As inexpensive as incorporating on your own is, most people still use a lawyer to complete the whole process, when they could be saving hundreds of dollars by doing it themselves. Typically a lawyer will charge you $300 or more to set up your incorporated company, and this is in addition to the government fees that are necessary to incorporate. There are some online services that will do this for much less, even as little as $99 plus all the government fees and taxes. But even then you can save yourself money.
When you are starting a business, money tends to be tight, especially for most small business owners in Canada. So, if you can save yourself $100 or $300 simply by taking a couple hours of your time to go to the right place and fill out the forms on your own, why wouldn’t you?
Finding Information on Incorporating
The web is a wonderful resource in today’s world. However, there are very few sites that give you full instructions on how to incorporate your business. There are, however, tons of articles explaining why to do so, and what the advantages and disadvantages are. Some of the best resources are actually government sites. These give you the basic methods of what it is you have to do in order to incorporate. The forms are usually very straightforward, and can often be downloaded from the government site directly. If this is a nuisance, the provincial registry office often has them on hand and you can fill them out while you are in line to do your registration.
What You Need
At a minimum when you are incorporating, regardless of what province or territory you are in, you will need the following:
- A complete list of the directors of the company. Include their social insurance numbers (not all provinces require this), their home addresses, correct spelling of their full names, and their contact phone numbers.
- The full company information, including its name (if it’s a named company, you will need a valid NUANS report), the address, the number of directors, and any limitations in the business.
- Your identication with a valid address for registration purposes (not all provinces require this).
- The correct fees. Most registry offices only accept cash, cheque or debit card. Credit cards won’t be accepted.
Further Resources
Again, your number one resource is the government. You can always ask your lawyer or accountant, but chances are they won’t part with much information, because they will want to do it themselves (and charge you handsomely for it). You will also need to learn about keeping a corporate minute book, and there are usually some great resources directly available from the registries offices on that. Or you can search the internet. Another (commercial) resource is howtoincorporate.ca, where there is a cheap, but comprehensive guide available.
Good luck in your new business!
