Verified Reviews

Verified Reviews Guide

Complete guide to the unified reviews system that supports multiple review types across the Notarial ecosystem.

Table of Contents

1. System Overview
2. Review Types
3. Notary Reviews
4. Company Reviews
5. Platform Reviews
6. Agency Reviews
7. Managing Reviews
8. Best Practices

System Overview

The Unified Reviews Platform

The Notarial platform uses a single reviews table that supports four distinct review types:

Why a Unified System?

Benefits of a single reviews table:

• Consistent Architecture: All reviews use the same infrastructure
• Shared Features: Ratings, responses, helpful votes work the same
• Simplified Queries: One table to search and analyze
• Easier Maintenance: Updates apply to all review types
• Data Integrity: Foreign keys and constraints are centralized

Review Types

The Notarial platform supports four distinct review types, each serving a different purpose:

Notary Reviews

Purpose: Verified client reviews for individual notaries

Who can submit: Clients who received notary services

How it works:

• Agency sends invitation via email after order completion
• Client clicks secure link and submits 1-5 star rating
• Review tied to specific order and notary
• Displays "✓ Verified Service" badge on public profiles

Where displayed:

• Notary public profile pages
• Directory search results
• API responses (when include_reviews=1)

Company Reviews (B2B)

Purpose: Agencies review companies they work with

Who can submit: Agencies with completed orders for the company

Validation Requirement:

⚠️ Your agency must have completed at least one order with a company before you can review them.

This ensures all company reviews are based on actual business transactions, not opinions.

How it works:

1. Navigate to Dashboard → Companies → [Company]
2. Click "Leave a Review"
3. Rate 1-5 stars, add comment
4. Optional: would work again, avg time to pay, tags

If you see an error:

"Cannot submit review: Your agency must have at least one completed order
with this company before reviewing."

This means you haven't completed any orders for this company yet. Complete an order first, then return to leave your review.

Where displayed:

• Company detail pages
• Global company directory
• API responses

Companies reviewed include:

• Title companies
• Lenders
• Signing services
• Other B2B vendors

Platform Reviews

Purpose: Subscribers review Notarial.ink software

Who can submit: Active subscribers only

How it works:

• Navigate to Account Settings
• Rate 1-5 stars, add comment
• One review per user
• Aggregated for homepage display

Where displayed:

• Homepage (aggregate rating)
• SoftwareApplication structured data (SEO)
• Trust signals for potential subscribers

Agency Reviews

Purpose: Clients review agency services

Who can submit: Clients who received agency services

How it works:

• Similar to notary reviews (order-based)
• Submitted via invitation or order completion
• Reviews the agency rather than specific notary

Where displayed:

• Agency public profiles (future)

Note: Currently in development. Agency and notary reviews can both exist for the same order, allowing clients to rate both the agency service and the specific notary separately.

How It Works

The Review Flow (Notary Reviews)

1. Order Completed → Service is delivered to client
2. Invitation Sent → Email with secure review link sent to client
3. Client Submits → Client clicks link, rates 1-5 stars, optional comment
4. Review Verified → System verifies token ties to actual order
5. Review Published → Review appears on notary's public profile
6. Notary Can Respond → Notary can reply (Pro/Enterprise)

Security Measures

1. Token-Based Authentication: Each invitation has a unique, cryptographically secure token
2. Email Validation: Token is only sent to the client email from the order
3. One-Time Use: Tokens are marked "submitted" after use
4. Time-Limited: Tokens expire after 90 days
5. Order Binding: Each review is tied to a specific order ID
6. Unique Constraint: Database enforces one review per order

What Clients See

When a client receives a review invitation:

• Professional email from the platform
• Notary name and order reference number
• Direct link to review submission page
• Simple 5-star rating interface
• Optional text comment field (max 2,000 characters)

Requesting Reviews

Manual Review Requests

Available on all subscription plans.

From Order Details Page

1. Navigate to Orders → View Order
2. Verify the order status is Completed
3. Ensure the order is assigned to a notary
4. Click the "Request Review" button
5. Confirm the recipient email address
6. Invitation email is sent immediately

Requirements for Manual Requests

• Order must be Completed
• Order must have an assigned notary
• Order must have a signer email
• No previous invitation for this order

Automatic Review Invitations

Available on Enterprise plan only.

How Auto-Send Works

1. Order status changes to Completed
2. System automatically generates invitation token
3. Invitation email sent within 1 hour
4. No manual action required

Configuring Auto-Send

1. Go to Settings → Agency Settings
2. Navigate to Reviews section
3. Enable "Auto-send review invitations"
4. Choose when to send (immediately or after X hours)
5. Save settings

Subscription Plan Comparison

Review Submission Process

What Clients Experience

1. Email Invitation

Clients receive an email with:

• Notary name
• Order reference number
• "Rate Your Experience" button
• Explanation of verified reviews

2. Review Page

Clicking the link opens a clean, simple form:

• Notary name and photo
• 5-star rating selector (required)
• Text comment box (optional, max 2,000 characters)
• Submit button

3. Confirmation

After submission:

• Thank you message displayed
• Confirmation email sent
• Review queued for moderation (if applicable)

Submission Constraints

Displaying Reviews

On Notary Profile

Reviews appear on public notary profiles with:

Rating Summary

⭐ 4.8 (12 reviews)

Individual Review Format

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Great service! Very professional and on time."
- John D. ✓ Verified Service
Posted 2 days ago

Rating Distribution

• 5 stars: 8 reviews
• 4 stars: 3 reviews
• 3 stars: 1 review
• 2 stars: 0 reviews
• 1 star: 0 reviews

