What is an Action?
An Action is a task or part of a task that needs to be accomplished, then usually be reported at a subsequent meeting. A task might be to write and get approved a set of ToRs for a committee. An Action might be to complete the first draft of the ToRs.
In this case, the Due Date would be the date by which the Action should be done so that a copy can be posted for review by attendees before the next meeting. However, the Action cannot be marked as complete before the meeting, or it will not appear in the Action Review item of the minutes.
At the meeting, the draft might be approved as the final ToRs, in which case the Action can be marked as complete. Or, a second draft might be requested, in which case you might complete the current Action and create a new one, or you might modify the Action to show that it is draft 2, with a new due date, and maybe even assigned to a different person.
If the Action can be done in its entirety between meetings, it’s still a good idea not to complete it until the subsequent meeting, so as to have an audit trail in the minutes.