Starting a Business
Registration • Taxes • Accounting • Contracts • Financing • Resources • Tools
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ps. Resources with a “diamond” are ones we personally use and highly recommend!
🔸 used by Kelly 🔹 used by Marlo
REgistration & TAxes
STARTING A BUSINESS 🇨🇦
Government of Canada
Resources on how to start a small business in Canada. From planning your business, choosing a name, to applying for permits.
MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT 🇨🇦🔹🔸
Government of Canada
Secure online portal to interact electronically with CRA. Include GST/HST, payroll, corporation income taxes, excise taxes, excise duties, and more.
GST/HST REGISTRATION 🇨🇦
Government of Canada
Unless your new small business's gross income stays under $30,000 for four consecutive quarters, you will have to register for a GST/HST account.
PST REGISTRATION (BC) 🇨🇦
British Columbia Government
You must collect PST if you are located in B.C. and you sell or lease taxable goods, or services.
PST REGISTRATION (SASK) 🇨🇦
Saskatchewan Government
You must collect PST if you are located in Sask. A licence or registered consumer number will be issued.
RST REGISTRATION (MB) 🇨🇦
Manitoba Government
Vendors who sell taxable goods and services must register with the Taxation Division and collect the RST on sales.
QST REGISTRATION (QUE) 🇨🇦
Revenu Quebec
In certain situations, you may be required to register for the GST and QST, regardless of the amount of your total taxable supplies.
BUSINESS PLAN WRITER 🇨🇦
Futurpreneur & BMO Financial Group
Free Canadian, interactive online Business Plan Writer. Dynamic tool that allows you to customize your plan, provides tips & tricks and plenty of examples to guide you as you write.
CASH FLOW TEMPLATE 🇨🇦
Futurpreneur & BMO Financial Group
The Futurpreneur Canada Cash Flow Template is here to help you outline your start up costs, financing, sales forecasts and complete a month-by-month cash flow for two years.
Ontario Business Central 🇨🇦
Online Business Incorporation & Registration
We Celebrate Entrepreneurs! We'll handle everything for your success! We have helped our customers to incorporate, register, change their existing business and search existing businesses. Our focus is, and has always been, to assist you and your business by making things quick, easy and safe.
Namechk 🔹🔸
Username, Domain & Trademark Search
A free web application that allows you to view if a certain business username is available. Namechk has over 98 different social network sites and the service also checks domains.
Resources & Tools
CANADA STARTUP PORTAL 🇨🇦
Resource Portal (Free)
The Small Business Startup Portal contains all the tools, resources and access to experts that entrepreneurs need to transform an idea, into a successful business. Learn about what it takes to start a Canadian small business, to build a business plan; and to find government funding programs for small businesses in your province and industry.
CANADA STARTUP ASSESSMENT TOOL 🇨🇦
Small Business Funding Assessment (Free)
Are you ready to start and fund your small business in Canada? Use the Startup Assessment to discover the tools you need to start, plan and find funding for your business idea.
CANADA STARTUP – LOCATIONS 🇨🇦
Steps to Starting a Business by Province (Free)
So you’ve decided you want to start a small business in Canada, or maybe you have an existing business you’d like to expand – you’ve come to the right place especially if you are looking for small business funding.
CANADIAN REVENUE AGENCY 🇨🇦
Government of Canada
Administering tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories.
BIZPAL 🇨🇦
Government of Canada
A free search tool for the permits and licences you may need to start or grow your Canadian business.
CBDC 🇨🇦
Community Business Development Corporations
Assist in the creation of small businesses and in the expansion and modernization of existing businesses by providing financial and technical services to entrepreneurs.
E-BUSINESS TOOLKIT 🇨🇦
Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs
This series of 17 free booklets provide business owners with information on a range of advanced e-business topics. Grouped into four theme areas, they complement the introductory handbook How You Can Profit from E-Business.
SMALL Biz ENTERPRISE CENTRES 🇨🇦
Ontario Government
These centres can help you start or grow a business offering free consultations, internet + computer access for research and planning, review of business plans and consultations through a lawyer or accountant referral service.
Harmonized Sales Tax Info 🇨🇦
HST by Province & How To Guides
Harmonized Sales Tax, commonly referred to as HST, is a consumer tax resulting from the combination of the Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Provincial sales tax (PST). The GST Goods and Services Tax is applicable in some Provinces where the Provincial and Goods taxes remain separate instead of operating as one unit such as in Ontario through HST.
CANADIAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE 🇨🇦
Trademark Search, Government of Canada (Free)
The first step to conducting a trademark search in Canada is to look up your proposed trademark name in the Canadian Trademarks Database, which is available online or in-person at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). The CIPO is the patent, trademark, and copyright administration body of Canada.
STEPS TO INCORPORATE 🇨🇦
Government of Canada
Every incorporated business must have a name that legally identifies it. This is called a corporate name. Incorporating your company federally is a four-step process.
TRADEMARK ELITE
Trademark Search (Free)
Trademark Elite provides online trademark search tool, and is the largest free trademark search site. Trademark Elite can also help you register a trademark online for a fee.
GOOGLE BUSINESS 🔹🔸
Business Listing (Free)
Allows you to manage your online presence across the entire Google platform. Once you create + claim ownership of your business profile, you can access and edit all of the information that appears in your listing.
Contracts, Financing & Grants
CONTRACTS MARKET 🇨🇦🔹
Legal Contract Templates
Online Canadian shop offering a range of affordable, customizable, lawyer-approved contract templates designed specifically for Canadian business owners.
NEW SCHOOL OF FINANCE 🇨🇦🔹
Financial Coaching & Courses
Canadian-based. Think of us as your financial unicorns offering fee-only financial advice and online DIY financial courses for personal life and sole-proprietorship so you can dominate your finances.
BUSINESS GRANTS & FINANCING 🇨🇦
Grants & Financing
Government of Canada resource for grants, loans, private and public sector financing and leveraging personal assets.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING DIRECTORY 🇨🇦
Loan & Application Writers
Mentor Works is team of Canadian government grant & loan application writers that an average success rate of 86% across all government funding programs. View their directory of available funding to see what options you have for your small business.
SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS
Grant
Facebook is offering $2,000 CAD in optional ad credits to eligible small businesses in Canada experiencing challenges due to COVID-19.
GROWTH FUND
Grant
Online course platform Thinkific has created a $1m growth fund to support entrepreneurs. They will match you with a mentor and provide free access to their platform to create and sell an online course. The program also provides ad credits to promote your course.
Small Business Loans
Shopify Financing
Ecommerce platform Shopify is offering financial support in the forms of fixed-fee loans from under $2,000 to over $100,000. The service is open to Shopify users and eligibility is based on your history with the platform. Repayment is through a percentage of your future sales through Shopify. Shopify also extended its free trial from 14 days to 90 days.