backup and sync between computers; templates do not need it.
Does the template work offline?
Adding it needs the internet once, so Barside can fetch it from barside.space. After that, the template and every note made from it live on your computer and work offline.
Can I change the meeting notes template?
Yes. Edit the note it makes like any other note: rename columns, add rows, delete sections. To keep your version, open the note and choose Save as template in its options.