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How do I register a company in Ontario?

How do I register a company in Ontario?

Old Oct 16th 2018, 2:43 pm
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Default How do I register a company in Ontario?

Hi all. My family and I moved to SW Ontario from NW London, UK a couple of months ago. Its been great so far and I finally just got a job - a contract role - to start in a couple of days. My plan is to go via setting up a company route. I understand there is a quicker registration route, i.e. incorporate with a number name (OCN). Unfortunately, the details get fuzzier from here onward. I will appreciate if anyone has knowledge or experience of the registration process or even perhaps, the best way to go both from a tax and administration perspective

What will be helpful for me will be information on where to register, time it will typically take to turn this around and any opinion on whether the OCN is the appropriate vehicle.
The plan is to use this company for contract roles - Business Consultant - with roles lasting anywhere from 3 months to 6,9,12 months and perhaps longer - who knows!

Last edited by KW Titan; Oct 16th 2018 at 2:50 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 5:19 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Originally Posted by KW Titan
Hi all. My family and I moved to SW Ontario from NW London, UK a couple of months ago. Its been great so far and I finally just got a job - a contract role - to start in a couple of days. My plan is to go via setting up a company route. I understand there is a quicker registration route, i.e. incorporate with a number name (OCN). Unfortunately, the details get fuzzier from here onward. I will appreciate if anyone has knowledge or experience of the registration process or even perhaps, the best way to go both from a tax and administration perspective

What will be helpful for me will be information on where to register, time it will typically take to turn this around and any opinion on whether the OCN is the appropriate vehicle.
The plan is to use this company for contract roles - Business Consultant - with roles lasting anywhere from 3 months to 6,9,12 months and perhaps longer - who knows!
You can go and register a company at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. It will cost you a little under $1,000. Alternatively, you can have a lawyer who works closely with accountants, do it for $1200 or so. If you follow the latter course you'll get advice on registering for HST, the best year end to choose, how to add a tradestyle (e.g. "12345678 Ont Inc o/a Titan Business Consulting" and so on. PM me if you'd like the name of the one I use.

Last edited by dbd33; Oct 16th 2018 at 5:22 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 7:06 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Originally Posted by KW Titan
Hi all. My family and I moved to SW Ontario from NW London, UK a couple of months ago. Its been great so far and I finally just got a job - a contract role - to start in a couple of days. My plan is to go via setting up a company route. I understand there is a quicker registration route, i.e. incorporate with a number name (OCN). Unfortunately, the details get fuzzier from here onward. I will appreciate if anyone has knowledge or experience of the registration process or even perhaps, the best way to go both from a tax and administration perspective

What will be helpful for me will be information on where to register, time it will typically take to turn this around and any opinion on whether the OCN is the appropriate vehicle.
The plan is to use this company for contract roles - Business Consultant - with roles lasting anywhere from 3 months to 6,9,12 months and perhaps longer - who knows!
Welcome to BE!


There's no need to incorporate!

I work under contract (remotely) and have my business name registered.. and a business number.. no incorporation necessary.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/small-bu...ider-locations
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ed-income.html

Last edited by Siouxie; Oct 16th 2018 at 7:14 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 7:46 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Originally Posted by Siouxie
Welcome to BE!


There's no need to incorporate!

I work under contract (remotely) and have my business name registered.. and a business number.. no incorporation necessary.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/small-bu...ider-locations
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ed-income.html
As a long standing contractor and pimp I strongly suggest incorporation. I would not subcontract someone to me who was not incorporated.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 8:00 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Now I am confused!

Personally I want a structure that's easy to manage. Whilst, I'm happy to engage Accountants at some point, I am loath to engage an Accountant to help set up a company or manage receipts and invoices - all for a princely sum. I'll rather manage all the receipts & invoices and pass on to the Accountant at the tax filing period.

That said, I will rather have a sole proprietor structure, with a professional indemnity insurance but Canada has its own nuances that I am struggling to get my head round.
I have just been told by the agency that I can be $5 an richer, if I incorporate! I really don't understand the reason why but I also don't want to leave the equivalent of $200/ week or $2,500/year on the table! 2.5K will pay for a decent vacation!

Any help towards understanding the following will be welcomed:

1. Cost of setting up either incorporation or sole proprietorship
2. Can I do this online or need to physically go somewhere to do this
3. Assuming, I can get this process completed in hours or days or weeks or months - which is it?
4. What do I need to set up a business bank account?

I am hoping and praying this is something I can complete in a day or two ( Again, Canadian nuance)

Thanks for the heads up.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 8:04 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Jut realised I got my math twisted. $5/ hour or $200/ week or $10,000 a year
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 8:13 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

That won't be $10,000 clear though ......... CRA will want their cut
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 8:27 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

1. Cost of setting up either incorporation or sole proprietorship
$1000 and up

2. Can I do this online
Yes

3. Assuming, I can get this process completed in hours or days or weeks or months - which is it?
Hours or days, depends where and how you do it.

