Opt for Company Formation in Canada to grow your business

Any company in Canada has 2 set scales, it can either be at a federal level or a provincial level. Being federally incorporated, your company will be permitted to operate in any province, make your trades and transactions, etc. On the other hand, being provincially incorporated, your company can conduct business internationally but only in one province in the country in which it was filled to register.

You must make take proper guidance as to which level to opt for to best grow your business. 

Starting with your company name, the name you choose must be in either English or French. If you opt for federal-level incorporation, a NUANS report will be required to submit when you apply for the company name. NUANS is the government’s check for the company name that it isn’t being copied or anything.

You must have a registered office for your company in Canada whose address will be filed for any legal work. Here any documents will be served, and the company registers will be kept and maintained.

Officially it requires only one director for the company to register, a federally incorporated company requires a resident director. There can be shareholders, however. It can be only one but a total of 50 shareholders are allowed who can be of any nationality. There needs to be an annual meeting within 6 months of the year’s end, there can’t be a more than 15-month time period between meeting dates.

For a Canadian company, there is no minimum share capital.  All registered companies are required to file an annual return and are obliged to make an annual financial statement which must be presented at the annual meeting to all attendees. These statements aren’t required to be filed with the authorities but must be kept at the registered office and available for public inspection when requested. Private companies can decide not to appoint an auditor when voted by the shareholders.

To get started, you must reserve the company name and structure the company as per your needs. Then prepare the registration forms fulling the requirements, and draft your articles of association beforehand to be fully ready. File your documents with the federal corporation director and communicate with your local registrar. Set up your directors and prepare for the first partners meeting to get things officially begun. After receiving your incorporation certificate and production share certificate all documents need to be filed in a professional manner and couriered to authorities. 

After taking care of all the requirements it’s almost a matter of 2-3 weeks to incorporate your Canadian company

Get a Canada Virtual Address to start your business

A virtual address is basically a street address for your company where you can receive all your mail and packages. It eliminates the hassle of maintaining an actual office and meeting all the expenses that come with it. 

Your mail and packages are directed to your real address from there either as it is or in the form of pictures via online platforms. They are opted for by many companies whether they are home-based or large corporations that want to outsource their mailroom operations.

Owing an office inside of Canada is essential to start a company. A virtual address does the job for you, many businesses are being run in this manner already. It is accepted by the registration authorities and secretary of the state, and it can also be used for marketing purposes. It can be uploaded on Google to show your business and used on official directories. Many home offices choose this option to keep their privacy intact and not have to spend thousands of dollars for a working space that isn’t going to be all that fruitful for them. As for large corporations, they outsource their mail services to their virtual offices so they can be saved for more important wings of their company to help them grow strategically.

The virtual address comes with the added benefit of the virtual mailbox, meaning you can receive all your mail via email. You get an account where you can see all the mail and packages you have received at the virtual address. 

Each received mail is scanned and uploaded on the account, not from within as it can be of private nature. Just the outside of the mail is scanned however, if any mail needs to be opened you can request that using the app and it will be uploaded as well.

That’s that for mails. As for the packages you might receive you can have them shipped over to you. Whether you are overseas or just work from home doesn’t matter, the virtual address company shall take care of that. You can have your packages gathered and shipped together to save money or you can get them shipped individually is you? The shipping often comes at discounted rates depending on the company policy and circumstances. If you come to your virtual address location often, you can always pick them up in person as well to avoid all the charges altogether.

The purpose GST/HST Number for a company in Canada

 The Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) are imposed on most items in Canada, including real and intangible property in Canada. The respective businesses are the ones responsible for collecting the GST/HST and remitting it. They then can claim input tax credits on GST/HST paid on purchases used in commercial activities.

GST/HST is most added to the final price of most goods and services traded in Canada. It also applies to real property like land and buildings as well as intellectual property like rights to something, digitized products download on the internet, etc.  

In some states of Canada, GST is imposed as a part of HST which joins the GST with the provincial sales tax in the state.

You are obliged to put a GST/HST on your products in Canada unless you are considered a small supplier. These taxes are collected and remitted along with any other taxes that may be applicable to the product as per law. On your returns, you can collect the GST/HST you have spent on commercial purchase activities.

The rules for GST/HST can cause confusion for many entrepreneurs, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says, “GST/HST can become very complex, very quickly. Business owners are often surprised by the many rules for charging or recovering the tax.”

The current GST rate in Canada is 5%. This is true in every province and territory, though certain provinces have combined GST with their provincial sales tax to make a single HST.

Currently, GST is charged at 5% in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. 13% (HST) in Ontario. 15% (HST) in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Though most, but not all goods are charged GST/HST in Canada. The exempted goods are Groceries, agricultural products, and most farm livestock, most fishery products, prescription drugs and certain medical devices, feminine hygiene products, exports, and many transportation services where the origin or destination is outside Canada. Their GST/HST rate stands at 0% across Canada.

GST/HST is not applicable in these supplies so businesses can’t claim ITCs on purchases used to provide these. If a nosiness only deals with these exempted supplies, it can not apply for a GST/HST

Being a sales tax, GST/HST applies to goods, services or intangible properties imported into Canada however it is not applicable to those which are exported out of the country. Export businesses can, in some cases, be allowed to take part in some programs to remove GST/HST from domestic purchases and imports.

Almost everyone in Canada pays GST/HST when buying any product, service, or property (real or intangible) with the exception of zero-rated goods and services.

Businesses risk losing money if they don’t participate in recordkeeping and are fully aware of GST/HST rules. GST/HST is not just about obligation but also getting what you are intitled to like ITCs, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says. “Making sure you get what you’re entitled to takes planning and preparation.”