Minutes of meeting (MoM) format, with a template and two examples

Minutes of meeting, or MoM as most Indian offices call it, are the written record of what a meeting decided and who has to do what next. Good minutes are short. Anyone who missed the meeting should be able to read them in two minutes and know exactly where things stand.

Below is the format we recommend, a template you can copy, and two filled-in examples: one for a client sales call and one for an internal team meeting.

What a MoM should contain

1. Meeting details: title, date, time, and where it happened (office, Google Meet, Zoom, Teams).
2. Attendees: who was there, with their company if it was an external meeting. Note anyone who was expected but absent.
3. Agenda: the topics the meeting was called for, in order.
4. Discussion summary: two or three lines per topic. What was said that matters, not a transcript.
5. Decisions: what was agreed. Write each one as a statement anyone can check later.
6. Action items: each with one owner and a due date. This is the section people actually read.
7. Next meeting: date and purpose, if one was agreed.

MoM template (copy this)

Minutes of Meeting

Meeting:     [Title]
Date / time: [DD Month YYYY, HH:MM–HH:MM IST]
Where:       [Google Meet / Zoom / Teams / office]
Attendees:   [Name (Company)], [Name (Company)]
Absent:      [Name]
Minutes by:  [Name]

Agenda
1. [Topic]
2. [Topic]

Discussion
1. [Topic]: [2–3 line summary]
2. [Topic]: [2–3 line summary]

Decisions
- [Decision, stated so it can be checked later]

Action items
| # | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|--------|-------|-----|
| 1 | [What] | [Who] | [Date] |

Next meeting: [Date, purpose]

Example 1: client sales call

Meeting: Discovery call, Acme Logistics Date / time: 5 November 2026, 11:00–11:40 IST, Google Meet Attendees: Priya Shah (Acme, Head of Sales), Rahul Mehta (Acme, Ops), Ankit Jain (our side)

Discussion

1. Current process: Acme's 18 reps log call notes in Zoho by hand. Priya said most notes are "two lines, if that", and she cannot tell which deals are real until the end of the month.
2. Requirements: notes must work for calls in Hindi and English, and land in Zoho without anyone typing.
3. Budget and timing: budget is approved for this quarter. Rahul needs IT to review data handling first.

Decisions

• Acme will run a two-week pilot with 5 reps, starting 11 November.

Action items

Next meeting: 25 November, pilot review.

Example 2: internal team meeting

Meeting: Weekly sales review Date / time: 4 November 2026, 17:00–17:30 IST, office Attendees: sales team (6), Neha (manager)

Discussion

1. Pipeline: 14 open deals; 3 have had no contact in two weeks.
2. Lost deal (Brightpath): lost on price; the buyer also never met our decision maker.

Decisions

• Every deal over ₹2 lakh needs the decision maker on a call before a proposal goes out.

Action items

Five mistakes that make minutes useless

1. Writing a transcript. Nobody reads three pages. Summarise.
2. Action items without an owner. "Team to follow up" means nobody follows up.
3. Action items without a date. "Soon" is not a date.
4. Vague decisions. "Discussed pricing" is not a decision. "Agreed ₹1,499 per seat for the pilot" is.
5. Sending them late. Minutes sent the next week are history. Send them the same day, while people can still correct them.

Getting the MoM written for you

Writing minutes by hand means someone takes notes instead of taking part. If your meetings are on Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams, EchoBrief joins the call, and afterwards sends a summary with the decisions, the action items (with the owner and due date whenever one was said), and next steps, in English even when the call was in Hindi or Hinglish. Each point links to the moment in the recording where it was said, so anyone can check it. It can send that summary to email, Slack, ClickUp or Notion.

EchoBrief is in invite-only beta: request access to try it on your next meeting.