How much does it cost to incorporate in Canada

You have the entrepreneurial itch and you want to launch your product or service. You’re excited and can’t wait to show your family and friends – and to sell to your first client. First thing is first though: you should incorporate. There are many advantages to incorporating and those include limitation of liability, separation of personal and business finance, tax advantages on income, and it’s easier to raise funds should that be in the cards. There are basically 3 ways to incorporate yourself in Canada. For simplicity's sake, we will focus on Ontario:

#1: Incorporating with a lawyer

We strongly recommend checking in with a lawyer when it comes to incorporating. There are multiple reasons for doing so, mainly that a lawyer may help ensure that your setup is as robust as possible – there are many blind spots when it comes to individuals and how they may be associated with related entities, compliance with certain regulatory bodies, and shareholder agreements - to name but a few. A lawyer will handle the brunt of the work, and you will be called in to participate as needed. 

#2: DIY 

Incorporation can seem daunting, but it’s a fairly accessible-to-all process that requires certain steps to be followed to ensure success. Here are most of the steps that need to be completed:

• Ensuring that Incorporation is the right setup for your business
• Conduct a NUANS search
• Fill out your Articles of Incorporation with your corporate provisions and shareholder information for this step, you can follow the simple instructions found HERE for a Federal incorporation and HERE for a Provincial incorporation
• File and pay the fees
• In keeping up with our paperless environment promotion, get yourself a digital minute book. This is a crucial step, not to be overlooked. Check out MinuteBox HERE

#3: DIY digitally

Check out the slick process and interface of ownr.co. Ownr is user-friendly and offers great tips and advice as you build out your incorporation. The support team is available through chat boxes or by phone – often 1-on-1 when you need it.

Once you have decided on which approach you would like to adopt to incorporate, you may want to start doing some research on next steps while you’re awaiting confirmation from the Federal or Provincial governments on your new incorporation – like, should I register for GST/HST? Luckily we've written a great blog on whether you should register for GST/HST or not.

Blueprint Accounting’s commitment to help

We at Blueprint Accounting will do everything we can to ensure that businesses like yours have the accurate and up-to-date bookkeeping and financial records you need in order to speed your applications for benefits, financing, and lines of credit.

We understand running a small business is complicated. Your financials shouldn’t be. Take the guesswork out of the accounting and let us help you build your blueprint for success!


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