Register a Name
How I think you're supposed to register a business in Ontario
Things to decide before doing all this:
Choose your business
- Sole Proprietorship: One person owes everything. Owes all the assets and all the debts. Doesn't get any simpler than this.
- Partnership: Same as above except more than one person. There's multiple types of partners though. General partnership is the basic: you both owe the business. Limited partnership isn't really involved I think. I'm not entirely sure. I think it's like an investor partner that doesn't make any decisions or something.
- Corporation: Anyone who is serious will be a corporation. They separate the individual owners and the business, so the business's assets and liabilities are its own, and same for the person. I don't know anything else because I'm lazy but if one is serious this is the one they do, for tax reasons.
Name your business
You'll be required to make a legal name. By default a sole proprietorship and partnership don't need to register a legal name if the name is simply the name of the partners. Like Alex Brown and Jane Brown could name their partnership "Alex Brown, Jane Brown". To change the Legal name costs $60. To search the Ontario database costs $8/search. It's illegal to have a non-registered legal name unless if it's your actual name.
Now registering a legal name does not trademark it. Anyone else can still name their company the same name. Trademarking just probably requires money idk. Two companies can share the same name IF they don't do the same thing. Not sure if that's for in the same province/country/world. So checking the Ontario database for $8 might be smart to name search… but I didn't cause if you can't find the name on google then it may as well not exist.
Legal name vs operating name: They're two different things and I don't know what the difference is. I didn't know so I just made them the same for my company, which I think was a bad idea. I think changing operating name is easy, while legal name will cost the $60. Here's an example: Walmart's legal name is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. While their operating name is Walmart.
Registering for all this stuff I think lasts 5 years.
Let's do it!
This should actually be fairly easy and quick. All you need is your basic info and SIN number.
Step 1.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/register-business-name-limited-partnership
Easy to find button "Search, register or renew online now" to register business name that gives a Master Business License and gives a Business Identification Number (BIN). It'll go to a form that is easy to do and lets you make a Legal Name.
Download the forms and tuck them away somewhere.
Step 2.
Here you can register for a Business Number (BN) which is different from a BIN that you got from step 1. Yes this should make you go insane.
Also this allows you to do Canada revenue agency stuff. But I don't know anything about taxes.
Download the form.
When I finished, I'll be honest, I have no idea what I accomplished. But it felt legit.
Useful links?
This is what I used. I liked these links because all but the first one is government so I don't feel like I'm getting scammed.
https://www.investottawa.ca/about-us/faq/
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/start.html
https://sbs-spe.feddevontario.canada.ca/starting-business
https://www.ontario.ca/page/registering-your-business-name#section-2
https://www.ontario.ca/page/register-business-name-limited-partnership
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