People operations

HR records and e-sign for the Canadian SMB.

People is HR record-keeping for the Canadian SMB - employment history, document e-sign, certifications, training logs, H&S records. Payroll-adjacent, but separable: you can run People without Payroll, or pair them. Multi-entity HR books at Pro+ mean each Vastura entity has its own HR master with full audit log.

People Starter at $29/mo CAD covers small teams with basic HR records, employment history, and onboarding workflow. Pro at $59/mo unlocks document e-sign, certifications, training logs, H&S record, and direct Employee Portal integration. Enterprise at $149/mo adds multi-entity HR books and Conductor-scoped MCP agent access.

Built for the Canadian SMB that has outgrown a Google Sheet of employees but is too small to justify the popular USD HRIS subscription at $4-$12 USD/employee/month with FX surcharge. Per-tier flat pricing means you stop paying-per-employee as you grow.

15-day free trial - No credit card - CAD-priced
The problem

Why the SMB HR tool market is broken for sub-50-employee shops

The popular HRIS tools are priced per-employee per-month - $4-$12 USD/employee/mo, billed in USD, with most useful features (e-sign, certifications, H&S) gated behind the mid-tier ($8+ USD/employee). For a 15-employee SMB that's $60-$180 USD/mo - $85-$255 CAD/mo with FX - just for HR records.

Multi-entity is broken too. If you run 3 entities with 5 employees each, the popular HRIS makes you run 3 separate subscriptions (3x the cost, 3x the logins, 3x the per-employee fees). Per-entity HR books are usually not available below the Enterprise tier (~$15+ USD/employee).

And almost none of the popular SMB HR tools speak Canadian context. T4 reporting integration, CRA remittance, provincial H&S requirements (WCB / WorkSafe / CNESST), bilingual employment records (QC), Canadian holiday schedules - all of these are either missing or generic USD/global defaults.

People is the Canadian SMB HR tool that prices per-tier (not per-employee), runs multi-entity native at Pro+, and ships Canadian context (T4 prep, provincial H&S, certifications + training logs for compliance) by default.

The Vastura solution

HR records + e-sign + certifications + H&S - tier-priced, Canadian-native.

People Starter at $29/mo CAD covers small teams with HR records, employment history, onboarding workflow, single entity, and email support. Replaces the spreadsheet without adding the complexity of full HRIS feature creep. Sufficient for a 1-15 employee operation.

People Pro at $59/mo CAD unlocks document e-sign (sign employment letters, NDAs, policy acknowledgements in-app), certifications + training logs (track compliance certifications with expiry alerts), H&S record (accident reports, training attendance, provincial WCB/WorkSafe integration), direct Employee Portal integration, and priority support.

People Enterprise at $149/mo CAD adds multi-entity HR books (each Vastura entity has its own HR master with separate employee records, certifications, H&S logs), HR-scoped MCP agent access via Conductor (Conductor can update employee records, schedule training, or run reports), and dedicated CSM. Built for the multi-entity holdco.

People is payroll-adjacent but not bundled. You can run People standalone (HR records only), or pair with Payroll for end-to-end employee-to-paystub workflow. Pairing means the Employee Portal (separate per-seat product) feeds off both apps for a single employee-self-service surface.

Feature deep-dive

Everything you need, built into one platform

Eight HR modules covering records, e-sign, certifications, training, H&S, and multi-entity HR for the Canadian SMB.

H

HR Record + Employment History

Full employee master: personal info, employment terms, role history, salary history, manager relationships. Audit log on every change. Per-entity scoping at Pro+. Bilingual (EN/FR) employment records for QC employers.

O

Onboarding Workflow

Templated onboarding sequence - upload offer letter, sign NDA, complete H&S training, register direct deposit, acknowledge policies. Per-step completion tracking. Reminders for incomplete steps.

D

Document E-Sign (Pro+)

Built-in e-signature for HR docs - employment contracts, NDAs, policy acknowledgements, performance reviews. Audit-logged signing trail. Compliant with PIPEDA + Canadian e-signature requirements.

C

Certifications + Training Logs (Pro+)

Track compliance certifications (First Aid, WHMIS, forklift, etc.) with expiry dates. Auto-alert before expiry. Training attendance logs by employee + topic. Provincial training requirements (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC) supported.

H

H&S Record (Pro+)

Accident report logging with witness statements, severity classification, return-to-work tracking. Provincial WCB/WorkSafe/CNESST integration (export to provincial format). Required training tracking by role + jurisdiction.

E

Employee Portal Integration (Pro+)

Per-seat Employee Portal add-on ($7/employee/mo) integrates with People to surface employment records, pay stubs (if Payroll active), tax documents, H&S records, and document signing to the employee directly.

