-Canada is a land of business opportunities and with growing number of immigrants and international students, demand for good and services will be growing on year-on-year basis. Cities like Vancouver have become birthplace of successful new ventures in the field of technology, cleanteach, SaaS, food, construction and numerous other sectors.

One might want to start own business, and one of the first questions comes in to mind is “how to start my own business in Canada?”.

Once a feasible business idea is tested and backed with a well researched business plan and forecasted financial projections, it is the time to establish and operate the business.

Different ways of starting your own business in Canada:-

1. Sole Proprietorship: One can start his or her own business as a sole proprietor, either under own name or a registered business name approved by local authorities. Though it is a simple way of starting the business but it does come with risk to personal assets that an entrepreneur needs to analyse before making the decision.
2. Partnership: If more than one person are interested in establishing a business then partnership could be a possible option as long as all partners have agreed on percentage ownership of the business. Partnerships could be a good option as long as partners have great vision, mutual understanding and ability to support each other. There are different forms of partnerships that can be formed, depending on services offered by the business and agreement among partners.
3. Corporation: Incorporating a business leads to bigger opportunities of dealing with those clients that want to do business with incorporated businesses only. Incorporating a business also helps in keeping the business as a separate entity and protecting personal assets to certain extent.

Name Registration:-

If you already have thought of a name for your business then you will need to ensure it is available for you to use and is not in conflict with other existing businesses. A business registry services offered by the local government can help you to search a business name and you will need to fill name search forms and pay a fee for name search and name approval.

GST/PST Registration:-

Depending on nature of your business, it is always advisable to register for GST/PST with CRA.

For more information visit https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/gst-hst-businesses/register-a-gst-hst-account.html

Business License:-

Once you have a business name and business structure finalised, you are required to get a business license from the city where you want to operate your business. For those companies that want to operate in multiple provinces, there are inter-provincial licenses options available for certain provinces.

There could be more requirements depending on your business services and products that need to be met, such as liability insurance, payroll set up etc. For more information and advisory services on business planning and management, contact us using below form.