4. What do I need to set up a business bank account?
Go into a bank
A day or two is optimistic. If you set up a corporation incorrectly it can cause a world of grief. A year end that is not convenient, share structure and allocation etc.

You will also need a payroll account, HST, WCB.

If the employer will pay you more because you are incorporated you may get more, if they are talking about tax savings, it does not work like that. Corporation tax may be lower, however you pay personal tax on any money you take out of the corporation at your marginal rate and corporation tax on any retained earnings.

This is all why one hires an accountant, a good one should save more than their fees. A bookkeeper does books, an accountant helps prepare the financials, advise and also file taxes.

I know how to do it, we still used an accountant and lawyer to do it for us, more cost effective and in the long run much simpler. I would not incorporate unless there was some overly important reason to do so, such as liability limitation, high income, asset exposure, retaining funds inside the corporation, although the government have pretty much eliminated any benefit of doing this. Even incorporated, personal liability is a risk.
Another reason to have an accountant and a lawyer.

Last edited by Aviator; Oct 16th 2018 at 8:34 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 11:17 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Originally Posted by KW Titan
Jut realised I got my math twisted. $5/ hour or $200/ week or $10,000 a year
Assuming billing $120,000/yr which is less than $60/hr and so not a lot for this line of work, and assuming no write offs (for example, some people write off a home office or part of a car, I don't, for what I consider to be good reasons). The sum at risk by making a bollocks of your set up is very much more than $10,000/yr. For a start you want to use the quick method of HST calculation, cost of getting it wrong, about $5,000 a year (perhaps what your pimp had in mind) but the big risk is deemed employment, cost of getting it wrong about $40,000/yr and fines and interest on the fines. These costs are ongoing for as long as you're contracting. Then there's liability insurance in case you knock someone over in the client's office, professional liability insurance in case you give poor advice, I don't know the premiums because I'm incorporated and not personally liable; I don't need the coverage. Oh, and then there are the serious penalties for not paying your CPP/EHT on the right day, more thousands wasted.

Do you know the rules governing the use of the quick method of HST calculation during the first year in business? Do you know the criteria used to determine deemed employment? Do you know the details of the liability risks when working at a client's site in Canada? Do you know which day to pay the EHT? No, nor me. That's why I think it's worth a few hundred bucks, a one time cost, to have things set up properly in the first place. Note that you're not a novelty to the lawyers and accountants who do this, you're their 10th contractor incorporation this week, they don't charge a lot because, for them, it's a production line.

Oh, and as long as you're going to get a lick of sense, you can have the lawyer take a quick look at your contract; perhaps it looks good because you're not used to seeing such contracts written for Ontario, perhaps it isn't generous and perhaps it binds you in a way that could be problematic down the road. Perhaps it can be easily improved.


Amazing as it may seem, I have heard of cases of immigrants being exploited by employment agencies!

Last edited by dbd33; Oct 16th 2018 at 11:25 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2018, 11:35 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Specific answers based on setting up my 2017 numbered Ontario corporation.

1. Cost of setting up either incorporation or sole proprietorship

Incorporation, all related set up costs, pertinent advice, could be as much as $1500. Most of it will be billed as "investment advice" and, if you don't know why that matters, you need a lawyer/accountant.


2. Can I do this online or need to physically go somewhere to do this

You can do it all by email, you do need access to a printer/scanner for items that have to be signed

3. Assuming, I can get this process completed in hours or days or weeks or months - which is it?

Less than a week as the lawyer will use some sort of "intent to incorporate" document to get you rolling while the actual incorporation is in progress

4. What do I need to set up a business bank account?

Incorporation papers.
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Old Oct 17th 2018, 2:56 am
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

I set up a numbered incorporate in less than a few hours online. HST took a couple of business days. Total cost less than $500. Use this site for more info htpp://www.apintertrust.com/index.htm or PM me directly. Visited my local RBC bank with incorporate number and opened up a online business account with no fees. All completed within a week of starting my IT job in downtown Toronto.

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Old Oct 17th 2018, 1:44 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Thanks to all for the very helpful responses. Definitely in a better place than I was 24 hours ago as far as clarity is concerned. I am about to commence the process and touch wood, I should have an incorporated company in place by end of the day and everything else to follow suit.
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Old Oct 17th 2018, 3:37 pm
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Default Re: How do I register a company in Ontario?

Originally Posted by KW Titan
Thanks to all for the very helpful responses. Definitely in a better place than I was 24 hours ago as far as clarity is concerned. I am about to commence the process and touch wood, I should have an incorporated company in place by end of the day and everything else to follow suit.
Good luck and be careful,
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