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Guides, compliance resources, and support for VisaNauta RCICs and clients.
Guides & Articles
Getting Started
Account setup, profile completion, and first steps on VisaNauta.
CICC Verification
Licence upload, the verification timeline, and what happens after.
Subscription Management
Upgrade, downgrade, billing portal access, and cancellation.
Booking Engine
Availability setup, buffer time, client self-booking, and cancellations.
Payment Processing
Stripe Connect setup, payout timeline, and fee structure.
Compliance & Audit Trail
Export logs, CICC inspection mode, and 6-year retention.
Data Privacy
PIPEDA rights, data deletion requests, and Canadian residency.
Spotlight Advertising
Purchase spotlight placements, tiers, and rotation policy.
Getting Started
1. Sign up
Go to visanauta.com/signup/rcic. Enter your name, email, and CICC membership number. After email confirmation, your account is created with status "pending review".
2. Complete your profile
Go to Dashboard → Profile. Fill in your business name, tagline, bio, and upload a professional photo. A complete profile is required for your listing to appear in the client directory.
3. Upload CICC licence
Go to Dashboard → Compliance → CICC Verification. Enter your CICC membership number. Our system verifies it against the CICC registry within minutes. See "CICC Verification" article for full details.
4. Create a package
Go to Dashboard → Packages → Create Package. Set a name (e.g. "Initial Consultation"), duration (e.g. 30 min), and price. Packages are the unit clients book.
5. Set availability
Professional and Enterprise plans: go to Dashboard → Schedule. Set your weekly hours, buffer time between appointments, and any time-off dates.
6. Connect Stripe
Professional and Enterprise plans: go to Dashboard → Payments & Payouts. Click "Connect Stripe Express" to link your bank account. Clients pay you directly — VisaNauta never holds your funds.
CICC Verification
Why verification is required
CICC regulations require that only active members in good standing practice as RCICs. VisaNauta verifies your membership number with the CICC registry before activating your public profile.
How to start verification
Navigate to Dashboard → Compliance. Enter your CICC membership number and click "Verify". Our system attempts an automated check against the CICC public registry.
Automated verification (minutes)
If the automated check succeeds, your status updates to "Verified" immediately and your public profile goes live in the directory.
Manual review (1–2 business days)
If the automated check cannot confirm your status (e.g. registry temporarily unavailable), our team reviews manually and contacts you by email within 1–2 business days.
Licence not found
If your number isn't found, check: (1) the number is correct — it's typically 6 digits, (2) your CICC membership is current. Contact CICC directly if you believe there's an error on their registry.
Annual re-verification
VisaNauta automatically re-verifies your licence annually at renewal time. If your membership lapses, your public profile is suspended until re-verified.
Subscription Management
Plans and pricing
Essentials ($59/mo), Professional ($119/mo), Enterprise ($279/mo). Annual billing saves 8–14%. All prices in CAD.
Upgrade or downgrade
Go to Dashboard → Subscription → Manage Subscription. This opens the Stripe Billing Portal where you can switch plans. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades apply at next renewal.
Update payment method
In the Stripe Billing Portal (Dashboard → Subscription → Manage Subscription), click "Add payment method". Your card data is stored securely by Stripe, never by VisaNauta.
Invoice history
All past invoices are available in the Stripe Billing Portal. PDFs can be downloaded for accounting.
Cancel subscription
In the Billing Portal, click "Cancel plan". Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you retain full access until then. Your client data is retained for 90 days post-cancellation.
Founding Cohort rate lock
If you joined during the Founding Cohort period (first 150 RCICs), your rate is locked for the lifetime of your subscription. Upgrades to higher tiers get the founding rate for that tier.
Booking Engine
Setting availability
Dashboard → Schedule. Enable days of the week and set start/end times for each. Save to publish your bookable hours.
Buffer time
In Schedule → Booking Settings, set buffer time (e.g. 15 minutes) between appointments. This prevents back-to-back meetings with no preparation time.
Time-off / blocks
In Schedule → Time Off, add date ranges when you're unavailable. These block any new bookings for those dates.
Max daily bookings
In Booking Settings, set a daily booking limit (e.g. 5 consultations/day) to prevent overbooking.
How clients book
Clients visit your profile in the VisaNauta directory, select a package, choose an available time slot, and pay the booking fee. You receive a confirmation email.
Platform booking fee
VisaNauta charges clients a flat platform fee (currently $10 CAD) per booking. This is separate from your consultation fee and goes entirely to VisaNauta — not a commission on your earnings.