P

Per-Entity HR Books (Enterprise)

Enterprise tier. Each Vastura entity has its own HR master, employment records, certifications, H&S logs. Cross-entity employee transfers handled with proper continuity tracking.

H

HR-Scoped MCP Agent (Enterprise)

Enterprise tier. Conductor can call People MCP tools to update records, schedule training, run reports, or send onboarding reminders. HR-scoped means Conductor can't access non-HR data even when running under HR context.

Compared head-to-head

Vastura vs the industry SMB average

Compared at $30-$200/mo in the SMB HR + people-ops category - Anonymized industry-average benchmarks - CAD-priced throughout - No FX surcharge on Vastura tiers
FeatureVasturaIndustry SMB average
HR record + employment history from Starter
Document e-sign Pro+ Pro+
Certifications + training logs Pro+partial
H&S record (accident reports, training) Pro+partial
Direct Employee Portal integration Pro+
Per-entity HR books Pro+×
Agent-operable via Conductor (HR-scoped MCP) Enterprise×
CAD-priced (no FX surcharge)×
Tier-priced (not per-employee)× per-employee $4-$12 USD typical
Bilingual (EN/FR) employment recordspartial
Provincial WCB/WorkSafe/CNESST integration Pro+× rare in USD tools
Audit log on every change all tiers
Onboarding workflow templates from Starter
Expiry alerts on certifications Pro+ Pro+
Multi-entity holdco view Enterprise×
PIPEDA-compliant e-signature Pro+partial
API access Enterprise

Per-tier pricing is the real People moat. For a 25-employee operation, Vastura People Pro at $59/mo CAD compares to $100-$300 USD/mo on a per-employee USD HRIS - $140-$420/mo CAD with FX. Tier-priced means you don't pay more as your team grows.

If your operation has Canadian compliance needs (provincial H&S, T4 prep via Payroll, bilingual QC records, PIPEDA-compliant e-sign), People is built for that context. USD-priced HRIS tools generally treat Canadian compliance as a localization afterthought.

Pricing

Choose the tier that fits your operation

Every tier includes a 15-day free trial. Cancel anytime. Annual billing saves 25%. All prices in Canadian dollars.

Starter

Small team needing HR records + onboarding

$29
/month CAD
or $261/yr billed annually (save 25%)
  • HR record + employment history
  • Onboarding workflow templates
  • Single entity
  • Audit log on every change
  • Bilingual EN/FR records
  • Email support
Start 15-day free trial

Enterprise

Multi-entity HR + Conductor-scoped agent access

$149
/month CAD
or $1,341/yr billed annually (save 25%)
  • Pro + multi-entity HR books (unlimited)
  • HR-scoped MCP agent access via Conductor
  • REST API access
  • Dedicated CSM
Start 15-day free trial

15-day free trial - Cancel anytime - CAD-priced - No FX surcharge

Use cases

Built for real Canadian SMB operators

Four personas we built this product for. Find yours below.

Small Team

5-person consulting incorporation

Pat's 5-person Inc uses Starter at $29/mo to track employment records, manage onboarding for new hires, and store employment contracts. Sufficient for a small team without complex compliance.

Best fit: People Starter

Mid-Size Team with H&S Needs

25-person construction firm

Maya's construction firm uses Pro at $59/mo for certifications (WHMIS, forklift, fall arrest), H&S records (accident logs, WCB integration), training logs. Cross-tier upgrade from spreadsheet-based tracking was painless.

Best fit: People Pro

Multi-Entity Holdco

Holdco with 4 sub-companies, 50 employees

Lisa's holdco uses Enterprise at $149/mo for per-entity HR books (each sub has its own records), HR-scoped Conductor access (Conductor runs monthly compliance audits and training expiry digests), and the dedicated CSM for the annual SOC 2 review.

Best fit: People Enterprise

Multi-Province Employer

BC + AB + ON operator

Devon employs people across 3 provinces. Pro handles provincial H&S differences (WorkSafeBC, WCB AB, WSIB ON) with proper provincial training requirement tracking and WCB integration per province.

Best fit: People Pro

Integrates with the Vastura stack

How this fits with the rest of your operation

Vastura is a stack, not a single tool. Each product passes data into the next so you stop running glue scripts and CSV exports.

Payroll - pay stubs + T4 prep

People feeds employment records, salary history, and direct deposit info into Payroll. Pay run generates the proper journal entries, T4 prep at year-end ties to employment records.

People record -> Payroll run -> Ledger Salary JE
Employee Portal - self-service

Per-seat Employee Portal ($7/employee/mo) surfaces People records to the employee - pay stubs, tax docs, certifications, e-sign requests. Mobile-responsive.