API Integration

The directory API returns reviews when requested:

GET /api/notaries/directory/[id]?include_reviews=1

Response includes:

• Recent reviews (up to 10)
• Review statistics (total, average, distribution)
• Verified status for each review

What Information Is Public

Publicly visible:

• Star rating (1-5)
• Review comment
• Submission date
• "Verified Service" badge
• Notary response (if provided)

Private (not visible):

• Client name or email
• Order reference
• Invitation token
• Internal notes

Managing Reviews

Viewing Received Reviews

1. Go to Dashboard → Reviews
2. See list of all reviews for your notaries
3. Filter by:
   • Notary
   • Rating
   • Date range
   • Response status
4. Sort by:
   • Newest first
   • Highest rated
   • Lowest rated

Responding to Reviews

Available on Pro and Enterprise plans.

How to Respond

1. Open a review from the Reviews list
2. Click "Add Response"
3. Write your response (max 2,000 characters)
4. Click "Post Response"
5. Response appears publicly under the review

Response Best Practices

• Be timely: Respond within 48 hours
• Be professional: Even to negative reviews
• Be specific: Reference details from their review
• Be grateful: Thank them for their business
• Take it offline: For complex issues, provide contact info

Flagging Inappropriate Reviews

If a review violates our terms:

1. Open the review
2. Click "Flag Review"
3. Select reason:
   • Offensive language
   • Fake review (if you believe they weren't a client)
   • Contains personal information
   • Spam or promotional
4. Add notes
5. Submit for admin review

Admin reviews flagged content and may:

• Remove the review
• Edit inappropriate content
• Contact you for clarification

Hiding Reviews (Admin Only)

Platform administrators can hide reviews that:

• Contain prohibited content
• Violate community guidelines
• Are confirmed fake

Hidden reviews are not deleted but are not visible publicly.

Understanding the Verified Badge

What "Verified Service" Means

The ✓ Verified Service badge appears on every review and indicates:

• The reviewer was an actual client
• The review is tied to a completed order
• The reviewer received notary services
• The review was submitted via a secure token

Why This Matters

For potential clients:

• Trust: Reviews are from real service experiences
• Authenticity: No fake reviews from competitors
• Transparency: Each review has a verifiable source

For notaries:

• Credibility: Authentic reviews build reputation
• Fairness: Competitors cannot post fake negative reviews
• Quality: Reviews reflect actual service quality

What Is NOT Verified

The badge does NOT verify:

• The accuracy of the review content
• The client's subjective opinion
• The fairness of the rating
• Whether the notary response is accurate

Subscription Features

Feature Comparison

Basic Plan

• Receive and display all review types
• Manual review invitations
• Public review display
• No responses to reviews

Pro Plan

Everything in Basic, plus:

• Respond to reviews publicly
• Review statistics dashboard
• Rating distribution analysis
• Filter and sort reviews

Enterprise Plan

Everything in Pro, plus:

• Automatic invitation sending
• Review reminders (optional)
• Advanced analytics
• Review export functionality
• API access to reviews

Best Practices

Requesting Reviews

Timing Matters

• Send invitations within 24-48 hours of completion
• Service is fresh in client's mind
• Higher response rate

Don't Overwhelm

• Only request once per order
• Don't send reminders more than once
• Respect client's choice not to review

Quality Over Quantity

• Great service leads to great reviews
• Focus on delivering excellent service
• Reviews will follow naturally

Responding to Reviews

Positive Reviews

Good Example:

"Thank you so much for the kind words, Sarah! We're
thrilled you had a great experience. We look forward
to working with you again!"

Negative Reviews

Good Example:

"Hi Mike, I'm sorry to hear about your experience.
We strive for excellence and would like to understand
what went wrong. Please contact us at [phone] to
discuss further."

What to Avoid

• Defensive language
• Arguing with the reviewer
• Sharing private details
• Making excuses

Using Review Analytics

Track These Metrics

• Response Rate: % of invitations that become reviews
• Average Rating: Overall satisfaction score
• Rating Distribution: Balance of ratings
• Response Time: How quickly you respond to reviews

Improve Your Ratings

1. Deliver excellent service - foundation of good reviews
2. Communicate clearly - set expectations
3. Be professional - attitude matters
4. Follow up - ensure satisfaction before requesting review
5. Learn from feedback - address recurring issues

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Invitation Not Sent

Possible causes:

• Order is not completed
• No notary assigned
• No signer email on order
• Previous invitation exists

Solution: Verify order details and try again.

Client Can't Submit Review

Possible causes:

• Token expired (90 days)
• Token already used
• Invalid token

Solution: Generate a new invitation from the order page.

Review Not Appearing

Possible causes:

• Review pending moderation
• Review hidden by admin
• Notary profile not public

Solution: Check review status in dashboard. Contact support if needed.

Can't Respond to Review

Possible causes:

• Not on Pro or Enterprise plan
• Review already has a response
• Review hidden or removed

Solution: Upgrade to Pro plan or wait for review to be visible.

Compliance and Legal

Review Authenticity

• Never post fake reviews
• Never incentivize positive reviews
• Never ask clients to change their review
• Never retaliate for negative reviews

Client Privacy

• Client identities are never public
• Reviews are anonymous to visitors
• Email addresses never shared
• Order details kept private

Content Guidelines

Prohibited content:

• Offensive language
• Personal information
• Discriminatory statements
• Spam or promotional content
• Fake or misleading reviews

Related Articles

• Orders Management
• Global Companies
• Notary Directory
• Agency Management
• Data Exports