Cancellations
Cancellation policies are configured in Booking Settings. Clients can cancel up to your minimum notice window. Late cancellations may be subject to your stated policy.
Payment Processing
How payments work
VisaNauta uses Stripe Connect Express. Clients pay their consultation fee directly to you via Stripe. Funds go straight to your Stripe Express account — VisaNauta never holds your money.
Connect your Stripe account
Dashboard → Payments & Payouts → Connect Stripe Express. You'll be redirected to Stripe to verify your identity and bank details. Takes 5–10 minutes.
Payout timeline
Standard Stripe payout schedule is T+2 business days (instant payouts available for an additional Stripe fee). Payout schedule is configured in your Stripe Express dashboard.
Zero commission model
VisaNauta charges you a flat monthly subscription fee. We never take a percentage of your consultation fees. You keep 100% of what clients pay you (minus Stripe's standard processing fee of ~2.9% + $0.30).
Stripe processing fees
Stripe charges the standard card processing fee (~2.9% + $0.30 CAD per transaction). This is Stripe's fee, paid directly to Stripe — VisaNauta receives no portion of it.
Invoicing
Dashboard → Invoices. Create professional invoices for services, send to clients, and track payment status. Invoice PDFs can be downloaded for your records.
Compliance & Audit Trail
Automatic audit logging
Every action on VisaNauta — document uploads, client messages, booking confirmations, file status changes — is automatically logged with a timestamp and user ID.
CICC §23 compliance
CICC requires 6-year retention of client records. VisaNauta retains all audit logs for 7 years (exceeding the requirement) in an append-only, tamper-proof database.
Export audit logs
Dashboard → Compliance → Export Audit Log. Select a date range and export a JSON or CSV file. This is the format accepted for CICC inspection.
CICC inspection mode
If you receive a CICC audit notice, contact support@visanauta.com. Our team can prepare a formatted audit package for the specific client file(s) under review.
What is logged
Client file access, document uploads/downloads, intake questionnaire submissions, booking confirmations, payment records, agreement signings, and all communication events.
What is not logged
The content of private RCIC notes (if marked private) is excluded from client-facing exports. All logs are retained internally regardless.
Data Privacy
Canadian data residency
All VisaNauta data is stored in Canada on Supabase's ca-central-1 region (AWS Toronto). Data is never transferred to servers outside Canada without explicit consent.
PIPEDA rights
Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), you have the right to: access your personal data, correct inaccuracies, and withdraw consent.
Data access requests
Email privacy@visanauta.com with "Data Access Request" in the subject. We respond within 30 days with a full export of all data associated with your account.
Account deletion
Profile → Danger Zone → Delete Account. Your active data is purged within 90 days. Records required by CICC regulation (client files, audit logs) are retained for the required retention period (6 years) then deleted.
Client data isolation (PIPEDA §14.2)
Your clients' data is never visible to other RCICs on the platform. Row-level security in the database enforces this at the infrastructure level.
Data breach notification
VisaNauta notifies affected users within 72 hours of discovering a data breach that poses a real risk of significant harm, as required by PIPEDA.
Spotlight Advertising
What is Spotlight?
Spotlight is a paid placement that highlights your profile at the top of search results in the VisaNauta client directory for a fixed period. It's a flat fee — never billed per impression or click.
Spotlight tiers
Four tiers are available: Basic ($20/week), Standard ($49/week), Featured ($79/week), and Premium ($119/week). Higher tiers receive more prominent placement and rotation priority.
How to purchase
Dashboard → Packages → Spotlight Ads (coming soon). Select duration and tier. Payment is charged immediately via your saved Stripe payment method.
Rotation policy
Multiple Spotlight subscribers in the same tier are rotated equally during the campaign period. Premium placements receive guaranteed first-position rotation for 25% of impressions.
No impression-based billing
VisaNauta never charges per impression, click, or conversion. Your Spotlight fee is fixed for the campaign duration regardless of how many clients view your profile.
Cancellation policy
Spotlight campaigns cannot be refunded mid-period. Campaigns can be cancelled before they start for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does VisaNauta take commission on my consultation fees?
How quickly is my CICC licence verified?
What happens if I cancel my subscription?
Can clients pay me directly without VisaNauta?
Is the platform CICC §23 compliant?
What support SLA applies to my plan?
Still need help?
Our support team responds according to your plan SLA.