People data -> Employee Portal -> Employee self-service
Pilot - costed labour rate

Costed labour rates per role per entity flow from People into Pilot for project costing. When the team logs hours, the cost flows correctly to project COGS.

People rate -> Pilot project hour -> Ledger COGS
Keystone - HR tickets

HR cases (onboarding, certification expiry, H&S incidents) route to Keystone with employee record pre-attached. Per-Cowork ACL keeps HR tickets visible only to authorized agents.

People event -> Keystone HR ticket -> Restricted ACL
Conductor - HR-scoped agent

Enterprise tier. Conductor calls People MCP tools to update records, schedule training, send onboarding reminders, run compliance reports.

Conductor chat -> People MCP -> HR action
Ledger - HR cost allocation

Payroll posts to Ledger; People provides the employment context (department, entity, project allocation) so Ledger can split costs correctly across entities and projects.

People context -> Ledger allocation -> Multi-entity P&L
Inventory - warehouse staff tracking

Warehouse staff records in People link to Inventory operations - barcode scan attribution, fulfillment activity logs.

People staff -> Inventory activity -> Audit log
Studio - employee training videos

Studio-generated training videos can attach to People certifications. Track who watched what, when. Mandatory training compliance via attendance log.

Studio video -> People training -> Attendance log
Frequently asked

Questions before you start the trial

How long is the free trial and is a credit card required?

Every Vastura tier includes a 15-day free trial. No credit card is required up front - you only enter payment when you decide to keep the subscription past day 15. If you cancel within the trial window, your data stays accessible in read-only mode for 30 days so you can export everything cleanly.

What is the refund policy if I subscribe and change my mind?

If you subscribe and decide within 15 days that People is not the right fit, contact support and we refund the prorated month in full - no questions, no retention call. Annual subscribers get a prorated refund on unused months minus a 5% admin fee, processed back to the original payment method within 7 business days.

Can I export my data if I leave?

Yes - your data is yours. Vastura supports full CSV / JSON / PDF export across every product. People exports include all transactional records, configuration, audit log entries, and attachments. We also provide a Cutover Toolkit (Enterprise tier) for migrating to or from competing platforms with mapping templates included.

How does Vastura handle multi-entity setups?

Multi-entity is native, not an afterthought. From the Pro tier upward, you can run multiple businesses (Inc / sole prop / partnerships) under one login with per-entity books, branding, and identity. The Enterprise tier unlocks unlimited entities plus consolidated reporting across the holdco. One operator, multiple businesses, one subscription instead of one-per-entity.

Why is Vastura priced in Canadian dollars when most SaaS is USD?

Vastura Ltd is Alberta-incorporated and built specifically for Canadian operators. USD-priced SaaS hits Canadian SMBs with a 35-40% FX surcharge after exchange and credit card cross-border fees. We price in CAD, charge in CAD, and write all tax surfaces (GST/HST, CCA, T2 prep) to Canadian rules first. International expansion comes later, but Canada is home base.

How secure is my data?

All Vastura data sits on Cloudflare's enterprise tier with end-to-end TLS 1.3, at-rest encryption, role-based access control, and a full audit log on every write. We're on the SOC 2 Type 1 - Type 2 roadmap (Type 1 target Q2 2027) and ISO 27001 (Q1 2028). PIPEDA compliance is built in by default - Canadian data residency is on the roadmap for late 2026.

How does Vastura compare to the popular SMB-tier incumbents in this category?

The honest answer: most SMB-tier alternatives are single-tool, USD-priced, and don't talk to each other. Vastura's moat is the integrated stack - Ledger feeds Pilot feeds Studio feeds Launch Pad through the MCP bridge, and CAD-pricing means no FX surcharge. We don't claim to beat every dedicated single-tool incumbent on every micro-feature, but we beat the total cost of running 6 separate USD SaaS subscriptions glued together with Zapier.

Do I need technical knowledge or a developer to set this up?

No. Onboarding is guided - connect your bank or Shopify, walk through the entity wizard, and you're posting transactions or running storefronts within the first 30 minutes. The optional MCP layer (for AI agent operation) does benefit from a technical user, but the dashboard, reports, and day-to-day workflow are designed for the operator-without-an-IT-department.

What happens if I outgrow my tier mid-month?

Upgrades are prorated and instant - switch from Starter to Pro and you only pay the difference for the remaining days in the cycle. Downgrades take effect at the next renewal so you keep what you paid for. The Conductor agent can also recommend tier changes based on actual usage patterns at the Pro tier and above.

Is there a discount for annual billing or non-profits?

Yes - annual billing is 25% off the monthly rate, applied across every tier and every product. Registered Canadian non-profits and charities can apply for an additional 20% discount (contact support with your CRA registration number). Bundle suites (Ops / Ecomm / Pro / Enterprise) include built-in discounts on top of that.