A good number of people from across the globe plan to migrate to Canada to provide their family with a better standard of life. You may have dreams of starting a business in Canada. However the process of establishing a business or company as a foreigner can be somewhat confusing or challenging.
Guide to Starting a Business in Canada
Naming your business:
1. The name selected should reflect your offered service or product.
2. How your business is to be perceived?
3. Select a name that is easy to pronounce and remember.
4. Keep the name distinctive & unique to avoid legal issues and confusion.
5. Select a name that is not used by someone else. Check out the web, national name database to find out if the name is already taken or available for use.
Business Name Registration
Get your business name registered with the concerned government authorities. The registration process generally depends on your plans to register it as a corporation or sole proprietor. It also includes the province where you plan to set it up. For example, in Ontario, your legal name can be incorporated as a business name. However, this is not allowed by all Canadian provinces. For example, Alberta province requires including business activity to include a business name with a legal name.
Guidelines offered by the Canadian Government to register properly a business name
1. Trade Names:
You are to register any name other than legal business name as trade name. Not doing so will only invite harsh legal consequences and significant fines. Some examples include:
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- Using a name apart from legal name to market your products/services. (Your business legal name can be Bob Bakeries Inc. However, you could market it as John Smith’s Bakery).
- Being a sole proprietor, you may want to include something extra to the legal name for modification. (Bob Smith Consulting, for example).
Trade name registration is considered to be a territorial/provincial responsibility. You are to visit the jurisdiction registry for trade name registration at the place where the business is to be established. Trade name registration is not required in Labrador and Newfoundland. Registration is mandatory for cooperatives and corporations only. You should know how to start a small business in Canada the right way and register it properly.
2. Corporate Names:
The incorporation process for any incorporated business involves registering the business name within the jurisdiction area of incorporation. To federally incorporate, you are to use exclusively your corporate name all over the country. In case you incorporate territorially or provincially, your corporate name will have exclusive usage within the incorporated territory or province.
Licenses & Permits for starting a business in Canada
Find out if your business needs a license or permit for operation. For this, you may check BizPal, the government database. Here, you may filter permits depending on your business activities, industry and location. Save those that apply to specific situations.
Manage business finances
When you are searching for information on how to start a small business in canada, you also should consider financial management. You are to get familiarized with the sales taxes charged here. Provincial and Federal are the two sales tax tiers practiced here. You also are to manage properly your finances. For this, you need to maintain bookkeeping, and accounting and consult the tax consultants.
You should get a proper guide to starting a business in canada from the domain experts. The specialists will have the necessary resources, knowledge and contacts to guide you to make the right choice. You may also establish your business with great confidence and without facing any hassle.
