Will our members need to learn another tool?
Loomio will keep your members updated by email. You can follow along just by reading email, reply to comments by email, or click on a link in a proposal email to vote. See example
See a decision take shape
A cooperative needs a new office. Help the team hear different needs, work through a concern and agree what happens next.
One decision. More possibilities.
Explore meeting preparation, budget allocation and elections in the in-app demo. Start a free trial to try them with Loomio.
Questions you might be asking
From bringing people on board to keeping a clear record, here’s how Loomio fits your group’s work.
Getting people to participate
Do members need an account or password?
Members can sign in with Google, receive a sign-in code by email, or set a password. If your organisation needs single sign-on (SSO), get in touch—we can offer that too.
Will everyone get notified? Can we avoid too many emails?
Loomio makes it clear when a notification will be sent, and you choose who receives it. Members can receive updates as they happen, or get one daily email with everything they need to catch up.
How do I know my post reached people? Can I remind non-voters?
Notification history shows who was notified, with read information where available. You won’t usually receive an email about your own post. Proposals and polls have automatic reminders 24 hours before the deadline to give everyone a chance to have their say.
Making decisions your way
Can we use our own decision-making rules?
Start with a template for consent, consensus or majority voting. Adapt the voting options and their meanings, then save the template for your group to reuse.
Can we set quorum and approval thresholds?
Yes. Set the participation and agreement requirements for your proposal so people can see whether those requirements have been met. Record an outcome to explain the decision and next steps.
Can we do more than yes, no and abstain?
Yes. Use multiple choice, scoring, dot voting, ranked choice, STV elections or a time poll to find a meeting time. Choose the method that fits the question.
Do people have to give a reason? Can votes be anonymous?
For identified votes, reasons can be optional, required or disabled. Anonymous voting keeps ballots separate from identities and hides results until voting closes; it doesn’t include reasons or allow vote changes.
Can we send a vote after discussing something in a meeting?
Yes. Start a standalone poll when you’ve already talked it through elsewhere. You can also put proposals inside a discussion to keep questions, votes and the outcome together.
Can we prepare a discussion or poll before sending it?
Yes. Prepare a direct discussion privately, with a colleague if needed, then move it into your group. Polls can have a scheduled opening time. Simply leaving people out of the notification list doesn’t make a group discussion private.
Privacy and access
Can everyone follow a discussion but only certain members vote?
Yes. Discussion access and voting eligibility are separate. Make the discussion available to your group and restrict the poll to selected voters.
Can committees have private spaces?
Yes. Subgroups give committees or teams their own discussions, decisions and membership. Choose privacy settings to suit who should have access.
Can we invite someone into just one discussion?
Yes. Invite a guest by email to that discussion without giving them access to the rest of the group. A reply in the discussion is visible to everyone who can access it.
Who can start discussions, invite members or manage votes?
Group permissions control what members can do, and admins manage membership and settings. An administrator can organise an identified vote without being one of its eligible voters.
Keeping a useful record
Can we find previous decisions, minutes and policies?
Discussions keep the background, comments, votes and outcome together. Search for past topics, filter by tags, or use the Files tab to find attachments.
Can we export a report or take our data with us?
Yes. Export poll results to a spreadsheet, print a discussion or save it as a PDF, and export group data for your own archive or a move to another Loomio server.
Can we tidy old discussions or archive last year’s work?
Lock finished threads to keep the current list focused. Use tags to organise topics, or move a set of discussions into a subgroup for a past year or assembly.
Fitting the way you already work
Can we share documents and other attachments?
Yes. Attach files to discussions and comments, or link to documents in tools such as SharePoint or Google Drive. Shared attachments also appear in your group’s Files tab, so they’re easy to find later. Built-in formatting tools include headings, lists, images, tables and highlighting. Linked documents keep their existing access permissions.
Can we keep using Slack or our other chat tools?
Yes. Chat integrations send Loomio updates to tools including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and Matrix, with links back to the discussion or decision.
Should this be a new thread, a proposal or a subgroup?
Use a new discussion for a new topic, and a proposal when there’s a clear decision to make. Start in your main group; add subgroups when a committee or team needs its own space.
Can one discussion include several decisions?
Yes. A meeting discussion can hold the agenda, supporting papers and several polls—for example, finding a meeting time and approving the previous minutes.
Getting started and getting help
Can we try Loomio with our own group?
Yes. Start a free trial, explore the in-app demo, then invite a few people to try a real decision. A familiar task, such as approving minutes, makes a useful first example.
Does our trial content carry over when we subscribe?
Yes. Keep using the same group, members and discussions when you subscribe. You don’t need to set everything up again.
Can you help us introduce Loomio and train our group?
Yes. We’re happy to help you plan your first decision, explain the tools and support the people organising your group. Get in touch about a demo or training call.
What if we get stuck or something goes wrong?
Email us with your question or arrange a call. You can talk through your setup and get help with the product and your group’s process. Scheduled calls and email are how we provide support.